Chapter Four

Aside from summoning a hot inhuman man via sandwichmancy, my week proceeded as normal. Work at the bookstore every day, come home to my new pet demon dog…okay, maybe not entirely normal.

I scratched the backs of Mayar’s ears with one hand while flipping through the messages on my phone. It’d been at least three weeks since I’d last seen Andrew and I was starting to get worried. Whether it was insecurity on my part, I wasn’t sure.

When I finally got around to my messages from Andrew, I twitched. He wanted me to come over and be there before he got back. But…he didn’t work, so, where was he?

I sighed. Maybe I was becoming the crazy, paranoid girlfriend. Then again, the last two times he’d wanted me over, it was because he wanted a quickie and some money.

The face of the Aloryi man I’d summoned crossed my thoughts, but I quickly shook it off. He was way out of my league, even if he’d been human. Besides, I was dating Andrew… I sighed.

I’d known for months that Andrew was a loser, or at least that we weren’t right for each other. The only reason I hadn’t broken up with him was effort…and fear. I glanced down at Mayar.

“Hey… You’re supposed to protect me, right?” I asked, watching Mayar perk up. “But, what if you get hurt? Can human weapons hurt you?” Mayar shook himself from the tip of his nose to his tail. I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a “no.” “What if someone tries to hurt me but you can’t get close without hurting me yourself?”

Mayar tilted his head before nosing my cell phone. Next, he pawed at the floor and looked down.

“Are you trying to say you can call for help?” I raised an eyebrow, wondering if I was going crazy. He wagged his tail in response. “Okay… Want to go for a ride, then? I don’t want to go to Andrew’s by myself.”

Mayar promptly trotted to the front door, making low growling sounds. His hackles stood up along his back. I wasn’t sure why Mayar disliked Andrew so much from scent alone, but I knew better than to question an animal’s instincts about people.

Hell, maybe that was part of what emboldened me to agree to meeting Andrew at his place.

Half an hour later, I found myself outside Andrew’s apartment building. Mayar trotted along beside me as I made my way to my boyfriend’s door. He wasn’t home yet, so I opened it with my key and crept inside. Mayar bristled and soon began pacing the apartment.

I made my way to the kitchen and poked around, finding nothing but bottles of alcohol and energy drinks. So much for taking care of himself. There wasn’t even anything for me to cook with.

Sighing, I went to the living room and grimaced at the mess. I knew I’d get yelled at if I tried to tidy it up though, so instead I plopped down on the couch and turned on one of the gaming consoles, making sure to log in with my account.

After a moment of consideration, I decided to wipe my data from his consoles entirely. My save games were backed up on the cloud anyway, and I had a nagging suspicion I wouldn’t ever come back to Andrew’s place.

‘Am I really ready to go?’ I glanced around at the pitiful apartment. It was a stupid question. I’d been ready to leave him for a while. I wasn’t a fixer. Hell, I was probably the one who needed fixing after being in a relationship for so long with this fucker.

Mayar prowled over to me with one of my shirts hanging out of his mouth. I took it, steeling myself, then stood up. At the very least, I’d gather up my clothes so I could do the laundry later.

By the time I was done stuffing my clothes into a bag, Andrew still wasn’t back. Irritated, I sat on the couch again and checked my phone. Oh. Traffic. That made me feel a little guilty about being tetchy. I could at least wait and see what he wanted me to come over for.

When Andrew finally got home, the first words out of his mouth didn’t give me much hope. “You had all that time and you didn’t cook anything?”

“There isn’t anything to cook with,” I pointed out, keeping my tone pleasant.

“You were supposed to bring your own stuff, obviously. I know you’re rolling in it. Tch, stingy bitch.” Andrew continued muttering to himself as he threw his backpack to the floor. “You taking me out, then? I’m hungry.”

The corner of my eye twitched. I was certainly not “rolling in it,” nor did I want to take him anywhere other than a garbage dump. I took a steadying breath. “No, actually. I’m taking myself out of your life, permanently.”

“What?! You can’t do that!” Andrew snapped, unaware of the hellhound moving between us. “You’ll never find someone if you leave me!”

“That is preferable to raising someone else’s child,” I stated, my pent-up frustrations beginning to slip. I grabbed my bag of clothes and gave Andrew a firm look. “I can barely support myself, let alone both of us, but money is all you want out of me. That isn’t a relationship. I’m done. Move.”

Andrew spluttered and moved to strike me, but Mayar was faster

The canine rammed into Andrew’s stomach, knocking him off his feet and allowing me to flee.

The moment Mayar and I were in my car, I threw my things in the back seat and pulled away from the curb. A loud noise, followed by one of the rear windows breaking, made me yelp. Four more shots followed as glimmering particles of crimson light spread from Mayar and coated my vehicle.

“Fucking hell... Call Emily!” I snapped at my on-board assistant.

“Celia? What’s that sound?” Emily asked the moment she answered.

“I just broke up with Andrew and he’s shooting at my goddamn car!” I hissed, turning onto the main road, my pulse pounding. “I need to call the police, but can I come stay the night at your place? If your husband is against it I’ll just find a hotel or something but—”

“HE WHAT?!” Emily demanded. “WHY ARE ALL YOUR EX’S FUCKING INSANE? GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!

“HONEY! CELIA IS COMING OVER. CALL THE POLICE ON TWATFACE! YEAH, SHE FINALLY DITCHED HIM.”

I twitched as Emily hung up. Okay, sure, I didn’t have the best track record. It wasn’t my fault the cute ones were unhinged and didn’t show it until too late.