Eyre looked at Kai, with a fascinated sparkle in her eyes. She absolutely loved his name. Kai shrugged at her excitement and curled up again on the stool, with legs crossed and body turned to the side. She could not help but repeat his name in her thoughts while smiling to herself. 

This little detail was not much, but it gave Kai a certain feeling of warmth, now that he was no longer known just as the unknown demon that had possessed her in order to survive. 

Eyre knew what her mother went through before she died and when she looked at Kai, she was reminded of the stories of less painful days that her mother had written about in a journal before she died. At the very least she hoped that this encounter would be different. Her thoughts then flashed back to one of the most horrific memories she had and before she realised it, it felt like her heart sank into her stomach with heavy palpitations. Anxiety crept up along her spine forcing her to shift her focus onto her breathing. 

Kai noticed the shift in Eyre’s heartbeat and turned his head in confusion. With a clenched fist over her stomach, she only managed to take in two shivering breaths before a pair of warm hands covered her ears. The whirlpool of a nightmare that ran on repeat faded into silence and pulled her attention back to reality. When she looked up she was greeted with a resentful expression. 

Kai resented this moment. More than being close to Eyre, he hated the sound of her unstable heartbeat. The fickle, confused and fluttering little heart rang like an echo in his ears and shook him to the core. Eyre understood absolutely nothing apart from the fact that everything seemed to calm down, the nightmare was gone and so was the pain. 

The moment Kai let her go again he wobbled backwards until he could seek support from the vanity table. The same fluttering heart that he had just listened to kept ringing, and seemed to have shaken up his own heart. He frowned and glared at her, wanting to vent at her for being too careless with her emotions when he was caught by reality; If she did not already have a death wish, he would have threatened to take control of her body once more. 

The snug feeling of Eyre’s slender arms wrapped around his waist and sent his senses on fire. His knuckles turned white from holding onto the edge of the vanity table. The wood crumbled bit by bit in his grip and he gritted his teeth visibly trying to hold onto what little self-control he had left. Eyre was in tears of relief and snuggled her face into his chest unaware of the struggle that Kai was currently going through. 

“Thank you, Kai!” She exclaimed, not knowing what was to come. 

“Let go…” He growled at her and felt how his body was trembling from the tension that had built up. 

With no immediate response, Kai was left with no other choice but to vanish. Eyre almost tripped over herself if it had not been for the vanity table. Surprised by his sudden disappearance she turned on her heel scouting the room for his presence, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Kai had sought refuge on top of the canopy bed frame disguised as a tiny shadow. Right underneath the ceiling, there was enough space for him to hide and to his advantage, the bed was classic and sturdy in design. The curtains draped in a soft sway and tied to each pillar.

Glaring down from his spot, Kai struggled to come to terms with this unfamiliar experience. He had never in his life felt his core shake this way and even when something similar had shown up he had never lost his cool about it. It had never been an issue for him before, and it was not something he had had to deal with before either. 

Eyre called out to him once more and sighed, feeling defeated, left behind, and confused. On top of the tormenting social gathering and Kai’s appearance, it felt like everything was out to get her. She picked up the journal from the nightstand with a heavy on the way downstairs, maybe putting it all into words would help ease her mind a bit. 

Of course, as a demon linked to his host, Kai had to stay as close as possible when he was hiding, so while Eyre headed out he was forced to creep along the panels, hiding behind every object he met on his way. 

When Eyre finally sat down in the large velvety armchair, Kai snuck in underneath it and lurked from around the corners. She took out a pen and started writing. Full of curiosity, he remained on top of the armchair’s high backrest, but he could not even begin to decipher her cursive handwriting.

***

Hours went by and the sun settled in a sharp warm orange shade. The entire room was covered in a cosy glow. Luckily the high back of the armchair had ears sticking out on the top part as part of the neck rest and created a shadow for Eyre to hide in. 

Only Kai, who was resting on top of the armchair, was disturbed by the sharp light. He frowned with a vengeful grimace and returned to his normal form; a human with demonic features. He stepped lightly around the chair and halted as soon as he had an unclouded vision of her complexion. Eyre’s long lashes rested peacefully, and her breath was soft and calm, much more than before. 

It was in moments like these, he felt fully exposed to his nature. Just looking at her like this made him uneasy, because he knew how easy it would be to end her life and be on with his life, yet he did everything he could to hold back on himself, not fully understanding the motive behind such a mortal conviction. He knew what he stood to gain if he managed to hold out for at least a week. However, that also depended on her willingness to follow along with his request. Staying idle about it would only take away the only chance he had of escaping this town.

Out of courtesy, he found himself sitting on the puff in front of her, with arms crossed in defence. He pondered deeply over whether he should wake her up or not and as impatient as he was, he reached out, intending to wake her up when the loud noise of an old phone started ringing persistently from the hallway. 

Eyre woke up and shrieked in defence and Kai jumped in surprise. The ringing stopped before Eyre could manage to get up from the chair. She sighed annoyed by the disturbance before she noticed Kai sitting in front of her.

“You’re back?” She gazed at him all confused, saying that she had no idea as to how he was able to come and go as he pleased. 

For the first time, Kai leaned forward voluntarily and almost stared her down with a firm and stern gaze. 

“I’m back?” He grinned, not knowing if he was to laugh or feel slightly insulted. “A demon never leaves his prey all alone.” Neither confirming nor denying whether it was a declaration of hunger for her, he tried to keep a neutral position. He had already told her that she would survive this and that was a truth he did not want to take away from her, not yet at least. 

Eyre sent him a warm smile. For her, it was a simple matter of knowing what to expect. Loyalty was an important thing for her since none of the housekeepers had ever responded to her wishes. They had been planted by her uncle since her father spent his time away from home with work. As such, she had sometimes resorted to tricks and pranks to get the housekeepers to leave. With time, she had come to learn about the most basic chores around the house. She had learned to keep things neat and clean, although the corners of the house could use a more loving hand. There was no need to question Kai’s motives. To her, it was enough to know that he was not sent here to boss her around. Just knowing that he was not connected to her uncle already gave him a safe pass to move around as he pleased.

“I honestly don’t mind that.” She replied and got up from her chair. 

Kai instantly got up as well and stepped back to keep a safe distance. This time though, Eyre took notice of it and gave him a puzzled look over his behaviour. This time she was not gonna let it slide. 

“Don’t worry, I will mind my manners from now on.” Her words were sincere but still coated in a thin layer of spite. The fact that he wanted to avoid all forms of physical contact with her only made her doubt his intentions. 

Kai froze on the spot, dumbfounded at the way she chose to phrase it. It gave him a gnawing feeling in his stomach. If she knew what would become of her if he lost his wits for even just a second, then she would not take it lightly. He was conflicted and about to lose his mind, but he needed her and could not afford to act carelessly. He was willing to submit to the point where she could find comfort and yet this is what he got in return. He frowned, feeling the anger crawl up his spine. Seeing the back of her silhouette made him snap and within mere seconds he placed himself in the way of her path to the kitchen.