Cherry Pies, You and I (P.S the Devil Lies)

Blood Money

Dear Aunt Zee,

I'm keeping my promise as I said I would. I know this is only the first letter, but there will be another one in two weeks now that I'm settled. I'm sorry I left. I can only imagine how scared you were to wake up and find out I took off in the middle of the night. I didn't have a choice. It's not every day you find out that your biological father is Lucifer Morningstar. I can't believe they ever let him out of prison. 'Good Behavior' I don't buy that for a second.

I'm safe here. A nice woman took me in and gave me a job. She knows the truth. As long as I'm here, everyone is safe. Lucifer won't keep coming by if I'm not there. I'm not having some kind of identity crisis. I got over that on the bus ride here. I just keep replaying what you said to me the night he first showed up. I'm a Spellman. I know that.

Tell Auntie Hilda that I'm eating three meals a day. Marie insists, even though black coffee for breakfast is just fine by my standards. Tell Ambrose I miss him and that I think of him every day. He and Prudence would love it here. When this is over, they can come to see this place for themselves. Speaking of Prudence, tell her that I miss her too. And Dorcas and Agatha. If Salem needs to stretch his legs, let Dorcas take him out for a walk. He likes her, but don't let her feed him any french fries. Tell Roz, Theo, and Harvey I love them and to think of this like I'm off on a grand adventure, like the kind we always talked about when we were kids. Tell Nick I hope his rehab is going well.

I love you. All of you. That's why I'm doing this.

Love, your stubborn niece,

Sabrina Spellman

"Chérie!" Marie's voice called from the kitchen, "Will you unlock the door? I am busy with the beignets."

"Yeah, no problem!" she shouted back. Sabrina met Marie LaFleur a little over a week ago, right in the very booth she was sitting in to write her letter. She had been counting out nickels and dimes to pay for a bowl of gumbo at half-past eleven at night. It was more than she usually allowed for herself on dinner, but the smell caught her attention the minute she got off the bus. She hadn't had a home-cooked meal in weeks, and she couldn't resist.

Marie had said it was on the house if she told her what she was running from. She had debated telling her to just take the money. She still had enough left to get to South Texas, if she wanted, thanks to Lucifer.

A few days after he left a package showed up addressed to her. She cut open the box to reveal a blue Tiffany bag. She pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and set it aside. The first thing she saw was a card. It was small, the size of a business card, and she would've missed it if it wasn't sitting directly on top of the box the bag contained.

To my darling daughter -L

Her heart sank. She knew he would come back, but she didn't think it would be like this. Whatever was in that box was a gift for her, but it was a taunt to her Aunties. She tentatively pulled out the box and opened it. Nestled on soft velvet fabric was a pair of diamond earrings. She knew what Lucifer did for a living, so she knew what kind of money paid for these earrings. Money that was dripping in blood. Like any sensible person, she screamed so loud it shook the house down to its foundation.

When she eventually calmed down, she knew she had to do something. He wouldn't send her 'gifts' forever. He would eventually get impatient and start making threats. As long as she was there, her family was in danger. She pawned the earrings that night in Riverdale and bought the first bus ticket out of town. Three-thousand dollars went a long way when you ate gas station chicken salad sandwiches for your one meal a day, stayed in dilapidated Motel 6's, and took the unpopular bus routes.