Lesson 145- It’s okay to take some time to think before making big decisions.

“Rowen Bloodreaper.” He answers and I pause. What? But I LIKE her. I suppose she and her husband DID say that she hunts down dangerous magical people. She described herself as an assassin. I kind of want to hate her, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. She didn’t hurt his parents, and when we spoke, she didn’t seem to hate Tori either. Maybe she’s just doing her job? Still… I don’t like it. Torin notices my brooding.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind her visiting. I was afraid of her at first, but now I find it… Reassuring.” he comments. I raise an eyebrow and he explains.
“Every time she visits and leaves without incident, I’m reassured that I’m nothing like my parents. That I’m not screwing things up. Not too badly at least.” He adds. I smile up at him.
“That’s such a positive way to look at things.” I tell him approvingly and Torin shrugs, apparently uncomfortable with the praise.
“You know you’re not like your parents, right?” I say gently. Torin gives a slow nod. But I feel like there is a part of him that doesn’t really believe it. That’s okay, for now I’ll believe it for him.
“Tori… Is your only argument against making a bargain with me that you’re worried what your magic might do?” I confirm and he gives a half shrug.
“That and you would have to agree to something that stops Solem from taking you. You CAN have two contracts with different demons at once as long as the terms don’t contradict each other. Any contract that stopped him wouldn’t be some short-term, temporary thing.” He reminds me.
“I know that, but we would get to choose the terms ourselves, right? I’m sure we could think up something acceptable.” I conclude.
“But the magic…” Torin trails off anxiously.
“I am about ninety-nine percent sure that it will be totally fine, Tori. I’m willing to take that risk.” I tell him firmly. He frowns, clearly displeased. I can see him searching around for another argument. Or another solution. He draws a blank, but I start to feel guilty. I feel like I’m pressuring him into something he isn’t comfortable with purely to benefit myself.
“You don’t have to make a bargain with me if you really don’t want to Tori. We can try to find other options if you really think that it isn’t a good idea. I just want you to know that I have no objection to it, so maybe just… Consider it?” I suggest. Torin has been getting increasingly tense, but at my comment the tension drains from him and his shoulders loosen up. He nods emphatically.
“Yes. That’s okay. I’ll… I’ll sleep on it. Then maybe I can make a decision.” He decides.

I suddenly remember that he admitted to struggling when under pressure. Pushing him to make a decision immediately was probably freaking him out. Right now I’m safe. And while crashing at Torin’s place definitely isn’t a long-term solution, we don’t need to have all the answers right this second. I can afford to give him a little bit of time to think it all through. The fact that he’s agreed to consider it at all means that he is wavering. He was adamant that he would never make a bargain with me last time we brought it up. I suspect that after thinking it through a little bit, he will decide to go through with it. Unless he or someone else thinks up a better plan, but I don’t really see that happening anytime soon. Briefly, I wonder if I could call Rowen and ask her to look into Solem. Maybe he’s breaking enough rules to send the magical cops after him. But I’m sure she’s aware of him, and if she hasn’t already targeted him then he’s probably not done enough to get himself executed. Besides, he DOES have a legitimate contract with my dad. It might be sketchy because I never agreed to it. But rules seem to be pretty different in this community and no one batted an eyelid at the idea that my dad could basically sell me off, so I doubt that would be enough to negate the bargain. I really need to learn more about the rules that these people seem to live their lives by because I am definitely missing a lot of information. Is there a magical lawyer I can talk to? Or some other expert? Honestly, if anyone was going to be a magical lawyer, it would probably be a demon. They all seem to have a bit of a hangup on micromanaging the details and picking apart the exact phrasing of a sentence.

I’ve been sitting here sort of zoned out while I’ve been thinking, but I must look tired or something because Tori clears his throat, stands up then holds out a hand to help me up. I let him help me to my feet, then he tugs me into a bedroom. Now this is the only room that actually looks kind of lived in, with a few books on the bedside table and a little bit of normal household clutter.
“I don’t have a spare room here. I never saw any reason to have one since I never have any guests. But you can sleep here. I know it’s early, but you’ve had a long night.” He prompts, gesturing towards the bed, his bed. I frown.
“But what about you? Where are you going to sleep?” I object. He shrugs.
“I can sleep on the couch if I need to. But I will probably be awake for a while. Blame the adrenaline.” He reasons. I’m still not totally convinced.
“But… You’re hurt. I can’t kick you out of your own bedroom.” I say guiltily.
“It’s fine. Really. It’s still too early for me to sleep. Besides, we can’t exactly open the bar tomorrow. So if I need to sleep a bit while you hang around here, it’s no big deal.” He concludes. I raise an eyebrow.
“Here I thought you would want to run back to the bar to start fixing it up.” I point out. He shrugs.
“You’re here now. The bar can wait.” He decides and I smile. There he goes being all sweet again. I relent.
“Fine, I’ll get some rest. But you need to take care of your injuries, okay? Make sure to put some ice on them or something.” I order. Torin nods.
“Alright.” He hesitates, then leans in and pulls me into a loose hug, clearly making sure that I can pull away if I want to. I don’t. He pulls away, then leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

I perch on the edge of the bed, not quite ready to sleep yet. I’m in Torin’s bedroom. Not only does this confirm with like, one hundred percent certainty that he trusts me, it gives me a chance to be a little nosy. I’m not going to go rummaging around everywhere or anything. But there’s no harm in taking a look at what books he’s reading, right? I pick up the book on top of the pile and immediately fumble it. I try to catch it but I only grab part of the cover. The book falls open and a piece of paper flutters out of it and onto the floor. Damn, I think I just dropped his bookmark. I’ll have to apologise later. Hopefully he remembers where he’s up to. I put the book down and kneel to retrieve his bookmark. I realise the bookmark is actually a photo… Of me? What the hell? I don’t even know exactly when it was taken. But I’m working behind the bar and it looks like I’m handing a drink over to someone. Torin must have snapped it on his phone at some point while I was working. He also apparently went to the effort of printing it out and is using it as a bookmark. I must look ridiculous because I’m fairly sure I have a silly grin plastered on my face. Screw it, with butterflies fluttering through my stomach, I rush out to find Tori.