A Deal With the Devil

3

    We went back to our own homes and pretended like everything was okay. I could tell something was off about Matt but I didn’t want to pry. I was thinking about it though. All day. I was either watching TV or cooking physically, but mentally I was only focused on him. What wasn’t he telling me? Why wasn’t he telling me? Who else had he told? Had he told anyone? I sighed. I should at least try to enjoy my day off. I decided I would paint. I hadn’t in a while.

    I just sat there in front of the canvas for a while, not having any inspiration. I gave up trying to think of something to paint and just decided to paint the first thing that came to mind.

    Around 3 hours later, I took a break to eat. I came back and looked at what I’d made from afar. My canvas was engulfed in red. Flames scattered throughout the painting with one man dressed in black in the middle. The devil. The devil who had taken the form of a man who prowled this city at night. Savior, terrorist, insane, liberator, he had many titles. To me, he was just a man. All men have the devil in them, his devil just appeared a little more.

    I sat back and looked at that painting for a solid 20 minutes. I couldn’t stop thinking. The fact that my mind was able to create such a frightening image worried me. Red, the color of blood, of anger, of rage, or the color of passion? The color of desire? And black, the color of mystery, of darkness, of fear, or of power? The color of night. One of my favorite times, especially in this city, and now it’s become something for me to fear. Or has it? How do I know the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” was really what the media made him out to be? I should stop thinking about this. Matt would be there to walk me home at night, and I feel okay about that. Even just the presence of a man would ward off that scum.

    Clearly, painting did not have the calming effect I wanted it to have on me. I had to escape. When I needed an escape, I called my friend Phoebe . She’s always been there for me since Freshman year of high school, and I definitely needed her then. I took a deep breath and picked up my phone to text her.

>Hey bro, r u busy rn?

<No not really, what’s up?

I smiled. They always answered when I needed them. It was like a superpower but for an ordinary person.

>Can I come over? Ik it’s short notice but I’m just not in the right headspace and I could use some bro time y’know

<I gotchu bro, I’m baking some lemon cookies rn so you can have some when u get here!!!

>You’re a lifesaver bro, thank you so much u_u 

<Anytime bro!! 

I shut off my phone and thanked God for blessing me with someone like Phoebe in my life. I wasn’t religious, but sometimes I needed to pray and be grateful. No matter how much I try to file my strictly religious childhood away in the back of my mind, there are still some parts of me that can’t seem to let go of it. 

—

    I knocked on Phoebe’s door and was immediately greeted by their smiling face. 

    “Oh my god hi Sasha!!! I was wondering when you’d get here!”

    “You seem to be in a good mood. It’s good to see you too.”

    “Yeah, the cookies turned out really good. You wanna try? I can get some tea going too if you want.”

    “I’ll pass, but thanks.”

    She was correct, the cookies were really good. Already I felt my body and mind relaxing. She came over to sit down next to me on the couch and reluctantly started to speak.

    “So, do you want to talk about why you’re not feeling well?” They began.

    “I don’t know,” I sighed. “It’s honestly insane that this even happened to me.”

    “Girl, literal aliens have descended upon us from a magic space portal with the intent to kill and take over. It could not have been stranger.”

    “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I laughed. “Where do I begin? It’s just a lot of weird stuff with my coworker, Matt.”

    “The blind guy? Don’t tell me y’all are getting freaky.”

    “Man, shut the hell up. No, but I think he’s hiding something important from us. I’m just someone he works with, so it doesn’t really matter to me, but it’s just been weird. Like last night…” 

    And I told her everything. By the end, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I was worlds better emotionally. I looked at my watch and realized that it was late, so I excused myself. As we were exchanging goodbyes, she asked one last question.

    “Hey, Sasha.”

    “Yeah?”

    “Have you ever met the man in the mask?”

    “No, and I hope I don’t ever have to. Why?”

    “No reason. Also, do you think that he and that ‘Punisher’ could be working together?”

    “No way, dude. They just probably both happen to be vigilantes or terrorists or whatever the news call them in the same city. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

    “I guess so. Alright bro, have a safe ride back home!”

    “Thanks, I appreciate it!”

    And I left. On the stairwell down, I walked past her neighbor Pete, who I’d seen before. Man, that guy was always beat up. I wonder what he did for a living. Didn’t concern me, so I didn’t care. All I was worried about was getting home safely at midnight in Hell’s Kitchen.

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Hi everyone!! I hope this chapter fulfills your obsession. It's kind of a filler (sorry) but it adds to the character imo
Have a good day/night!!