me and the devil - kai parker

34

Madelene's eyes flew open, and her body immediately seized with panic. Her chest tightened as muffled, heated voices ricocheted off the thin walls of the apartment. It had become a habit that everything she allowed herself to rest, she'd wake up in danger.  

Then came the sound of retching—violent, guttural—and more shouting. The commotion sent a sharp spike of anxiety through her, pulling her from the bed without a second thought. She didn't remember going back to bed after watching TV with Kai til the first sunbeams quizzed through the blinds of his apartment, the Wheel of Fortune's fake audience laughs were the last things she registered before drifting off to sleep. 

She made her way to the door slowly, cracking it open ever so slightly, placing her bare feet on the wooden floors as delicately as possible. The apartment was small, it was a two-bedroom with a living room connected by a short and narrow corridor, she was pretty sure whoever was screaming on the other end of it, would notice her presence soon enough. 

"Is this all just a ploy for you to get more magic?" A strong, female voice pierced the silence.

"It's a ploy for us all to stay alive, actually. However, I'm sorry if that seems selfish-"

"I don't believe you! Because you're a liar. And you are the worst kind of liar, because your lies sound so much like the truth, it is impossible for me to tell the differe-"

Curiosity got the best of Madelene as she cracked the door wider and gently tip-toed a bit closer to take a look at the woman whose voice she found oddly familiar. The room fell silent when a loud, obnoxious creaking of wood signaled the third person in the apartment. 

Madelene closed her eyes, cringing, almost as if she closed them, no one could see her. 

"Who's that?" the woman spoke up, her tone accusatory. 

"Fuck me," Madelene whispered to herself, she tightened her fists around the big sweatshirt she was wearing and pulled on the material to cover a bit more of her bare tights before walking into the room. She stood uncomfortably halfway through the door frame, ready to run if needed. 

Kai was in the middle of the room with circles so dark they were almost black, contrasting against the paper-white skin and bloodshot eyes that were not looking at her, he looked ill. The other person in the room was a middle-aged woman, beautiful with perfectly styled hair and high cheekbones. Both of their faces were flushed with anger as they stood close, The woman's eyes blazed with fury the moment she looked up to see Madelene.

"Her?" Josette snarls, pointing an accusatory finger at Madeline, it made her feel small, like a child walking in on her parents fighting.

Madelene's stomach twisted with sudden, raw envy. Josette Parker was stunning, poised—just as she always had been. But now, older, and mature, she radiated a different kind of beauty, one that was unreachable for her. The woman standing in front of her had lived, truly lived, while she and Kai had been locked away.

Madelene wouldn't be mad to see her face starting to wrinkle or catch those first grey hairs, anything but the face that stared back at her every day for the last twenty years would have been nice.

The jealousy clawed at her insides, tearing at the edges of her sanity. Madelene had watched herself in the mirror every day for two decades. No matter how much time passed, she was forever frozen in her twenties, she always had the same face that watched her mother die. 

"Aren't you two just perfect for each other?" her tone was sweet yet drenched with sarcasm and venom, she looked ready to blow up. "What, twenty years together and still inseparable, huh? here you are, back at it like nothing ever happened. Finishing the job I see? Guess Dad and I are the only ones left on your to-do list."