The drive back home, everyone was silent. Annie was in the back seat sleeping. Not making a single sound. Every quarter mile Casey would look back in the mirror at her. Almost as if checking to ensure that she was still there. The half an hour trip was almost over, but Casey drove right by the house.
"You want some soda? I could really go for a cream root beer float right now." He kept his eyes on the road and not once did he look at me. And all I could do was sit there and watched as my heart was being beaten my a baseball bat.
We stopped at a small family owned place and Annie woke up giggling and smiling as soon as we stopped.
We walked in and sat in the booth farthest from the door.
"Ah yes, could we have two cream root beer floats with butterscotch ice cream and one strawberry sundae." The bottle blonde waitress bobbed her head and strutted over towards the kitchen.
"Cream root beer and butterscotch ice cream?" I looked over to him and for the first time since we left the store, his devilish smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh my Fates! Its awesome! Wait till you try it!" He looked back up at me. "And it makes your blood taste so much sweeter too." He liked his bottom lip and mischievously bit the side of it. I could feel my cheeks turn hella red and I shifted my gaze over to the booth across from us where Annie was colouring a picture of a dog and cat.
"I suppose you're wanting to know why Annie is supposed to be dead?" I looked at him but he was just drawing on a napkin with a pen.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I don't know how it is for demons; but in the human world, we're free to make your own choices." He looked up at me, glossy grey eyes.
"I want to tell you." He looked over towards Ann. "I trust you."
My heart leapt and even though it was totally inappropriate for the situation at hand, I was really happy.
He breathed in slowly and looked back at what he was doing. He turned the napkin so that it faced me and I read what he was engraving as the waitress came back and dropped off the drinks and Annie's ice cream.
"Let me know if I can get you anything else. Kay gorgeous?" She slipped her hand down his arm and lifted it back up towards his cheek. Since the last time she was at our table, she put on more shiny lip gloss, put her hair down, and the last three buttons on her blouse were 'mysteriously' undone. My cheeks flushed with anger and if my eyes could have changed as Casey's did; they would be bright green. But why did I care? I didn't care how brightly he smiled when she touched him. It didn't bother me at all.
He must have caught me looking pretty pissed off because his smirk grew wider and he shot a peice of the straw covering over aty face.
"Uh oh. Is someone jelious?" He took a sip of his float and his now pink eyes twinkled mischievously.
"I don't get jelious." I said blandly. I didn't look at him but I could feel his mood lighten and his more devilish/playful side coming out to play. At first, I couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad thing.
"Really? Cause it looks to me like somebody was pretty jelious right there." I gave him an evil eye and lifted my chin up giving myself a more proper look.
"What do I have to be jelious of her for? I have no need to be jelious of a tramp that wants to run around playing whore." I must have said it louder than I intended because that very waitress was standing at the counter and she looked at me as if I just bitch slapped her before she stromed into the kitchen. I sunk down into my seat and buried my face into my hands. Casey sat there almost doubled over in laughter.
"Wow! And please tell me that that did not just prove my point!" He held on to his side with and arm and reached out to move a strand of hair out of my face with the other. I slapped his hand full force and knocked over my glass of float in the process.
"I'm going to the washroom." I said and ran over to the bathroom. All I could do was picture the waitress and Casey smiling together and I felt like an idiot. Was I really falling for him? I thought that to myself and Casey's voice came back to my head.
"are you really falling for who?" I couldn't figure out how my subconscious kept developing his voice but I decided that the only way I was ever going to solve my problem was by first admitting it to myself and then letting it go. I walked to the mirror and put my hands on the rim of the sink.
"I like Casey." Admitting it to myself was so much harder than it needed to be. I was going to say the other word; but in all actuality I have no clue what 'love' really is. Besides why put myself in an inevitable heartbreak over someone who clearly is more interested in fooling around with other girls?
At that moment I felt an unusual cold press down ony lips. As if muffeling me. When I looked into the mirror I saw something forming behind me.
An angel.
I automatically recognized the face as soon as it formed. It was Jason.
He lightly put more pressure on my mouth with his hand and his open index finger shot up to his mouth. Motioning me to be quiet.I nodded my head, notioning that I would comply. He slowly and carefully released me and began writing in the frost of the mirrors that appeared the same time he did. In the mirror he wrote:
"The demon lies within.
Scream his name with your heart.
It is a call to him as in between a dog and its master."
The way Jason wrote it; it didn't see normal. It wasn't normal writing; and yet I could read it.
After realizing this I reread the second line again. It was pretty obvious that when he wrote 'demon' he had Casey I mind. But what did it mean? Could it have to do with me hearing Casey's voice in my head? I whispered this question unintentionally and Jason nodded his head. His smile seemed scary. Like that of a TV serial murderers. He walked slowly up to me and whispered close to my ear.
"Call out his name." His voice was harsh and his breath was colder than ice.
"No. You're crazy." I went to go walk away but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. He took a slide step behind me and I felt the piercing cold if metal against my neck. I looked in the mirror and saw that he was holding an unusual blade against my skin.
"Go ahead, call his name. He can't lose his precious princess. It would kill him." His smile got wider and he pressed the blade against my neck harder. I didn't have to look in the mirror. I could feel as a droplet of blood started to run down my skin. "Call him. Unless you want the both of you to die." I thought about it for a second but I kept silent. I could afford to leave this world. But Casey has bigger plans for his future. He didn't need me to go and scew things up for him. " I wonder what will happen to little Annie in the other room? Are you going to let her die too?" He pressed harder and more blood came out. I felt weak, I hated giving in. But I couldn't let him get Annie. I did as he told me and screamed Casey's name in my head. I hoped and prayed that it wouldn't work. But then again, with my luck I knew deep down it would.
It only proved my point when he burst through the door eyes pink, grey, and black and red.
My vision started to get hazy and the tears in my eyes weren't helping. I heard Jason laugh before he disappeared from sight.
As he left Casey ran over to me and tried to stop the blood. I didn't think it was much but from the look in his eyes it was more than enough for him to be concerned.
"Casey?..." my voice was failing me because of my held back tears.
"don't speak. He may have only cut the side of your neck but you've lost so much blood that its taking a small toll on your body." I tried to nodd my head but the pain in my throat was unbearable. I intentionally let a few if my tears escape me and Caseys jaw automatically clenthed. "are you okay? why are you crying? did I hurt you? we are going to the hospital right now!" Even in my head I could hear the harshness of his voice and feel his concern. I focused all my strength on my next words.
"I'm o-kay. Let's go home. P-p-lease." His eyes became glossy again and I could tell that he'd rather me see him pissed at the moment, rather than crying and weak.
"what did I tell you about speaking? I've already almost lost Annie to an angel, I don't want to lose you too!" I made an attempt to get up but I ended up collapsing in his arms.
"For the love of the good almighty Christ! Will you please Stop! I can't lose you Lizzie! I'm not strong enough to care for Ann on my own! Please just STOP! Don't you care about your own life?! Do you want to die?! Is living with me that bad!? If you want to leave just say the word, I won't stop you , just please I need you, here! On earth!" He said it out loud this time. He said he need me. But he also said he wouldn't stop me if I chose to leave.
The heat emmiting from his arms seemed to give me strength. I managed to sit up a bit and I lightly touched his hand.
"I'm not dying any time soon. And I wouldnt leave you, even if it did kill me." His eyes were greyish pink and he drew me in for a strong embrace.
"Liz," he said at practically said in a whisper. "Its not really normal for demons to-express their- feelings; per say. But um, I kindda just wanted to say- that I- um-I kindda - love you- Elizabeth Heights." He looked up at me and his eyes were the brightest, pinkyest pink imaginable.
My wrist were I had been burned and branded started to glow brightly. I knew that it was Present trying to tell me what I knew I had to do in my heart.
Looking at Casey, I smiled a bit as I leaned closer to his ear.
"I love you too, Prince Casey."
