Bind Me To You

Chapter Thirty Nine

(I forgot to post chapter thirty-eight before I posted this chapter because I'm stupid, in case you were wondering why it didn't make a lot of sense. Sorry ahahahaha)

Avery lowered her phone, her eyes settling once again on the journal entry that had filled her head with so many more questions than it answered. Strangely, although there had been much said about killing another human, that wasn't what had caught Avery's interest. Instead, it was the way the author described how the human life-span is spent.

Avery pressed her finger to the track pad of her computer and scrolled back up the curly, slanted handwriting, searching.

'A human can only request paranormal feats from a demon that their life-span can pay for'

Did that mean that a demon is aware of the contracted human's lifespan? Avery clenched her teeth together as she tried to reason any other explanation from the writing. They would have to know, she thought, otherwise they wouldn't be able to make deals.

Avery suddenly found herself wondering why this had never occurred to her before. If this was the case then Azrael would know how much life-span Avery had left.

Curiosity began to spark within Avery, and she considered for a moment whether or not she should ask Azrael about this. She was, during this contract, giving up twice the amount of life-span than a human typically would.

Avery sighed as she bookmarked the journal entry and closed the tab, revealing the still-empty word document. As her laptop turned off, she caught a glimpse of her face reflected in the black screen and a feeling of unease washed over her.

Even If Azrael did know how much longer she had left to live, did she really want to find out? First,because knowing how much longer you had left to live felt to Avery more of a slow-burning anguish than a comfort. Second, because Avery wanted to assume that Azrael chose her knowing that she had plenty of time left to be happy. That was what he had told her the night he had first appeared in her room; 'Just imagine a life where you are happy... all I ask for is a little bit of your time'.

It was with difficulty that Avery tried to rid her mind of the thoughts of her life-span depleting.

She picked her phone back up from the blankets and opened Sadie's message, typing out a quick response before crawling out of bed. Her stomach still squirmed slightly as she moved around but she was glad that that horrid need to throw-up hadn't returned.

As much as she knew that putting it off wouldn't change anything, Avery didn't want to summon Azrael just yet. Even though she had seen him before during the day, something about seeing him in daylight felt strange.

It was as Avery left her room with the intention of seeking something to eat, that she heard Gwen and her friends chatting loudly down the hall. Perhaps, the reason she didn't want to call him during the day, was because he was her little secret. Well, at least for the rest of this night.

_____

Avery occupied the last few hours of daylight sitting at her desk and drawing in her sketchbook. Pencil lead had stained the bottom of her right hand as she moved her pencil across the paper, stealing glances at the open window every few minutes as she waited for the last orange hues of dusk to fade away.

Avery took in a short breath as she leant forward onto her knuckles and glanced down at the light coiling lines that covered the vast majority of the page. This drawing of Azrael was much different from the picture Avery had first drawn. The first time she had drawn him, it was as she had seen him leaning against the wall across the school yard; dark hair and shadows darkening his features. This image, was much lighter in tone. The lines were gentle and flowed elegantly throughout the image. Rather than a demon, Avery thought, here he looked more like an angel.