Demons

Chapter 7

"What are you doing here?"
"I was stalking you." He said smiling. "No, I'm kidding, the world doesn't turn around you."
"Ah, funny. Really."
She rolled her eyes.
"Hey An!"
"Hey Robert."
Anne said smiling widely.
"So what are you two up to?"
"Oh I was going home, I have to study."
Anne said first.
"I... I don't know, i was going home too."
He nodded.
After two minutes, Anne was already gone to her house.
"Soo, you have nothing to do..."
"Yup."
"Do you wanna come to my house? Watch a movie or..."
"How are you Rob?"
She said before he could finish.
He sighed.
"I'm good. I feel better than the other night."
"Are you sure?"
She asked with a suspicious look, he giggled.
"I'm sure, don't worry little girl. So? Do you wanna come to my house?"
"Sure."

He lived in an apartment. It was very cool. It looked vintage, there were lots of books, CD's, some Christmas lights put there and there on the walls where there were also a lot of quotes wrote with pens, pencil and colors. On the tables there were lot of written paper and a guitar, while, near the couch, there was a piano.
"Can you play the piano and the guitar?"
"Yup! Mostly I sing"
"Really? Okay, I wanna hear you, now."
"Nope. The last time I sang in front of someone was long time ago."
He said looking down.
"Oh, okay. No problem, don't worry."
She looked down too, while he sighed.
"You know what? Come here."
He said sitting on the piano and patting the place next to him.
"You don't have to do it, if you don't want to."
"Come here."
He repeated. She obeyed.
He sighed again before to start.

"I need another story
Something to get off my chest
My life gets kinda boring
Need something that I can confess"

She was speechless. He had a deep and warm voice that melted her.

"Til' all my sleeves are stained red
From all the truth that I've said
Come by it honestly I swear
Thought you saw me wink, no
I've been on the brink, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away"

It was like he was gonna give all his secrets to her. And that was true. He wanted to tell her about his nightmares, his childhood, his life now day, why he was like that, but it was so difficult.

"My god, amazing how we got this far
It's like we're chasing all those stars
Who's driving shiny big black cars

And everyday I see the news
All the problems that we could solve
And when a situation rises
Just write it into an album
Singing straight, too cold
I don't really like my flow, no, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Oh, got no reason, got not shame
Got no family I can blame
Just don't let me disappear
I'mma tell you everything

So tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away
All my secrets away, All my secrets away."

She clapped her hands.
"You're so good! Your voice is amazing!"
"Nah, I'm not that good."
"Yup, you are. That's it."
He smiled.
"Thank you."
She smiled too.
"So... One republic, huh?"
"Oh, I love them."
"Me too!"
"Okay, one point to you miss McCartney!"
Silence again. A silence that was full of questions but no answers.
"And... You're gonna give all your secrets away?"
He thought for awhile about the question, looking into her eyes.
"Nope, I'm not gonna give them away, it's too dangerous." She frowned confused. "But... I can give them to you, only to you. If you want, of course."
"I want if you want... And if you are ready."
"I'm ready but I'll tell you later. I don't want to make you run away now."
"I won't run away."
"I hope."

"So? Who's your favorite singer?"
He said biting a slice of pizza.
"Uhm, Taylor swift."
"I have no idea who she is."
She frowned.
"What? Taylor swift! Everyone knows her!"
"Everyone but me."
"You should listen to her."
"I will, one day."
"Good boy. And now, let me see you CDs!"
She said running in the living room, making him laugh.
She took every cd in the room.
One republic, the fray, arctic monkeys, imagine dragons, bring me the horizon, blink 182, Coldplay...
"So? What do you think?"
"You have good taste, Downey."
"I know, I know... Let me see your songs."
She handled him her iPhone.
Taylor swift, maroon 5, MKTO, fun.
"You're a pop song listener."
"Yup, and you are.... Well I don't know, you listen lots of thing."
"Because I have good taste!"
He said cocky.
"You can't have good taste if you don't listen Taylor swift."
She said crossing her arms like a child.
"Who said it?"
He asked crossing his.
"Me, and one day you'll sing to me one of her songs."
He smiled.
"What if I don't like them?"
"You will."
"We'll see."
There was a full moment of silence. Alaska knew what it was going on, Robert was preparing himself to tell her the truth. He said that she would run away but how could she?
She couldn't even imagine to run away from him. It was just so natural to talk with him, she wouldn't escape.
"I was six. I remember every little detail of that day, every little flower, the smell of the house, the warmth of my mother's hands. Everything.
Inside my nightmare, it's the same. It seems so real every night and it scared me so much.
Our family lunch was so different that day. In a second, George, our servant, came telling my dad that they're arriving. I didn't know who they were and I don't know now. I just remember that my mother brought me inside a closet telling me to stay there until she would came to bring me, but she didn't, so...
So I went back to the dining room and I found my father, on the floor, dead a-and... Then I followed two voices... T-there were some men in the kitchen, over my mother and they were... Y-you know." He started breathing heavily so Alaska took his hand. "S-she was crying and I started to screaming to let her go but... They didn't hear me" Tears were on his face. " No one heard me but her. She started telling me to go away, to run. But I was there and I couldn't do anything I.... I was just a c-child. Suddenly George appeared next to me, I begged him to save her b-but he just hit me with some thing and I passed out."
He wiped his tears with the other hand.
"Hey, if you don't want to go home it's okay for me."
He shook his head.
"N-n-no. I want you to know..." He took a breath. " the nightmare stopped there. Every night. Every night he remembered me how I was useless, how I couldn't protect her,@
"Rob, you were just a child you couldn't--"
"They raped her, Ska! They were so many, I was there and I didn't know what it was happening. I never saw her again. I couldn't imagine what other things they did to her. In front of my eyes. The last thing I saw was that piece of shit of George. He was one of them and no one ever noticed him. After he hit me I woke up in a little street. A man came towards me and said that I was what he needed and he took me. I was a kid, I was little enough to go inside every house without be seen. I became a thief. I understood that if i wanted to survive I had to fight for everything. I became a fighter. I saw so many things, Ska. I did so many bad things, you can't even imagine. I'm a bad person. The man who took me, Tom, told be to follow his steps and became the boss of everything but I said no and went away. Now I'm working as a personal trainer in a gym near from here. Tom still ask me to do things and I can't say no, he took care of me in a strange way, but I'm alive and I couldn't escape from him. I was a bad person. I am a bad person so... I'll understand if you want to go away and don't talk to me anymore and---"
He couldn't finish the word because Alaska got up and hugged him tight, both of them with watery eyes.
"I don't want to go away. It's not your fault what happened to your parents or to you and you're not a bad person, not to me. You had to do this to survive. I would have done the same."
His head was on her shoulder while he was still crying.
"I-it's just that... I can't stop to hurt people or to do bad things to them. If I'm hungry I start to... To do what you saw last night to the pub and I can't stop."
"But you stopped that night."
"It was the first time. You touched and talked to me and I stopped. I don't know why."
They was still hugging.
Robert crying on her should was like a lost puppy to her eyes. He was just a kid who didn't have choice.
"Can you stay with me tonight?"
"Sure."