An Almost Perfect Life

II. Trapped

Sitting at your desk you had your head everywhere except on the study. You knew that you would have to make an exam shortly to continue your studies in Statistics and you had been too late because of work.

"Young lady, do you want a cup of tea?"

You snorted as you watched, from under your hand resting on your forehead, Claude advancing with a teapot, which you didn't even know you had at home, towards you.

"Stop it with this young lady, it's irritating. Also, I asked you not to enter while I'm studying."

But the demon still advanced undisturbed, placing the cup and pouring the contents inside.

"Claude, right?" you asked, dropping your head on the palm of your hand and watching the dark-haired man bend over near your desk.

He nodded a smirk that you thought you would never see on him.

"I usually appeal to this name. But I can adopt whatever name you want."

You almost laughed at the cliché that came out of it if only you didn't know you could call him a different way only if you became his contractor.

"Are you really forced to make a contract to have someone's soul?"

The demon seemed to reflect on it as he returned to using his figure to inspire fear, taking the boiling teapot with him. Maybe he was thinking about whether to tell you the truth or not.

"Let's say it's the practice."

"And what do you gain from being with a person who is not interested?" you snarled, returning your eyes to the book.

You were sure that the demon would go away once ignored, however a black-nailed hand positioned itself right on the page you were concentrating on and when you turned to scream something against it, you found he bent on the knees while the other hand closed around to your cheeks.

His eyes shone with a bright purple, as if a fire burned inside, while his hands were cold as ice.

"Everyone needs something, miss. Something they would give anything for. " He whispered, his face gravitating on hers, not at all disturbed by the little space that divided you. And that took you back to the day they entered your perfect little world.

That Thursday all three of you were sitting in the living room. The thing had become little more than absurd in the few hours of the morning and you had been forced to pretend badly not to go to work.

"I did what you wanted, what else do you want from me?" you asked, squeezing tightly the glass of water that 'kindly' one of the two had brought you. You hadn't dared touch it for fear there was some drug or worse, poison.

The two men could define themselves very similar in many ways but different in as many.

"I can assure you of my stay motivation, miss." The one with the fiery red eyes spoke, slightly bending the torso forward, as if trying to get closer to you despite the table that divided you. "As I said, I'm grateful for your care and I'm willing to repay you for whatever you want."

You blinked, still confused by that speech. "You must have been the wrong person, sir. Maybe some other girl helped you last night..."

The one who hadn't spoken up to that moment but only observed with disappointment, got up making his companion frown.

"I think it's useless, Michaelis. She has no intention of believing anything." He snarled, shifting his yellow eyes over your figure, as you shivered into the bones. "I propose to make things easier for everyone."