Chapter 119 Chapter 119
“You should eat first, you’ve been unconscious for too long,” Shawn said, watching her pale complexion doubtfully. “You humans are fragile. Don’t be careless about your health. Maxwell will kill us if he finds out we didn’t take care of you.” He shuddered and looked scared for a second.
“Please, Shawn. Just for a minute? I will eat afterward, I promise,” she pleaded and used her big puppy eyes on him that made him cave in fairly quickly.
“Okay, okay,” he sighed. “Come with me.”
“There’s not much to see, though. The idiot is just lying around,” Xander nagged.
She got up and followed them through a door to a long hallway with dark tiles and grey walls. Maxwell’s preference for dark colors was prevalent in the entire house. While she was curious about his home and wanted to discover more of it, she was anxious to see him and didn’t have the patience for detours. The two demons showed her to a room just two doors down and told her to enter. She was scared, her heart beating nervously in her chest when she walked in, finding Maxwell motionless on the bed just like they had told her. She nearly stumbled over her own feet in her haste to get to him and stopped right next to him.
Outwardly, he didn’t have any injuries, but he was unnaturally pale, his skin almost matching his hair color. He appeared weak and ill, nothing like the proud, loudmouthed demon she was used to. Her heart sank, and she frowned worriedly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“Maybe he’ll wake up if you ask him nicely,” Xander teased and earned himself a slap from Shawn.
“Shut up, you dumbass,” the fire demon hissed and dragged him out of the room so she could have some privacy.
Valerie leaned over him and laid her hand on his cheek, shocked at how cold he felt. Her fingers caressed his head, brushing over his silky white hair. She was worried about him, wondering how dangerous it was for a demon to be in a comatose state this long. After all, demons normally didn’t need sleep or rest. She had never seen him like this, not once in the entire three months she had known him.
“Maxwell, I don’t know if you can hear me,” she said sadly, continuing to caress his head. “I miss you, please wake up soon. It’s lonely without you… and I’m worried about you too.”
She remained at his side for a while and watched him with a frown until Shawn opened the door and stuck his head inside. He sighed, approaching her.
“Why don’t you eat something now and come back after?” he asked sternly and crossed his arms, not letting her out of his sight until she nodded reluctantly.
“Fine,” she mumbled and got up to follow him.
—
Since demons didn’t need food to survive, there was nothing edible around in Maxwell’s house. Therefore, the demons had improvised and briefly paid a visit to the human world to get something for her. She ended up with Chinese takeout that she scarfed down in record time. Valerie hadn’t eaten for days, and her stomach had been painfully empty, so she was grateful to Shawn and Xander for taking care of her.
They had talked for a while, but both had quickly noticed how impatient and inattentive she was, knowing that she wanted to go back to a certain someone as soon as possible.
“You’re so whipped for him,” Xander snickered when she started drumming her fingers on the table in the kitchen. “It’s not like you’re missing out on anything; he’s still unconscious.”
“You don’t get it, Xander,” she replied and grimaced.
“Then explain it to me,” he smirked, prompting Shawn to roll his eyes.
“We’re not having a conversation about romance in this house,” he cut in annoyedly and stared Xander down with his creepy bi-colored eyes. “Why don’t we go and tell the others that Valerie woke up? Then she can have some alone time with him, and we can talk more when we are back.”
“You’re no fun,” Xander sighed, but complied with the fire demon.
“Shut it,” Shawn retorted before he glanced at Valerie. “We’ll be back in a while. Just make yourself at home, Valerie. You’re safe as long as you don’t leave the house.”
“Okay,” she said and got up. “See you later.”
They both nodded at her, and then Xander teleported them away, leaving her alone in the kitchen. She wondered for how long they would be gone, but didn’t dwell on the thought. Her legs had already started moving, carrying her back through the hallway to Maxwell’s room.
She closed the door behind her and walked to the bedside, sitting down and watching him quietly. His eyes were still shut, but something in his expression had changed compared to earlier. It seemed like he wasn’t feeling well, scrunching his brows and curling his lips downward. He was unconscious, but his lips parted as if he wanted to say something.
“Are you having a nightmare?” she mumbled and laid her hand on his cheek, the pads of her fingers gently touching him. She hoped to calm him down like this, but her attempt was fruitless. Whatever he was dreaming about couldn’t be anything good—he let out a low groan, clenching his jaw.
“Wake up, Maxwell.” she said in a louder tone, leaning over him in worry. Yet again, he didn’t react. The nightmare seemed to cause him distress since he became even more restless. He grimaced and even looked scared. She had never seen him display this emotion before, so her concern only grew. Valerie didn’t know what to do. She grabbed Maxwell’s shoulders, tried to get him to wake up, but he didn’t react to her touch. Feeling helpless, she kneeled next to him on the mattress and shook him, calling out to him.
“Wake up, you have to wake up. Calm down, please.” she shouted frustratedly. “Maxwell.”
While the shaking didn’t seem to help, her loud voice, on the other hand, reached him. He stopped moving around and stilled. She bowed lower and cupped his cheek with her hands. He was so cold; it was frightening.