The Succubus's Plaything

Chapter 10: Free Again

Hal POV

"Yes. That's right. You two will be and act like a couple." Inesa's mother walks past me once again, grabbing her apron during the process. 

Inesa and I just stare at each other in shock. I don't know what I expected.. But I never anticipated this. 

"So.. How old are you again?.." I ask her. While she's still very petite, she looks a bit older with her hair back, and now that she isn't wearing that oversized jacket. 

"I'm seventeen and a senior." She looks at me annoyed. "And you?"

"I'm.. Also seventeen, but a junior.." She's a grade above me!? No way this girl is older! 

"Now that's perfect!" I turn to Valorie, who giggles. "Now you two just need to play the parts."

"Yea, like that's gonna happen." Inesa crosses her arms and gives us both a glare. 

"Come on Sweetie. How else are you going to satisfy your urges?" Inesa's mother once again picks up the knife and resumes chopping vegetables where she left off. 

"I- uhm.. We don't have to be a couple for that!" Inesa protests. 

"Then how will you explain it to your friends when you keep having to sneak off with an underclassman?" Valorie looks up with a smirk. "Trust me, being a couple, or at least pretending, will greatly benefit you. Now, you don't have to keep it exclusive per se, if that's what you're worried about." 

"No! That isn't what I was thinking thank you very much! Why would I want to be labeled as a slut!?" 

I try to shrink in my chair, wishing that I wasn't in the middle of a heating argument right now. "Excuse me?.. Could I maybe.. Like, go home? My sister is probably waiting for me, and since I didn't come home last night, there is no way that I can just not show up tonight as well." 

Inesa goes silent for a bit. 

"Of course dear, unless you would like to stay for dinner, just would you stay for a couple more minutes? I have just a little bit more I would like to say." Inesa's mother replies soothingly. 

"O-ok.. I guess.. But there's no need for me to stay for dinner.. I really should be going as soon as possible." I ignore my growling stomach. I really am hungry, but I am still a bit scared to stay longer than I need to. But now that I'm not bound anymore, I feel a bit less uneasy.

Valorie smiles when she hears my growling stomach. "I understand. But would you mind if I made you a sandwich to bring? I insist." 

"Mom! This can wait! There is no way this can work out!" 

"So what do you suggest?" Suddenly and without warning, Inesa's mother gives her an icy glare, cold enough to make her freeze up and be at a loss for words. "You would have yourself go mad from hunger, and go berserk on an unsuspecting classmate? Unless you have someone there ready to feed from, there is no telling what might happen. Especially now that you are in the middle of your awakening stage, you will be experiencing extreme life force drainage, and if you don't get it refilled regularly, there is no telling what you might do. And no thinking that you will be able to control yourself, because you can't. Noone can." She pauses for a second to shoot me a smile and apologise for the sudden change. "I don't care if you two like each other or not. But you will tell people you are a couple if asked. For the sake of your safety and mine." 

"I.. Yes mother.." She looks down at her feet defeated. 

"So, to be able to let you go Hal, I will give you two your supposed backstory. You two bumped into each other during one of your train rides home, and eventually just clicked. You two started dating and whatcha know, during one particularly cold night, last night, you ended up staying over." She makes a couple sandwiches while speaking and puts them in a plastic bag. "So there you have it. You both got it?" 

"Yes ma'am." I reply.

"Yes mom.." Inesa confirms. 

"Great! Now here you go, please eat this, and you better get home safe." Valorie hands me the bag and walks me to the door. 

Once I get my shoes off and am ready to go, she leans in the whisper. "She really is a nice girl. It may be a bit awkward in the start, but I promise it'll get better. In fact, a similar thing happened to me while I was her age." She leans back again and smiles. "Seeyu soon Hal."

"Bye, I guess I'll see around. Have a good evening?.." 

It feel a bit weird just leaving after every thing that has happened. 

"Oh! And the train-station is that way, you really can't miss it. I wish you a good evening as well."

"Thank you..?"

"Please, just call me Valorie."

"Okay, thank you Valorie."

I walk out into the dusk and towards the station. 

On the way I pull up my phone which Valorie also handed me right after untying my ropes. Twenty-three missed calls and a whole bunch of texts, though, thankfully a few calming texts are at the end, which I am slightly surprised to see that they actually look exactly like something I would write. 

"I'm on my way home now."