Chapter Five

He awoke a few hours later, seeing the demon staring up at him from underneath his arm.

"Are you lonely?" She asked him, tilting her head as her pink eyes stared at him, filled with curiosity.

"No?" Isha quickly pulled his arm away from over her.

"You sure? You did that last night to. And I've never seen anyone come over to the apartment the past two years." She replied, her head on her pale arms as she stared at him.

"How long have you been preying on me… and aren't you suppose to have horns if you're a demon?" He furrowed his brow again.

"No I wasn't preying on you for two years! Ew! I live in that hidden room. Or rather that's where I…" She cut off, furrowing her brow at him. "Yes I have horns! I just don't show them unless I'm really angry!" She exclaimed with a huff.

"You mean like right now?" Isha asked, sitting up and tilting his head.

"No not right now! Don't you have an old man to talk with!" She hit his side, not to hard but hard enough, her face puffed as she then vanished into thin air. "Now go downstairs jerk."

Isha got up with a sigh.

"You really are a child." He replied to her, stretching. He felt great, a whole lot better then when he went to sleep, a little stronger too.

He took his coat and scarf off the bedside table. May or the old man must of put them here earlier. Pulling his phone out to check the time, Isha let out a sigh.

"Twelve missed calls and twenty missed messages from Zoey. I swear she acts like my mom." Isha cleared the notifications and put his phone into his pocket. It was twelve thirty, and his stomach rumbled.

"Oh yeah, I didn't even get breakfast this morning." He mumbled to himself, going out of the room and towards the stairs.

Despite being unable to see her, Isha could feel the demon there, following him. He glanced towards where he felt her presence.

"Yeah yeah, I'm here. The fact you can tell that means your body is getting used to the power." She stated with a huff.

As Isha got to the bottom of the steps, May turned from the stove to look at him. She was making a hot sandwich.

"Morning sleepy beauty." She greeted him, putting the sandwich on a plate and setting it on the window looking in so Mr. Ilan could bring it to whoever it was for.

Isha rolled his eyes at her remark, walking up to her.

"Thanks for bringing my coat and scarf up." She gave a nod.

"Nn. Here, I forgot these earlier." She handed him his sunglasses. He nodded his thanks and pushed them back onto his face. "I'll make you food to, and don't worry there won't be any salt or anything. Maybe."

Isha shook his head a bit and ruffled her hair, distorting her serious face into what appeared to be a smile in the process.

"Muu. Your lucky I like head pats." She stated in her serious tone.

"Uhuh, thank you for making me food." Isha replied, rolling his eyes as he headed towards the door. "And I think it was more of your cooking skill than the salt earlier."

"Oh? Suggesting my cooking can kill you? Good, I always wanted to kill perverts like you with a simple dish." She replied to him, not even giving him a look.

Isha let out a small scoff and stepped out of the kitchen, seeing about five groups customers in the shop.

"Ah, so you do manage to pull customers in." He teased Mr. Ilan, sitting down in the seat he started claiming as his own.

"It's not my fault a weirdo in sunglasses manages to scare them off." The old man joked back, getting a blend of coffee ready for Isha. "So how was your nap? Feel better?" He asked concerned.

"I did, actually I woke up feeling stronger even. But it might just be the bed, it's a lot better than the one I have at home." Isha let out a little chuckle as he watched the old man blend the coffee.

"That's good to hear. Your body must be getting used to it then." Mr. Ilan noted, pouring the coffee into a cup and setting it down in front of Isha.

"Mhm, that's what she said to." He replied, picking up the cup and blowing on the brown liquid inside.

"Oh? You talked to her?" Isha nodded at Mr. Ilan's question.

"A bit yeah, she explained some things." He replied, enjoying the brew. "Are you always going to give me a new blend to try?" The old man smiled at his words.

"Until you tell me a specific brew to blend, or I run out of beans and mixtures you haven't tasted." He replied, stroking his mustache proudly. "It's good you heard from the horses mouth so to say, and it will make it easier for me to explain it myself."

Isha nodded and sipped his coffee. Mr Ilan then went to tend to a group of customers. While was doing that, May came out with a sandwich, soup, and a dessert for Isha.

"Tuna fish? Cheese soup, and a piece of toffee cake. Do any of these have salt." He asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at May.

"Nope. None. We have special ingredients for people like us. The tuna sandwich is my favorite, I can guarantee its taste." May said to him with a blank face, staring a bit to much at the sandwich.

"I can see that." Isha replied, a smile forming on his face. May gave him a nod and turned back towards the kitchen.

"And don't worry about paying this time." She informed him, stopping by the door.

"Oh? Feeling bad about poisoning me?" Isha asked jokingly. She stared back blankly at him.

"It could be, then again I think you deserved this morning. Mainly it's for gratitude." May replied, walking back into the kitchen.

Isha's brow was furrowed in confusion as the old man came back from checking in on the customers, making some more coffee to give one of them. He glanced at Isha's plate and nodded.

"Oho, the tuna huh? I hope you like it, that's her favourite." Mr. Ilan informed him, a soft smile forming on his lips.

Isha nodded to his words, picking up one of the halves.

"Mhm, that's what she was saying." The old man nodded at his words and patted his shoulder as he went to deliver the coffee.

"I hope you enjoy it." He told Isha, walking towards the customers again.

Isha nodded again as he left, going to take a bite of the sandwich. The moment his teeth sank in the flavor seemed to spread across his mouth. There was definitely no salt on it. A small smile spread on his face as he ate it. There wasn't too much mayonnaise, and possibly a hint of mustard and cilantro, both giving it a nice tang.

Isha finished the first half, and decided to dip the second into the cheese soup before taking a bit. The soup complimented the tuna very well, and that's how he ate the rest of the sandwich.

"Good to see you liked it." The old man stated, happily stroking his mustache. The sandwich had disappeared by the time he returned.

"It was definitely good." Isha replied to him, scooping the soup now. The soup by itself was delicious as well, nice and creamy.

"It's fun to watch your expression whenever you try something here. It's almost like you don't eat food often." Mr. Ilan joked, his eyes going from his customers to Isha.

"Yeah… something like that…" He replied, falling silent as he stared at the soup. The old man's eyes widened a bit and his full attention fell onto Isha.

"I was just kidding, but really? Then the twenty last night?" Mr. Ilan asked, pity starting to form in his eyes.

"That… was the only thing I had until I get paid tomorrow…. I was upset so I didn't want to wait for change… and I was being irrational…" He trailed off, staring nervously into the soup.

The old man leaned over the counter and pat his shoulder gently.

"Don't worry, May and I will take care of you Isha. We're practically family after all now." Isha tilted his head a bit.

"How do you mean?" He asked, furrowing his brow a bit, the embarrassment being replaced with curiosity.

"I'll explain later. Do you not make much at your job though?" Isha shook his head no in response.

"It's a part time, as I'm a college student. And I don't get many hours since they have other college students and people in general…" The old man nodded at Isha's words.

"If you'd like you can work part time here. Whenever your free, meals provided as well as payment." Isha's eyes widened a bit.

"Really? But.."

"No buts. There's really no issue with it, I'm sure May wouldn't mind, right?" The old man looked over at the little runt who was poking her head out of the window.

"I don't have any. As long as he keeps his perverted gaze to himself that is." She replied. Isha squinted her eyes at her, not having realized she had been eavesdropping. She stuck her tongue back at him and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Well there you have it Isha." The old man smiled at him. Isha nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "I'll explain more later." He added as he went to tend to a new group of customers and clean up after one that just left.

"Thank you…" Isha softly said, not sure if he was heard. He wasn't sure about the demon thing, but meeting the old man might be one of the best things to happen to him.