The Eyes at the Foot of the Bed (Sweet Devil!America x Reader)

Epilogue

You lay on a bed, in a room with four pristine white walls and a large, rectangular mirror next to the single padded door.

   Your body was throbbing but you couldn't move. You didn't want to move. You just stared at the ceiling and wondered how many days it will take before your heart stops beating.

|A Month Earlier

   You knew for a fact that you and Arthur spent most of your time together in libraries, and since there was only library in this town you didn't have to think too much.

   "'...hidden in the circles of Hell.'" You reread the second clue. Circles of Hell could only mean Dante's Inferno.

   To be perfectly honest, you didn't expect it to be so easy; it literally took you one pull of a copy and a folded envelope slid out with it, dropping to the floor.

   You tore open the paper and there it was, Arthur's bracelet. This time it was silver, two thin bands molded together to create loops like miniature infinity symbols.

   You stared at it. Arthur wrote about it, said that he made it for you, but you couldn't shake off the feeling of uneasiness inside your stomach. Arthur was a master with words, and you two read and analyzed books and poems together; the clue was too simple even a child who has heard of Dante could've figured it out.

   The hair on your skin stood up and you felt someone's breath on your neck. "Aren't you going to put it on?"

   You gasped and spun around, but nobody was there.

   The bracelet suddenly burned hot in your hand and you threw it away. The shadows moved and in an instant, Alfred—black-haired Alfred was there and he caught the bracelet with ease.

   "You need be more careful with this thing" He played with it, twirled it around his finger. "Your dear Arthur put his blood and sweat and tears into making this ring."

   You didn't even bother to stay and ask what he meant—you turned your back and pushed yourself forward into a sprint.

   Alfred sighed.

   The lights flickered, you kept running with your arms held up in case you'd bump into a person or a piece of furniture. However, no matter what you did or how many turns you took, you couldn't find the exit.

   "There's no point in running away, sweetheart" Alfred's voice bounced off the walls. "No point in praying or hiding. God is dead and I will always, always find you."

   You narrowly avoided hitting a bookshelf.

   "You know, when your blonde friends summoned one of my pets, I was around and I saw you... You reminded me of someone, someone very special to me. People called her a witch just because she didn't like leaving the house and preferred to spend her days alone. Reading, learning... And then one day, I found her body—they hanged her."

   Something grabbed your left foot and you fell face-first to the ground. Hands came out of nowhere. They took your ankles and legs and arms; their grip was strong, and fighting them exhausted you even more.

   Something was slipped onto your wrist.

   You glanced down to your side and saw the bracelet.

   "I lost you once and it took a few centuries but I finally found you again" Glowing blue eyes appeared above you, a stark contrast to the dark shadows that held you down.

   His cool fingers traced over your cheek... your jawline... "I promise we won't lose each other again." He leaned down and kissed you. His lips were cold and felt so wrong. He wasn't talking to you, he was talking to his lost lover whose soul lived inside you.

   "But I can't have you the way you are right now" He moved to kiss your collarbone "The girl isn't broken enough." He reached for the button of your jeans and you cried.

   "NO!"

   "Name!" Arin gasped and backed away from the bed.

   "W-where am I?" You looked around. Antique furniture, a laptop, books on the floor and every table. You were in your bedroom.

   You touched your chest; you were wearing a Batman nightie.

   Your body began to shake as tears poured out your eyes.

   "Name, it's okay. Whatever it was, it was just a nightmare" She opened her arms and you leaned in.

   "It's okay, Name. Allen and I are right here."

   You fell asleep cradled like a child, but when you woke up you were all alone in the bath tub naked. Confused and disoriented, you carefully got out and wrapped a towel around your torso.

   The door was open when you reached for the knob.

   You walked out of the bathroom and called out your friends' names, however, you received no response. You felt that knot in your stomach again.

   Shit.

   Not caring that you were in a towel, you hurried downstairs. But you were forced to stop on your tracks when you saw them.

   There was no furniture destroyed or moved, but the blood was everywhere. They lay on the living room floor on their chests, their limbs missing as they stared blankly at each other.

   You slowly approached their bodies.

   "No... no, please, no. This is all my fault—" You fell to your knees and then you yelled to the air around you "WHY?"

   You sobbed as you thought about your family, did the demon plan on killing them, too? The neighbors, your classmates?

   "Please, just... take me if that's what you want. Stop with the killing. They didn't deserve this."

   "Oh, yes, they did."

   You gasped when you were shoved to the floor.

   "Their ancestors were responsible for taking you away from me, they had it coming." Alfred glared at their corpses.

   You couldn't do anything but cry.

   "There, there" He whispered "I'll stop killing if you really want me to. Consider it as my wedding present. And speaking of" He licked his lips hungrily "I said I'd wait until you were ready but it is our wedding night, and you're dressed for the occasion."

   He held your arms above your head and pressed his lips on yours, "I'll try to be gentle."

   At that point, you didn't even bother to fight back; he may have not taken everything now, but who knows what he'll do if you don't surrender. You just closed your eyes and waited for it to be over.

   The police sirens came around dawn, after receiving several calls from your neighbors.

|As promised, Alfred never disappeared. Sometimes he was a cop; sometimes he was the nurse who fed you—but he was always the caregiver who bathed you. And you were the only one who could tell the difference.

Everyone thought you were crazy, and maybe you were. Because after two more months in the asylum, you found yourself falling in love with him.