Lesson 134- Going to bed early sometimes is good for you.

“Tori… Are you basically saying you plan to threaten my brother into keeping your secret by explaining that you’re holding me hostage?” I ask bluntly. Torin blinks in shock.
“What? No! Of course not. I just meant that if you ask him to keep it a secret, he probably will. You two are very close after all. He was the only person you wanted to tell when you found out. I assume that since you already know, he likewise wouldn’t really have any reason to tell everyone.” He explains. I raise an eyebrow.
“Are you saying that you trust I won’t go telling anyone everything now?” I ask. Torin slowly nods.
“Well… Yes. I suppose so.” He admits, somewhat reluctantly.
“So that means you could get Laura to remove the binding spell, right? Really it was only to stop me from chasing after my brother anyway.” I point out. Torin hesitates, clearly uncomfortable.
“Well… I suppose you’re right…” He trails off. I smile at his admission.
“And it’s not like I’m going to go running off right away while someone is after me.” I continue. Torin slowly nods. He definitely isn’t loving this conversation.
“And after what happened with Richard, we know the spell is pretty dangerous for me too.” I remind him.
“I guess so.” Torin answers grumpily. I grin at him. Finally, he isn’t arguing. I’m going to get this spell taken off of me. I open my mouth, intending to ask him to call Laura over so I can find out what’s involved. But before I can, Damien interrupts. Clearly he has no idea that we’re having a kind of important discussion. Sigh.
“So, Torin. You’re a demon, huh?” Damien starts. Torin tenses up and I can tell that this is exactly the kind of conversation he hoped to avoid having, particularly with my brother. He is preparing to run, or to be insulted and yelled at. And being who he is, he wouldn’t try to defend himself either. If my brother starts making accusations or something, I am fairly sure that Torin would just stand there and take it. I know that he is actually really concerned about what my brother thinks of him. Even if he does have a poker face plastered on to hide it.
“Yes.” Torin answers flatly. Damien nods.
“That’s pretty cool. Eli tells me you’re really into bargains and stuff. Do a lot of demons become lawyers? Because that would definitely make sense.” He wonders aloud. Torin blinks in shock at Damien’s question and friendly attitude and I smile.
“Are you not… Bothered that I’m a demon? That I’ve been forcing your sister to stay here?” Torin asks. It’s like he’s trying to self-sabotage and point out all the reasons Damien should dislike him. Dami just shrugs.
“Look, I don’t pretend to understand everything that’s happened here, and when you put things that way, yeah it does sound pretty bad. But that’s not all that you’ve done, is it. You’ve saved my sister’s life, on more than one occasion it seems and while you might have wronged her, she seems to have forgiven you. She says you’re her friend and I know that my sister is a great judge of character. She learned young and she learned fast how to read people’s intentions. She knows better than to stay close to a violent or aggressive man and she wouldn’t be nearly as fond of you as she seems to be if you were as bad as you describe yourself to be. So as for my opinion of you. Rina has known you longer than me and has had more chances to make up her mind. I trust Rina, so I trust you.” Damien explains. Torin stares and I can see the slightest hint of a smile. He’s definitely relieved. He probably thought he WAS going to have to threaten my brother into complying.

Once he made his opinion clear, Damien returned to peppering Torin with endless questions. He isn’t quite as tactful as me, but Torin doesn’t seem especially bothered by it all. I think he’s so relieved he would tell Damien pretty much anything he wants to know at this point. Eventually though, Damien runs out of questions and starts sharing some stories of his own (with Eli eagerly listening in. He isn’t quite brave enough to join the conversation, but he is definitely paying attention.) The thing is, Damien tells stories about the only thing he and Torin really have in common. Me. He is halfway through his third consecutive embarrassing story about my teenage years when I decide to intervene.
“Hey Dami. It’s getting kind of late and you’re injured. You should really try to get some rest. You can stay here with me for a bit, right Tori?” I interrupt. Torin nods along agreeably but he seems disappointed. I think he was enjoying story time with my big brother. I thought I wanted the two of them to get along but the reality is far less pleasant and a lot more embarrassing than I expected it to be. Laura takes my cue and nods along, bless her.
“Yeah, since it doesn’t look like we’re opening tonight after all, we might as well all get some proper rest, right Kyle?” She prompts him and Kyle of course nods and follows along with what Laura suggests. One day, she is going to figure out that he is totally besotted with her, and I really just can’t wait, particularly now that I know she likes him too and will actually be happy about it. Laura and Kyle leaving obviously prompts Eli that he should head home too, but he’s a little more reluctant. He tries to play it cool, but he is failing miserably.
“It’s not that late… We could have another drink. Or watch a movie or something. Oh, everyone could stay and we could make a night out of it. Like a slumber party or something!” He suggests eagerly. I fight the urge to laugh.
“Eli there aren’t enough places for people to sleep. Besides, Dami is probably tired. He’s had a long day and he’s a bit beat up. He should rest.” I point out. Eli’s eyes momentarily go wide and he looks a little bit guilty.
“Oh! Of course. I was being ridiculous. I’m an idiot. Of course he should rest.” Eli stammers out. He seems so different to the smooth and flirtatious guy he was the first night we met. Apparently being actually invested in someone makes him nervous. How adorable. Damien smiles politely and reaches out to pat Eli on the arm.
“I’m sure we will all get other chances to hang out. Maybe once we know Rina is safe we can all have a proper get together.” He suggests kindly. Eli nods dumbly, his eyes focussed on where Damien touched his arm. He doesn’t resist as Torin shows him to the door, glancing back at where Damien and I are waving goodbye. A few seconds after he leaves, I get a text from him.

Loverboy- I forgot to say, if anything happens or you need help with this whole demon issue, text me at any time.

Loverboy- Tell your brother that he can text me too.

Loverboy- I mean it.

I smile and text back.

Rina- Thanks Eli. I appreciate your willingness to help, even if it IS just because you want a chance to flirt with my brother.

Loverboy- Do you think he likes me? Has he said anything about me?

Rina- Relax. You left like two minutes ago. If he says anything I think you should know, I’ll be sure to tell you. Goodnight Eli.

Loverboy- :/ Fine. Goodnight Rina.