My friend, Demise

Chapter 10

Demise tied me up with the entire rope. My legs were crossed and tied together all the way up to my thighs, my arms bound to hold my knees to my chest. I couldn't move.

I'd been sitting like that for about thirty minutes as he drove through the city. "Have you calmed down?" He asked.

"Mhm."

"Untie yourself." He reached over and untied my hands with only one of his own. "Then buckle your seatbelt, I'm sick of going the speed limit."

"Okay."

I untied my body and let my feet touch the floorboard, relaxing my body into the seat. I didn't buckle my seatbelt.

"You've sure gone quiet."

"You told me to calm down."

He glanced at me in the rearview mirror, a fond smile growing on his lips. "You've finally decided to listen?"

"Mhm. Where are we going?"

"Just for a drive to help you relax." He rested a hand on my knee and traced his thumb back and forth across the fabric of my jeans. "You slept so late this morning...it'll be dark soon."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I'll be more honest from now on."

He had soft music playing from the radio, the sky growing darker by the minute. Lights flew by as I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Thanks."

"You deserve the truth."

"Not that. I mean thank you for making me calm down. I think I needed that."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've been really scared and angry. Especially since Dad got in that fight. I hit him and I almost hit you. Just sitting here without anything to touch or mess with, listening to sounds that don't bother me....it helped."

"I know I confused you after what happened in the bathroom. But I do have feelings for you."

"I know."

"This is the part where you tell me how you feel."

"But I don't know. I just feel....unsure. Now that I know about my dad and you, I just-... I'm just a little bombarded. Can you at least give me time to think about what I feel?"

"Two weeks." He sighed contently. "I'll give you two weeks to think about it."

"What if I still don't know by then?"

"You'll know." He turned the music up a bit and sped up the car. "Trust me."

"Denise... can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you uh...." I felt my hands tighten into fists, tears welling in my eyes as I thought about the question in my mind. "Why do you have feelings for me?"

"What do you mean?"

"What is there to possibly like about me?"

"Apart from being mindblowingly attractive, you've got a big dick."

"Thank you?"

"But you have a bigger heart. That's what I care about." He frowned. "You're kind in your own way and I've seen it for myself. That's what made me like you."

"When have I been kind?"

"The way you helped Amanda."

"That was nothing."

"You were worried about your parents."

"I-"

"You were worried about me! You said that you didn't know me because you were scared I'd get hurt if you didn't."

"....how did you know that?"

"He mentioned that he knew me. You thought maybe he would have shot me for saying no to going with him. By saying you didn't know me, you made sure he was more interested in you. Shooting a bystander is less suspicious than shooting someone he knows."

"...I'm sorry."

"When I tried to stop the bleeding and you kept saying it hurt...I wanted to cry." He tightened his hands on the steering wheel. "When I think about the way your voice sounded when you said it, I start to cry whether I want to or not."

"I kinda wish I had died." I blurted out, immediately covering my mouth afterwards. He slammed on the breaks, my head hitting the dashboard so hard that blood began to creep down to my mouth. "Ah....ow..."

My ears rang as my vision faded and the world around me changed. I was standing in a white oblivion, a much younger version of myself standing across from me. "Who're you?" He asked.

"I...." I looked down at my hands. "I don't know."

"You look awesome!" He laughed and ran to me, hugging tightly to my leg. "How did you get so tall?"

"I ate a lot of vegetables." I smiled softly and got on one knee in front of him.

"Oh....I know you!" He laughed, his expression kind.

He looked the same way I did on the day it happened. The day I lost that childish innocence. "You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course!"

I placed a hand on his cheek. "Listen to me then. Don't follow strangers. I don't care if they tell you that Mama's hurt or they have chocolate, just don't. If they say they know Daddy, I promise that they don't. People are bad....so promise me that you won't go with them. Please."

"Pinky swear!"

My eyes opened, my entire body in pain. Demise was leaned over me, furiously shaking my shoulders. "Azriel! Wake up!"

"My head hurts..." I sat up, feeling blood covering nearly every inch of my body. "Why am I....I'm in the road."

Glass and blood surrounded me, a massive hole in his windshield window. My leg looked broken and glass was piercing out of my face, neck, and hands. My clothes were pretty torn.

"It's been ten minutes, I was terrified! God.... I called an ambulance but your nose is broken and your leg is probably even worse. You hit the ground too hard, are you okay?"

"You're blurry. Why did you hit the breaks so hard?"

"Deer." He smiled sadly. "Can you breathe okay?"

"My lungs hurt. But yeah."