Destroy Me

25 // A SINGLE BOLT OF LIGHTNING CAN TOAST 160,000 SLICES OF BREAD

I NODDED MY HEAD along with the music, a Janis Joplin song that I couldn't remember the name of. Elijah's taste in music was really rubbing off on me, so much so that I had him make me a CD of some of his favourites. 

I was kneeling on the floor of my wardrobe, folding and putting them in my dresser. Elijah and I were going to go and watch a movie in light of our recent victory over the demon Isiah. 

So when the door opened and I couldn't see who it was, I dumbly assumed it was Elijah. 

"I'll be ready in a few minutes," I told him and continued putting my clothes away. When he didn't respond, I leaned back to see if he'd actually come in or if I was imagining it. I immediately realised that it wasn't Elijah at all, it was the devil himself. 

He had the CD case that Elijah had made and was reading over the songs. 

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. 

"I don't know," he sighed. "I had everything I wanted to say to you mapped out, but now that I'm here nothing seems right. Did Elijah make this for you?"

"Yes," I snapped. He put it down and turned to me. For a minute, I was genuinely taken aback. He had this look in his eyes, like he'd given up hope or something. 

"I'm being sent to the same military school that Elijah got sent to," he told me. I fought back the urge to laugh, because this was exactly what Isiah deserved. "I probably got off easy considering all of the things that I've done. I just... I wanted to apologise. I know that it won't help at all, but it's the only thing I can do at this point."

"I don't accept," I shrugged. "Not only did you ruin my family, but you also considered me as your property. That's degrading, Isiah. It's also disgusting and condescending."

"What?" Isiah frowned. "Devon, I never thought that I owned you."

"I was your backup plan," I scoffed. "That's basically the same thing."

"You weren't my backup plan," he mumbled. "I thought that I would always have you and it was always my intention to end up with you. I know how horrible it sounds, but I was getting all of my impurities out with Kendall. I never wanted to cheat on you or make you feel like shit. I wanted to be good for you."

Isaiah and I looked at each other and I physically couldn't form words. Eight years, eight god damn years I spent obsessing over this guy that I considered a god, only to discover that he was nothing more than a demon. 

"I don't know what you want me to say," I whispered. 

"Don't say anything," he told me. "I didn't expect you to. I just want you to do one thing."

"One thing," I repeated. 

"While I'm gone, figure out what I can do to make you forgive me," he said. "I don't care if I have to learn how to fly a plane and write 'forgive me Devon' in the clouds. I'll do it, I'll fucking do it Devon."

"When do you leave?" I asked. 

"Next week," he sighed and picked the CD case up again. "Do you think Elijah will make one of these for me?"

"If that's what you want."

Isiah and I both looked over and Elijah was leaning against the door frame. His cheeks were a little red and he had a kind of faraway look in his eyes. 

"I should go," Isiah muttered and left. Elijah stepped out of the way for him, then dropped onto my bed and made a sound that was too similar to a sob than I cared to admit. 

"What wrong?" I frowned and scooted out of the wardrobe so I could get a better look at him. 

"They're sending him to military school," he said quietly and rolled over onto his side so that he could look at me. "I mean, I wanted him to get in trouble. I wanted them to do something, not send him away like they did to me. They don't... They don't understand. Don't get me wrong, I love them and they're great. But they don't get that sending us away isn't going to fix our problems, it's just going to hide it from them."