"Hey," Vannesa, now sitting in a waiting room, smiled warmly at Daemon as a nurse brought him in.
Daemon smiled back at her, his pupils glowing a slightly yellow hue.
He walked over to Vannesa and took a seat beside her, his expression inscrutable as he stared down at his shoes.
"You came back," he said, slightly croaking.
Vanessa turned to him, noticing a strand of hair sticking down his jaw, and a teasing smile graced her lips.
"I don't mind it." Daemon shook his head, his throat letting out a chuckle.
"So tell me something," Vanessa started with a slightly serious expression as she shifted in her seat.
"Did you put a hex on the girls?" she asked, her eyes trained on Daemon's features as if trying to read the answer from his expression.
"I couldn't. My Mom put a seal on my abilities," Daemon replied with a shake of his head.
"You do understand why I'm asking right? I'm worried about my girls. They mean the world to me" Vannesa searched Daemon's expression as a sliver of guilt tugged at her heartstrings.
"It's okay. I'll get into the Academy at sixteen, so I'll only have to depend on you for two years," Daemon replied, his tone laced with the burden of early maturity.
"I can't imagine what you must be going through. I'm sorry" Vannesa sighed and looked away. He was just a kid, about the same age as her twins and she still pampered them. Yet here she was interrogating Daemon who had only just lost his mother.
"It's okay, my Mom has been preparing me for this since I was a child" he replied, his pupils glowing once again for a second before returning to normal.
"Has she? Nothing can really prepare a person to deal with loss though"
Daemon glanced at her with a small smile but didn't reply.
"I'm sorry, Daemon," Vannesa shook her head slowly, running a finger through her hair. She turned to him again.
"It's just"
"Wasn't part of the plan?" Daemon asked staring straight ahead.
"I can understand that," he added with a small nod, still not looking at her.
"I just don't know if I can handle it. The girls are growing so fast, I'm starting a new project and Daniel is... I don't know, Daniel?"
Daemon frowned and turned to her, his gaze intense as he stared right into her eyes with a small incredulous squint.
"How well did you know my mother?" he asked.
"Apparently, not very well. We were best friends, but she kept a lot of secrets from me." Vannesa shook her head in reply.
"I can't speak much of her character, but as a hybrid, she was the most powerful empath to ever exist, more so than anyone will ever know."
"If she brought me to you, that's because she knew you would be able to handle it. Perhaps she saw something in you, something you don't see yet but because I have faith in her, I have faith in you. The real question is, how much are you willing to trust me?" he asked, his young seemingly innocent eyes fixed on hers.
"Well, you give great pep talks." Vannesa's expression softened, and she took his hand as she got up.
"Come on, let's go home. I'm sorry for bringing you here"
"Woah, hold on a moment. Not so fast with the mother thing" Daemon chuckled and squeezed his hand away.
Vannesa gaped at him as he walked off confidently towards the door. Shaking her head she hastily followed, an amused smile playing on her lips.
As they walked out through the lobby, a few eyes followed them making Vannesa feel like she was walking on needles.
"About your mother, do you really believe she was the most powerful empath?" she asked as they reached her car.
Watching the woman search her purse for the keys in her hand with an amused smile, Daemon leaned his back on the door and crossed his legs.
"She was" he replied, fully confident.
"Then why do you think-" Vanessa paused her question noticing the somber expression taking over the boy's face.
"I'm sorry, I understand if you're not ready to talk about this"
They paused for a moment as she stared at him apologetically. Suddenly pointing at the keys in her hands, Daemon walked off, going around the car.
"Da-" Vannesa started to call in concern when she noticed he was just walking to the passenger door.
Smiling to herself, she unlocked the car and they both got in. Once inside, she reached for the backseat, took a briefcase, and produced a tablet from within it.
"I've mostly gone over the procedure with your mother but we never got around to asking you before she passed"
Daemon noticed a filled-out form on the tablet as she handed it over to him before keying in the car. Glancing over the form, he pressed his thumb on the on-display fingerprint scanner and signed it.
"There it's done. You are my legal guardian now," he said to her, handing the tablet back over.
"It says adopted mother on there, though," Vannesa teased, forcing the boy to roll his eyes and look away.
"Don't even start"
"Did your Mom ever tell you you have the mannerisms of a girl sometimes?" Vannesa squinted.
"Jesus, woman, drive," Daemon exclaimed.
"Language!" Vannesa scolded and Daemon facepalmed.
Roughly twenty minutes later, the car pulled up into a cone-shaped building. On the front was an artistic sign that read, 'Divergent Hybrid Laboratory & Clinic'.
It was a place Daemon easily recognized. At first, he came here with his Mom to visit Vannesa, but later, his mother admitted herself here to become Vannesa's patient.
"I noticed you always wear a ring and you've only mentioned your husband's name a few times. Earlier, you were only worried about the girls," Daemon started as he watched Vannesa gather her things in the car.
"I'm trying to love Daniel, but the man doesn't know what he wants," Vannesa replied with a slightly peeved tone.
Daemon nodded and followed her out of the car, taking the hint that she didn't want to talk about it.
Struggling to hold a few bags, Vannesa hurried towards the building while Daemon walked beside her with his hands in his pockets. Dressed in all white from the Orphanage earlier, he looked quite handsome with his silvery hair.
"Hey, help out, will you?" Vannesa stopped and turned to him in frustration.
Startled, Daemon hurried to take a few bags from her, and she resumed walking. She took a few steps before noticing Daemon had stopped and she turned to look back at him.
Daemon stood in place, bags in hand as he looked down almost at his shoes as if considering himself. Having lived a life of luxury for a long time, it was hard for him to get used to this. Carrying someone else's bags.
"Daemon," Vannesa called warmly, understanding his conflict.
"Come on," she urged when he looked up at her, his eyes glowing.
"Let's go in"
Nodding, Daemon followed her. Perhaps for the first time, it was finally sinking in that his Mom was no more.