Destiny's Three Stars

13

I'd never seen Michael's apartment before but I somehow knew exactly where it was and what his room number was.

The building was a brick building that looked more like an office building than an apartment building. The lobby had a desk with a chair behind it, meaning someone worked there during regular work hours. There was a plant beside the desk, growing up to the top counter. I took the elevator and hit the button for the seventh floor. I paced back and forth until the doors opened.

I walked out and went to room three on the floor. I knocked on the door and waited very impatiently for Michael to greet me. It took him a second and when he appeared, he was in a t-shirt and plaid boxers. His hair was a mess and a beard was growing in that he would have to shave in the morning.

He rubbed his eyes before looking at me. Then they bugged. "Destiny?"

"I need you to come with me." I said.

He glanced around the hall before grabbing my arm and pulled me into his apartment. He slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he pushed me up against it roughly. "What the hell have you done to her?"

I looked at him, perplexed. "What are you talking about? It's me."

"Where's Destiny?" He yelled, getting closer to me. I could smell his breath on my face, feel the heat coming off of him. I could smell the soap from his shower the previous night.

"Michael, it's me. I am Destiny."

"No. You're. Not."

I pushed him off of me and relaxed my shoulders against the door. "I need you to come with me, Michael. It's important."

"No, what's important is getting Destiny back."

"You're not making any sense, Michael."

He grabbed my arm roughly and drug me into the hallway. He pushed me into a dark room then flipped the light on. It was a bathroom with a shower and a toilet. The vanity had a large mirror with it. In the mirror was a girl who looked just like me but her eyes were completely void of color. They were just straight black. Jutting out from the eyes were black veins. It scared me. It was me.

What was going on?

"This is Destiny's body but you are not Destiny."

I didn't know what to say. He was pissed. I'd never had the chance to see him pissed but he was angrier than I'd seen a lot of people. It was a bit unexpected but I understood where he was coming from. It wasn't every day that the girl you liked became... someone else. I didn't even know what was going on with me.

He grabbed my hand and led me to a bedroom. The bed was unmade and there was a lamp on beside the bed. "Sit on the bed."

I nodded and sat down on the bed, moving back to the pillows. The mattress was warm and it smelled like him.

He opened up a drawer under the bed and pulled out a set of handcuffs. He immediately grabbed my hand and stuck a handcuff to my wrist. Then he handcuffed the bed frame so I was trapped on the bed.

He picked up his phone from the bedside table and quickly punched in a number before putting the phone to his ear. It didn't take long for the person on the other end to answer and his face turned into a scowl.

"Get over here now." He said in a low voice. He hung up and set the phone back down. He started pacing, his hands clasped behind his head.

Lucifer walked into the room just seconds later with a small globe in his hand. "Amazing how the world can be this small yet hold so many people."

"I didn't ask you here to touch my things." Michael said with a flat voice. He clearly didn't like having Lucifer here, regardless of their family ties.

Lucifer tossed the globe at him, which he caught before it could hit him. "Then why am I - Destiny, so good to see you again."

I yanked on the handcuff and gritted my teeth. "What happened to me? What did you do to me?"

"I was only helping you out, sweetheart."

"How did she know to come here?" Michael asked, refusing to look at me.

"Always so quick to jump to the real questions but you never ask how I'm doing. I thought I raised you better."

"You didn't. That's why I'm not rude or selfish like you are."

Lucifer sat in a chair beside the door and got completely situated. He acted like it was his apartment and we were just visiting. "Your little girlfriend is helping me. I want you to come home with me so we can be a family again."

"I'm not going back. I like it here. I like my job. Turning the girl I like into a demon isn't going to make me want to go back with you any less."

"A demon!?" I shrieked, my voice reaching octaves it never had before. Did I hear him right? Did he really just say what I thought he said?

I couldn't be a demon. I couldn't be something... evil.

"Fix her." Michael said.

Lucifer looked at his fingernails, unphased by our freak-outs. "Until you agree to come back to Hell with me, your girlfriend will stay a demon." Then he disappeared.

I tugged on the handcuff on my wrist. "A demon? Are you sure I'm not just sick or something?"

Michael cursed to himself and sat down on the bed in front of me. "You're not going to work today, Destiny. I'm leaving you here until I come back. I'll call the girls and tell them what's going on with you."

"What - no, you can't do that. You can't tell them. They're already mad at me over you and if they find out-"

"They're mad at you because of me? What happened?" His tone softened up and the normal Michael was coming back.

"I didn't tell them I left the other day and Nona thinks you're the reason I've been avoiding her and not telling her things. She thinks you're trying to keep me from them."

"I swear to you that's not my intentions at all. But I guess that won't do me any good now, considering the circumstances."

"Can you let me go now? I promise not to do hurt you."

"You have to promise you'll stay here. I'm not going to come back later to an empty apartment." He was talking to me like I was a child. I probably deserved it. Destiny didn't but the demon did. It was the demon who needed to be pleased.

I nodded. "You're here and he's... well I don't know. So it's not like I'm useful anymore."

He cupped my cheek in his hand. "Hey, don't say that."

"You know it's true. I'm only a... I'm not a human anymore." Tears pricked at my eyes and I was surprised I could even cry anymore. With how screwed up I was, I figured there were parts of me that wouldn't work like they used to. IE, all of me.

"You're still you. It's just... harder to get to."

"Is there still a way to... change me back?"

Michael sighed and unlocked the handcuff from my wrist. "Only he can do it."