Devil

-40-

-Goddess-

It was getting later in the day and I text Legend that I wanted to hang out. Maybe if I shared how I felt, or rather didn't feel, about Nicotine then she could give me some pointers on how I should move forward on our friendship. Who knows, she might even like Nico, and that could solve a lot of things for me. I can only hope that this doesn't turn into a disaster and that Nicotine doesn't find out about my waning feelings.

Me: hey wya??
Legend of Korruh: at workk main event
Me: ight I'm dropping by, watch fo me
Legend of Korruh: I don't get off any time s🌑
Me: what does "s🌑" mean??
Legend of Korruh: I tried to make it seem like "soon"
Me: typing...
Me: oh.... dad ight, I'll make a mess and you'll have to talk to me while I clean it up 😌 I need sum advice
Me: das**
Legend of Korruh: sigh don't set da place on fire
Me: but I'm Devil 🙄

I moved my focus off of my phone after I waited for Legebd to text back and really looked at my bedroom for the first time in years. It was close to bare now since I had thirty days to move out and I felt a pang of early homesickness. I wasn't gonna see this room like it had been for so long anymore. My folks were finally kicking me out when I had started to do right and I felt emotionally conflicted because my best friend and I had some weird love thing going on.

Not to mention the stress from the Lavigne case.

And the way Little Lavigne made me want to chew her up and spit her out. Then lick up the mess. I shivered in pleasure. At least the bright side to all of this was that I'd get my own space and my own crib.

I looked down a second before my phone even buzzed then picked it up. I mentally convinced myself I wasn't psychic for the fortieth time and looked to see who it was.

Legend of Korruh: yk Esla workin 2nite 👀
Me: n wat dat gotta do wit daddy??
Legend of Korruh: I don't know, cuz ion kno who "daddy" is... 🤣
Me: mhmm act brand new if u wanna
Me: typing...
Legend of Korruh: I might be limited edition but I'm not acting brand new sweetie 🤧
Me: ur turning into me and it concerns me deeply
Legend of Korruh: deeper den my-
Me: finish dat sentence gon head 🥸
Legend of Korruh: b-i-g D, b-i-g D, and big dick was its name O 🙄
Legend of Korruh: well technically a strap, but u get what I mean 🤣

I ignored Legend's antics and text her again.

Me: I'll see u soon. And I forgot yo real name again
Legend of Korruh: KORRUH what contact name do u have me down for?
Me: oh yeaaa yo name is in yo contact, I keep forgetting dat 🤣🤣
Legend of Korruh: what's Nico's real name since ik urs?
Me: Jayna 💀
Legend of Korruh: and I Oop-

I focused on my clothes and stripped out of my sweaty underclothes to change them for cleaner ones after I wiped myself off. I decided on another simple shirt and some Adidas sweatpants that matched with these pink shoes I got from the infamous brand. I pocketed my phone and keys, then headed downstairs, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.

I paused to check my buzzing phone in case it was an emergency.

Legend of Korruh: why ain't her nickname Jay den and it's Nicotine??
Me: ask her 😅

"Where are you off to?" my mother called out from near the living room. Damn, I regret stopping. I looked up and kept my face neutral. "Just going to see one of Nico's friends."

My mother nodded to herself and Aurora sipped her drink out of a mug, sitting at the table with her legs up against it as she devoured another self help book.

"Did Dayton, uh, mention the moving thing?" my mother asked me.

I nodded, wondering why she nor my father couldn't have discussed that with me. But hell, I'm just glad they had stopped mentioning "I call myself Devil" thing.

By now, Devil would have snapped at Mom and said something snarky and amusing to herself, but even though I had woken up choosing not to be Goddess- I was changing plans.

"Yes. Nico found me a place in Stafford Blue," I explained. My mother drew in a deep breath, "I want you to know that I see your improvement...even though you're not home a lot, doing God know's what. I just think a place will be good for your work ethic and your...mental state," she ended that with a smile.

"I'm thinking about not finishing my GED," I admitted to her, a part of me (most likely Devil) wanting to see how she'd react to that statement and the other part of me actually meaning it. I couldn't figure out which part of me weighed more so into that decision, but what was said was said.

"What- I mean, Goddess I know we're telling you to move out but you don't need to drop your education. How will you afford to live in Stafford Blue? What job do you even have to be buying the things you do. You throw around money like it's the wind," my mother huffed.

"I work with Nicotine to do some cash stuff. It's all legal Mom," I rolled my eyes, perfecting my lie to the T. "Look, I just think that I'm gonna stop for awhile. I'm 19 now, I can always come back to that."

"Goddess I refuse to have one of my kids disappear on me and start to slack off."

"So is Antonio not your kid?" I asked, genuinely wanting to know why I was so different from everyone else when it came to these arguments. I felt singled out and like I could never do anything right.

"That wasn't appropriate to the conversation. Antonio is grown," Aurora cut in, "and he can-

"I'm grown too. 19. An adult, a teen technically, but still an adult. Is it because I'm the youngest? Is it because I'm a female and he's not? Is it because he's supposedly serving and protecting a country that destroys others? Is it because you feel guilty about what happened at that playground that day? Because Antonio and I never recovered, Mother," I told her with a punch of emotion in each word.

Tears swelled up in my mother's eyes, and before Aurora or my mother could make another judgmental comment, I fled out of the door and locked it behind myself. I then headed to my truck, my good mood ruined as I tried to focus on how I would approach this "friendship" topic with Legend.

Chapter Checkpoint:

-Do you think the death of Ms. Orange was caused by Goddess or was it random? She wanted to move in quickly after all.

-Do you think Nico and Esla will end up together or Nico and Goddess?

-What do you think about the transformation of Goddess throughout the story? From Devil to Goddess.

Don't forget to comment !!