Page 15 of Demure
“Leave,” Aodhan said, in the same tone as before.
Without a single word, or argument, the drunk man stumbled past Aodhan and back toward the entrance.
Sierra pushed herself off the ground, so she was once again standing. “Geez, I gotta learn how to do that.” As soon as the drunkard was out of sight, Sierra brought her eyes to meet Aodhan’s, only to find them looking at her with irises that were ablaze.
“Did he hurt you?” Aodhan questioned, his teeth clenched together.
Sierra shook her head, rubbing her arm again. “No, I’m fine, he was just drunk.”
“Let me see your arm.” Aodhan reached for the sleeve of her shirt, but Sierra stepped back out of his reach.
“I said, I’m fine.”
Aodhan stepped toward her. “And I asked to see your arm. Now show me.”
Sierra went to step back again, but Aodhan was too fast. At what looked like inhuman speed, he grabbed her hand in one of his, and his other hand went to her sleeve. Sierra tried to protest, “No, don’t—” but before she could finish, he pushed her sleeve up to reveal her forearm. He went still, staring at her skin.
Sierra knew why. Her skin wasn’t pretty to look at. She suffered from a skin disease known as psoriasis, which left angry red lesions marring her light skin all over her body. While she had once had the condition under control, the stress of moving across the world had brought it back in full force. She knew what was coming next. Whenever anyone saw her skin, they were always disgusted, and they always assumed it was contagious. Sierra opened her mouth to reassure him that he wouldn’t get it, but before she could, he growled, “Who did this to you?”
Taking a deep breath, Sierra stepped back, successfully removing her hand from his while pushing her sleeve down with her other hand. “No one. Well, I guess if there is a God out there, he did. It’s a skin disease I’ve had since I was a child.”
“Oh,” Aodhan replied, his eyes meeting hers once again, the fire in them finally seeming to fade. “Does it hurt?”
Sierra shrugged. “Sometimes. Mostly, it just itches. I’m used to it. It’s not contagious, by the way.”
“I assumed not,” he replied. “If it was, I assume you wouldn’t be here.” He looked back at her arm, which was now covered with the sleeve again. “Is that why you always wear long sleeves?”
Sierra nodded. “It’s, uh, all over, and I don’t really like talking about it.”
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes roving all over her bodyin a way that made her feel self-conscious. “I might know someone who can help you.”
Sierra shook her head. “I’ve been seeing doctors for this condition my whole life. There isn’t a lot they can do. I’ve got some creams which work, but as soon as I run out, they come back?—”
He interrupted her. “Not a doctor, a healer.”
Sierra scrunched her nose. “A healer? Like with crystals and spells and stuff?” The idea sounded so outrageous that Sierra started laughing. “Only in Ireland would someone suggest I see a healer.”
“No, not in Ireland, but where I’m from in—” Before he could mention where he was from, Mona came tearing around the corner of the shelves.
“Are you two okay? I saw what happened on the security cameras from my office. Those drunks, I swear, I don’t know who they are, but I called campus security, and they’re on their way over.” The words came out in a rush as Mona’s eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them. Sierra held up her hand.
“I’m fine. Aodhan helped me. No harm.”
Mona raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I can have you go to the clinic to get looked over.”
Sierra shook her head. “No thanks. I’d actually just like to go home at this point, but I’m a little nervous to walk back alone in case those guys are still around. Do you think security would walk me home?”
Mona bit her lip. “I’m not sure, but I can ask.”
“No need, I’ll walk Sierra home. It’s almost closing time anyway.” Aodhan interrupted, his emerald eyes roving over Sierra in a way that made her mentally shiver.
Mona nodded, looking at the full cart of books Sierra hadn’t finished shelving. “Just put the cart behind the desk, and I’ll have the morning shift finish it tomorrow. Niamh and I will lock up.”
Sierra nodded, reaching to grab the cart, but before she could, Aodhan was there, pushing it back toward the desk while Sierra trailed behind. She didn’t know if she was in shock orjust off her rocker to allow Aodhan to walk her home, but she didn’t argue as Aodhan collected his jacket while she collected hers. She knew that she should probably argue against him walking her home, but she just felt so drained that she didn’t want to deal with trying to find someone else to take her.
The two of them walked out of the building side by side and began making their way to Sierra’s house. Neither of them said anything. Sierra didn’t know what to say now that Aodhan knew one of her darkest secrets, and she had a feeling he didn’t know what to say either.
She was so concerned with thinking of what to talk about, it wasn’t until they were nearly at her door that she realized she hadn’t been paying attention to where they were walking, but he had somehow led her directly to her street. She stopped in her tracks.
