The Demon, the Witch, and the Priest, page 16
In her dream, and even now, Paige knew she would never be in danger so long as she had Gio. Besides that, the thought of being with Gio thrilled her. When he claimed her as his wife, she had been elated.
The words, my wife, rang in Paige’s mind, sweet as honey.
Briefly, Paige wondered if the fact that Gio was a demon should bother her. Who falls in love with a demon?
Besides her, of course.
Paige huffed.
This wasn't happening.
She was not adopted. She was not the chosen one. She was not going to maintain the balance, and she most certainly was not going to be the queen of the dark side.
That was not her destiny.
Paige refused.
Paige decided then to push Gio and all of this nonsense out of her head. She would think of only practical things—nothing else.
44
Paige-
Paige managed an entire week without thinking of Gio, Troy cheating, or her possible adoption. For a moment, it felt as though she were back to her old teenage self, worrying only about homework and cheer practice.
The only problem Paige did have was controlling her hands. It was hard to pretend the supernatural didn't exist when you are supernatural.
In seven days, Paige had frozen her math class, a kid who tripped on the stairs at school, the neighbor’s dog while pooping on her grass, and a gallon of milk she accidentally knocked off the counter. The situation was always different, but the feelings were the same. Fear, mixed with amazement, and then an urge to run and tell Gio about it.
Paige was able to freeze time and manipulate the events around her. How could she not be amazed by that?
∞
Halloween was nearing, and all across town, decorations were up and frightening as can be.
Paige’s house was no exception. Purple string lights and fake cobwebs hung in the windows. A classic witches' broom rested by the front door on the porch. Growing up, Paige would fantasize about mounting the broom and riding it across the sky. Now, Paige couldn't stand the sight of it.
What Paige used to find fantastical about the holiday made her cringe. Not even her little brother's constant chatter of trick or treating, highlighted with demonstrations of his super-secret ninja moves, could cheer her up.
It was time to face the truth. Paige wasn’t the same girl she was last year or the year before that, and the whole thing was causing her minor anxiety.
Tonight, however, Paige tried to put it out of mind as the entire family settled in to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. When the movie started, all talking ceased. No one moved until the end credits.
After the movie, Max ran off with the last cookie, and Paige chased after him to get ready for bed while their parents cleaned up the living room.
“Max? Oh, Max,” Paige softly called as she pretended to look for her giggling brother.
Paige looked inside his closet and under the blankets of his loft bed. Max giggled uncontrollably, thinking that he fooled his sister.
When Paige turned around to pretend to leave, Max swung the door open wide and jumped out, yelling, “Boo!” with his mouth and fingers stained black from the icing used on the bat cookies.
Paige clutched at her chest dramatically and said, “Oh, my Max, not again.”
Max proceeded to fall to the ground in side-splitting laughter. Before she realized it, Paige was laughing too. That's when she realized it had been a while since she had laughed so carelessly. Strange. She used to love to laugh.
“I got you good, Paige.”
“Yes, you did; now it's time to go wash up.”
“Oh, come on. Just one more hide. It's your turn.”
“I will take my turn tomorrow.”
“But, Paige…”
“No, Max, it's getting late. You have school tomorrow.”
“But I'm not tired.”
“That's because you had six cookies.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you're stained black from the icing and bouncing off the walls.”
“Let me check,” Max said as he examined his fingers. “Okay. Fair enough. How does my mouth look?” Max asked as he stretched his mouth with his fingers and opened it wide.
“Rotten,” Paige confirmed. “Now, go turd face. Wash. Scrub even,” she hollered as Max laughed his way to the bathroom.
While Max was gone, Paige set out his pajamas. “Okay, squirt, your pajamas are on the ladder,” she told him as she peered into the hall bathroom. Max had black-stained water all over the counter. “Brush your teeth good, and then get dressed. I'm going to go get ready for bed too, and then I’ll come to tuck you in.”
“Do we have time for a story?”
“Maybe one, but you have to get dressed first.”
“Okay,” he smiled.
“Before I get back,” Paige specified.
“Okay,” Max said again, but this time more seriously. Paige left for her room to change and then stopped by the bathroom to clean up her little brother's mess before brushing her teeth. On her way back into his room, Paige said, “Okay, booger-eater, we have time for one story. Do you...”
When Paige walked into his room, Max was standing on his bed five feet above the floor. “You got me superman pajamas,” he squealed.
“Yes, I did,” Paige smiled back while she walked over to his bookcase to pick out a book. “How about The Napping House, if I can find it.”
“Sure,” Max agreed. Paige continued in her search while Max kept talking. “Stronger than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet, it’s…” when Paige turned around, with the book in hand, Max jumped from his bed Superman-style and said, “Superman!”
Scared she wouldn’t catch him in time, Paige let the book drop to the floor and threw her hands up as she screamed, “NO!”
Just like the book falling from her hands, Max froze. In midair.
“What’s going on up there?” their dad called out from downstairs.
They didn’t freeze. Her parents didn’t freeze. But why? Paige remembered back to that lunch with Troy when she froze everyone in the building. Why hadn’t that happened here?
“No, no, no!” she whispered. “Max, unfreeze. Unfreeze! Damnit, unfreeze!” She threw her hands up and waved them around, but nothing happened. Soon there were footsteps on the stairs. “Oh, god,” she groaned.
Paige still hadn’t sat her parents down to discuss the whole witchy freezing thing. It was one of two topics she was avoiding with them at the moment. This was not going to go well.
Quickly, Paige plucked Max’s small statue-like body from the air and laid him down on the floor. Seeing their baby boy frozen was one thing, but seeing him frozen in midair was another.
Paige was hovering over Max, praying he would unfreeze in time, when her parents walked in.
“What in the world?”
Immediately Mrs. Olsen seemed to notice Max’s stiff outstretched arms and immobile state. “Max!” she shrieked, rushing to his side and pushing Paige out of the way. Paige watched her mother fret over his tiny body.
Mr. Olsen kept asking what happened as her mother screamed for Max to snap out of it. Paige wanted to tell her that’s not how it works, that she had tried that, but figured now was not the time.
“Paige?” her dad said again. Paige wasn’t sure how many times her dad had called her name, but the tone insinuated it was more than once.
Her mind was blank. Paige had no rational answer for her parents because what happened wasn’t what she knew to be reasonable.
Suddenly, that feeling you get as a little kid in dangerous situations that convinces you to lie kicked in as Paige’s mind churned with explanations that might keep her out of trouble. This was what she was afraid of; being caught. It felt just like she thought it would; awful.
Thoughts of what might happen next seized Paige, paralyzing her through and through.
Mr. Olsen grabbed Paige’s shoulders to shake an answer out of her. Any response would have done. He just wanted some explanation.
Since she couldn’t come up with anything else better to say, Paige told the truth. “I froze him.”
Paige’s mother had begun sobbing over Max’s body.
A look of horror and minor disbelief rested on her parents’ faces. They stared at her wide-eyed with their mouths hanging open. Finally, her father let go of her and took a step back.
“You did what?” he asked, shocked. Her father’s eyes swept over Paige’s frame like it was the first time he had ever seen her.
“Froze him,” Paige said again. “I didn’t mean to. He jumped off his bed. It was so high. I didn’t want him getting hurt,” she explained in a rush.
“What do you mean, you froze him?”
Pain, anger, and sadness started to claw at Paige’s insides as she watched her parents watching her. She could see their perception of her changing. They began to see her as a monster, just as she had viewed Gio the first time she saw what he could be.
“Undo it!” her father demanded.
“I can’t.” Her plea came out more of a whimper, sounding weak and fragile.
“Unfreeze him now!” he yelled. Paige couldn’t remember a time in her life when her father had ever yelled at her.
“I tried, but it didn’t work. I just don’t know how.”
“How could you?” her mother sobbed. “He’s your brother. An innocent little boy.”
Mrs. Olsen spoke as if Paige had killed the boy.
“I just,” Paige began to explain, but when she took a step forward, her mother shrank back, clutching Max to her chest. It was like her mother thought Max needed protection from her.
Her parents were scared of her, terrified even.
If Paige hadn’t seen the way they looked at her now, she would never have believed it.
“Get away from us,” Mrs. Olsen hissed.
“Mom?”
“Getaway!”
“Dad?” Paige asked as she turned to Mr. Olsen.
Mr. Olsen looked away with his hands on his hips.
Paige stood speechless. Her chest felt like it was going to cave in. Her world was crumbling.
“Mom, please,” Paige whispered.
“Get. Out. Of. My. House.”
Each punctuated word was like a slap in the face. Paige wanted to fall to the floor and cry, but she was afraid they might physically eject her if she stayed.
Running for the door, in only her pajamas, Paige grabbed the car keys on the way out.
Paige was in shock as she left the house she had lived in for nearly half her life. She saw nothing. She felt nothing. Her body was moving, but it seemed to be doing so blindly.
Paige’s mind kept rewinding the encounter with her parents, analyzing every facial expression and every hurtful word. The look on their faces was unforgettable. It was more than fear and disappointment. Her parents were disgusted.
There was a hollow ache in her chest as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
Paige had been thrown away and discarded by the two people who were supposed to love her. When the car stopped, Paige ran up the steps, threw open the door as if it weighed nothing, and ran down the aisle
“Paige?”
She could hear the concern in his voice mixed with the joy of seeing her. She stopped, blinking away the wetness, finally seeing where her body had taken her.
It brought her to Gio.
“What happened?”
Paige sobbed so much she couldn’t speak. Her knees became weak, and Gio had to catch her before she hit the floor.
Gio rubbed the sides of Paige’s arms. “That bad, huh?” He lifted Paige with ease and walked over to the nearest pew. “No hurry. Whenever you’re ready.”
This scene eerily reminded her of the first night she had come to Gio in the church. It was only a few weeks ago, but then, just like now, he hadn’t forced her to talk.
Paige realized that was why her body had brought her here. Despite avoiding him and giving him the cold shoulder, deep down, Paige knew Gio would be there, ready to help her.
For better or worse, Gio had sworn to protect her. Even if her birth mother hadn’t bound them together, Paige knew Gio’s word was strong enough to keep her safe at all costs.
No matter how much pain Paige was in---and currently she was in a lot of pain---she almost felt instantly better just being near him. Gio was stronger than she was, and when he lent her that strength, Paige felt stronger.
Paige’s cries softened, but still, she couldn’t speak.
“Do you need anything? Ice? Juice?”
Paige shook her head. The only thing she needed was him, but she felt stupid saying it out loud. Another moment passed in silence, but Gio stayed patient. Gio sat next to Paige with his arm firm and steady around her shoulders.
Paige’s pulse calmed, and her sobs quieted until she could finally speak. “I froze my brother.”
“Oh.” Gio said, out of surprise, but then said, “You know he will unfreeze.”
“My parents saw.”
“Oh,” Gio said again.
45
Paige-
Paige took a deep breath before launching into the full story. She explained why she had done it and how she had drawn enough attention that her parents came running. She told Gio about the disgusted looks they wore and all about the awful things her parents had said.
At one point, Paige started repeating herself. It was something she did when she over-analyzed a problem, and Gio’s silence didn’t help. It made Paige feel like he didn't understand the severity of the situation.
Throughout Paige’s story, Gio stayed silent, thoughtful, and quietly protective. When Paige was tired of hearing herself speak, she sighed and rested her head against Gio’s shoulder.
As if he knew what she needed, Gio stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head sweetly while still holding her tight.
“It’s going to be alright.”
Gio’s lips were gentle while burning their mark on her. Paige’s insides grew a little flippy while goosebumps rose on her skin.
Gio noticed and said, “You must be freezing.”
Paige thought it best not to tell him the real reason behind her goosebumps. She had enough rejection for the night.
“Didn’t think to grab a jacket on the way out?” Gio asked.
“Hmm?” Paige looked down to stare at her pajama pants. She also noticed just how much cleavage she was showing from this angle and wondered if Gio noticed. “No. Getting out the door as quickly as I could was the only thing on my mind at the time.”
Gio nodded and then tried to stand with Paige. “Come. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Where?”
“You can sleep in my room tonight.”
“But…”
“It’s getting late. You have school in the morning. You should rest,” Gio explained as they walked to the back part of the church Paige had never seen before.
The ‘behind the scenes’ areas were usually off-limits to anyone that was not a part of the faculty.
Portraits of prominent Catholic officials decorated the dark-paneled halls. The evenly spaced lights overhead were faded with age.
“Won’t Father McCallan disapprove?”
Father McCallan had returned to the church but was rarely seen during his recovery. Nonetheless, he was still around and would surely be aware of Paige staying the night.
Staying overnight would probably be bad enough, but to bunk with Gio would be blasphemy.
“Father McCallan says these doors are always open to anyone who needs shelter and sanctuary.”
“Shelter and sanctuary are one thing; sleeping in the bed of a future priest is another.”
Gio laughed unexpectedly. It was a hearty warm laugh. Paige adored the way it resonated in the hall.
“It will be easier for me to keep an eye on you.”
“Where will you sleep?”
“I don’t sleep.”
“At all?”
“Not since I…well, you know.”
Paige knew Gio was referring to him becoming a demon.
Wrapped up in her grief and confusion, Paige hadn’t thought much of how Gio was holding up. And, unfairly, Paige was still trying to pretend Gio was human. But not needing sleep was not something that ever would have crossed her mind.
Before she knew it, they arrived at Gio’s room. Paige noticed a handful of things as Gio ushered her in.
First, there were no windows, and it felt as solemn as the halls with forest green carpet and dark walls. There was minimal furniture and only one lamp to accessorize.
Gio led Paige to his bed. “I’m going to go back to your house and get you a change of clothes.”
“What?” Panic shot through her. “You can’t! I don’t want them to know where I am!”
“They won’t,” he said in a soothing voice.
Paige cringed at the thought of Gio going back to her home. Scratch that. Old home. She didn’t want him tipping her parents off about where she was.
What she didn’t need was Gio knocking on the door and saying, “Good evening, your teen witch of a daughter is holed up with me at the church, but she needs some extra clothes. May I get some for her?”
Paige imagined them coming after her with pitchforks and torches soon after.
“Your parents won’t see me,” Gio promised.
“Gio, you can’t!”
He leaned down and cupped Paige’s face in his hands. “They won’t see me. Okay?”
The look in his eyes was all Paige needed to trust him. Gio held conviction and promise in those eyes.
Paige nodded.
Gio smiled and took a step back. He winked just before his form shimmered and faded. Paige stared after Gio in amazement.
He shouldn’t be able to do that. Obviously, he did do it. Paige saw him. But with the laws of matter and physics, Gio shouldn’t be able to do that.
Right?
46
Gio-
Gio Shimmered directly into Paige’s bedroom. Overall the room was tidy; bed made. He noticed her corkboard covered in pictures. Mostly of her and a guy, she called Nick. Everything was just the same as the last time he was here.
