The Devil Made Me Do It

3

^^(Gad)

I was drinking water while on my break. It was more like Miss Brown forced me to go on a break since she said I worked too hard. Miss Brown is the owner and my boss at the diner. She's looked out for me since I started working here. She essentially hated mama and thought my sisters were spoiled brats. She'd sometimes slip me extra money and tell me it was my spending money and not to be given to my family.

I'd typically feel guilty about hiding money from them, but Miss Brown stated that I give everything I make to Mama. It infuriated Miss Brown since it sounded like we were struggling for money. We were middle class, but Mama made it sound like we were poverty stricken... that's how she rationalized taking all the money I'd make. Instead of using it to pay bills, she'd splurge it on herself and my sisters. I'd only receive hand me downs when I desperately needed new clothes.

I noticed Miss Brown was yelling at the chef, so I used the opportunity to begin working again. I walked up to the counter and carried the plates to the waiting tables. I then went behind the counter and started to wipe it down. I was looking down, so I didn't see the person walk up to me.

"Hello, sinner." I smiled at the chilling voice.

"Gad!"

The fiery redhead smirked at me and slouched over the counter. His green eyes bore into my brown ones. Gad was a weird one. He had a bone chilling aura around him, yet was the sweetest thing to me. Everyone was always weary of him since he did carry a dark aura with him. I don't know why, but Gad always looked out for me and made sure to beat up anyone who gave me a hard time.

I didn't condone his violent streak, but I did appreciate his concern over my wellbeing. He smiled and reached over to touch my hearing aids. He turned it off and moved back. I rolled my eyes when he started signing to me. Gad claimed he wanted to improve his sign skills, but he was fluent in sign language before we even met... and we met when I was 7. He had his fill of signing, so he reached over and turned my hearing aids back on.

"How are you today?" He plopped onto the barstool. "A beer for me, darling." He winked at Miss Brown.

"Call me darling again and that'd be the last thing you ever do." She placed her hands on her hips. Gad's eyes twitched and his smile fell. "Plus, are you even 21?"

"I'm whatever age you need me to be..." He then leaned over the counter, so his face was inches from hers. "Miss Brown." He sneered.

"I'm calling security." Miss Brown rolled her eyes and turned around.

"We don't have security." I chuckled. "And play nice, Gad." He rolled his eyes, but sat back. She then placed a glass of milk in front of him.

"He needs some milk." She then walked away before Gad could curse her out. He sniffed it in disgust, but ended up drinking it.

"You nearly behave like this everyday and always get the same result. Maybe you should try being more polite?" I posed.

"Or maybe this is the outcome I want." He smiled and drank the rest of the milk. "I always get a complimentary drink on the house." He smirked while I giggled.

I went back to taking my customer's orders. Gad was chilling as usual. I watched him place his biker helmet on the counter, annoying Miss Brown to no end. He tried to kick his feet up as well, but she pushed it off. I then laughed when he fell off the stool. I turned around with a smile to my customers.

I walked over to the counter to give Miss Brown the slip of paper. Gad had decided to simply lay on the floor, obstructing the pathway for the guests. Miss Brown huffed and grabbed a broom. She then began sweeping Gad out the diner. I laughed and sat on the stool while Gad was shielding himself from the hits Miss Brown was giving him with the broom.

"Addy!" I turned at the sound of my best friend. "Has he been given trouble again?" Jer scratched his head when Gad ran out the place.

"He's being his usual self." I shrugged.

"So the answer is yes then." I laughed at Jer. "Anyways, I came to ask if you have an answer yet to the fair."

"I can't, Jer." His face fell. "I want to go, but Mama said no. In fact, I have to clean the entire house as punishment for asking her such a ludicrous question." I then saw Jer sulk. He felt bad and blamed himself for my punishment. "It's not your fault, Jer. I probably asked a little rude or-"

"Are you kidding me?!" We flinched at Miss Brown's voice. "She basically locks you away to do her bidding! You are literally like Cinderella! This is absurd. You are going to that fair!" She pointed at me.

"But how? I'm supposed to clean the house and she'll be back by 10-"

"Leave that to me!" We turned to see Gad walk through the door. "I'll take charge of cleaning the place."

"If your cleaning abilities is anything like how you dress... " Miss Brown trailed off.

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" He motioned to his black leather jacket, shirt, and jeans with a silver chain. "I can scrub the place great, sinner!"

"Why does he call you sinner again?" Jer turned to me.

"Because devils love sinners." Gad winked at me. I turned to Jer and shrugged. It was a nickname that Gad gave me from the moment we met.

"So are you saying you're a devil?" Jer rose a brow.

"Yep!" Gad smirked at us.

Miss Brown then huddled us around her and told us the plan. I wouldn't be getting off work until 6, which gave us plenty of time for my family to leave for the party. I was to give Gad my keys (Jer was hesitant about that since he thought Gad would rob me) and he'd clean the house. Jer and I would then go to the fair and have a blast. We did have to leave by 9:30 so that Mama wouldn't catch us.

I told Miss Brown that the plan sounded risky, but she fanned away my concerns. She told me to enjoy my day and not worry about Mama. Easier said than done. I took a deep breath and nodded, causing her to smile and wrap me in a hug. I was powerless with confrontation since I hated arguments. I hope everything goes well.

X

I was clinging onto Jer as the roller coaster dropped. We were screaming and I felt my stomach flip. Jer smiled and teased me about being terrified. I rolled my eyes and squealed when the roller coaster flipped upside down. We stared at each with wide eyes as we were suspended upside down. And then screamed when the roller coaster started moving again.

I pushed Jer since he was hysterically laughing. We were walking around the fairgrounds when he spotted a spinning ride. Before I had the chance to react, Jer grabbed my arm and yanked me behind him. We then began crashing into each other as the ride spun around. When the ride stopped, we were still dizzy. We had to hold onto each other while walking around.

I then suddenly stopped when I saw Gabby and her friends. Jer followed my line of sight and scooted me out the way. We quickly hid so they wouldn't spot me. I don't know why she made it a mission to make my life a misery. It already wasn't the best and she was only making it worse. Her boyfriend swung his arm around her shoulders and walked away from us.

Jer and I breathed a sigh of relief at escaping that potential hazard. If Gabby had seen us, she would probably rat me out to my sisters who would tell Mama. Since I couldn't deal with that, Jer and I spent the majority of the time avoiding Gabby and her friends.

Jer made the mistake of not eating, so we had to find some food for him. Unfortunately, the lines for the concession stand were really long. Jer then spotted a vendor selling fair food. He asked if I was hungry and I said yes since I didn't want to lie.

"What would you want? I want funnel cake."

"I'd want the fried Oreos, but they look expensive. It's like $7 and I only-"

Jer then interrupted me by snatching my purse. I tried to grab it back, but he was taller than me. I tried jumping, but he'd only raise his arm even higher.

"You're not payin. I'm payin." He smirked.

"No way!" My fingertips grazed my purse.

"Yep, it's settled... I'm paying." He used his hand to push my head back.