dark places - jb & ag {completed}

{nine}

My mother's words still rang in my ears even after I woke up. I had no idea what she'd meant by 'Humans need me.' Why didn't she tell me that 'My People' needed me? Why did she sound like she was talking about a different race or species? What did she mean by saying I was never meant to die? Was I immortal? And what would that even make me if I wasn't a human? Was I a demon like Justin had told me? No. It couldn't be. I refused to believe it. It wasn't even sane that I was considering the words of a dead person. A dead person that I only saw in a dream, that is.

For the second time, I still had hope that when I opened my eyes I would find myself back home, sleeping in my own bed. And this time – the hope was even greater than the last time, because I found that I wasn't feeling any pain like I was before.

I groaned as I sat up on the bed, holding the thin blanket up to my chest to cover my nudeness. My groan wasn't a loud call to express pain; no, it was a voice I let out when disappointment hit me once I realized my hope was crushed. I was still in the same alien room, not in the familiarity and comfort of my own.

It was only then that I took a closer look at the room – it was odd. There was the bed I was sitting on, there was a dresser, a side table with a chair on either side, and I could see a slightly opened door that led to a walk-in closet. I could also see the elegant chamber that was in the center of the ceiling, but – everything just looked odd. Like, I was able to name everything I was looking at, and everything that was around me, but the decorations and the designs looked as if they belonged in the future, like they belonged to ... a different world!

Oh, my goodness! Justin's earlier words about an underground world came to my mind – could everything he had said really be true? That I wasn't in my world anymore? And what about him telling me that I belonged here? It couldn't be. There was no way I was a demon. Because if we thought about those past events, his words and my mom's – it was crazy, they didn't fit.

In the horror stories we read when having sleepovers with girls from elementary school – demons were bad. We always knew that demons were these freakishly ugly creatures who did bad things to humans, and my mom said that humans needed me. So, how could I help people if I was a demon? It was just – insane. Even more insane than the fact that I was considering all of this at all.

The floor was kind of the only thing I saw that looked somewhat familiar; it was some sort of black marble which was reflecting the lights of the chamber above. Everything else was so strange I couldn't describe it. And the fact that even with the lights turned on, it seemed that the room was only dimly lit, not as bright as the lights should've made it. The whole atmosphere of the place was full of darkness. It was really weird.

A few moments after I woke up and as I was gazing at the strangely shaped roof, I heard the door being opened. And when I looked, I found Justin making his way inside with another glass of water in his hand; he was wearing black jeans and that was it.

I swallowed thickly, not because I was thirsty, but because the sight of him made my mouth water. To be honest, I was embarrassed with myself for having those kinds of feelings towards him. It was like for a moment or two, I forgot all of the strange and horrible things that were happening to me. All of my thoughts were nothing but about how attractive Justin was.

"Angel," he said in greeting, his voice husky and his tone gentle. "How do you feel?" He smiled as he asked the question, coming to sit beside me on bed, facing me with one leg bent underneath him and the other dangling off the bed.

"I'm fine, thank you," I replied softly, feeling my blush deepening as I took the glass from his offering hand and took a sip.

The back of his knuckles brushed tenderly against my cheek and he smiled sweetly. "This is lovely," he said, and I assumed he was talking about my blush – just realizing that made said blush grow even redder, darker. And that earned me a light chuckle from him. "I'm going to miss it."