The Devil's Love

||. Chapter 2: A Shadow In the Dark .||

The green-painted door was luring her in. It was a small space that provided her with comfort and peace when she needed them. Taking another glance at the stairs, guilt showered her heart. Of course, she didn't mean to hide another one of her misery from Jiang, but she didn't want to be a burden to him. He had always been listening to her problems as long as they knew each other. She wanted to race down the stairs, to express her distress, but she gulped them away. Turning the knob, she walked into the peaceful confinement. A place where she would be able to think sanely.

It wasn't a huge room, but it was comfortable. Ansel loved the dark blue sheets draped across her mattress. A small table by the window with a large shelf next to it completed her needs. Her books were arranged neatly according to series, sizes and even alphabetical orders. She missed her overly large cupboard, the balcony in her room and some of her books, but those were no longer her happiness. She learned to love this current lifestyle. It was comfortable, convenient and away from trouble. That was what mattered.

Changing into a shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts, Ansel began to work on checking out her assignments. She was glad that the first week of classes wasn't that tiring. She was used to her routine of going to classes in the morning, work in the evenings and studies at night. It had been her fixed routine for the past eight years. Nothing had been exciting for her. Not until Mr. Black and Mystery decided to appear.

Despite the amount of concentration she had decided to throw in, her mind seems to be wandering around places she did not want to. She wanted an answer, desperately from the boy who had been stalking her for the past year. He did not harm her and he never disturbed her. There doesn't seem to be a proper reason for her to report to the cops. There was another problem even if she did report the case. She did not know his details. Clearly, there would be more than one person with black hair, black eyes and porcelain skin in the University of Spinark.

Looking at the clock next to her, Ansel sighed. It was almost midnight. Heading over to Jiang's room for company didn't sound appropriate. He needed his sleep. Mumbling on her own, she cleaned up the mess on the table, arranging her pens neatly into the holder. As much as she wanted to share her thoughts, she didn't want Jiang to be worried about her anymore. Sweeping away the dust from the table, she kept a few of the books into her bag and jolted a slight memory from the past.

"You don't run back from what breaks you, Ansel. No father will ditch his daughter when she is alive and breathing," Jiang advised, holding onto the handle of her bike. "Don't go back there."

Tightening the grip on her backpack, she nodded. Ansel removed her helmet, settling it down on the seat. Nodding at Jiang's words, she detached the leather gloves she was wearing.

"I won't. I promise you," she assured, holding her palms. "Thank you, Jiang. I..."

"Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, Ansel. I will keep in touch with you. My parents said if you need a place to live, you can always reside in my home. They will..."

"They did enough. You and your family helped me a lot. I can't ask more," she smiled.

Ansel sighed. She opened the curtains of her window and looked out at the silent neighbourhood. The sound of insects creaking under the night sky was rather comforting, thus she left the window open. Picking out her favourite storybook, Ansel sat by the window, continuing the adventure she had been in for the past two days. Quite often, she dreamt about a world where magic existed and a world where magical creatures would live around her. 

What if – she suddenly thought – what if he is one of her wishes or someone who had escaped from a fantasy world?

Fantasy is never real – she scolded herself mentally.

She brushed her hair backwards before taking a glance out of the window again. From afar, the stars seemed to be shining so bright in the skies that they seemed to be the only guidance in between the dark roads. The moon was in a smiling form as if signalling to her that everything will be fine. Will it ever be? She wasn't even sure about her future and that each time she tried to take a closer look at it, she only felt the door being slammed shut like a baseball bat against her face.

Closing the book she had been reading, Ansel whipped her head to the side when she felt her phone vibrated. Swiping it open, she squinted her eyes at the number displayed on her screen. It had been some time. She had not been in contact with the number for a long time. She hesitated as it beeped again, another message floating into her phone and she froze. Clearly, when you run away from problems, problems will come searching for you no matter what happens. The one thing she learned from the past was never to mess with things you cannot clear.

Letting her book slip onto the ground, Ansel picked it up reading the message. She closed it before tossing her phone onto the table, heading towards her cupboard to take out a small package in brown. She refused to think about it. The colour of cherry blood clouded her sight as she felt her blood began to boil at that simple thought. Shutting her eyes tight, Ansel's knuckles went white and pale as she gripped them tightly that her fingernails were protruding through her skin.

"I own that. No one is going to go against me for it," Ansel muttered, her fist punched onto the wall next to her cupboard. "How dare he?!" She hissed, gritting her teeth before she turned around, ready to go to bed.

As she walked past the window, Ansel caught sight of something unexpected. Her dark eyes caught sight of a similar figure standing by the lamp post. The same boy was standing there, looking up at her window. His hood was down that his flipping black hair tousled around with the wind that blew across. She watched him lifted up his head to meet him and to her surprise, his skin was so pale, almost porcelain-like that it was as if he was glowing under the moon and starlight.

Studying his features, Ansel rubbed her eyes. She noticed the glow around him. When she turned to the right, she saw nothing, even on the left. She wanted to call out to him, to ask him about his presence, but when she looked in the initial direction, he was gone. There was no one at the spot he was standing. Ansel pressed her lips into a thin line without satisfaction. Is he a ghost? A vampire? A lost soul? Or just a mere stalker ready to kill her for her kidneys?

The clear view of Mr. Black and Mystery gave her a clear assurance that he was not someone from her university. She had not turned to deaf ears when Jiang spoke of secret admirers. It was an absurd suggestion, but she didn't ignore it totally. When she had caught clear sight of him earlier, she was even sure now that he wasn't anyone from the university. Again, how can she be so sure about it? Jiang was right, it was a big university. It could be anyone she had not known.

Thoughts were beginning to run wild in her head as she shut the windows, taking one last glance before jumping into her comfortable bed with the sound of a ticking clock filling her ears.