━━ CHAPTER SIXTEEN / the loan
episode two, part five.

The five of them were all in the kitchen. Erin, Lucy and George had taken a seat at the table and Demi was in front of the kettle making herself a hot chocolate. She had grabbed a mug from the holders attached to the wall and had offered to make tea for the others but nobody had responded so she kept it for herself. She stood on the opposite side of the table to where the others were sitting as her fingers tapped against the wooden counters.

Lockwood had returned from grabbing a locket from the basement and was now standing a few steps from Demi, leaning back against the counter. The locket was where the ring would be staying for the foreseeable future. It was dangerous and it was one of the few things she was agreeing with Lockwood on.

"The ring stays in the basement until we take it to the furnaces," Lockwood explained as he glanced across the group. He was leaning against the counter which meant he couldn't see the relief that spread across Demi's face. It was hidden as she faced the wall, not really wanting to look at Erin or Lucy. The guilt had chewed her up and spat her out, making her nervous to even look at the girls.

The ring was important and clearly there was something more with Annabel but Demi didn't want anyone to get hurt. Both Lucy and Erin had been dangerously close to something and finding out what it was, was not in Demi's job description. She wanted to just go back to normal cases and being as careful as they could be with Lockwood in charge with how they acted.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed in response, "Why would we stop when we're just getting somewhere?" A small frown appeared on her lips. Demi grabbed the kettle now that it was finished boiling and poured it into her mug, on top of the hot chocolate powder. She tried to ignore the way her head swirled dangerously and the way her back ached with the weight of the kettle in her hand.

"We risked two lives already," Demi said as she walked to the other end of the kitchen to grab a fresh teaspoon since she had accidentally dumped the other one in the sink - on top of the plates from George's dinner the previous night.

"And we can't have any more pet projects. There's bills to pay," Lockwood added as he glanced over at Demi, watching her move. He could see the way she winced as she walked but she was trying her best to ignore how walking hurt. All he wanted to do was help her but she was stubborn and he knew that there was nothing that could be done.

"What bills?" George asked, his eyebrows furrowed. His words brought Lockwood back to the group and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a letter from his hoodie. A letter that he had gone into his room to grab before they had come downstairs. Demi had also seen him holding it when they left DEPRAC the previous day, not that she questioned it. She had been so caught up with her parents that everything else had turned into a messy blur of emotions. She realised now that she definitely should have. George took a hold of the letter first and the confusion spread across his face, "£60,000?" Demi dropped her teaspoon in her hot chocolate and walked over to George so she could look over his shoulder, skimming over what was written.

"What?" Lucy asked as she snatched the letter from George's hand. Demi looked up at Lockwood with a frown on her face. She looked like a kicked puppy and Lockwood was quick to avert his gaze. Demi turned around back to her drink on the side and Erin was looking at the letter over Lucy's shoulder.

"In two weeks? What the hell, Lockwood." Demi could already tell that an argument was bound to start and that was far from what she wanted. All she wanted was to go back to bed and all of this be a dream. It was too much. She had thought that running away from Fittes would make everything easier but it wasn't. Fittes had scarred her but she had never felt as crap as she did in that moment. The constant sharp pains from her back muscles was enough to send her into a breakdown.

"Why didn't you say something?" Lucy asked as she placed the letter down on the table. Erin picked up the letter and glanced over it before she also dropped it on the table again. Demi didn't even want to think about what was written on it. She didn't want to think about how much trouble they were probably in and how if her parents heard about this, then they would find her. And there would be no way she could justify staying with Lockwood other than her schoolgirl crush.

"Because it's my name on the door," Lockwood said simply as he leant back against the table. His hands crossed over his chest. Demi stared at him for a moment, completely baffled. He looked gorgeous in his casual clothes but she tried not to let it distract her. The zip-up hoodie and t-shirt look suited him well, much to her dismay, "It's my responsibility, I'll find a way." Demi scoffed and shook her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She took such a soft, vulnerable tone and she didn't even know what to think anymore. She had been right there when he had been given that fine. They could have worked it out together. Lockwood met the brunette's gaze but before he had the chance to say a thing, George spoke.

"How are we meant to pay this? We hardly break even when things are going well!" It was hard to miss how frustrated he was. Demi took a sip of her hot chocolate and just stared at the floor, unsure how to react. Everything she thought she could say fell flat and she didn't particularly want to say any of it in front of the other three..

"What about a loan? This place must be worth a bucketload," Lucy suggested but Demi shook her head, Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. Erin was looking around the group, curious and Demi briefly met her gaze but Demi couldn't bring herself to look too long. She had unintentionally nearly killed the Hampton girl. She had been ghost-locked. The fact she was even still here was baffling. She was here for Lucy but Lucy was fine now. Probably a little tired but they were fine, they were alive. Why she stayed with the people that had nearly killed her was something that Demi would never understand. The fact that she still was sitting in their kitchen was confusing. They had nearly killed a Hampton. It was too much for Demi and she took a sip of hot chocolate, trying not to think about it.

"This place is all that's left of my parents," Lockwood said softly. The vulnerability in his voice was a little jarring especially considering his pseudo-bravado a few moments earlier. It was emotional whiplash and Demi didn't know what to say.

"Plus he's already borrowed against it to set up the business," George explained. Demi nodded in agreement and took a long sip of her hot chocolate. She wanted to be more helpful but every idea that crossed her mind wouldn't work and she knew that. There was nothing she could do and she was not exactly the best with financials.

"I can get my family to loan to you," Erin suggested. Demi's head snapped to the Hampton girl - a sharp pain running through her back in retaliation - but she ignored it in favour of raising an eyebrow, "Or pay it all off if I ask nicely enough?" It was merely a suggestion but the look of offence that coated Lockwood's features at the suggestion made Demi write it off before she voiced any opinion. Lockwood had been plenty disagreeable tonight and she did not feel like getting into another debate.

When the silence seemed to permeate the room and Lockwood's face clearly voiced his displeasure, Erin added, "Listen, the Hampton's have the money for it." Demi sighed and placed the hot chocolate down on the counter.

"But that's a lot of money." Erin turned to look at Demi and there was a look that Demi couldn't quite discern.

"I just want to help Lu- you guys, especially with all the Annabel shit. Something brought me into it, and even if that means wasting all my family's money, I want to help." There was conviction to her words and Demi was convinced, that was until she looked over at Lockwood who somehow looked even more annoyed than before.

"We don't need help from outsiders," Lockwood said bitterly. His voice was surprisingly calm (any more shouting would fray Demi's nerves) considering his facial expressions.

"Lockwood, she's trying to be nice," Lucy mumbled softly. Demi nodded in agreement.

"We need to take all the help we can get. You barely got this place running..." Demi trailed off. It was the truth even if it was harsh but that only seemed to offend Lockwood more. When he finally met Demi's gaze, it was like those words were a betrayal. Demi frowned and she looked down at the floor, shame filling her chest.

"We're gonna be fine. We don't need help. All it takes is a few big cases," Lockwood dismissed everything that had been said. An arrogant smile appeared on his face and Demi did her best to ignore how frustrated it was making her. Yes, Erin was a Hampton. She was an outsider, a rich outsider but did they really have any other option?

But before Demi could say anything against him, the phone began to ring in the hallway upstairs and Lockwood sent them a smile, saying something about how that could be one now. Demi sighed and watched as he walked off before she sat at the table on the other side to Erin, Lucy and George. Her hot chocolate rested over an old offer of tea when her and Lockwood weren't speaking a few months ago. Things had changed so much since then.

"Is he always that negative?" Erin asked as she turned her gaze to the trio. Demi shrugged a little as she ran her finger over the rim of her hot chocolate.

"He doesn't trust strangers," Demi admitted softly. It was the truth. It was the annoying truth. Lockwood was closed off. The fact that he had trusted her so quickly after meeting her was baffling. He had found a sixteen year old girl breaking down in the middle of a park in London at the dead of night. There was no reason to trust her and yet he had offered her a room anyway. It had never been like that with anyone else.

"I don't mean anything bad, or snobby. I just want to help in a nice way," Demi stared at Erin for a long moment. Her mind trying to piece together what the hell Erin was even trying to say. And rather than allowing the silence to fester, Lucy quickly responded.

"We know that." The smile that Lucy gave Erin was adorable. It wasn't just any smile. It wasn't a smile that she would give to Demi. It was different.

"Lockwood will take time to adjust to your presence, we all will," George said simply and the almost passive-aggressive way he said it made Demi kick him in the leg under the table. It was her way of saying 'be nice' without actually saying it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry for just intruding into this by the way," Erin gestured vaguely around the room and Demi shook her head. She had done the exact same thing six months ago, "I know I'm in a different agency and well, life overall. Thanks for being so chill about it, most of the time." Demi shrugged it off.

"You're welcome any time. Even if the boys don't make you feel that way," Demi responded. The four of them then ended up heading upstairs to see who was keeping Lockwood on the phone for so long. But he was hanging up as they appeared on the landing and he lied basically saying that it was nothing, a wrong number. Before suggesting that they go and do some research into who exactly Annabel was.

Erin promptly left when she realised that the agency were going about their usual business and it was only a short conversation between the others before Lockwood practically ordered for Demi to stay home and rest while the others went with him to the Archives. Demi didn't really bother to argue, taking any opportunity to go to sleep.

So, she trudged upstairs and headed into her room as the pain spiked across her back. She dropped onto her covers, curling up into a ball. The glass of water from last night was still on the side so she should have been able to fall asleep without the anxiety that came without her rituals. But she just couldn't. Something was making her feel anxious and as she rolled over, her gaze fell on her bedside table. And then she remembered. The ring.

Nobody was in the house now which was good. It meant that nobody would see her or walk in and it was the middle of the day which meant that she shouldn't (hopefully) get attacked by a rogue spectre. Her curtains were pulled open so if anything appeared, it would disappear in the sunlight. It was safe and so, she pulled the ring out.

Her fingers gently turned over the ring in her palm and she could feel it. The presence tingled her fingertips and then she heard a soft laugh. Melodic, angelic, gorgeous, feminine laughing. The happiness that spread across her chest was emanating off the ring but then suddenly, a screaming wracked through her mind.

It seemed to bounce off her bones. Rattling around her skull all the way to her ribcage where it seemed to bounce around her heart before the dread settled in. Demi was quick to drop the ring right back into the drawer and stared at it for a long moment. Her eyebrows furrowed and she rushed up from the bed, grabbing an iron casing that she had been using for some prototypes. The ring was placed inside and slammed into her bedside drawer before she got back into bed, rolling over onto her side.

Sleep, she needed to sleep. Lockwood was right. She had been up all night. Sleep was all she needed and she would be fine. Pain or not, it would help. So she breathed through the pain and attempted to sleep. But the dread sat heavy in her stomach even after containing the Source. She tossed and turned in bed - which only seemed to cause her more pain - until after what felt like days but was probably hours, she heard the front door slam closed.

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