HARLOW

I sigh as I flip through the pages of the textbooks that Karmine dropped off earlier along with my list of assignments. I find myself surprised to hear knocking at my door and I look up from the book I'm currently reading as I lie on my stomach on the floor.

"Come in," I call out and the door opens to reveal Azusa.

"Hey," he frowns and shoves his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door and closing it. "So...I was hoping I could talk to you about before."

"Sure," I nod and close my book, sitting up so that I'm sitting cross-legged as Azusa comes further in and sits across from me, "what's up?"

"So," Azusa rubs the back of his neck, "when I first drank Oz's blood a few months ago when the first incident happened, I was able to figure out what was really wrong with him. That was the whole reason I wanted to try it in the first place. I wanted to know if I could find out the truth, and I wanted to try to help Oz."

"What?" I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "Then why haven't you said anything?"

"Because the truth is that Oz isn't sick," Azusa shakes his head. "The reason that me drinking his blood helps him is because I'm sucking the venom out of his bloodstream."

"Venom?" I frown. "Azusa, what are you talking about?"

"I noticed that Oz started getting sick once he started seeing Ryker, which made me incredibly suspicious of him. When he mentioned his father was a demon but that he didn't inherit his abilities, I started to realize what was happening. Then, when I drank his blood and sensed the venom in his bloodstream, I fully confirmed it," Azusa explains. "Ryker lied, Harlem. He did inherit his father's abilities, and he's using them to take advantage of Oz."

"Are you saying..?" My breath hitches in my throat.

"Yeah..." Azusa nods. "Ryker is an incubus and he's manipulating him with his magic. Ryker's also abusive verbally, making Oz feel worthless before he cheers Oz up, making Oz feel like only Ryker can bring him happiness. Oz also does whatever Ryker wants him to."

"That's terrible," I frown, feeling Oz's pain.

"Oz is my best friend and I really hate seeing this happen to him, but he won't believe me," Azusa sighs. "He has to witness Ryker slipping up in person with his own eyes, without being influenced by Ryker's magic. Everett believes me, and Alec seems like he might believe me, but I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry," I smile hopefully, "we'll get through this. I'll help you with whatever you need, and I promise I'll help look out for Oz."

"Thank you," Azusa smiles warmly before it fades. "That's why...earlier when I grabbed your wrist to stop you from entering Everett's room and I saw that look on your face...I knew you'd understand."

"Yeah..." I breathe out, not wanting to think about Jonathan.

"I don't know what happened to you, but I'm really sorry," Azusa says, frowning as he stands up.

"Thanks," I smile sadly at him and he nods before he heads to the door. "We'll help him, I promise."

"Thanks for listening. I'll see you around, Harlow," Azusa says before his expression softens. "And, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

"Thank you, Azusa," I say, feeling grateful to have him as a friend. "You can always come to me, too."

With a small yet grateful smile, Azusa heads out the room and I'm left back with my studies, and I frown as I ponder Oz's situation. I really hope everything turns out okay. I feel so badly for Oz and I want to try to help him in any way that I can. Ryker's a horrible person, and I really hope Oz gets away from him soon.

I decide to work on my studies for a few more hours in the meantime, learning about world history and geography before I decide to head down and see if anyone's made dinner since it's around six now. As I make my way to the kitchen, I pass Caesar and Aithne playing video games in the living room and I smile as they shout and tease each other. Once I make my way to the kitchen and push open the door, I blink in surprise at the scene before me.

A brown haired man is asleep on the counter, and his black v-neck is pushed up slightly to reveal the beginning of his abs while his light grey jeans are full of tears. I swallow thickly, not missing the black devil's tail that he has, and I wonder if I should slowly back out of the room as if I never entered. Suddenly, his blue eyes fly open and he sits up, stretching his arms lazily before he meets my gaze, his expression bordering the line between irritated and disinterested. As I find myself wondering what to do, I almost stumble forwards when the kitchen door swings open behind me and someone walks in, bumping into my back.

"Wha—" Caesar starts before his eyes land on the brunette and he sighs, "oh. Hello, Everett."

Everett grunts and pushes passed us after jumping down off of the counter, his eyes flickering across my figure briefly on the way out, his hands shoved in his pockets. I turn to watch his receding figure as Caesar sighs and walks further into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and grabbing out a bag of potato chips and a large, purple, ceramic bowl.

"What was that about?" I ask.

"Everett doesn't really talk much even when he's not in his room," Caesar sighs. "You get used to it. Don't mind his overly sunny disposition."

"Overly sunny?" I snort. "That's sarcasm, right?"

"Of course. Have you met me?" Caesar snorts in return and heads back to the living room area, taking the snacks with him for him and Aithne.

My eyes flicker over to the half gone bottle of whiskey that's sitting on the counter where Everett was and a part of me wonders if he was out fighting last night and passed out in the kitchen. I then raise my right palm and watch as flames dance delicately around my fingers, my mind wondering if Everett could possibly help me. I sigh and lower my hand back down, the flames dispersing as I look around the kitchen and get back on the task of making dinner.

I decide to make spaghetti, looking for the pasta and grabbing a box of noodles before I find two cans of sauce from a cabinet and some meat that's stored in the fridge. I then rummage around the kitchen for pots and pans, humming as I begin to make dinner.

"What's this?" Karmine's eyebrows raise whenever he walks into the kitchen, his tails swaying happily at the smell of food while his ears twitch.

"I'm making spaghetti," I say with a smile and Karmine nods appreciatively.

"Would you like some help?" Karmine asks.

"Sure," I say and Karmine rolls up his sleeves.

Karmine and I finish making dinner, chatting and getting to know each other better throughout the process. I end up learning that Karmine really loves art, cooking, and anything involving aesthetics, which includes his love of fashion. He also loves being in nature. He seems as if he wants to elaborate more on that, but he stops himself with a smile and changes the subject. Karmine is usually the one who makes dinner, aside from Aithne, who occasionally makes the meals, which is what he was going to do when he found me already making dinner.

After dinner's done, everyone begins to gather in the dining room one by one, which includes Caesar, Aithne, Azusa, Alecsander, Oz, Karmine, and I. In the middle of dinner, everyone suddenly goes silent when Everett walks in and takes one of the empty seats, sitting beside Alecsander.

"What?" Everett raises a brow whenever he begins piling spaghetti on his plate, everyone else watching him in shock.

It's then that I notice Everett is the only one of us with a different accent, his sounding Welsh. After Everett speaks, everyone suddenly focuses their attention back on their plates and decides to act as if nothing's strange about the situation. I sneak a few brief glances at Everett and I find myself surprised to find him looking straight back at me with intense blue eyes, seemingly studying me.

About an hour or so later, everyone's mostly left except for Everett, Azusa, and me. I watch as Everett stands up and heads away. I send Azusa a glance, silently asking if he can take care of the dishes. Azusa sighs and waves me off, which makes me smile gratefully. I end up following Everett, curious to learn more about him.

Everett walks upstairs but keeps going beyond the bedrooms. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion when he comes to a set of locked doors that I never bothered to ask about, thinking it might've been Oz's parents bedroom. Everett pulls a key out of his pocket and unlocks the brown wooden doors that have black iron decals all over them and black iron framing, pushing open the doors to reveal the dark nighttime and a balcony. He then goes over to the right and seemingly disappears.

I quietly follow after him and once I reach the balcony I realize that there's a stone ladder built into the balcony. The balcony itself overlooks a giant rose garden with multiple stone fountains and pathways, a stone pavilion near the end of the garden. I slide down the ladder and land on the stone pathway, walking around the garden in awe at how beautiful it is, red lush roses and green hedges everywhere. Somehow managing to lose sight of Everett after landing, I wander around the garden silently, looking around and listening to the nighttime birds chirp and the crickets, the vibrant and full moon lighting up the black sky full of stars.

I reach out to touch one of the roses, buds of dew lying on its red luscious petals and I smile. I continue wandering around until I'm in about the middle of the garden and I look back to the mansion, noticing that I'm able to see most of it from this distance. I frown when I notice there's a tower with a lit up room, one that I've never seen before, and I can see someone's shadow in the window. A light melodic humming drifts out into the garden and I stare up at the window, my breath hitching.

"You shouldn't be out here," Everett's voice snaps me out of my trance and I jolt in surprise, turning to see him standing behind me.

"I just..." I trail off, unsure of what to tell him.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go back inside," Everett sighs and grabs ahold of my arm, dragging me back to the balcony.

I frown as I watch his back while he drags me off and my eyes flicker down to his left wrist and I'm able to see a small black tattoo that's scrawled over it, but I'm unable to tell what it is from here and in the darkness. I wonder, just who is Everett and what is he hiding deep down inside? I'm determined to find out.