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Compliments have always been hard to take because I constantly feel like I’m not worthy of them. Am I doing a great job with Rellick? All his friends are adults, and I don’t have any friends other than demons and possibly a random woman I met in a kids trampoline park that day.
“Can I ask?” Her voice brings me out of my reverie. I cock my head to the side, letting her know I wasn’t really paying attention. See. I’m a shit friend. “Where his dad is?”
“He was a one-night stand. I haven’t been able to find him. I searched the bar and surrounding places, but no one remembered him.” I shrug and give a self-depreciating laugh. Lucifer was probably right anyway. Who would want to help take care of a kid after one night?
“And you didn’t have any other help?” I think back to my grandparents who died in the car accident a month before I met Rafe. Their death was the main reason I was even at the bar. Then, I think to the other reason…
When I graduated high school, my best friend and former neighbor, Brittany Taylor, and I decided to go to UNO three hours away from our small city of Bayou Livre, Louisiana and make something of ourselves. We got a dorm room together and decided we were going to be somebodies. She became the party girl! Ready to drink and rush and be the popular girl.
I went to one party and decided that life wasn’t for me. I didn’t care for the way people acted after alcohol or when they were trying so hard to be someone amazing when really, they were just ‘blah.’ Brittany was gone all the time. Then she got a boyfriend… Chad. Chad was an asshole, but he was a gorgeous asshole on the basketball team. He was Britt’s dream man.
He was my nightmare.
I want to say that Chad was the reason for Brittany and I’s friendship breakup, but that’s not true. It was all my fault.
Wiping the stray tear from my eye, I give a sad smile. “Nope. Just me. My dad died before I was born, my mom died of cancer when I was four. My grandparents died about a year before Rellick was born. It’s… just me.”
Josie places her hand on my knee and squeezes. “You are so strong, Bree.” I nod in acknowledgement though I don’t really believe her words. I need a subject change.
“So. The only girl out of eight kids! That’s crazy! I wish I had so many siblings.”
It was Josie’s turn to be sad. “I wasn’t always the only girl. There used to five girls, but they all passed after a traumatic event.”
Oh my! To lose all of your sisters? I couldn’t even begin to imagine. “Was it when your father died?” Her eyes narrow in confusion. “When you asked about Rellick’s name and I said it was my father’s, you told me your father was gone, too?” Did I misremember?
“Oh! Right! No, he’s not dead. He left. My sister’s passing was part of the reason. He and my uncle got in a huge fight, then my sisters died, then one of my brothers made a wrong decision that broke Father past his breaking point. He left and said he would return when he was meant to.”
Both of us sat in silence for a minute, grieving the ones we lost. Josie was the first to speak again, her cheerful words contrasting her red puffy eyes. “So, what were you in school for?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “English Lit and creative writing. I was meant to get my degree and then take a teaching certification. My goal was to work at the local high school with my grandparents.” My smile grows as I think of what could have been. “And maybe write some books on the side. My grandmother was the librarian, and she loved to read me the craziest stories she could find.”
“That sounds like so much fun! I heard there were books about dinosaurs.” There were multiple books about dinosaurs. Rellick had three. “Erotic ones,” she whispered.
Thank God, I wasn’t taking a sip of my wine. I would have spit it out all over my couch. I was never one to judge when it came to someone’s kink, but I just couldn’t picture how that would even work.
We sat and joked for another hour or so until I looked at the time. “Thank you for coming over. I had a great time and I know Rellick would love to have you over again.”
“And I would love to be here!” Josie gives me a long tight hug goodbye and I watch as she walks to her car, making sure she’s safe before closing the door and locking it.
As I turn around, a giant gold hand reaches out and rips my necklace off. Again. I don’t even think before I reach to follow. “What the fuck?!” I yell. Greed, the golden statue (no, seriously his skin looks like it was made of gold) holds the necklace above my head.
He thinks he’s so special. I hide my intentions, before punching him directly in the dick. His mouth drops and he crumbles. Doesn’t matter what species you are. Penis punches hurt.
Greed drops the necklace and I pick it up, running towards Rellick’s room. Once I’m in there I can call Belphegor for a portal.
I barely make it to the hallway before Greed grabs a handful of my hair. “Fucking bitch,” he mumbles. He throws me against the wall, the photos rattling at the force. His other hand moves to wrap around my throat. “You want a necklace so bad; I’ll give you one.”
Normally, a guy choking me would be a huge turn-on, but this is a demonic gold statue seriously trying to hurt me. Greed starts to squeeze and lifts me by my neck. My face is even with the photos of my grandparents. Maybe if I can reach it, I can hit him over the head with it.
His hand pauses, not squeezing anymore, just holding me still. I look up at him, wondering what’s going on, but he’s not looking at me.
The hand in my hair drops and moves towards the framed photo. “Anna?”
23. Mammon
I must’ve spent so much of my time lately thinking about Anna that I’m starting to imagine her.
One hand drops Bree’s hair and moves to the picture on the wall of a couple, while my other hand, no longer squeezing, but holds her still by her neck. She’s standing on the tips of her toes to stop herself from choking.
