Page 9 of My Demon Neighbor
Four
Pythor
I closed my doorbehind me, and eyed Vanessa's car. Was I supposed to teach her as well? My neighbor—Codie, I reminded myself—hadn't mentioned her. Not that I minded. Teaching two people would be the same as teaching one person.
Making my way across the street, I climbed the three porch steps, then knocked on the door. It was five minutes to eleven, but I figured that wasn't too early.
I heard soft footsteps approach the door, then pause, and waited patiently. Codie was clearly nervous about this whole thing, and I didn't want to make it worse.
After a moment, I heard the lock turn, then another, then a third one. Codie wasreallyafraid of someone, wasn't he? Just who was he scared of, and was there a way I could help him?
While he wasn't really my responsibility, I wanted to do as much good as I could while I was here in the human realm.
The door finally opened, stopping as the chain went taut, and an overwhelming scent slammed into me, making me stumble back as I met warm brown eyes full of nerves that turned to confusion at my reaction.
Codie glanced down at himself, clearly trying to make sense of my reaction, and I shook my head, then gave him a warm smile, trying not to let the weight of my realization show on my face.
"Hey. Codie, right? I'm Pythor."
He blinked, then slowly removed the chain and pulled the door open wider, staying behind it as if shielding himself. "Come in. Please."
I stepped through, and he quickly closed the door, turning only one of the locks. He was clearly unsure about having me in his space, and I could understand that.
My mild curiosity from before had now turned into a raging need to know just who he was afraid of, but I tamped it down before my anger got the best of me.
Now that I was inside, I got my first good look at Codie. He was shorter than me, around 5'8", and dressed in a long, thick, dark brown overcoat, the sleeves reaching past his wrists as he kept his arms crossed over his chest. His skin looked soft and warm, his eyes dark brown and cautious as he peered at me. His hair was a mess of curls on top of his head, and trimmed short at the sides. He was beautiful.
"Pythor, glad you could make it!" Vanessa said as she came over, and I turned to her with a smile.
"Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic," I joked, grinning when it pulled a chuckle from Codie.
Vanessa rolled her eyes, then clapped her hands. "Let's do this. My kid's at daycare on a weekend, so Mama's in a hurry."
"I told you you could bring her here. She could've watched TV in my bedroom," Codie said, and Vanessa waved him off.
"And I told you I'd be there for you a hundred percent, didn't I?"
Codie shook his head, though he couldn't quite hide his smile. They were clearly very close, but I didn't get the feeling they were involved romantically, which was good.
"Where would you like to do this? We need some open space," I said, and Vanessa waved toward the open plan living room.
"We can move the couch and coffee table back. Will that be enough?"
"Sure. I'll help," I said as Vanessa waved Codie off and took the other end of the couch. I took most of the weight—I could've easily picked it up with one hand, but a human couldn't, so I had to pretend—and Vanessa shot me an impressed look as we moved the couch against the far wall, then the coffee table.
"Okay. Are you ready to start?" I asked Codie, and he visibly swallowed, his eyes flicking from me to Vanessa, who gave him a wide smile, before returning to me as he nodded. I smiled, then took a few steps back, giving him some space as I tried to switch my brain to teacher mode.
"Before we move to the physical side of things, there are a lot of ways you can protect yourself without fighting. Fighting always, always has to be the last resort, because not only is it much harder to fight off an attacker, especially if they're bigger than you, but it can also cause you physical harm and be just as deadly."
Codie shuddered, and I paused, unsure if I should continue. I didn't know what had happened in his past—though I desperately wanted to so I could punish whoever was responsible—but it was clear he was still dealing with the trauma it'd caused, and the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse.
"Go on," he murmured after a moment, a look of determination crossing his face, and I nodded.
"The most important thing you can ever do is trust your instincts. Humans are probably the only species in the world who thinks they're smarter than their instincts, and they're wrong," I said, then blinked. Oops. "Ourinstincts are just as good as any other animal in the animal kingdom, and we should trust them, especially when they're warning us against doing something or trusting someone."
Vanessa nodded sagely, then chimed in. "I knew I shouldn't hook up with the sperm donor the moment he bought me a drink, but I'd been stupid. Not that I regret having Alia, but still."
I smiled, glad for the moment of levity since Codie once again looked like he wasn't fully here in the present.
