Unexpected visit

Demetrius wasted away in his room. Days melted into nights then days again with the boy flat on his back staring up at the ceiling. It had been a while since he attended school and a while since he let himself out into the world. Even the most recent hunt was avoided. The boy couldn’t bear to eat; he could barely manage the occasional trip downstairs to assure his mother he was still breathing. His failures—despite the insistence of his mother—weighed on him like an anchor pulling him down into the deep ocean where he could be drowned by an overwhelming sense of guilt and inadequacy.

Everyone made it seem like such a small matter, something he should’ve been able to shrug off and keep moving. The fact that he couldn’t was yet another crippling blow and for each day he remained in bed, the feelings intensified.

It’d been over a week since he last laid eyes on Jamie. His sudden and unorthodox resignation meant he was no longer entitled to information. He couldn’t deman