Demons 👿 part 5

Read the other parts first. Sorry for all the time skips.

"No, Arlo!" I yell. 

It’s been over a year since we escaped the fate giants. We’ve been traveling by car and living in it, too. We found out Chase has a power where he can manipulate what people think. He’s saved us from being arrested at least five times.

Blaze is very protective of all of us. Apparently, his teeth are deadly to the angels. He’s saved us a lot , too.

We’ve seen all kinds of creatures I never knew existed before. Some are kind, and some wanted to eat us. I am immune to fire, which has been helpful.

Arlo is very persistent, and he somehow always gets his way. Chase and I can’t say no to him. Like now.

“Why not?” He asks, following me. Chase is sitting on the top of the car, watching us.

I turn and look at him. “It doesn’t work that way!”

“Then how does it work?” He asks.

I close my eyes. “Not like that.”

“But I want a kid!” He says.

I sigh. “Arlo, we can’t raise a kid. We’re living in a car. We’re being chased by angels that want to kill us.”

“We’ll get a house!”

“How?”

“Chase can do his magic thing!”

“And what about the angels?”

“We just...make sure the kid doesn’t know!”

“Arlo…”

“Please!”

“We’d be terrible parents.”

“We wouldn’t!”

“How would we even get a kid?”

“We can adopt one!”

“They’d never let us adopt a kid.”

“Chase can do his magic thing!”

“Arlo-”

“Please?”

I drag a hand over my face. We can’t take care of a child. They would be in so much danger. But I still can’t tell him no.

“Fine.” I say. “But they have to be human.”

He cheers, and runs back to tell Chase. I sigh. This is seriously not a good idea.

👿

Two years later, we’re living in a huge three story house, and we’ve officially adopted a small three year old girl Arlo insisted on naming Esma. She has short curly black hair, and olive skin. Arlo promised we wouldn’t let her know anything was different about us, so he hid his horns, and Blaze looks like a dog. We agreed not to tell anyone, either. Arlo took care of everything.

Esma has a huge room she probably doesn’t need. We decided to take turns watching the house for angels, and right now it’s my turn. Blaze hates to sleep, so he’s with me. It’s the only time he’s allowed to fly, so I’m throwing a stick for him to catch while I sit on a bench.

“Jackson?” Someone says from the door. Chase.

I turn to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?” He asks, sitting next to me.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“You’re lying.” He notices.

I glance at him. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

I sigh. “I don’t want Esma to be in danger.”

“She won’t be.”

“She is. Just living here is dangerous.”

“We’ll keep her safe.”

“What happens when we send her to school?”

“School?”

“Uh, yeah. She’s gonna have to go to school.”

“Why?” 

“Because she does.”

“When?”

“I don’t know, Chase.”

“Well, we’ll figure it out then.”

“Okay.”

“Is it weird that we haven’t seen an angel in weeks?” He says suddenly.

I nod. He’s right. “Maybe they gave up?”

“I doubt it.” He mutters. “Somethings wrong.”

“We’ll figure it out, okay?” 

He nods, and smiles at me. “Okay.”

The next morning I wake up in bed. I definitely didn’t go there myself, which means Chase or Arlo brought me. I guess I fell asleep again. I yawn, and get up. As I’m walking down the stairs, I hear arguing. I can hear Chase, but the other person isn’t Arlo. I rush down, and see Chase talking to a man that looks like an older version of him. Arlo’s sitting on the counter, watching them.

“Chase?” I say, coming up behind him.

He turns. “Hey, Jackson.”

“What’s going on?” 

He sighs. “This is my dad, Charlie.”

I look at the man. They look nearly identical. It’s creepy.

“Hi. Why are you here?” I ask. 

He seems surprised. “Can’t I see my granddaughter?”

“Chase!” I say, looking at him.

“I didn’t tell him!” 

“Then how does he know?”

“I’m right here, you know.” Charlie says.

I glance at him. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Would you shut up a minute?”

Before I know what’s happening, he pushes me against the wall, and has a knife to my throat.

“I’d watch myself if I were you.” He hisses.

I frown, and kick my knee into his stomach. He doubles over, and I push him to the ground. I bend over him, and smirk.

“I’d watch myself if I were you.” I say. 

Arlo laughs, and Chase snorts. Charlie scowls, and his arm shoots out towards me.

“Dad.” Chase snaps. Charlie makes a face, but backs away. “You can Esma some other time.”

He frowns. “Your mom will be disappointed.

“Then she should have come herself.” He says. 

Charlie stands, and brushes his suit off. “I’ll be back soon.” He walks out the door, and Chase shuts it behind him. 

“Sorry.” He says to us. “My dad’s annoying.”

“My dad’s worse.” Arlo says.

I shake my head. “My mom is definitely worse.”

“Let’s agree to be better parents for Esma than ours were for us.” Chase suggests.

I smile. “Yeah.”

“Speaking of Emsa, shouldn’t someone go check on her?” Arlo says.

I nod. “I’ll go.”

I walk up the stairs again, and stop at her room. I push open the door quietly, in case she’s still asleep. My eyes widen. 

“Chase! Arlo!” I yell. There’s an angel climbing through the window. I don’t have any weapons on me, so I grab the broom that was in there. 

The angels all the way in now, and it hisses at me. I run at it, swinging the broom. The handle connects with its head, and it collapses. I shut the window, and go to Esma. She’s awake, but looks fine. 

What happened?” Chase asks as they run in. His eyes widen. “Are you okay?” He goes over to the angel, pulling out a knife.

I nod. “Yeah. I’m just glad I got here in time.”

“This is all my fault.” Arlo whispers. Chase and I both look at him. He’s about to cry.

We rush over to him. “Don’t cry, it’s not your fault.” I say.

“It is. She’s in danger because of me.” He sniffs.

Chase puts his hands on Arlo’s shoulders. “Arlo, it is not your fault.”

Esma reaches for Arlo. I hand her to him. He smiles.

“It’s okay.” I assure him.

He nods. “We have to keep her safe.”

“Okay.” We agree.

👿

That’s how it went for the next seven years. At least one of us was with her all the time. Charlie finally gave up on seeing her. She calls Chase Dad, Arlo Papa, and me Jack.

She still needs to go to an actual school, even though Arlo didn’t want her to. He insisted on homeschooling her. She’s pretty smart for a ten year old, but she hasn’t met another child. Today’s her first day of fifth grade, and Arlo’s freaking out.

“What if something happens? We won’t be there!” He says, walking around the kitchen.

I sigh. “It’ll be fine.”

“What if it won’t be?” 

“Would you calm down and eat?” I ask.

He grumbles something, and sits down. Esma’s upstairs with Chase getting ready. I can hear them coming down the stairs, and Esma burst into the kitchen.

“Guess what!” She says, her eyes glowing with excitement.

I smile. “What?”

“I’m going to school!” She squeals.

I laugh, as she bounces around the kitchen. She’s reminded us at least twenty times this week. Her hair is longer now, and Chase managed to put it in a small bun.

“Eat your cereal so we can go.” Chase says, sitting next to me.

She shovels the food into her mouth, and Chase turns to me and Arlo. “My brother works at the school. He’ll watch over her.”

We nod, and Arlo looks relieved. Esma finishes her food, and hops up.

“Can we go now?” She asks. 

I nod, getting up. “Go get your shoes on.”

“Okay!”

ESMA’S POV:

I run to put on my shoes, and Jack follows me. I still can’t believe that they’re letting me go to school! They never let me do anything by myself. I think they’re hiding something, but I don’t know what.

We all get in the car and Papa starts driving us. When we park, I see lots of other kids going inside. 

“What if nobody likes me?” I ask.

They smile at me. “It’ll be fine. You’ll make lots of friends.” Papa says.

“If something happens tell your teacher, okay?” Dad says.

I nod, and open the door. “Love you!”I hop down, and grab my backpack. I close the door behind me, and head to the door. 

“Bye Es!” I hear. I turn, and see Dad leaning out the window waving. I laugh, and wave back as Jack pulls him back.

I stop at the door where a woman with rectangle glasses is standing.

“Whose class are you in?” She says, smiling.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Well, what’s your name?” She asks, looking at her clipboard.

Soon, I’m being led to a classroom. When we stop, she walks away. I walk inside, and look around. There are lots of other kids in there, all being loud. There’s a man that looks like Papa talking to a boy, and I walk over to him.

“Hi!” He says cheerfully. “What’s your name?”

I smile up at him. “I’m Esma!”

“Oh, Esma, yes. I’m your teacher, Mr. Chance!” He gestures to the boy he was talking to. “This is Ryan. Do you guys want to go find a seat?”

I glance at Ryan. He has curly brown hair, and dark skin. He's much shorter then me. He smiles, and I nod.

“C’mon!” I say. We go to an empty table, and start talking. 

“Hey.” A voice says. We look up. A girl is standing there. She has her long blonde hair in two neat braids. She crosses her arms. “I’m sitting there.” 

“Oh.” I say. “No, we are.”

She looks shocked. “No, you're not. I am.”

“Go away.” I tell her, turning back to Ryan.

She frowns, and pushes Ryan out of his chair. “No.”

“That’s it.” I mutter. I stand, and walk around the table. I stop in front of her, and slap her, hard.

Her mouth drops open in surprise. Her hand flies to her cheek. She marches away, towards Mr. Chance.

“Are you alright?” I ask Ryan, helping him up.

He nods. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“Esma, will you come outside please?” Mr. Chance calls. “Everyone else find your seats.”

I nod, and follow him out the door. He closes it. “Yes?”

“Why did you slap Angelica?” He asks me.

So that’s her name. “Because she pushed Ryan.”

“Why?” 

“She wanted his spot, and I said no.”

He nods. “Okay. She shouldn’t have pushed him. But, you shouldn’t have slapped her.”

“Okay.”

“If you promise not to slap her again, I won’t call your dads, okay?”

I nod. “I promise.”

“Okay, let’s go back in.” He says, pushing the door open.

 The rest of the class is quiet, and watch me go to my seat. 

“Are you in trouble?” Ryan whispers as Mr. Chance starts to talk to the class.

I shake my head. “No, he just told me not to slap her again.”

“Oh, okay, good.” He says.

“Who wants to go first?” Mr. Chance asks.

A boy on the other side of the room raises his hand. “I will!”

“Okay, Devin. Tell us about your family.” 

Everybody talks about their family. I’m confused. Most of them have moms, and just one dad. 

“Esma?” 

I blink. It’s my turn already? “Um, I live with my dads.”

“Dads?” One girl asks. I think her name is Lily?

I nod. “Yeah. My Papa, My Dad, and Jack!”

“Why do you have three dads?” Angelica asks. She looks disgusted.

I frown. “Because I do.”

“Well, it’s gross.” She huffs. 

“You’re just mad I’ve got three, and you only have one.” 

Her mouth drops open. “I am not!”

“You are!” I yell back.

We keep arguing until Mr. Chance stops us. “Girls, if you guys keep this up, I’m calling your parents.”

She crosses her arms, and looks away from me. When Mr. Chance turns, I stick my tongue out at her. She frowns, and I grin. 

Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. She’ll probably get really mad. But oh well.

👿

“What happened?”

That’s Papa. Mr. Chance called him after recess.

“Esma got in a fight.” He says. 

That’s true. I did. Angelica was messing with a girl, Faith, and I kicked her. She’s in the nurse's office now. Everyone else is still outside.

“WHAT?” That’s Papa.

Mr. Chance sighs. “I’ll let her tell you.”

“Hi.” I say into the phone.

“Esma, are you okay?” Papa asks.

“Yeah.”

“What happened?” Dad asks.

“Well, there was this girl, Angelica. This morning, she pushed my friend Ryan out of his chair.”

“You got in a fight over that?” Jack asks.

“No, I just slapped her then.”

“What?” Papa exclaims.

“Yeah. Then, when we were talking about our families, she asked me why I had three dads. She said it was gross.”

“So?” Dad says.

“I told her she was just jealous I have three dads and she just has one.”

I can hear Jack snort. “Nice.”

“How’d you get in a fight?” Dad asks. 

“During lunch, this girl took the last cookie. Angelica got mad at her, and was going to hurt her at recess. So I followed her, and kicked Angelica before she hurt Faith. Then Angelica tried to hit me, but I punched her eye. Then she pushed me on the ground, and scratched me. So I pulled her hair. Then-”

I stop because I hear Jack laughing really hard. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Dad says. “Do we need to come get you?”

I look at Mr. Chance, who nods. “Yeah.”

“Okay, will you give the phone back to your teacher?” He asks.

“Yeah. See you later!” I say before handing the phone back to him.

“Go ahead and get your stuff from the classroom.” Mr. Chance tells me.

I walk down the hall to the classroom. The door’s already open, so I go inside. 

“There you are.” A voice hisses. 

The door slams shut, and the lights turn off. I back into the wall, looking around. I can’t see anything. Suddenly, something grabs my arm.

I scream, and yank my arm away. I kick the air, and whoever’s there howls when my foot connects to something. I try the door, but it’s locked. I flick on the lights.

My eyes widen. There’s this person with huge white wings, and sharp claws. It’s claws are torn, and it has blood all over.

I scream, and back away. For some reason, it looks familiar. I can worry about that later. I dive out of the way as it lunges at me. I grab a chair, which is the closest thing to me, and I swing it towards the creature's head. It ducks, and comes at me. I swing again, this time hitting it’s leg. It growls, and limps towards me

Suddenly the door bursts open. My dads are standing there. Jack has a sword, and Dad has a knife. Papa grabs me, and pulls me out of there. He shuts the door.

“Are you alright? Did it hurt you?” He asks, his eyes filled with panic.

I nod. “I’m fine. What about Dad and Jack?”

“They’ll be fine.” He says, pulling me in his arms.

I hug him back. Mr. Chance jogs down the hallway towards us. “Are you okay, Esma?”

“I’m fine.” I say. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

The door opens, and Jack comes out. His shirt has a rip in it, and he has a black eye. The sword is gone. “It’s gone.”

“Jack!” I say. He smiles, and hugs me. 

He pulls me back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I assure him. How many times am I going to have to say that? 

He nods, and looks at Mr. Chance. “We’ve got to leave. Us being here puts the other kids in danger.”

“Go, I’ll handle the clean up.” He says, going inside the classroom.

Papa looks at Jack. “I told you this would happen.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He says.

“She could’ve gotten hurt!” 

“I know.”

“It’s not safe!”

“I know, okay?”

They’ve argued before, but not like this. Papa actually looks mad. 

“We just put her in danger, and-”

“Arlo, please! I know, okay? I know it’s dangerous, I know you knew this would happen, I know she’s not safe, okay? But we can’t keep her in the house her whole life!”

“Guys.” Dad says. His hands are stained with blood. They look away. “Let’s go home.”

We walk out of the school silently. When we get in the car, Papa sits in back with me. Blaze is inside, and I laugh as he licks my face. They’re quiet the whole ride, which scares me.

“Go change, okay?” Dad says when we get home. 

I nod, and run upstairs. When I go back, I hear Dad say, “We have to send her to the boarding school.”