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Stan threw open the door, startling the pizza guy. "Is this Miss Bell's meal?" he demanded.
"Uh, yeah." The pizza guy yanked the boxes out of the bag and thrust them at Stan's chest. "Have a good night, mate," he called over his shoulder as he bolted for the stairs.
Stan stared at the boxes in his hands, then at the fleeing pizza guy. "If you have poisoned or cursed this food, I will hunt you down and see that you regret it!" Stan called after him.
"Stan, please close the door and bring those here. It's not poisoned or cursed, but he won't deliver here again if you threaten him like that. Then you'll have to go pick it up from the shop instead, or I will, and even when my ankle's healed, I'm not going to want to walk all that way in the dark just to get a pizza that'll be cold by the time I get home, and I happen to like their pizza."
Grumbling under his breath, Stan obeyed, before planting himself on the dining chair across from her, arms folded across his chest and a scowl so deep his eyebrows met across his nose.
Alethia pulled out two slices and set them on a plate, then waved it before him. "If you could taste it, you'd understand."
Stan sniffed. "It does smell...delicious."
"There's still enough for you, if you want it."
But he just shook his head.
"You're a stubborn demon, Stan, you know that? I bet you were a stubborn man, too." A sudden thought popped into her head, and before she could properly consider the ramifications, she said, "So, what did you actually do to earn a place in hell, anyway? It must have been pretty bad, to become a demon and all."
Stan muttered something under his breath. The only words Alethia could hear were "steal" and "Carline".
"What was that? You tried to steal from Carline? What did you steal from her? It must have been pretty valuable for her to want to kill you. Or to earn you a place in hell. I mean, trying to steal something isn't that bad. It's not like it's murder or..." Oh shit. What if...? She had to choose her words carefully now. "Stan, did you do something to Carline? Did you hurt her?"
Stan's face had gone as pale as the pizza box. "I didn't. I never..." He clenched both hands into fists and punched at the wall.
Alethia covered her head with her arms, expecting to be showered in plaster, but she didn't hear the impact. In fact, she didn't hear anything at all. When she raised her head, Stan was nowhere to be seen.
