Page 31 of Demon
“I might skip it and have an early night with Sammy. It’s been a big day, but tell Ava I said thank you.”
He gives me a chin lift. “Night.”
Asking him to stay with us is on the tip of my tongue. I glance at the floor but feel silly for even considering asking him to drag his mattress into the room. “You promise to keep your bedroom door unlocked?” I curse myself. “I feel safe when you’re close by,” I add. Not that being in the clubhouse has made me feel unsafe for any reason.
A soft expression lightens his face. “I promise.”
ELEVEN
DEMON – SPLASHING COLOR
Demon
The soundof footsteps wake me up. I open my eyes to see sunshine filtering through my window and Ivy standing by the door. “Is everything all right?” I ask, my voice husky from sleep.
She cringes. “Sorry for waking you,” she says quietly. “I just wanted to see if it was okay to go downstairs and make Sammy and me some breakfast.”
“Yes, that’s fine.” I begin to sit up, and she puts her hand out.
“It’s okay, I’ll get it. You go back to sleep.”
“Mom,” I hear a chirpy voice say.
“Yes,” Ivy replies over her shoulder. “I’ll be right there.”
“Mommm.”
A little girl with brown locks, the living image of her mother with a dash of freckles on her nose, bounces into my room holding a ratty old unicorn. I’ll have to get her another one. It looks like it smells.
“Please keep your voice down,” says Ivy. “People are still asleep.”
She takes no notice of her mother. Her little eyes wander around my room. I don’t miss the scrunch of her nose.
“This is your bedroom?”
I nod.
She looks perplexed. “Why is it so boring?”
“Sammy!” Ivy chastises.
I’m happy when Sammy doesn’t allow me to respond and cuts right on in. “I’ll give you some of my stuffed animals to put in your room to add some color. Maybe we should paint your walls, too?”
I stare, amused. Her and her mother’s pajamas are currently the only color in my room, and that does not surprise me one bit. It’s also who they are. They have the types of personalities that brighten every place they go.
Ivy just shakes her head and peers at me. “I’m sorry.”
“What color should I paint my walls?” I ask Sammy.
She pouts. “Definitely pink... maybe rainbow.”
Ivy snorts, then coughs, hiding her laugh.
“Hmm... how about we go get you some breakfast,” I suggest, knowing waking up to pink and a rainbow of colors every morning would be a hard pill to swallow.
“Is Ava cooking?” Sammy asks me with one brow raised.
“We can wait until she wakes up if you want. She makes breakfasts most mornings.”
