Lesbian Paranormal Romance | Fiction
Her Witch, Her Demon: Episode 12
An awkward family dinner
As she helped her mother make dinner, Meredith couldn’t help but sense the tense atmosphere. It had been this way ever since her parents returned from the council meeting. Before her parents left the house, they were cheerful and full of life. They couldn’t wait to meet Meredith’s girlfriend. But now, watching her mother go about the cooking lifelessly, Meredith wondered if something was wrong. Even worse, her father kept asking her more and more personal questions about Onyx Castle. Many of these questions, she didn’t even know the answer to. Maybe they just wanted to prepare themselves before meeting Nyx.
By the time it was 6:30 pm, they had finished making dinner and set the table. Nyx should be here in thirty minutes.
The entire family sat silently in the living room, waiting for their guest. They were too silent. Once in a while, they would exchange glances with each other and then shake their heads.
“What’s going on with you two?” she asked, too curious to pretend now.
“When is she going to be here?” asked her father.
“I told her to come at 7. Nyx is punctual.”
“And you think she’ll come?”
Meredith paused for a moment. Were they expecting that Nyx wouldn’t show up? The last time they were together, she had stormed out of Nyx’s home in anger… or more like jealousy. But that didn’t mean Nyx would stand her up, right? She shivered upon recalling the sensation of Nyx’s mouth on her skin. And those words, sweeter than honey, caressed her thoughts. It’s only you, Meredith. Always remember that. Meredith shook herself out of her stupor. “She’ll be here.”
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was exactly 7 pm.
Butterflies buzzed in Meredith’s stomach, as a smile widened on her face. “I told you she’ll be here.”
Baba gave a small smile, but Mami didn’t look impressed. Well, it wasn’t strange. Her mother was never impressed with any of her love interests. But this would be different, she hoped.
Meredith opened the door. And there she was, the woman who made her heart skip a beat or two, stylishly adorned in a gray blazer and a pink shirt. They both stood still, completely enamored of each other.
Nyx smirked. “Hey.”
“Hey. You came.”
“Of course, I did.” Nyx took her hand and Meredith melted by the demon’s touch.
Meredith invited Nyx in, leading her to her parents.
“Baba, Mami, this is Onyx Castle. Nyx, these are my parents. Charles Huang and Andrea Ortega… Huang.”
No one moved an inch. Her father’s gaze hardened as he gravely stared at Nyx. Her mother’s glare was even colder. Meredith’s heart raced in trepidation.
What was going on?
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ortega-Huang. Nice to meet you.” Nyx stretched her hand. None of them moved to take Nyx’s hand. Even then, Nyx didn’t pull back, nor did she take her eyes off Meredith’s parents.
“Baba…”
That was when her father suddenly took Nyx’s hand and gave it a rigid handshake. “Onyx Castle, huh? You’re dating my daughter.”
“That’s right.” Then she smiled softly at Meredith, making her blush.
“So, um, can we go get dinner then?” Meredith asked, trying her best to clear the awkwardness in the air. Everything was so strange. Her parents had been excited to meet Nyx for a long time and now they were acting so cold toward her.
If Nyx was bothered by the coldness, then she didn’t show it. Without another word, the family made their way to the dining hall and sat around the table.
“This smells delicious,” said Nyx, her eyes shimmering at the assortment of dishes sprawled across the table. If there was one thing Meredith had learned about Nyx, it was that she absolutely loved food.
“My mum and I made it.” Meredith helped Nyx with generous portions of perfectly diced chicken, just as Nyx loved it.
“Thanks.” Nyx smiled at her lovingly.
Meredith felt the butterflies in her tummy, and she smiled coyly. When she sat, she felt her parents’ gaze on her. They had not touched their food. Nyx, on the other hand, just dug in, surprisingly good at using her chopsticks.
“Hmm,” she grinned at Meredith, “this is so good.” Then turning to Mami, Nyx said in perfect Spanish, “Your food is amazing, ma’am.”
While it was surprising to learn for the first time that Nyx spoke Spanish, something else took Meredith’s attention, and it opened a pit in her stomach. For most of Meredith’s life, she’d seen her mother beam with joy anytime someone complimented her cooking. But not today. She looked visibly disgusted although she wasn’t saying anything out loud. Meredith’s heart sank. Did her parents not like Nyx? They weren’t even giving her a chance at all. Not even her father, who was usually friendly to everyone.
Unless…
Oh my god. Meredith’s grip on the chair tightened. How could they have known about Nyx? Didn’t she say that no witch could sense that she was a demon? It wasn’t until Nyx gently squeezed Meredith’s hand that she realized her hand was shaking. Nyx wasn’t looking at Meredith, but the warmth of her hands comforted her.
“So what’s your intention with my daughter, Onyx Castle?” Her dad suddenly asked, sizing up Nyx.
“Baba — ”
“It’s okay, Meredith. It’s a valid question,” said Nyx. She wiped her mouth and sighed. “I like Meredith. A lot.”
“You like her?” Baba glared at Nyx. “How did you two even meet?”
Meredith had already told her parents that she met Nyx at a party. Of course, she dared not tell them about the Union. But it wasn’t exactly a lie. Still, why would they ask Nyx the same question when they already knew? Oh, god. Knowing how fearlessly honest Nyx was, she would speak the truth and…
“It was fate, I guess,” said Nyx smoothly. “All I know is that I was smitten when I first saw her.”
No one said anything for a long time.
“What’s wrong?” Meredith had run out of patience now. “I thought you wanted to meet my girlfriend?”
“Your girlfriend, mija?” Mami raised a brow. “Goodness, where did we go wrong as parents?”
“It’s not her fault, honey. And it’s certainly not ours either. Meredith didn’t know any better. Even we were fooled, weren’t we?”
“Well, it’s time to do something about it. It’s why we honored this invitation right?”
Her father nodded.
“What are you two talking about?” asked Meredith.
Baba sighed. “Mei Mei you can’t date her.”
“What?” Meredith gaped. “Baba, you can’t — ”
“Your girlfriend is a demon,” Mami suddenly blurted.
Meredith’s blood suddenly ran cold. Fuck.
There was a long silence for a while until her father spoke. “You knew, didn’t you?”
Meredith bit her lips, suddenly wishing the earth would open up and swallow her whole. But, no. This was not the time to cower. It was time she showed her parents that what she had with Nyx was serious. It didn’t matter if Nyx was a demon.
“Baba, Mami… Nyx is not a bad person.”
Her father suddenly banged the table, startling Meredith for a moment. “A bad person? Meredith… that woman is a demon. They’re evil. How could you do this?”
“Nyx isn’t evil.” Meredith’s voice cracked, not out of sadness, but more out of anger. How could her very open-minded father judge someone so blatantly without even knowing them? “She’s honest, fearless, kind… yes… Baba, Nyx is kind. And I know it.”
Baba’s eyes softened for a moment. But his voice didn’t lose its firmness. “So you knew Nyx was a royal demon this whole time and yet you kept it to yourself.”
“What?” Meredith narrowed her eyes, shooting Nyx a look. “A royal demon?”
Nyx’s expression didn’t waver.
“Oh, she didn’t tell you that part?” asked Baba. “She’s honest, huh?”
Meredith exhaled. “It changes nothing, Baba. I want to be with her.”
“Did you know she almost slaughtered everyone at the meeting? Go on, ask your ‘not evil girlfriend’ all about it.”
“I get that you don’t like her, Baba, but you don’t have to slander her like that.” Nyx avoided Meredith’s gaze. Did she really almost kill everyone? Why wasn’t she denying it? “Nyx…”
The memory of Nyx strangling the life out of the vampire knocked the wind out of Meredith’s lungs. She remembered clearly the rage in the demon’s eyes, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. Someone like that could easily give in to their bloodlust and massacre everyone, right?
Oh God.
“You should leave, Onyx,” said Baba, looking Nyx squarely in the face. “We need to speak to our daughter in private.”
Finally, Nyx looked at Meredith with a soft smile. Leaning in, she whispered into Meredith’s ears. “I’ll call you later, alright?” Then she kissed Meredith on the forehead. When Meredith’s heart fluttered, she knew it would be next to impossible to leave Nyx.
As soon as Nyx was gone, her father said, “Break up with her.”
“Baba — ”
“Mei Mei, I love you, and I’ll do anything for you. But not this. You can’t date a demon. You’re a witch.”
“That’s not fair, Baba. Can’t we all just grow and move on from this ancient feud?”
“Life isn’t fair… and this isn’t just a feud. It’s our life. Demons are dangerous, and royal demons are the most dangerous of them all. Onyx is a psychotic murdering demon. And you’ll be putting yourself in danger.”
“She’ll never hurt me.”
Baba paused for a moment. “You don’t know that,” he said softly.
“Charlie, stop trying to reason with her,” said Mami. “Look, mija. Even if Nyx cares, we can’t say the same for other demons. The Durug… they have eyes on her. And that could put you in danger, so stay away.”
“Baba — ”
“No. I don’t want to hear it, Meredith. I stand with your mother. There are plenty of other men and women out there.”
“I don’t want other men or women. I just want Nyx.”
“Okay, fine.”
Meredith raised a brow. “Really.”
“Sure. Choose between Nyx and your family. You can’t have both.”
“What?” Meredith’s heart sank. An ultimatum? How could her family do this to her? If she chose Nyx then that effectively meant that her parents would no longer acknowledge her. She didn’t want that.
Her eyes stung. What could she do now? Choose Nyx and lose her family, or choose her family and lose the woman she was falling in love with?
Torshie Torto writes fiction and nonfiction that inspires, informs, and entertains. Join her newsletter to get her stories straight into your inbox. If you love her work, kindly buy her a coffee.
