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Day 1
It all started with a walk of the property. Having just bought the Undervale Hotel, Nathan thought it would be best to get a proper lay of the land to know what he was working with. It was a sizable chunk of land, one that he bought for dirt cheap because nobody else had wanted it.
In a way, Nathan saw a lot of himself in this place. Something that nobody believed in; a project that just needed a little time and patience to reach its full potential. Maybe that’s why he bought it on a whim. If he could turn this place around, then surely he could do the same for himself.
Nathan was lost in those thoughts when he suddenly came across a rather sizable hole. He was just about to go around it when he noticed something peculiar. After blinking a couple times, he realized that there was, in fact, a child in the hole.
“Hey, bud! You alright?” he asked. The child raised his head to look at him—a boy, no older than eight or nine at most by the looks of it—and said nothing. He didn’t appear to be injured, at least. “What’re you doing way out here? Did you get lost?”
Again, the child said nothing and only stared. It was a bit concerning, but Nathan did his best to ignore the worries bubbling in his mind while focusing on the task at hand.
“How about we get you out of there?” he suggested as he knelt down to offer his hand. A smile and a small hand reaching for his was all the response he got, but it was something. Nathan grunted as he hoisted the child out of the hole, then stood and dusted off his knees.
Upon closer look, he noticed the boy was dressed like a pilgrim. His fingernails were also unnaturally long, resembling claws more than human fingernails. Maybe he’d been in a school play and hadn’t changed out of his costume yet?
Nathan crouched down until he was eye level with the boy. He gave his friendliest smile and asked, “What’s your name, kiddo?”
“Abaddon,” the boy responded.
“Well, Abaddon, it’s very nice to meet you. I own the hotel over that way,” Nathan said and pointed in the direction he came from, “and I’ve got a landline in the lobby that you can use. Do you know your parents’ number?”
Abaddon tilted his head and looked at him quizzically. “Demons don’t have parents. We’re spawned from a primordial ichor.”
“Demons…?” Nathan repeated, brow knitted in confusion.
“Yes. Demons,” Abaddon replied with all the casualness of pointing out the weather.
Strange kid, Nathan thought to himself. Not that he’s judging or anything.
“Right… How about we just head back to the hotel and then we’ll figure it out from there?” Nathan said. He offered his hand again, but this time Abaddon didn’t take it. Nathan didn’t take the rejection personally, he assumed the kid was just wary of a stranger. Good on him for that! It was smart of him not to trust strangers.
Abaddon stood there for a moment in contemplation before nodding slightly. “Very well. Lead the way.”
The walk back consisted entirely of Nathan rambling on about the hotel and his plans for it, but Abaddon didn’t seem to mind letting him fill the silence. As they stepped into the lobby, the lights immediately flickered and died. “Aw, dang it! Not again!” Nathan yelled. “Okay, just… just wait here while I go fix the breaker,” he told Abaddon before disappearing down the hall.
With a sigh, Nathan pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight as he made his way to the breaker. He knew this place was haunted, but the ghosts were mostly avoiding him for now. That did not, however, stop them from causing him endless problems.
Fixing the breaker took longer than he would have liked—the fuse had somehow melted and he broke three screwdrivers while trying to pry it out—but Nathan felt a glimmer of satisfaction when he flipped the breaker switch and the hum of electricity filled his ears. One by one, the lights came back on and Nathan patted himself on the back.
That sense of pride immediately disappeared once he reached an empty lobby. “Abaddon? Where’d you go, bud?” Nathan asked loudly, but silence was all he got in response.
As he approached the front door to check outside, he noticed small footprints on the carpet from where Abaddon hadn’t bothered to wipe off his muddy shoes before entering. They didn’t go very far, but they led in the direction of the basement door. Sure enough, he found that it was wide open.
Nathan walked quietly down the stairs to the basement. For some reason, the lights were off, and that only doubled the creepy-factor. He was beginning to question whether or not he was searching in the right place until he heard a faint rustling sound. He pressed onwards and upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he flipped the lights on. The sight that greeted him when the room lit up nearly made him scream.
There stood Abaddon, in the middle of the room, dead opossum clenched tightly between his teeth. It hung limp from his jaw and blood from the poor animal’s corpse was smeared across his face and shirt. Nathan stood in shocked silence as he stared at the gruesome scene.
“Oh. My god. Wow! Ok… Uh, wow,” Nathan wheezed out as his words failed him.
Abaddon dropped the opossum unceremoniously onto the floor, opened his mouth, and non-chalantly explained, “It hissed at me.”
“Uh-huh,” Nathan replied as his brain slowly rebooted. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Ok. Let’s, uh… let’s get you cleaned up,” he said as he awkwardly lifted the boy up from under his arms and carried him back up the stairs.
Nathan tried not to think about the unpleasant sensation of blood going cold under his fingers as he carried Abaddon to the bathroom in his room. The plumbing was still finicky in the majority of the hotel, but he knew it at least functioned in his own room.
He gently set Abaddon down onto the tiled floor before briefly stepping out to grab a clean shirt and a washcloth. Thankfully the boy hadn’t moved in that short time and Nathan sighed with relief upon his return. Stay positive, he reminded himself.
“Alright… Arms up,” Nathan instructed as he raised his own arms into the air as an example. Abaddon blinked once and then mimicked the gesture.
What came next was somehow more shocking than the incident in the basement. After peeling the bloodied shirt off of Abaddon, a massive cross-shaped scar was revealed. It looked as though somebody had pressed a branding iron to the boy’s chest. Nathan’s stomach flipped and dread made his fingers go numb.
Who would do such a thing to a child? Who had done such a thing to this child? Somebody was abusing him, that much was clear, but why? Is this why he was out in the woods? Had he run off to escape whoever had done this?
This whole situation had devolved from strange to sinister.
“Abaddon, I need you to be honest with me. Who did this to you?” Nathan asked quietly, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder as he crouched down.
“The priest,” Abaddon replied with a sneer, vitriol and disgust dripping from his tone.
A priest? Had Abaddon escaped some kind of cult? That could explain the odd clothing. A call to the police would need to be made as soon as he had a better grasp of the situation.
“Are you in danger?” Nathan asked with his voice lowered, sounding serious and full of concern.
The boy scoffed in offense. “Me? Abaddon—King of Locusts, gatekeeper of the fifth ring of the Sunless City—in danger? What an insulting concept! Banish the thought.”
Nathan frowned. This might be harder than he thought. “I need you to tell me the truth, Abaddon. Please. I can’t help you if you don’t.”
That, too, seemed to be the wrong thing to say and Abaddon scowled in response. “How dare you suggest such a thing! I am an immortal demon! I do not need help from a mortal,” he ranted.
Nathan took in a measured breath. He wouldn’t be getting anywhere with this. He’ll have to try again later, maybe figure out a different approach. For now, he still needs to get the kid cleaned up.
Maybe he was just tired, or maybe he was too lost in thought to be more careful, but as Nathan went to pick Abaddon up and place him on the edge of the sink, his thumbs accidentally pressed into the scar on the boy’s chest.
An awful buzzing feeling crept up his thumbs and into his hands, but before he could even process it, Abaddon let out an inhuman screech. The sound was unlike anything Nathan had ever heard before. There was a distinct supernatural quality to it, almost like multiple tones were overlapping each other.
Clawed hands shot out and swiped at his face, though they only managed to succeed at grazing his cheeks. Nathan dropped Abaddon with a yelp and the boy landed ungracefully at his feet. Blood dripped sluggishly from the claw marks on his face, but Nathan barely felt it. There were more pressing matters at hand and they already had his full attention.
“I’m—oh my gosh—I’m so sorry!” Nathan stuttered out. Abaddon glared up at him with red eyes, arms held protectively over his chest, as he panted heavily. “Let me you give you a hand,” Nathan said, but when he leaned down to help Abaddon up, the boy growled at him and scuttled backwards until his back hit the bathtub.
Guilt sank like a rock in Nathan’s stomach. “I am so, so sorry, Abaddon. I really didn’t mean to do that. Are you alright? Did I hurt you?” he questioned frantically as he shifted nervously where he stood, silently willing himself not to move so as not to further startle the kid.
“I’m. Fine,” Abaddon hissed out through clenched teeth. He obviously wasn’t, but pointing that out would probably just make things worse.
Once the panic passed, a realization hit Nathan. “Oh. You… you really aren’t human, are you?”
Abaddon only glared at him, but he didn’t need to respond. The events of the last hour spoke for itself.
“There is… a demon. On my bathroom floor. Ok. That’s, uh… that’s something,” Nathan mumbled as he ran a hand through his hair. Deep breaths.
“Sorry about all that. Let’s start over,” he said and smiled as he held out his hand, “my name is Nathan. It’s nice to meet you, Abaddon, King of Locusts and gatekeeper of the fifth ring of the Sunless City.”
The boy eyed him warily, but something softened in his expression. “You remembered,” he pointed out quietly, voice soft with disbelief.
“Of course,” Nathan replied.
The silence stretched out between them for a few seconds before Abaddon slowly reached out and shook his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Nathan.”
Day 2
Nathan had spent the better part of the previous evening preparing a room for Abaddon. He wasn’t sure what an immortal demon would want or need, but he did his best to make the room as inviting as possible. The bed was freshly made and the room was clean. Decorations were sparse, but Nathan figured Abaddon should be the one who gets to decorate.
With his own morning routine complete, Nathan began making his way towards Abaddon’s room. He planned to invite the demon boy to the kitchen for breakfast and use that opportunity to offer to take him shopping for clothes and other needs. Abaddon didn’t seem to have any belongings of his own and Nathan wouldn’t stand by such a thing. He knocked out the rhythm of “shave and a haircut” on the door and waited for a response.
Huh… Nothing.
He tried knocking again. “Abaddon? You in there?” Hm… Still nothing. Maybe he was already out and about.
Just to be sure, Nathan cracked the door open and peeked inside. Everything was exactly as he left it the night before. The bed didn’t even look slept-in. Had Abaddon used the room at all? Nathan shut the door and made his way through the halls as he tried to think of where the boy might’ve run off to.
His question was answered not much later when he heard a loud bang and a yell coming from the vents. Panic shot through Nathan as he dove for the vent cover and ripped it open. “Abaddon!? Abaddon! Is that you?” He shouted as he tried looking inside the vents, but the angle was too awkward for him to be able to see very far.
He was about to run and find the power tools, fearing he would have to free a stuck Abaddon, when suddenly something shot out of the vent and grabbed his hand. Nathan’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest and he stumbled backwards in his moment of panic, causing whatever was latched onto his hand to be pulled along with him.
“Abaddon??” Nathan squeaked out in shock.
The demon boy clung to Nathan and grunted as he flailed and scrabbled against the vents in his efforts to escape. Something must have had a hold on him because suddenly Abaddon was being yanked back into the vents again. His grip on Nathan’s hand tightened and he gritted his teeth from the strain. Nathan planted his feet on the wall as he committed to a tug-of-war with whatever was pulling Abaddon.
As he slowly gained ground in his tug-of-war with the thing in the vents, he noticed there was something wrapped around Abaddon’s torso. It looked like… a tentacle? It was familiar and it took a few seconds for Nathan to put the pieces together, but when he did, he felt like the biggest idiot on Earth. Jessica! He’d only encountered her twice before, but she was a force to be reckoned with. He’d completely forgotten to warn Abaddon about her last night!
Eventually, Abaddon couldn’t hold on any longer and his little hand slipped from Nathan’s. He disappeared back into the vents—pulled at an alarming speed by Jessica’s supernatural strength—before Nathan could grab him. Nathan’s jaw dropped as he stared at the now empty space in front of him.
Sounds of a struggle and inhuman snarling mixed together and echoed through the vents. It was hard to tell who was winning, but Nathan desperately hoped it was Abaddon. He dropped down to the vent and shouted, “Abaddon! Abaddon! Can you hear me!? I’m coming for you, buddy! Just hang on!”
Despite his claim, Nathan honestly had no idea what to do. He was too big to fit in the vents and demolishing the floors and walls to access it would take hours! He paced around in circles as he frantically searched for an idea that could work, but after a few minutes, the sounds from the vents went quiet.
Cautiously, he approached the vent again. “Abaddon…?” he whispered into the narrow space. A moment later, a pair of blue eyes peered at him through the dark. Nathan released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and let out the last of his nervous energy in a breathy chuckle. Slowly, Abaddon squirmed through the vents as he made his way out, but something about the way he moved was… off.
Once the boy exited the vents, it was immediately clear as to why he was moving so strangely. His left arm was badly broken and hanging limp at his side. His sleeve was torn and—from that Nathan could see—the bone was protruding through torn flesh, arm bent in a way that was anything but natural. There were entire chunks of muscle and flesh missing on his legs, and from the way he remained on the floor, it was evident that the damage was too great for him to be able to stand up on his own.
Despite the wounds inflicted on him, Abaddon remained completely unfazed. “I… have proven myself superior through battle… and have claimed… my right to this territory,” he said as he gasped for breath.
It took longer than Nathan would have liked to admit for his mind to catch up with what he was seeing, but once it did, the panic set back in twicefold. “Oh jeez, oh gosh! That… That looks bad. We need to—We need to get you to a hospital!”
Abaddon’s nose scrunched up as he gave Nathan a look of confusion. “What is ‘hospital’?” he asked, pronouncing the word slowly as if it were alien to him.
The strangeness of the question hit Nathan like a brick through a window and he was immediately snapped out of his panic. “Wh—Huh??” he bumbled out with all the grace of a drunk seal. “You don’t know what a hospital is?”
The boy looked unamused at the question and only raised an eyebrow as he waited for an answer.
Nathan pulled his frazzled mind back together as he tried to come up with a way to explain what a hospital was. “Well… It’s a place people go to when they’re sick or hurt so that the doctors can fix them.”
Abaddon waved his good hand dismissively. “No need, then. My body will repair itself on its own.”
“I…” Nathan took a deep breath. “Okay… Okay. Do you, uh, need help? I could carry you, if you’d like.”
The boy’s eyes flashed red. “I do not need help!” he snapped from where he laid on the floor. A moment passed as the two were locked in a stalemate before Abaddon muttered quietly with embarrassment, “Yes, I would appreciate your assistance...”
Nathan fought down a smile at the frankly adorable display and gently scooped Abaddon up into his arms. He did his best not to jostle the boy too much, but if he was in so much as a hint of pain, Abaddon didn’t show it.
“I guess you can’t do much while you wait, huh? I’ve got a few ideas to pass the time if you’re up for it,” Nathan offered.
Abaddon hummed in thought as he mulled it over, then with a small nod he said, “That would be agreeable.”
“Alright, kiddo. Ever heard of checkers?” Nathan asked with a grin, but the boy shook his head in response. Nathan laughed fondly. Of course he didn’t know about checkers either. “Then I’ll teach it to ya! It’s a lot of fun. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
Nathan carried Abaddon into the hotel’s parlor and set him down at the foot of one of the couches, propping him up against it, then pushed a thin coffee table closer. He stepped out for a bit to retrieve the checker board and pieces, then returned and set up the board on the coffee table. After a brief explanation of the rules, they were ready to play.
Somehow, despite the very simple concept of checkers, Abaddon messed up on the very first move. Nathan didn’t have it in him to point out the mistake.
The two of them played—or more like Abaddon made up his own rules while Nathan tried to keep up—until eventually all of Nathan’s pieces were gone and Abaddon was declared the winner.
“Hey, look at that! You won!” Nathan remarked, feeling oddly proud of Abaddon despite the fact he was playing something entirely different from checkers.
“I won…?” he uttered in disbelief. Nathan could pinpoint the exact moment when it all went straight to Abaddon’s head. “I won!!” the boy shouted, ego filled to the brim with his small victory. He pointed a finger at Nathan with a boastful grin on his face, “I have defeated you in a battle of wits! You may grovel at my feet as you cope with your shame!”
Nathan smiled, finding the whole thing too endearing to keep a straight face. “Wanna play again?”
He imagined if Abaddon could jump to his feet with excitement, he would have. The boy’s one good arm slammed onto the table as he eagerly yelled, “YES!”
Day 3
It was approaching the evening of the third day since Nathan had met Abaddon and he hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of him since early that morning. He wasn’t particularly concerned since the boy’s injuries were almost fully healed, but he couldn’t help but wonder what the little guy was up to.
Luckily, he didn’t have to guess for long because he found Abaddon in the cupboards under the sink while preparing dinner. The boy was lazily sipping from a half-empty bottle of lemon-scented Pine-sol, and yet this was somehow the least bizarre thing Nathan had seen in the last seventy-two hours.
Nathan crouched down to be closer to eye level with Abaddon and asked, “What’cha got there, bud?”
The demon boy glanced at the bottle and then back to Nathan. “Juice. I particularly like this one. Fetch me more.”
It was then that Nathan noticed the plethora of empty cleaning agent containers laying beside Abaddon. He made a mental note to restock his entire supply on his next trip to the grocery store. “I’m afraid that’s the last bottle,” Nathan replied.
The demon boy huffed in disappointment.
“How about we, ah… try eating things that aren’t labeled with poison warnings?” Nathan suggested cautiously. He prayed to whatever was out there that feeding Abaddon proper food would nip this new behavior in the bud. If it didn’t, he’d have to start allocating a lot more money to his grocery budget.
Abaddon raised an eyebrow. “There are other things to eat?” he asked.
Nathan nodded. “Oh, sure! Lots of things. I’m actually making dinner right now. It should be done soon.” Abaddon finished off the bottle of Pine-sol and scuttled out of the cupboard. “Here, take a look,” Nathan said, taking off the pot lid and putting it aside as he picked up Abaddon to show him the stew bubbling inside. It was a simple recipe, one from his childhood, and it reminded him of simpler times; a favorite comfort food of his that never failed as a pick-me-up.
“It smells… good,” Abaddon said slowly as he searched for the right words.
Nathan beamed at the compliment. “I’m glad to hear that!” He set the boy down on the counter and grabbed a ladle, then dipped it into the stew and blew on it until it was cool enough. “Try some,” he offered.
Abaddon eyed the ladle suspiciously before gingerly taking it from Nathan’s hand. He sipped at the stew and hummed in delight.
Nathan smiled. “Does it taste as good as it smells?” he asked. Abaddon opted to nod his agreement since he still had a mouthful of stew.
Without warning, Abaddon shoved his entire hand into the boiling pot of stew. Somehow, Nathan managed to pull the boy’s hand out without simultaneously knocking the pot off the stove. “No, no, no! Hands stay out. No eating it until it’s ready,” Nathan warned.
Abaddon’s expression shifted to a pout. “I don’t want to wait. I want to eat it now!” he insisted, redoubling his efforts to reach into the pot.
Nathan caught Abaddon’s wrist and shook his head. “Nuh-uh. Not until it’s ready. I promise it’ll be even better when it is.”
They both stared at each other, waiting for the next move. It was Abaddon who conceded first. “Fine,” he mumbled.
There wasn’t much left to do besides letting it cook, but Nathan wanted to make sure the end result would be extra special. He thought for a moment before a fantastic idea popped into his head.
Nathan grabbed a bottle of hot sauce from the fridge and poured a generous helping into the stew. His spice tolerance wasn’t very high, but given how Abaddon had polished off an entire bottle of bleach, he imagined the demon boy likely has a preference for foods that burn. Oh well. Sometimes sacrifices must be made. Nathan just hoped it wouldn’t mess his stomach up too badly.
After letting the stew simmer for about ten more minutes, he gave it a taste and decided it was ready.
“Dinner is served,” Nathan chirped playfully as he ladled stew into a bowl for Abaddon before doing the same for himself. Abaddon sniffed his food warily before shoveling a handful into his mouth, forgoing the spoon Nathan had provided him entirely. He’ll have to teach him to use utensils later…
Not even five seconds later, Abaddon had already wolfed it all down. He held out the bowl to Nathan, mouth still smeared with the remnants of his stew. “More!” he demanded, and Nathan obliged.
Abaddon ate two more servings and Nathan watched it all in awe while wondering where the boy puts it all. Maybe demons have bottomless stomachs. It seemed pretty accurate given how Abaddon had somehow managed to clear out an entire cupboard of cleaning supplies and finish three bowls of stew.
The kid’s got a voracious appetite, Nathan thought to himself, should I be concerned…?
As Abaddon began working on his fourth bowl, Nathan realized it’s entirely possible that he should.
Day 4
The sound of an alarm pulled Nathan’s unwilling mind from the confines of sleep. He grumbled sleepily as he felt around his nightstand in search of the snooze button, his hand landing heavily on the button once he found it. Part of him resented how he cowered at the idea of leaving his bed, of facing another day. Another part, a much louder part, told him to stay.
“Come on, Nathan. Ya just gotta do it. One day at a time,” he mumbled to himself quietly.
Slowly, he dragged himself out of bed, grabbing his phone off the nightstand as he staggered into the bathroom. He winced as he flipped the light switch, blinded momentarily while his eyes adjusted. He fumbled with his phone for a bit as he pulled up his morning playlist, then hit ‘play’ once it was ready. It was a collection of cheerful tunes to help perk him up and sometimes it was the only thing that kept him from crawling back into bed.
Like every time before, Nathan forced himself to go through the motions of his morning routine. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth, made his bed, took his medicine, and changed out of his pajamas. Simple things, really, but somehow they felt like monumental tasks.
He made his way to the kitchen and his stomach growled. Breakfast sounded nice right about now. He didn’t feel like making anything, so cereal would have to do. He was enjoying said bowl of cereal when Abaddon paid him an unexpected, but welcome visit.
The demon boy climbed onto the chair nearest to him and blinked at him owlishly. “What were those strange sounds coming from your room?” he questioned, voice tinged with curiosity.
The random question caught Nathan off-guard, but he recovered quickly. “Was I snoring too loudly?” he asked with a wince. Abaddon shook his head.
“No. It was… a series of noises.” It was a vague answer, but Nathan felt confident in his guess of what it was.
He took out his phone and pressed ‘play’ on his morning playlist. “Did it sound like this?”
Abaddon nodded his head and bounced in his chair excitedly. “Yes! That! What is it?” he inquired eagerly.
Nathan chuckled. “That, Abaddon, is called music. I take it you’re a fan?” The boy nodded avidly in response. “There’s all kinds of music, not just this. Wanna listen?”
Abaddon stared up at him in awe, and Nathan swore he could see stars in his eyes. “Yes!!” he shouted.
After a moment of thought, Nathan played a pop song that was number one in the top 40 charts. It seemed like the best place to start since a lot of people must have liked it for it to have ranked so high. He glanced over to check Abaddon’s reaction, but the boy’s expression had fallen into disappointment. Seems this was a no-go.
“This genre is called pop, but I see you’re not very into it. How about… rock?” Nathan suggested while searching for a new song. Eventually, he landed on a classic and hit play. Again, this one didn’t seem to catch Abaddon’s favor, and now the boy’s frown had fallen even further in reaction. “Not liking this one either, huh? That’s alright! There’s still loads of other options.”
He tried jazz next. That was a nope.
Then country.
Rap.
Electronic.
Hip-hop.
Soul.
Metal.
Each new genre only seemed to irritate Abaddon further until disappointment turned to frustration.
“Huh. You’re a hard one to please, kid,” Nathan mused, feeling somewhat puzzled by Abaddon’s shift in mood.
Abaddon stomped his foot. “These are all wrong!”
Nathan raised his hands as he tried to placate the upset demon. “Hey, hey. It’s ok, bud. We can still try some more. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.”
“No! I do not want to listen to other music, I want to listen to yours!” he demanded. “The one that…” he trailed off as he tried to find the words for what he wanted to convey, “the one that sounds like you.”
Mine? The one that sounds like… me? Nathan thought in confusion. What did that mean? Was he talking about the morning playlist? There was only one genre on there, so that must be it. Nathan started up the playlist for a third time this morning and Abaddon’s mood immediately swung back into excitement.
“Yes! This one! This is the one I wanted!” Abaddon shouted with a smile on his face.
Of all the things Nathan had expected a demon to choose, beach music definitely wasn’t one of them. It was Nathan’s favorite—he even listened to it every morning—and he wondered absentmindedly if that was why Abaddon liked it too.
Day 5
It was late in the afternoon of the fifth day when Abaddon came shuffling in through the front door with a dirt-covered shovel dragging behind him. His clothes were beyond filthy and Nathan could smell him before he even saw him. The boy had been gone since last night, off doing god knows what. Based on the smell alone, it seemed Abaddon had spent that entire time rolling in something that had been rotting for two weeks. Knowing Abaddon, that scenario was entirely plausible.
Nathan’s hand flew to his face and he quickly pinched his nose to block out the smell. “Yikes, kid! You need a bath ASAP,” he blurted out.
Abaddon just squinted and stared for a moment in thought. Realization lit up in his eyes and he asked, “Is that the human ritual with water and bubbles?” From anyone else, this question would have been outlandish, but this was Abaddon. That did, however, raise a very important question of when Abaddon had last bathed.
“Yup, and you’re getting one,” Nathan replied as he made his way over.
Abaddon’s eyes narrowed in warning. “I don’t want one,” he said.
“Well, you’re getting one.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Nathan scooped up Abaddon, holding him under his arms, as he carried him off to the bathroom. The boy struggled fiercely, but Nathan’s grip was too strong to break free from. “I do not want a bath!!” he screeched, flailing and hissing like a particularly angry cat.
“Sorry, bud, but stinky Abaddons get baths. No ifs, ands, or buts,” Nathan stated plainly. It took longer than it normally would to draw a bath since Nathan also had to contend with a very angry Abaddon while doing so, but eventually the bath was ready and the bubbles were extra high for good measure.
He piled the dirty clothes in a corner—which would definitely need to be washed later—and dumped Abaddon into the tub. Nathan stifled a laugh when the boy yelped in surprise once his body hit the water.
“Release me!” Abaddon howled, clawing at the edge of the bathtub, but the demand fell on deaf ears.
Nathan shook his head while pushing him back in. “No can do,” he said and handed the boy a soap-covered washcloth, “so take this and clean your body while I wash your hair.”
“And why would I do that?” Abaddon retorted haughtily.
“Because the faster you do, the faster you get this bath over with,” Nathan explained with a shrug while lathering up his hands with shampoo. “Now close your eyes, ‘cause you do not want this stuff to get in them. Trust me.”
Abaddon surprisingly obeyed for once, but not without a good amount of grumbling. After a lot of scrubbing—and replacing the bath water twice—Abaddon was finally clean. He scrambled out of the tub, glaring at it as if it had personally offended him, and stood dripping on the tile floor.
Nathan grabbed a towel off the rack nearby and draped it over the boy’s head. “Dry yourself off with this,” he told him, “and I’ll see if I can find you something to wear.”
The only outfit Abaddon had was the one he’d been wearing the day they met, but that was not an option at the moment. Unfortunately, Nathan had yet to take the demon boy shopping for new clothes and he internally kicked himself for that. So forgetful…
Nathan made his way to his room and rifled through his dresser in search of something for Abaddon to wear. Eventually, he settled on the smallest shirt he could find—which would certainly still be far too large—and some shorts with an adjustable drawstring that he hoped could be tightened enough to make do with.
He returned to the bathroom with the change of clothes and was greeted by the sight of a slightly shivering Abaddon. Poor little guy. Hopefully the clothes will warm him up soon. “Try putting this on and we’ll see if it fits,” Nathan said while handing over the pair of shorts.
Abaddon slipped the shorts on, but couldn’t seem to figure out how to tie the drawstring, so Nathan stepped in to help with that. He managed to make it fit, though just barely. Next was the shirt and Nathan couldn’t hold back a laugh when he saw how comically large it looked on the boy. It nearly reached his knees!
“I demand you cease your laughter at once!” Abaddon growled, stomping his foot angrily.
“Sorry, sorry,” Nathan apologized, “I’ll put your clothes in the wash, so you don’t need to worry about having to wear that for long.”
Abaddon glared at him, but said nothing. It took everything Nathan had not to start another round of laughter at how Abaddon stood there looking like that very grumpy cat he saw on the internet once. Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, Nathan pleaded to himself.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said once his laughter died down, “after I throw your clothes in the wash, I’ll give you a reward for taking a bath. How does that sound?”
“A reward? What kind?” Abaddon asked, trying and failing to hide his piqued interest.
“It’ll be a surprise,” Nathan responded with a wink.
“Hmm… Very well, but if it does not satisfy me, then you shall pay dearly,” the boy threatened vaguely.
“Got it,” Nathan accepted. “Go wait in the parlor and I’ll meet you there in a bit,” he said as he grabbed the dirty clothes in the corner and walked off towards the laundry room.
The clothes in his hands stunk something fierce and Nathan hoped it would wash out. Whether or not it would, only time could tell. He used a little more detergent than he usually would, just to be on the safe side, and ran the spin cycle. Now all that was left was to get Abaddon’s reward.
Nathan followed the familiar path to the kitchen and began warming some milk on the stove. He searched the pantry for a while until he found exactly what he was looking for. At the back of the middle shelf was a box of his favorite brand of hot chocolate tablets. He just knew Abaddon was going to love this. Who doesn’t love hot chocolate?
After breaking off a chunk from the tablet, Nathan dropped the piece into the heated milk. He waited for it to melt completely, stirring it all the while, and then poured it into two mugs.
He was about to take them to the parlor when he remembered one last ingredient. “Whoops! Almost forgot,” he said to himself as he added two big marshmallows to each mug. “Now it’s ready!”
He carried a mug in each hand as he walked to the parlor and nudged the door open with his foot. “Get ready to have your mind blown!” Nathan exclaimed eagerly.
Abaddon turned his head to look at him from the couch he was… standing on? “That won’t kill me and you know it,” he replied bluntly.
“Ah, just a figure of speech,” Nathan corrected. “Here, take this—and be careful, it’s hot!” he said as he placed a steaming mug in Abaddon’s hands.
Abaddon sniffed the drink suspiciously, then decidedly ignored Nathan’s warning and took a sip. Despite still being fresh off the stove, the boy didn’t seem to care at all, and he began taking in greedy gulps of his hot chocolate.
In less than thirty seconds, the drink was gone.
Abaddon turned his attention back to Nathan, hot chocolate stuck to his upper lip. “You have been spared from my wrath.”
Well, it would seem Nathan has found the perfect bathtime bribe.
Day 6
The start of Nathan’s day was anything but peaceful. Upon entering the kitchen, he immediately noticed the oven door had somehow been ripped off of its hinges, the window glass shattered and laying in a pile on the floor. As if that wasn’t concerning enough, he found the washing machine’s inner drum had also been dropped, leaving it to hang uselessly inside the chassis.
Nathan was walking down the hall while estimating the cost of repairs when he noticed the floors were wet. After checking every single room along the hallway he was in, he discovered that the faucets in the bathrooms had all been turned on and left that way. After that, he found the upholstery in the parlor had been ripped to shreds.
The cherry on top of this disaster was the lobby, which had been utterly trashed. Nathan stood there, mind running through a million thoughts at once, as he trembled. Had somebody broken in? Were they still here? Should he call the police??
It was then that Abaddon walked in and everything seemed to click at once.
“You…” Nathan breathed out in disbelief, “you did this?”
Abaddon looked around the room, then back to Nathan, and nodded. “I encountered a doppelganger and I had to assert my dominance as the superior Abaddon,” he stated plainly.
“And the oven?” Nathan asked quickly.
“I thought it was a portal to Hell. Obviously it failed me,” he replied with a tsk.
“The bathrooms?”
“The knobs were entertaining to turn.”
“The washing machine?”
“I quite enjoyed the spinning!”
“The… the parlor!?”
“The furniture had a nice claw-feel. Very satisfying.”
Nathan’s jaw dropped as he stared at the demon boy in stunned silence. All in one night, this child had managed to singlehandedly cause at least $10,000 in damages. How did Nathan not hear any of it? Why would Abaddon do this?
As the shock wore off, the panic began to settle in. There was no way he could afford the repairs, not when—nope! Nuh-uh! Don’t think about that! Just focus on the now. What can he… what can he fix right now…?
Nathan took in a few measured breaths as he scanned the room. Right, the mess. He can work on cleaning up the mess. It was a start, at the very least. Figuring out how to handle the cost of repairs would be for future Nathan to worry about.
Now that he had that squared away, that only left him to decide what to do with Abaddon. Nathan didn’t trust the boy enough to leave him to his own devices while he cleans up this mess, so he’d need to think of something and he’d have to do it quickly. He racked his brain for an idea of what to do when it suddenly dawned on him. He’d done some research on demons a couple days ago, hoping to find more about what their diets are like, when he learned a tidbit of information that he hadn’t given much thought to at the time.
Salt, the most easily accessible way to contain a demon. He never thought he’d have to make use of this knowledge, but Abaddon wasn’t giving him much of a choice. Nathan didn’t like being the bad guy, it just wasn’t in his nature, but with a resigned sigh, he headed towards the kitchen.
Abaddon trailed behind him, seemingly under the impression that the purpose of their visit was for breakfast, but he’d find out soon enough that it was not. Nathan retrieved a box of salt from the cupboard and the boy immediately recognized what it was. Abaddon suddenly turned to make his escape, but Nathan was faster.
“No—NO!” he screeched as Nathan grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the corner to put him in timeout. “How dare you do this to me!? Unhand me!!”
“I’m sorry, Abaddon, but I can’t let you—AGH!” Nathan screamed and released his hold on Abaddon. Blood dripped down his arm from where Abaddon had ripped into it with his claws. It burned, and pain radiated across his skin, but the sting of betrayal hurt more.
Anger flared somewhere deep in his chest. “Urgh! I can’t—I can’t fucking deal with you right now!!” he screamed, grabbing a dish towel and pressing it to his arm as he stormed out of the kitchen.
The cuts were considerably deep, and in combination with the vertical placement, Nathan knew he’d have to get stitches. He pressed the towel down harder in an effort to stem the bleeding as he made his way to his car. Nathan tied the towel as tightly as he could around the weeping wounds on his arm and began his journey to the nearest hospital.
The town was too small to have its own emergency room and the nearest one was an hour long drive away. After a very tense drive, Nathan arrived at the ER parking lot. He stepped out of his car and entered the reception area. Once he went through the usual motions of checking in at the ER, he was told to wait in the lobby.
Given that this was the only proper hospital in the entire area, Nathan was unsurprised to find that it was markedly busy. Stitches were usually at the bottom of the ‘most critical’ list and he knew that meant he’d be in for a long wait—and a long wait it was. It took 6 hours before a doctor finally saw him.
“Three seven inch lacerations and two five inch lacerations on the… let’s see… right arm, was it?” the doctor said as he read Nathan’s chart while rifling through the cabinets for supplies. “How’d you get that?”
“My, uh… my cat scratched me,” Nathan lied hesitantly.
The doctor looked at him with a doubtful expression, brow raised. “Mighty large cat you’ve got.”
“Yeah, it’s—it’s a Maine Coon. Big cat. Huuuge,” Nathan replied, bouncing his leg nervously.
The expression on the doctor’s face said he didn’t buy it, but he seemed to accept the answer anyhow. Nathan silently breathed a sigh of relief. He had no idea how to explain that an immortal demon trapped in a little boy’s body had been the reason for his visit without sounding completely insane.
It took a while for the doctor to clean his wound, disinfect the area, and apply local anesthesia, but eventually he was ready to suture the cuts. It took an hour and a half for the doctor to finish stitching his skin back together, but it felt so much longer. His freshly stitched wounds were dressed in gauze and bandages, and he was given a tetanus shot for precaution.
“I see you don’t have any insurance listed on your chart. There are payment plans available for you and if you have any questions, you can contact our financial department. We’ll send you the bill in the mail,” the doctor said as he got up and left the room. He could really use some work on his bedside manner, Nathan thought.
The drive back to the hotel was long as traffic had built up since he’d left earlier that morning. By the time Nathan reached the hotel, the sun had already begun to set. An entire day had been wasted.
Nathan stepped in through the front doors and was greeted with an entirely unwelcome sight. Everything was still exactly the same as he’d left it—completely destroyed. The sudden weight of his situation hit him like a brick from heaven and it left him breathless.
The property damage had to be somewhere around $10,000 alone and he knew his hospital bill would be at least $5,000, which meant that he’d managed to rack up about $15,000 of debt in a single day. He was already in a hefty amount of debt before all of this and, of course, the hotel still hadn’t managed to turn a profit. There was no way he could afford this. Nathan refused to even consider asking his family for help. It’d only confirm all the awful things he knows they think of him. He’d never live it down.
Oh, god… He could lose everything. If this hotel goes down, then everything Nathan has goes with it. His home, his dignity, his hope. This place was his last chance to prove his worth to his family, to prove to himself that he’s not just a failure. He had hoped if he could change this hotel, that if he could make it work, it would mean he could do the same for himself.
What an idiot he had been. Too blind to see his mistakes before he makes them, too stupid to know when to quit.
Bitter tears stung in his eyes, but Nathan refused to let them fall. He began working on at least mopping up the water in the hall, but after two hours, he gave up. This was hopeless, he was hopeless, and he was a fool to have ever expected anything else.
Nathan dragged himself to the parlor, furniture upholstery still torn to ribbons, and sat down on the couch in front of the television. He turned it on with a remote and switched the input to the DVD player where he knew a copy of Con Air sat waiting.
He kept the lights off—the glow of the TV being enough to illuminate the room—as he wallowed in his own self-pity. He hated this, hated himself. He hated the way he always managed to find new lows for himself and how he was never smart enough to dig his way out of his own messes.
Pathetic. He was absolutely pathetic. A sorry excuse for a human being and an utter disappointment to everyone around him. Maybe… maybe they’d be better off if he… No, no. Bad thoughts. He can’t let his mind wander down that path, no matter how bad he might feel.
But, god, what a mess he’d gotten himself into. He knew this hotel had already been failing when he bought it, he knew, but he just thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what he thought now. Everything had gone to shit because of one bad day—one bad day that Abaddon had created.
Abaddon. Abaddon… He was a problem. Destructive and wild. An unapologetic agent of chaos that had brought a lethal blow to Nathan’s dream. He was the source of his stress from this nightmarish day. How in the world was Nathan supposed to deal with him?
A thought popped into his head at that moment. It started off small, but gradually it grew louder. He wasn't proud of it, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense and his anger grew with it.
Throw him out.
Yes… He’ll make Abaddon leave. Maybe then things will go back to normal. He won’t have to clean up any more messes or worry about appeasing an unruly demon. No more stress, no more disasters. He’ll find him later and tell him to—
“Nathan?”
He turned his head to look over the couch and found Abaddon standing in the doorway, looking uncharacteristically timid.
“What, Abaddon?” Nathan asked, voice full of exhaustion and tinged with exasperation.
“Ah, I see you… have returned. I was beginning to think that you… well, uh, never mind that,” he said, stumbling over his words.
Nathan watched Abaddon as he waited for him to do or say whatever it was he came here for. The boy walked over quietly and handed him a sheet of paper. Nathan held it in front of himself and used the light coming from the TV to inspect what was on the paper.
It was a drawing of what appeared to be Abaddon and Nathan holding hands. The color choices were odd and the drawing was childishly crude, but he could tell it was sincere.
“This is a visual representation of our alliance,” he began explaining as he fidgeted nervously, eyes wandering in an effort to avoid Nathan’s gaze. “I realize that I… have damaged my standing in our alliance, and—and I would deeply regret if I, uh… would be left without an ally because of this.”
Remorse had dripped from every awkward syllable in Abaddon’s speech and shame washed over Nathan like a tidal wave. What was he thinking? Abaddon might be an immortal demon, but he was still a kid. One that was terrified of the idea that one mistake—a very big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless—would result in him being abandoned.
I can’t do that to him, Nathan thought, scolding himself internally. He was still quite angry and disappointed with Abaddon, and likely would be for a while, but sending the boy away would be going too far.
Nathan sighed and scooted over on the couch to make more room for Abaddon in a silent gesture of “I forgive you”. The boy hesitantly climbed onto the couch and sat next to Nathan. The two of them said nothing for the next few minutes as they watched Con Air, silence stretching between them. Eventually, Abaddon worked up the courage to speak.
"Are you... still angry with me?" he asked tentatively.
“Yes,” Nathan sighed, “but I won’t always be.”
A pause.
“When will you stop being angry with me?”
"I don’t know. Just… give it time."
Another pause, longer this time.
“Are you… are you going to leave again?”
Nathan’s heart broke when he recognized the fear in Abaddon’s voice. “No… No, I’m not leaving.”
"Ok," Abaddon said after a moment, voice barely above a whisper, but the look on his face said he didn't believe it.
Nathan didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could say that would convince the boy that what he was saying was the truth.
They continued watching the TV in silence, and Nathan tried his best to think of something to say, but it was a fruitless endeavor. At some point, Abaddon must have moved closer, because he was now slowly curling up against Nathan’s side in search of comfort.
“I’m sorry,” Abaddon whispered, eyes still glued to the screen.
Nathan wrapped an arm around him, trying his best to provide the boy a little more comfort. “We had a bad day, but it’ll pass.”
Abaddon didn’t reply, but something wet began dripping onto Nathan’s sleeve and suddenly he knew why the boy wasn’t speaking.
“It’ll be ok, kiddo.”
He hoped Abaddon knew he meant it.
Day 7
Dragging himself out of bed was especially difficult that morning. Nathan tried his best not to let the daunting task of repairing the hotel and handling the added debt overwhelm him, but he feared that this would be a losing battle. Regardless, he decided he would make sure that Abaddon knew he was still wanted here. Nathan was all too familiar with knowing what it was like to feel unwanted and he refused to be the reason why somebody else would ever feel that way.
He took a deep breath and splashed his face with cold water a couple times, then left his room to start the day. Nathan was walking down the hall to make a pitstop by the supply closet to grab a broom and dustpan when he noticed a burning smell coming from the kitchen. He gasped in alarm and raced towards the kitchen at a speed he was mildly surprised he could achieve.
Not again, not again! Nathan skidded to a halt in the doorway and was surprised to find the kitchen wasn’t up in flames. Huh.
Abaddon was standing on a chair that had been pushed up near the stove, spatula in hand. A small frying pan was on the stovetop with something burnt nearly to charcoal inside. He was carefully flipping it with a look of intense concentration, brows furrowed and movements slow, before he then transferred it to a plate.
“Abaddon? What’cha doin’ there, bud?”
The boy in question jumped slightly after being startled and whipped around to face Nathan. “Oh! I, er… I thought I’d make you breakfast,” he replied with an apprehensive smile.
There was no way Abaddon would have been able to figure out how to cook on his own, so that must have meant Abaddon had been watching Nathan when he had cooked breakfast these last few days. Something about that made him feel touched. Maybe it was knowing that Abaddon had paid attention or maybe it was the fact that he had been a role model to somebody else for once.
Whatever Abaddon had been making was nothing more than a burnt hockey puck at this point, but Nathan knew he was trying and that gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Yes, Abaddon was trying to change and if someone like him could do it, then perhaps that meant Nathan could as well…
Nathan smiled in fond exasperation, his residual anger from the night before melting away. “Looks good,” he said in a bald-faced lie.
The first bite was… yeah, it was charcoal. He must’ve done a pretty good job schooling his expression because Abaddon looked incredibly proud of himself. After choking down breakfast, Nathan prepared himself for a long and grueling day of cleaning.
“I’m gonna go clean up the hotel, so please don’t destroy anything else, ok? I’m trusting you,” Nathan said.
“Understood,” Abaddon replied, then quickly added, “I’d like to help, if you’d be amenable.”
“You… want to help me?” Nathan asked in bafflement.
“Yes. That is what I said.”
Nathan blinked. First breakfast and now this? Who was this kid and what did he do with Abaddon? “Sure! I’d love it if you could give me a hand with the cleanup.”
Abaddon nodded with a serious expression on his face. “Then I shall lend you my aid.”
The two of them worked on the flooded hallway first. Nathan used a squeegee to push the water into the drains on the bathroom floors while Abaddon dried up what was left with a towel. They made quick work of the flooded rooms and moved on to the lobby.
Cleaning up the debris in the lobby took considerably longer than Nathan would have liked—which wasn’t helped by the fact it took Abaddon an unusual amount of time to figure out how to use a broom—but eventually the lobby looked at least somewhat presentable. The ruined wallpaper still needed to be dealt with and that required a trip to the home improvement store in town. Nathan glanced over at Abaddon and tried to decide if it would be better to leave him at the hotel or to bring him along.
Nathan eventually decided to bring Abaddon with him since he was still wary of trusting Abaddon with being unsupervised. “We’re gonna need to get wallpaper paste and some rolls of wallpaper, which means we’re taking a trip into town. I need you to be on your best behavior while we’re there. Please.”
The demon boy looked uncertain, but still nodded. “I will… do my best not to disappoint you on this quest.”
Not the most reassuring response, but Nathan could work with that. “Alright, then. Let’s load up,” he said while grabbing his car keys off the reception desk. He made his way out to his car, which was parked in front of the hotel, while Abaddon followed. Nathan opened the rear passenger side door, then ushered Abaddon inside and buckled him in before settling himself into the driver’s seat.
The drive into town was mostly quiet since Abaddon was too occupied with marveling at the view out of his window to make conversation. Nathan was just glad the ride was peaceful. He could only pray the rest of the trip would be the same.
Nathan parked the car in front of the store and got out. “I’ve only got one rule for you,” he said as he unbuckled Abaddon, “don’t touch anything without asking me first and keep your hands to yourself. Got it?”
“Understood,” Abaddon replied.
Nathan grabbed the boy’s hand and held it—just to make sure he wouldn’t wander off—and the two of them headed inside. The store wasn’t very large, so of course the wallpaper selection wasn’t either. It wouldn’t take long to pick something out.
Nathan was down to his final two choices and trying to decide on which design he preferred more when he noticed Abaddon was pulling a putty knife off the rack. “Hey! What’d I tell you about touching?”
The boy froze and dropped the putty knife, looking everything like a kid who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “You said… not to..?” he asked sheepishly.
“That’s right, so put it back,” Nathan chided. Abaddon carefully picked up the putty knife and slowly slid it back onto the rack, not once breaking eye contact with Nathan while doing so. “Good, now keep those sticky fingers off the merchandise.”
The rest of the shopping trip was surprisingly smooth. Abaddon stayed on his best behavior despite that one minor slip-up with the putty knife. Nathan was rather proud of the boy. He’d done remarkably well. The two returned to the car and once the wallpaper rolls and wallpaper paste were loaded up, they began their drive back to the hotel.
Nathan parked the car at the entrance and unbuckled Abaddon, then gathered up the supplies. “Mind grabbing the door for me, bud?”
Abaddon nodded and scuttled over to the door on all fours—why he decided to opt for running on four limbs instead of two, Nathan didn’t know. The demon boy leapt onto the door and hung from the frame as he used his weight to make it swing open. Once the door was fully open, he dropped down to the floor and ran inside.
“Huh… That’s one way to do that, I guess,” Nathan remarked, chuckling to himself. “Thanks, Abaddon!” he shouted. He hoped the boy was still within earshot, but for all he knew, Abaddon could very well be off somewhere in the vents by now.
Nathan dragged the wallpaper supplies inside and found Abaddon waiting for him. Good! He was going to love this next part.
“I’ve got a special task for you. Think you can handle it?” Nathan asked with a mischievous grin.
“I am a demon prince who has held dominion over countless tortured souls!” he declared with no further explanation, but Nathan only eyed him expectantly while waiting for a proper ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. Abaddon rolled his eyes. “Of course I can,” he huffed in mild irritation.
“That’s what I like to hear! See that?” Nathan asked, pointing at the lobby’s ruined wallpaper. “I want you to rip it up.”
Abaddon froze. His eyes scanned the walls as he searched for any kind of clue that would make sense of the situation. “You want me… to rip that?” he asked hesitantly as he pointed at the wallpaper. “I thought you specifically requested that I refrain from causing any further destruction to the hotel.”
“Well, yes, I did say that—and it still stands! However, this is an exception,” Nathan explained. “We gotta take the old wallpaper off before we can put the new one on. So… I thought I’d leave this to the expert,” he said, motioning a hand towards the walls with a smile.
Abaddon looked between the wall and Nathan a few times as he slowly broke into an ear-to-ear grin, body vibrating with manic energy. Yeah, this was probably a good idea. Probably. Hopefully.
Before Nathan could say anything else, Abaddon jumped onto the nearest wall and clung to it like a spider as he began rapidly peeling and tearing away at sections of wallpaper. How the boy managed to defy gravity as he skittered along the lobby walls was a mystery, but Nathan figured it was a demon thing.
Maniacal laughter filled the room as Abaddon made quick work of the ruined wallpaper. “Rip and tear! Rip and tear!” Abaddon chanted. “None shall escape the Cobra King’s wrath! Hahahaha!”
Nathan’s own laughter joined in as he began ripping off the sections on the other side of the room. This was… surprisingly fun! The two giggled and whooped as they tore everything down, strip by strip.
Within no time, the walls were bare. “Nice job, kid!” Nathan complimented as he stood doubled over while trying to catch his breath, lungs and cheeks aching from laughing too hard.
“Your praise is noted,” Abaddon replied with a boastful smirk.
They dragged the shredded wallpaper out to the dumpster and returned to the lobby to begin pasting on the new wallpaper. Abaddon was immensely helpful in this aspect since he climbed up the walls to help line up each strip. A creepy ability, but also very useful!
With the new wallpaper applied, they moved on to the parlor. All they would need to do here is strip the upholstery off of the furniture. As for reupholstering? That’d have to be left to a professional and Nathan made a mental note to schedule that later.
Finishing their task in the parlor was quick as well and Nathan felt confident that they’d finish the entire cleanup far earlier than he’d thought. Things were finally shaping up and he could only hope that single thought hadn’t just jinxed it all.
Next was the kitchen and the laundry room. Sweeping the broken glass took barely any time at all, but moving the stove was a struggle. Nathan had to load it up onto a hand truck while Abaddon helped keep it steady as they slowly dragged it to the lobby. The entire thing would need to be replaced, but it was already getting a bit too old, so really it was just a matter of time before it came to this. He’ll have to find somebody to call that would come pick it up and take it off his hands.
Last was the washing machine. There was no way Nathan could fix this on his own, so he made a call to the nearest appliance repair shop and scheduled an appointment for a handyman to come out and fix it. With that out of the way, the cleanup was complete—or, well… as complete as it could be for now. He’d still need to replace everything that had been destroyed in the lobby, reupholster the parlor’s furniture, replace the stove, and have the washing machine repaired. Despite that, Nathan felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
Nathan stood in the lobby, appraising the work he and Abaddon had done, pride glowing in his chest. He felt so much better now that it was no longer in a state of disarray, more in control. Nathan patted Abaddon on the back and whispered, “Thanks for helping me, bud.”
The boy nodded in acknowledgement. “It was a noble cause.”
A small smile tugged at the corners of Nathan’s mouth. Abaddon was a handful and likely always would be, but somehow Nathan felt less alone than he had before. He didn’t have friends or family to turn to before and still didn’t now, but Abaddon was here and that made it all feel a little less scary. There was still a lot to do and a plethora of issues to still solve, but Nathan could be brave. If not for himself, then at least for Abaddon.
The road ahead was still long and uncertain, and likely full of bumps, but it’d be nice to have a passenger with him for once.
He’ll learn to weather rough seas.
(He won’t)