Lucifer's Other Half

EIGHT

The lightning and thunder had deceased as the night lingered on but the rain that fell from the pitch black sky continued on. The raindrops hit the roof above Lucifer's head and landed on the window of Estrella's bedroom, racing each other to the bottom and Lucifer watched their race in boredom. Earth was not his favorite place to be, deep down inside he despised to be here but he came here for one reason and one reason only and that reason laid in bed fast asleep. He was leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest, facing his own reflection that appeared in the glass. It was still dark outside; he wasn't sure what time it was but he hoped that it was close to dawn. He should go back to the underworld but every time he thought about leaving he remembered that the angel Anpiel could appear to her while he was gone and he wasn't going to let that happen. Not when he's in her life. Lucifer grew tired of watching the rain race down the window, so he went on an adventure through Estrella's house in curiosity. He's never truly looked at what was different here on Earth than in the underworld, but he guessed there was a lot of things there were different, things he's never seen before. Instead of wandering into the living room, he wandered down the hallway a little ways and found a bedroom door shut tightly as if meant to stay shut for eternity. He gripped the silver doorknob, feeling the coldness, and turned it. It was dark inside the room, so he stretched out his arm in order to find the light switch somewhere on the wall which was right beside the doorway. The light that hung from the ceiling turned on immediately and he saw that he was standing in a medium size bedroom. It was very clean but there were a lot of boxes packed away and pushed against the wall as if they were meant to be forgotten. His curiosity took the best of him and he approached the boxes, grabbing the first one he could. The top was still open so all he had to do was lift the lid and look inside to see old picture frames of Estrella and a woman. He grabbed the first picture frame and looked at it closely, realizing that the woman beside Estrella was her mother. Lucifer remembered the day her mother passed away, he remembered the sounds of sobs coming from Estrella for hours and he remembered how badly his chest tightened while he listened to her cry. It was a gloomy day... he dug further into the box, finding other pictures from birthdays and holidays. Estrella was very close to her mother, she never had a father figure, never even knew her biological father but Lucifer did. He hunted her father down one night after Estrella asked her mother about him when she was only nine. What he found was a deadbeat alcoholic. It took Abaddon all of his strength to keep Lucifer from murdering him right then and there. "Why does anyone deserve to live like that?" he had shouted at Abaddon that night, "why should anyone abandon her for alcohol and live Abaddon?". Abaddon couldn't give him the answer he wanted to hear... He placed the picture frames back where they belong and closed the lid, putting the box back in its place. He guessed that this was her mother's room. Lucifer walked out of the room after turning off the light and he shut the door back just to be sure she had no idea he was ever in there going through the boxes. He glanced down the hallway towards the living room and noticed that it was turning a grayish blue outside, telling him that the sun would be up soon. There was another door on his left that was shut as well and since he was still bored, he decided to see what was in that room. He opened the door and came into a small room with a big window that overlooked the backyard and sitting in the middle of the room against the wall was something large but covered by a white sheet. Lucifer was very intrigued by this white sheet, he just had to know what was underneath it. His big, muscular hand gripped the sheet and he pulled it off and saw a black piano sitting lonely against the wall. His breath hitched in surprise. Who knew how to play the piano? He didn't remember Estrella taking lessons. Lucifer knew how to play the piano, you could say that he was a professional at it but he hadn't played nor touched a piano since his days in Heaven. Over a thousand years ago. But he wanted to know if he still had the skill in his fingers. He gripped the bench from underneath the piano and pulled it out, sitting down on it carelessly. He lifted the top to reveal the ivory keys and his lips curled into a grin. Lucifer laid his fingers lightly on top of the keys, letting his mind take him back to the days he was an archangel, sitting in front of a glowing white piano, creating the sweetest melody your ears had ever heard. What if he had forgotten how to play? His middle finger pressed down on one of the keys, smirking at the smooth ding it made. Luckily the piano was in tune, so even if he had lost his ability to play at least the music notes sounded right. His long fingers pressed down on the keys and began to move across the them smoothly, creating the most luscious sound your ears had ever heard. The music filled the room and echoed throughout the hall, Lucifer smirked. He still had it. Memories flashed through his mind of when he was the most beloved angel in Heaven that wooed the others with his talent of playing the piano to show his joy for being an angel. He remembered the glistening white piano clearly, the perfect white keys and the sweet melody that he created with only his fingers. He remembered the angels staring at him, mesmerized, with smiles on their faces. He remembered the look in that angel's eyes, Chastity, as she rested her elbows on top of the piano and watched him play. Back then, he swore that he was in love with her. But obviously, those were times he pushed aside. They were times he wanted to pretend never even happened. At this time, Estrella's eyes had opened and all she heard was the piano coming from the hallway and her curiosity rose. She got up from bed and looked around the room, remembering that Lucifer was here the night before and she wondered if he had left. Either way, she needed to find out where that noise was coming from. She rubbed her eyes as she exited the bedroom and walked across the hallway to the room the piano was stored away in, left to be forgotten. She peered in the room and her jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief, it wasn't every day that the devil played the piano in your home. Estrella thought about saying something to get his attention but the song he was playing was so beautiful, she didn't want to interrupt. It was dark, yet soothing and it relaxed her in some unusual way. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned her weight against the door frame, watching him. The sun that was rising and streaming in from the window illuminated his figure, creating a golden highlight around him and for a second she was thinking about how handsome he looked right now. For a second she had forgotten he was the devil. For a second she wanted to kiss him. For a second he was melting her heart. But that second was gone in a flash, he had stopped playing his song and she felt the feelings ease away. She swallowed hard, tasting her morning breath.

"I didn't know you played?"

Lucifer didn't look at her, instead he looked up and stared at the eggplant colored wall.

"Sneaking up on someone is rude."

Estrella rolled her eyes. "This is my house, so if I want to sneak up on you I will."

Lucifer looked at her, his lips curling in a smirk.

"I did play," he responded then paused for a moment. "long ago."

"You just played though?"

He smirked then stood up, pushing the bench back under the piano and covering it up with the sheet.

"A moment of weakness."

He approached her and stared down at her and she couldn't help but to look up at him, getting lost in his black eyes.

"I didn't know that the Devil had moments of weaknesses?"

"There's a lot of things you don't know."

She couldn't understand why he was so secretive, it got under her skin that he was because she was dying to know what she didn't know. But as she pondered about it longer, maybe he was just making her think he was keeping things from her. She sighed, unfolded her arms and turned, walking away from him.

"Did Anpiel ever show up?"

"No," Lucifer replied in a raspy voice as he followed her down the hallway. "but I guess he will soon."

"And you will just wait for him to appear?" she interrogated. She wandered into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, since it was so early and she needed caffeine just to deal with him.

"Yes I will," he paused while watching her carefully. She was such a fascinating little creature. "does that bother you?"

"I don't particularly enjoy your presence, so yes."

Lucifer laughed once, shaking his head.

"I could be wrong, but is someone trying to sound sophisticated this morning?"

Estrella didn't answer, she didn't know that she was but she guessed that he was rubbing off on her. Both of them were oddly silent, he watched her make some coffee and pour herself a cup before heading towards the living room and sitting down on the couch comfortably. She sipped her coffee before grabbing the remote and turning on the TV to watch Good Morning America, something she used to watch every morning with her mom.

"Don't you have anything better else to do than sit around here with me?"

"Nope," he replied then sat down beside her, while exhaling. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and smirked, looking at her to see the aggravated look on her face. "aw sweetheart. Don't act like you don't enjoy me being around."

He tried to touch her cheek but she pulled away, looking at him in disapproval.

"Just sit there and keep your hands to yourself, got it?"

"Yes ma'am."