LXXIX

Eleven has told Mike the "PG" version of the events: she is an orphan and Henry is her cousin and guardian. Although at first she is afraid that he will request more details—such as what was her life like before her "cousin" gave her a home—she calms down when she notices the boy is satisfied with this story.

And that he has no objections to meeting Henry.

Consequently, on Thursday after school, Mike walks her home.

Henry greets them with a smile. "Welcome! You must be Mike, am I right?"

Mike smiles back and extends his hand. "Yeah, and you must be Henry, Jane's cousin…"

"And guardian," Henry adds with a little more force than necessary; Eleven gives him a worried look. "But please don't stay there: come in, come in…"

As Henry closes the door, Eleven guides Mike into the living room, where they sit on the plush couch.

"Your house is very nice, Jane," Mike says as he places a hand on hers.

She smiles at him. "Thank you…"

"Do you like it? The rumor doesn't bother you?" Henry's voice behind them startles them; instinctively, they let go. "Cookies?" he adds as he places a tray of shortbread and chocolate chip cookies on the coffee table.

Mike frowns and looks from Henry to Eleven. "Rumor? What rumor, Jane?"

"Oh, the rumor of what happened to the former inhabitants of this place," Henry mentions as he takes a seat across from the couple.

"Well, now that you mention it… I think my dad told me something about a murder victim—"

"Three," Henry corrects him before bringing a cookie to his mouth.

"Uh, there were three…?"

"Henry…" Eleven murmurs.

He ignores her; as soon as he swallows the cookie, he smiles at Mike again. "Apparently, the former owner murdered his entire family in cold blood."

"You made the cookies?" Eleven tries to divert the topic.

"No, I asked Joyce to bake them." Henry barely looks at her when he answers. Soon, he's making eye contact with Mike again. "A distant relative of mine, a certain Victor, gouged out the eyes of his wife and children and broke the bones in their arms and legs. Then, he alleged that everything had been the work of a demon. Haven't you ever heard that rumor?"

Mike looks clearly uncomfortable. "No… At least not with all those details…"

"Henry, could we change the subject?" Eleven pleads. "I don't want to talk about—"

"Oh, no problem," he assures her with a dismayed expression. "I just thought Mike would be interested in the history of the house, since he expressed he found it nice."

"It's an interesting story," the boy says, and the comment is more directed at her than at Henry.

Eleven relaxes her muscles when she notices that her boyfriend is doing everything in his power to make her only family like him, to resist the fear that he obviously wants to instill in him.

"It is," she concedes with the intention of supporting him.

In front of them, Henry shows his white teeth in a wide smile. "Isn't that right? It is believed that old Victor was schizophrenic, and that is why he has been committed to a psychiatric institute."

"Makes sense. I mean, if he believed that a 'demon'"—Mike raises his hands to clearly gesture the quotation marks when pronouncing that word—"was behind it, I see the logic."

"However, he still maintains his hypothesis," Henry mentions in a casual tone while crossing one leg over the other. "That it is a demon that lives in the house."

"He still does?" Mike laughs. "You've talked to him lately?"

"Who knows?" Henry smirks. "Maybe I did."

"But didn't you say he had been admitted to a psychiatric institute?" replies the boy with a confused expression. "I don't think they would let him receive visitors…" Henry shrugs. Eleven puts a cookie in her mouth. "Besides, if there was a demon in this house, wouldn't you two have noticed it?" he reasons.

The man rests his cheek against the knuckles of his right hand. "I don't know… What if the demon isn't doing anything just because he likes us? Wouldn't you agree, Jane?"

Eleven gulps and shakes her head. "Demons don't exist."

"It's just a little mental exercise." Eleven knows that Henry won't give up until he has said his piece. "If this demon existed, don't you think he would be able to play favorites and, therefore, choose not to hurt those he favors?"

Eleven takes a deep breath. "I guess…"

"Perhaps, then, the opposite is also true; that if a person he doesn't like crosses the house's threshold…"

He doesn't need to finish the sentence. His smile doesn't waver as his blue eyes lock onto Mike's brown ones.

The silence is heavy.

"But Jane is right," he finally relents with a sigh. "It's a relief that demons don't really exist, isn't it?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure…" Mike lets out a clearly forced laugh.

A lump forms in Eleven's throat.

"Well, I think it's best if I leave you two alone," Henry announces as he gets up. "I don't want to bother you. It was a pleasure, Mike; I hope you come back soon." Then he glances at her. "If you need me, I'll be in the attic."

And, without uttering another word, he leaves.