"What do you remember about your time with your grandparents?" he asked calmly after I had settled down on the second bed. He had told me to get comfy, so I did. But I still wanted to be able to flee the scene if necessary. The second bed was right next to the door, so it was an obvious choice.
"Not much, I was pretty young when my parents went no contact with them," I explained.
"And they never told you why they did what they did." He took a deep breath, as if he was trying to make sense of it himself. At this point, I didn't even question why and how he knew. I just accepted it – for now. "We've always been here," he continued.
"What do you mean?"
He chuckled, looking me directly in the eyes. "Your grandparents were special people. Very special people. As were your great-grandparents. But don't ask me when it all started, I wasn't around for that long."
"The fuck…" was all that left my mouth, and he just laughed, like my confusion was amusing. In all fairness, it probably was.
"See, your family has a special gift. You are very sensitive to supernatural entities. This invites all sorts of problems."
"Like the people who visited?"
"Nah," he waved that concern aside. "They come with the house. They aren't the ones you need to worry about. In fact, they are the ones who kept this place safe. This place and your grandparents."
"The more you try to explain, the more you lose me."
"I swear it will make sense. Hopefully."
"Hopefully…" I was too tired to even think about logic here. "So, supernatural entities exist. Great. Whatever. Go on then."
"There are good entities and bad entities, and those that should be bad but decided they don't want to be. They find people and places to protect, as to fight their nature, and your great-grandparents opened their door for them. Maybe even your great-great-grandparents. Or even further back. I don't know. Your grandmother inherited that gift, and while your grandfather wasn't able to see us for the longest time, he believed her. Eventually, his eyes could see us, too."
He leaned back on my bed, getting all cozy and comfy. Like he owned it. And maybe… maybe he did.
"You can learn spirituality? Or whatever you want to call it?" I asked, not really believing anything he was telling me.
"Call it whatever you will, if that makes it easier to grasp. But yes. If you believe strongly enough with your heart and your soul, you eventually wake up the inner eyes most people have."
"Didn't you just say my grandma had a gift? How is it a gift if everyone has it?" Gotcha!
"You humans lose access to that inner eye as you grow up. For children, the world is often full of fairies, demons, and imaginary friends. These things exist, you just turn blind to it. You rationalize it away when getting older. You lose access to your inner eye. But for your great-grandmother, your grandmother, and your mother, this was never the case. The gift isn't the inner eye; the gift is the inability to close it."
"Wait… My mother, too?"
He nodded, and the smile crossing his lips seemed rather sad. Regretful, even. "Although she didn't want it. She always felt like it was a trap. Like we're evil, like we're trying to trick her family into ruin. She never trusted us. She tried forcefully to un-see us."
"That… that fits her." Quite well, even. The way she always tried to rationalize away my struggles, my mental health, like it didn't exist. The way she tried to blame motivation and a goal for my miserable state… She was good at it.
"Sadly, it does. You were here a lot during your early childhood. Your mother's pregnancy was unplanned; she had to work a lot, but refused to move back. Lois took care of you most of the time. You grew up with us. With me. You were adorable." He grinned at me, widely, showing the sharp teeth. And to be honest, it was a little unnerving.
"Creep." I deadpanned.
"Killjoy." He retorted.
My eye twitched as I faked throwing my cup at him. He didn't even flinch and instead, laughed. Then, suddenly, the laugh faded. "And then she took you away."
"What… What exactly happened?" I asked, cautiously. It felt like it was an upsetting topic, even if I still didn't believe the whole story.
"Your mother knew of us, but she had forced herself to rationalize us away so hard that she eventually was unable to see us. We're living things, not ghosts and shadows. We can do things, carry things, fulfill tasks just as you humans do. While you were over, Lois and Richard went grocery shopping and left you in our care."
"Oh no…"
He just nodded, like he knew what I was thinking. "Your mom came over unannounced and found her 9-year-old child sitting alone in the living room. She went ballistic. And I can't blame her. Any good mother would if her child were left home alone with no one to care for them. But we were here…"
"She just didn't see you."
"Or chose not to see us. After that, you were gone."
"So… about you following me…" That was the part that concerned me most.
He smiled, as if recalling a memory that was as peaceful as it was short. "I couldn't leave you alone. You were just a little bean, and I knew you inherited her gift. I knew you were openly available for all kinds of entities. So I followed you. But I had to hide. The moment your mother would realize that I was still around, it would have only gotten worse. So… I never showed myself to you ever again. I hid actively, until I didn't need to anymore."
"Why's that?"
"She raised you right. She raised you with the same force that closed her inner eye. She rationalized your world to a point where you were unable to still see me. Everything was just… normal. No real struggles that couldn't be fixed with willpower, no supernatural influences, no–"
"Depression, no sleep paralysis, no fear…"
"This. Though, to be fair, I fear I am your fear. I'm not a good entity by nature. Hiding… well… it did things to you when you were still perceptive."
"You're the darkness under my bed."
"And in every corner."
"…" I didn't want to believe it, but… I did. And I didn't know why. It was like I knew. Like I always knew and had just decided not to acknowledge it. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. It didn't mean it didn't affect me. It didn't mean it didn't break me. It didn't mean it would just be gone. It didn't mean I was fine now. It just put a face to the fear.
"The sleep paralysis?" I had to ask.
He shook his head. "Not me, but maybe enabled by me. Or enhanced. However, you want to look at it. You are susceptible to these things, but my influence on your psyche might have made it worse. It's hard to tell. But I tried to fight them off as much as I could."
"What do you mean you fight them off?"
"Well, I'm a demon. Kicking other demons' asses is what I'm good at, especially if there's something I want to protect. I knew you'd eventually find your way back to us. I just didn't know how or when. And I had made it my mission to keep you as safe as possible until you'd return us both home."
"There are so many things I want to ask…"
"I can imagine, and I'm ready to answer as much as I can."
"Thanks but… I think I need time," I finally whispered. It was too much. Especially for this time. I hadn't slept in a long time, and it was already 2 or 3 in the morning.
"I understand. I'll… be somewhere. In this house."
"I don't know how I feel about that…"
"Oh, come on. I live here," he laughed, and it did lighten up the mood at least a little bit.
I sighed deeply. "Fine. Go live here then, just… not in this room. Not right now."
He chuckled and got up. At least he seemed to understand a hint or two, which made this a whole easier than it probably could have been.
"Alright then, I'll let you sleep. Or rather, I'll let you try to sleep."
"Much appreciated." My eyes followed him. After all, he had to walk through the whole room and pass by me to get out the door. And for some reason, I didn't feel reassured enough to just let him walk close by me without keeping an eye on him.
"By the way, since we had this talk now… I fear the rest will not be willing to hide much longer from you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there are 7 of us living in this house currently, so… you know…" he shrugged, "just be ready to meet them, I guess." With that said he pulled the door close behind him before I could say anything else.
Meet them?! 7?!! What the fuck did I get myself into? And how was I supposed to sleep now??