Devil's Soul

Chapter 42 (summons of the tyrannical fraternal twins)

***Wow it's been so long since I last posted a chapter! It feels good to be writing again! I was taking all neuroscience classes this semester, so I stayed away from writing to focus on my studies. Hopefully I won't have to take a break that long again! So I think the main thing that might confuse you, if you don't really remember what was happening before, is Sasha. He was the demon boy that was traveling with Mavis on the road trip. The last time we saw him, he was asleep on Mavis' couch, and she left him a note saying she was going to school. If you don't remember Remy, she's Mavis' new friend, who's also a demon. If you're ever confused because I took so long to update, and you don't want to re-read the whole book, you can always send me a message with your confusion, and I will try to help clear things up! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!***

Sasha didn't want to be useless anymore. That's the explanation he had provided in messy letters on the back of the note I had left him. His ambiguous message was reminiscent of what he had said to me after he had watched Rumples and me get attacked at the bar. He'd been upset that he hadn't been able to help us. I don't know what he expected to accomplish by going out on his own, but I imagine he felt he couldn't attain the power he was looking for while letting someone care for him.

If he hadn't snuck away while I was in class, I would have told him that there was power in surrounding yourself with friends and in being able to ask for help. Now, I could only hope that his naivety wouldn't get him hurt. He was just a kid, after all. Where would he sleep? What would he eat?

My phone interrupted my thoughts before my worry for Sasha could escalate to panic. "Hello?"

"Hey, girl! I hear you're back in town. We should do something fun!" Remy's cheery voice unwittingly soothed my nerves.

I set the note down on the couch where I found it. "The only fun thing I'll have time for this week is catching up on all the problem sets and readings I've fallen behind on."

"I seriously hope you're kidding about that being fun."

"You don't want me to enjoy doing my homework?"

"I guess if you have to do it, you might as well enjoy it, but there's a big difference between enjoying something and calling it fun."

"Is there?"

"Yes." Her voice carried a tone of finality.

I laughed. "Okay, well, I actually do have a ton of homework, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to meet your qualifications of having fun."

"Ugh! Okay, how about this. I'm meeting with a new client tomorrow. Then I can come over to your place and work on outlining the project while you do your fun problem sets."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"But—"

"Uh oh."

"But next week we're doing something that's my kind of fun."

"Hopefully I'll be caught up on homework by then," I said as a way of avoiding commitment.

"'Hopefully' is not how this works. The deal is that we do your fun this week and my fun next week."

"I'll try."

"I'm not hanging up until you agree to the deal."

"Geez, you're relentless! Okay, I formally accept your terms. Are you happy?"

"That's all I wanted to hear! See you tomorrow!" She hung up before I could revive the uncertainty in our plans.

When Remy arrived on Tuesday afternoon, she hijacked the family room floor, spreading her drawing supplies across it and settling into a hunched kneeling position. She remained unseduced by the freshly cleaned table surface, so I relented and joined her on the floor with my fun problem sets.