The Other Side

Chapter 2

Ow. Fuck, ow. Everything hurt. Breathing, moving, existing. And something was covering my face. I tried to pull away whatever it was with my good arm but quickly realized that I was lying face down on a bed. Not my bed, for sure. Was I at another guy's house? Then what happened last night? And why was I in so much pain?

The Demon. It all came back to me, and I was up on all fours so quickly that my head spun, and I nearly fell off the side of the bed. I sat back on my legs, ignoring the pain that shot up from my left calf. I looked around at the room I was in. Everything was white and gold, with a few accents of light blue. The bed was huge, easily twice the size of mine, with a very impressive collection of pillows. The sheets were probably silk, and the duvet was soft and sweet smelling. There was a glass of water on the nightstand, as well as a note. I picked it up, not quite trusting the water. It read:

When you wake, please press the button by the door, someone will be in shortly to assist you.       -L

L? Who the hell was L? I stood up, looking down at what I was wearing. My torso was bare, save for the extensive bandages wrapping around most of my stomach and upper back. My left arm was also bandaged up, as well as a few of my fingers, and my left leg. I was wearing loose fitting pants that cinched around my knees and tied at my hips, and there were a few more bandages poking out from the waistband. I looked around to find a mirror and saw that my right cheek also had a large bandage covering it, as well as one going over the bridge of my nose.

I also saw, with a sigh of relief, that my necklace was still there. I gently grabbed it, letting the familiarity relax me. The necklace, a small blue stone set in silver with a silver chain, was the only thing I still had from my parents. They had given it to me on my fifth birthday, just a couple months before they had died in a car crash on their way back from taking me home from school. I had survived since I was in the back seat, but I broke both of my arms, my collarbone, and various other small bones.

My aunt had taken me in afterward, and I moved out a few years ago, desperate to escape from her and her drinking problem. I had known Hunter before my parents died, and his family had been nice enough to let me live with them for a few months until Hunter and I found an apartment with low enough rent that we could pay between the two of us.

I didn't remember much about my parents, I knew I got my hair from my mother and my pale skin from my father, and that I was an only child, but that was it. I had a few glimpses of their smiles in my memory, but the only substantial thing I had from them was the necklace.

A loud chiming sound made me jump, thoughts of my past quickly dissipating. I turned to see a huge grandfather clock next to the bed, the shorthand on 4. The heavy drapes over the window blocked out all light, so I couldn't tell if it was morning or afternoon. Either way, it was probably time for me to be figuring out just what exactly happened with the Demon. And Devin- oh god was she okay?

The note had said to press the button by the door, and since I had nothing else I could really go on as for whether or not to trust this "L", I gave them the benefit of the doubt and hobbled over to push the small blue switch. There was a tiny chiming sound, and nothing else. I didn't know what I was expecting, so I turned back to sit on the bed and sift through my memories more. But as soon as I turned around, there was a knock at the door, making me jump a little.

"Master Alex Foster, you called for me?"

Upon opening the door, I saw a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit with a neatly folded stack of clothing in his hands. His dark hair was slicked back, and he stood with an expressionless mask of professionalism.

"Uh... I uh, I guess I did," I stammered, not having expected a butler to come, and not having expected him to know my full name.

"Might I come in?" He asked, his voice just as flat and deadpan as his face.