Thanks to a dare gone wrong, Maggie Brumfield finds out the hard way that Heaven and Hell are real.
Prince Laudon, Lucifer's son and the current ruler of Hell, has locked Maggie into a sinister deal that grants him temporary ownership of her soul...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ღ
MAGGIE'S POV
I didn't plan on spending my first night home from college at some abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere, yet here I am, completely out of my element.
Johnny and Krista, two of the most animated people in my life, somehow talked me into coming to this ridiculous party. The tattered warehouse looks to be on its last leg, and with the massive amount of people that are scattered about the place, I pray it doesn't collapse at any point in the night. Partying has never really been my thing, and I'd absolutely hate to be taken out unexpectedly while a Doja Cat song plays in the background.
"If I'm not home by one o'clock, we're going to have a problem," I start after Andrew, one of Johnny's friends, scores a decent parking spot near the front of the old building. "Well, you three are going to have a problem, and her name is Cleo Brumfield."
Johnny laughs and pulls me close after we exit the car to head inside the warehouse. "Your mom loves me, dude. I know exactly how to sweet-talk her out of punishing you if you end up in trouble, so don't even sweat it. We'll get you back home on time."
"I don't get what the big issue is if we don't," Krista adds. "You're literally twenty-one, Mags. A whole adult. Why do you even still have a curfew?"
"Easy answer," I laugh. "I'm black and still live with my very old-school parents. For as long as I'm under their roof and not paying any of their bills, I have a curfew. I don't make the rules; I just abide by them... because I value my life and would like to make it to see thirty."
"Yeah, Krista. Some of our parents don't actually let us go out and do whatever the fuck we want," Andrew teases. "How is your mom doing, by the way? She still banging that rich banker guy, Jim? Or was it Tom?"
"It's Todd, asshole." Krista rolls her eyes, then roughly shoves her way past all of us. "You three figure out who the designated driver will be because it's so not me!"
Johnny grabs Andrew and then takes off running into the party. "Not us either!"
"Jerks!" I yell after them, not at all surprised by this outcome. Of course, I'm the designated driver. I'm the only one who doesn't drink or do any type of drugs. Even when we were back on campus, I was taking care of everyone after they got wasted. Acting just like someone's grandma.
Clearly, I'm doing my college years all wrong.
I wish I had the outgoing gene that everyone around me seems to have. It's embarrassing to admit in conversation when asked what I like to do for fun because my answer always revolves around me being somewhere alone with a good book in my hands. Often a lame answer to the people that have found themselves to be interested in me.
My friends often tease me for being too tame, when in reality, I'm just minding my business and studying hard to make sure that I graduate on time. By now, I've gotten used to feeling like the outsider in my clique. As the only introvert, Johnny and Krista have been peer pressuring me to step outside of my comfort zone since kindergarten. I only let them because I know their intentions are good.
