99. Solitude

I hate it when Caleb leaves me alone; granted, it doesn't happen often now that we've been reunited, but he still leaves me by myself sometimes. Like when Magnus, Artemis, Louis, and him go on a Hunt and I have to stay in the motel room. I'm just as capable of helping as Caleb is, but Caleb doesn't want me to go; he worries about me.

I can take care of myself, though. I mean, sure, I look fourteen, but I'm much older than that, just like Caleb's far older than his apparent seventeen and Louis is way older than his supposed twenty or thirty-ish. Just because I'm younger than them, that doesn't mean I can't handle myself in a fight. Besides, for those couple hundred years that Caleb was gone, I took care of myself; I had to. There was no one else…

That's why I hate this, hate being left behind. Not because I want to get out and show them that I can actually help, but because I don't like being alone, being left by myself. Louis left when I was too young to really remember him and Caleb just abandoned me when he escaped; he didn't even try to rescue me for a couple hundred years! He probably didn't even think about me while he was here on Earth with his human family…

It doesn't matter now, though, because I'm free; I'm here with him and I'm safe. Well, I'm here with him; I'm still not safe and neither is he, not really. Either way, though, I've got my big brother back and that's what matters; I've got a sort-of family and, according to Caleb, as soon as we're safely able to do so, he's going to introduce me to his human family, maybe talk to them about adopting me.

For now, though, while Caleb's out hunting with Magnus, Artemis, and Louis, I'm all alone while I wait for them to come back; I know that most teens would enjoy the solitude, enjoy having the time to do whatever they want to do, but I don't like it. I don't like being alone because it reminds me of how it was like in Hell after Caleb left and, needless to say, I don't like to remember that.

I jump when I hear a knock at the door; I race over to the door to open it, thinking it could be my brother. After all, sometimes he comes back from Hunts before the others, usually when they just need him to track something down and when that happens, he usually doesn't have the key with him so I have to let him in when he comes back without the others.

Without hesitation, I open the door and immediately wish I hadn't; immediately, I wish that I had that blissfully horrible solitude back. Standing in front of me are two people--two demons--that I had hoped I'd never see again; they smirk and start to cross into the room, but they can't because of the salt that Magnus poured…

Right? I'm safe as long as the salt's there, right?

Oh, Caleb, why? Why did you leave me alone?