Chapter Fifteen: Nervous Distrust:
Hotaru had to be
careful with this. Vivian sat across from her at the kitchen table.
“How long has he
been like this?” Hotaru asked. Vivian looked down at her hands.
“Just that
night,” she whispered.
“No other
times?” Hotaru asked. The wolf demon shook her head.
“I see,” Hotaru
said. Vivian trembled as she looked at her hands.
“No,” the loli
demon said. “This is a first I’ve seen of it too.” That was kind of true. Mike
had a period of aggression after escaping hell. He stayed to himself in his
room. Mike constantly drank. Bottle after bottle of sake and harder liquor. He
barely ate. The worst Mike did was to yell at the girls in the house.
“Has he started
drinking again?” Hotaru asked. “Heavy drinking?”
“I… I don’t
know,” Vivian said.
“Take your time
if you need to.”
The wolf demon
shifted in her seat. “I think so.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Has Mike
yelled at you any?”
“This morning.”
“Has he tried to
attack you again?”
“No.” Vivian
pressed her lips together. “I’ve stayed away from him since that night.”
“I see. Hm…”
Vivian looked
her in the eye. “What’s going on with him?” Hotaru’s eye shifted away from her.
Could she tell her the truth? It wasn’t hers to say. But, being in Mike now
wasn’t a good idea.
“Well…” she
began. The right words didn’t want to come out like she wanted. This wasn’t her
truth to tell.
“I am not the
one to tell you,” Hotaru said. “I don’t think he can explain it either.” She
noticed the desperate look on Vivian’s face.
“Don’t worry,”
the loli demon said. “I have dealt with
this before.” She didn’t do it alone, however. Emiko did most of the work.
Hotaru just followed her lead. So far, she had been keeping the house together.
This would be a true test.
“You have?”
Vivian asked.
“Yes,” Hotaru
said.
She took the wolf demon by the
hand.
“Just keep away
from him for the time being. Do you have any friends you can stay with for the
time being?” the loli demon asked.
“Yes.”
“Good, good. Do
you want to call them up now?”
Vivian nodded.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Hotaru watched as the wolf
demon dial up one of her friends. This wasn’t much. But, this had to be step one
to Mike and Vivian’s problem. Hotaru looked into the living room.
“He’s still
asleep now,” she said. “I can help you pack for a few days.”
“Thank you,” Vivian whispered. Hotaru felt so much better with her words. But, she knew work wasn’t over yet. The loli demon knew that she had to walk with caution with Vivian. Kazue and her man would have to wait. Mike was top priority for now.