Page 35 of Claiming a Demon
Mal barely blinked before he nodded and disappeared. The second he was gone, Mal’s mom sank to her knees, her hand over her mouth like she was muffling herself. I hurried to her side, kneeling in front of her with my hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry. He didn’t mean all that. He’s just upset.”
She shook her head. “Yes, he did. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he was never happy that we kept his father here. It wasn’t just my decision, though. Andreas wasn’t ready to go. And I–” Her voice cut out for a second as she choked back tears. “I didn’t want… I…”
My heart broke for her. She was obviously struggling with what was happening to her husband. I couldn’t even imagine being in her place. And to have to face that with your son screaming at you would have been hard on anyone. I ignored the fact that we didn’t even know each other, pulling her into a hug like I’d done for Mal when it got to be too much. I felt a little silly. I was way smaller than she was. I was pretty sure she was even taller than Mal. But she accepted the affection, sobbing against me. If you ignored her size and the horns that could take out my eye if I wasn’t careful, she was just like every other scared wife. Struggling to cope and afraid of what happens next.
Someone knocked on the door, and another one of Mal’s sisters stepped into the room. She wasn’t as energetic as the ones I’d seen thus far. She had a calm energy, a lot like Mal, and her face was almost as stoic. Her eyes moved from the bed to her mother and she let out a sigh, moving into the room to join us. She pulled her mother into her arms, petting her hair gently.
“So someone finally forced the issue, then?”
I grimaced. “Mal may have taken it a little far. He wanted to talk about it. I didn't think he’d explode like that.”
The woman shook her head slowly. “I heard parts of it. Where did he take him?”
Oh crap. I didn’t actually know the names of places. I probably should’ve asked before Mal disappeared so his family would know where to join them.
“Uh… He said something about Callum’s mom’s facility.”
It was all the information I had, and it seemed to be enough for Mal’s sister. She dipped her chin to acknowledge me and turned her focus back to her mother. I pushed to my feet, hurrying to grab the poor woman some tissues off the nightstand. When I came back, she finally sat up, sniffling and dabbing her eyes.
“Thank you. I apologize. I think I was in shock.”
“No one is blaming you for being upset, ma’am. This is obviously difficult on all of you.”
She huffed out a watery laugh, looking up at me. “Goodness. I still don’t feel old enough to be called ma’am. Call me Leona. And I apologize if this seems rude, but who are you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MALAKAI
I was still shaking with fury when they finally got my dad settled. A team of healers immediately surrounded him, including Callum’s mom. They murmured amongst themselves, discussing his condition and courses of action. I had to leave the room to make space for them and stay out of the way. It was hard, and only Callum’s steady hand on my shoulder kept me from going back. He steered me down the hall to the waiting room, sitting beside me after he nudged me onto a couch.
“I didn't realize it had gotten that bad,” Callum murmured after a few minutes of silence.
I shook my head. “Me neither. He wasn’t that bad when I visited last week.”
Callum kept his face blank, hiding his reaction, which I appreciated. Instead of talking about my dad and how quickly he was deteriorating, he turned to me instead.
“Things felt… thick when I showed up. Did something happen?”
The urge to grimace was intense, but I didn't regret what I’d done. I mean, I basically kidnapped my own father to get him to the facility, but it needed to happen. They were all delusional if they thought keeping him at home was sustainable anymore.
“Mom wasn’t ready to move him. I didn’t give her a choice.”
Callum studied me, raising an eyebrow when I finally gave him my attention. “I know this is hard on you, but I’m your friend, so I’m going to say things you don’t want to hear anyway. I’m worried about you. You’re not this guy. You’ve been reactive, combative, and just generally pissed off, especially since that poker night last week. If things go south–”
I growled, trying to push to my feet, but Callum stopped me with a hand on my shoulder, forcing me back down.
“Stop. You can’t keep running. I’m not saying it's a guarantee, but if you don’t come to terms with what’s happening and things do go south, you’re going to be blindsided. You need to accept what’s happening.”
“What if it was you?” I demanded, that familiar fury I felt when I saw my dad lying in that bed building in my chest again. “If it was your dad in that bed, wasting away. What would you do? You’d do everything you could to save him, right? That’s what I’m doing, Cal.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” he agreed. “But you can’t alienate everyone else in your life because of it. You almost attacked Aziel for one stupid comment. You’re not violent, Mal. And using magic to cow your own mother? She’s struggling too. What part of you thought that was the right call to make?”
Pain ripped through my middle, and I turned my face away. “I hadn’t meant to do that. I was so horrified by the way my dad looked in that bed. The fury just kind of took over. I was heartbroken and angry that they still weren’t taking his condition seriously. You saw him, Cal. He barely even looks like himself. How long were they going to wait until they finally got him some help?”
He squeezed my shoulder gently, bringing my attention off the wall and back to him. “I agree. They let it go too far. But was shouting and using magic to enforce your will really the best way to handle that situation?”