by Maya Nicole
"You look great, but seriously, what the hell?" I was pretty sure it was April and not October. Maybe Halloween had moved to the Spring? In my sleep deprived state, I was tempted to pull out my phone to double check the date.
"It was time for a change. That's not what you're wearing, is it?" She scrunched up her nose at my pajama bottoms and hoodie I had changed into after class.
"Of course not. Time for a change? Some change." I moved towards the stairs, my mind still reeling over her drastic change in appearance. "So, who's the boy?"
"Why do you assume it's a boy?" She followed me, her heeled knee-high boots echoing in the empty room.
"A girl?" It had to be someone or something because she just wouldn't make that drastic a change to her appearance for no reason. None of her texts over the past three weeks said anything about dying her hair blue or going all hoochy mama. Her outfit was something I would wear.
"It's just because. Do I need a reason to dye my hair?" We entered my room and she sat in my desk chair. "While you're here, we should dye your hair. You'd look really good with red."
I snorted and pulled a pair of skinny jeans and a red crop top out of my bag. "I think my boyfriends would kill me."
"Even more reason to change your hair, spice things up a little. Not that they aren't spicy enough as it is. I mean, there are three of them." She propped her legs up on the desk and turned her head towards me. "Have you had two in you at once yet? You've had anal right?" She spewed questions like it was the Spanish Inquisition.
My eyes widened at the abrupt change in subject from her hair to my sex life. I changed into my clothes while considering my answer, although I wasn't sure I wanted to even go there with her. I told Ava almost everything, but had been keeping my sexual exploits with three men more private because I didn't think she'd want to hear anything about it.
She had barely had her first kiss, and now she was asking me about anal sex? I was sure she knew all about the birds and the bees, she was too smart not to, but she had never asked me details before.
"They haven't asked, so I haven't brought it up. It's not that I'm opposed to it though." Sleeping with multiple guys at once was still something so foreign to me. I felt like I was dreaming every time we were together.
Once Olly decided to join the mix, things would get even more interesting. Especially if my observation of the tiny spark between him and Asher was correct. I was anxiously awaiting that moment.
I walked into my bathroom and left the door open while I put on more make-up than I'd worn in months. Fake eyelashes felt incredibly strange after not wearing them for a while. I finished my look with a bright red lip.
"It's good to be back," I said, flipping the light off and grabbing my purse and jacket. "Let's roll."
"Heck yes! Are you drinking or smoking tonight? I kind of want to have a drink." Ava stood and headed for the door.
I grabbed her arm and stopped her. Ava never drank. What had happened to my best friend?
"Spill it. Now. Or I swear I will tie you to my bed until you tell me what's going on." I frowned at her and really examined her face. She didn't look like she was in pain or sad, but even I knew how easy it was to hide the pain within.
She bit her lip and seemed to be thinking about what she wanted to tell me. My heart dropped. I was losing my best friend by not being here. Maybe this change had started even earlier than the three weeks I'd been gone.
"Stanford rescinded my scholarship. I'm still waiting for them to decide if they’re going to revoke my admissions." Tears formed in her eyes and she took a deep breath. "I was arrested."
I dropped her arm. "When? How? Holy shit, Ava." I sat down on the edge of my bed and looked up at her.
If anyone should have been arrested by this point in their life, it was me. They hadn't even arrested me for the joint in my locker. What had she done? Robbed a bank? Stolen all the blue hair dye from Sally's Beauty Supply?
She sat down next to me and put her face in her hands. I put my arm around her and tried to think of what to say. What do you say to someone who literally never got into trouble?
"Right after you went back to school. It's so embarrassing." She took her hands off her face and I grabbed her hand in support. "I broke into a house, but I don't even know why I did it. The whole night was kind of a blur. One second I was in my bedroom, studying, and the next I felt this overwhelming pull. So I followed where it led."
My eyebrows drew together at this odd story she was delivering. The last time she was at my house she had felt a strong pull towards a demon in my kitchen. I never did ask my dad what type of demon he was. Did he have something to do with this?
"I broke in through a window of the house but no one was there. There must have been a silent alarm because the next thing I knew I was being handcuffed and put in the back of a police car."
That still didn't explain why Ava decided to go all Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and dye her hair blue. Her new look screamed 'look at me!'
"You didn't steal anything, did you?" I stood, keeping her hand clasped in mine and pulled her up from the bed.
"No, but it was a celebrity's house. I don't know how I got close enough to even break in. There were security guards and the gate was pretty tall. My parents are so disappointed in me and are making me help pay for my lawyer. I had to get a job and this," she gestured to herself, "is part of it. Let's just go. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Ignoring her plea to drop the subject, I probed. "What job? You're not a stripper are you?"
She laughed. "No. There's this new bar and restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara called Blue Wave and it has a giant mermaid aquarium. I'm a mermaid. I get amazing tips."
I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't taking off her clothes, at least not in the way I had thought, and hugged her before we left for John's house.
The thing about high school parties in Montecito is that they are typically thrown by the most popular, richest of teenagers. Everyone who is anyone in the immediate area shows up and it is one big booze, drug, and fuck fest. Case in point, John Adamson's parties.
I parked my car in the lot next to John's estate. There were already dozens of cars parked in the dirt lot next door that had forever been vacant land. In fact, vacant lots surrounded all four sides of the house. I'd never thought much of it before, but now it piqued my curiosity.
We made our way through the side gate and into the backyard that already had drunken chicken fighting going on in the heated pool. The steam from the water made it look like something straight out of a horror movie right before someone gets killed.
"Danica fucking Deville, how the hell have you been? Heard you were sent to a military school or some bullshit. Rough," a guy named Brad said, slinging his arm around my shoulders. "John has some sweet ass devil's lettuce in the game room. You should check it out."
A grin spread across my face. I missed this crowd and how much they made me smile. Being surrounded by people that actually liked me, and at the very least tolerated me, was such a stark difference from being at the academy.
I followed Ava into the house where music was blaring from speakers and people were jumping around with their arms in the air. We made it to the kitchen and Ava grabbed a cup of some concoction that looked like punch but surely packed a punch of its own. I just grabbed a cup and filled it with water.
I was still reeling from what she had shared with me. It still wasn't clear what happened leading up to breaking into the house. Surely it couldn't have been so cut and dry. I'd have to probe her more once she had some alcohol in her.
My first order of business was to figure out where John was. I left Ava with a few friends and told her I was going to go mingle. Instead, I made my way to the game room where I knew John usually congregated with his inner circle and slipped inside.
The musky smell of Santa Barbara's finest weed hit my nostrils. I didn't love or hate the smell, but was glad the French doors leading outside wer
e open to help dissipate the pungent odor. There were a few dozen people inside, lounging on couches and bar stools. A few people were using the single lane bowling alley and several were gathered around the pool table.
I glanced around and spotted John at the same time he spotted me. A large grin spread across his face and he rose from his spot on the couch and made his way over to me.
The last time I saw him he had blood running through his fingers as he held his broken nose. His nose looked better than it had before. Maybe a career in nose jobs was in my future.
"Dee! I'm surprised you have the balls to show your face in my house. I hope you're here to apologize for fucking up my nose." He grabbed my hips and put his lips against my ear to whisper. "We can go somewhere more private, unless you prefer an audience."
I shoved him away and resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose in disgust. He might be a stereotypical rich pretty boy, but he was sorely lacking in the personality department. It made him ugly.
"Why would I apologize when your nose looks so much better now?" I smirked and turned to walk away but he grabbed my arm. I stopped and turned back to face him.
"You're lucky you moved away," he said, his mouth in a tight line instead of the smile he was previously wearing. The sound of his voice held a threat. He let go of my arm with a shove. "Enjoy the party."
I watched as he made his way back to the couch and didn't spare me another glance. Perfect.
I left the room and made my way to the staircase leading upstairs. It was strictly off-limits but it was doubtful anyone would say anything if they saw me slip up the stairs.
I tried several doors, finding guest rooms and bathrooms. The room I assumed was John Senior's office had an electronic lock on it. It was the only door on the hall that had it and it was the only one locked.
I slipped into the guest room next to it and made my way to the French door leading out onto the upstairs terrace that spanned the entire back of the house. I was hoping what I thought was the office had a similar door.
It seemed a bit ridiculous that someone would have a state-of-the-art lock on an inner door, but then ignore the fact that the outer door was covered in glass panes. The lack of outer stair access gave a false sense of security.
I examined the door and pulled the lock picking tools I had bought on Amazon out of my purse. I had practiced on my own door at the academy, and after several YouTube videos, I was efficient as a burglar. You really could learn to do anything on the Internet. Why did I need school?
It was almost too easy to pop the locks on the door and I waited for twenty knives to fly at me or an alarm to sound. When nothing happened, I moved inside the room that was all wood accents. It smelled faintly of sweet cigar smoke. I pulled out my cell phone and turned on the flashlight.
I started at the bookshelves and skimmed the titles. Most were medical books with one shelf devoted to Stephen King. Of course he would be a Stephen King fan. He had Stephen King vibes written all over him.
I wasn't sure what I was looking for. I just knew that if he had something, it was going to be in his office. All bad guys kept important information in their office. It was in the rule book of being a bad guy.
I opened a few drawers and cabinets at the bottom of the built-in bookcases and found old medical instruments in boxes, but not much else. He probably had a safe hidden behind a picture. I looked around but the walls were bare.
Where would he keep information about private patients?
I went to the desk and tried the drawers. The only one that opened was the center one which just had a bunch of junk in it. I sifted through it and then turned my attention to the drawer that was the size of a file cabinet drawer. I picked the lock and pulled it open. All the files were labeled with initials. I wasn't sure he would have files on any of us, but one could hope.
I located them easily, all three the same colored red folders right next to each other. I quickly checked inside to make sure I had the correct ones before shoving them into the waistband of my jeans and zipping up my leather jacket.
It was so tempting to look at them right then and there, but I was already pushing my luck being in the office for so long.
I exited the same way I'd entered and turned the bottom lock so at least then it wouldn't seem too obvious the room had been broken into. I made my way back through the guest room and down the stairs into the fray of the party.
I found Ava in a group of people, her eyes glossy from drinking.
"Hey, I forgot something in my car. I'm going to run out and grab it." She hugged me and kissed my cheek. She was definitely feeling the effects of whatever was in the punch. When I got back from my car I was going to have to cut her off and then interrogate her to find out more about her break-in and her new job. Something was fishy about it, and not just because she was moonlighting as a mermaid.
Out in the lot there were a few people making out against the sides of cars, but otherwise it was quiet besides the faint sound of the ocean. I slid the files out from my jacket and locked them in the glove box. It was tempting to sit in the car and go through them, but Ava probably was in need of a babysitter.
I somehow felt responsible for whatever was going on with her.
I shut the door and turned around, only to bump right into someone's chest. I stepped back to meet the angry eyes of John, with two of his friends flanking his sides. I turned to run but his two friends grabbed me by the arms and shoved me against my car. John stepped close to me. I could smell the stench of weed coming off his clothes.
"You shouldn't have come back. You know the drill, right? Nothing personal." He spoke in a low voice that sent shivers down my spine and a few small drops of his saliva landed on my face. There was no amount of washing that would ever get the feeling off.
"Fuck you, you piece of-" My words were cut off as his fist connected with my gut, causing me to double over as far as the two goons holding me would allow.
I tried to kick out at him, but his friends shifted their bodies to hold my legs against my car with theirs. I let out a scream, but it was useless. Everyone knew that if John invited you to be a part of his band of merry drug dealers and you refused, he'd beat the shit out of you. I really had been hoping it was an urban legend, but who was I kidding? He'd probably kick an infant if it refused. I'd made it ten times worse by turning him down publicly and punching the fucker in the nose.
He sent another punch to my side and my eyes blurred as tears filled them. I spat at him, my saliva landing on his jawline. He wiped it off with a disgusted look on his face.
"Bitch." He slapped my face. The shape of his hand burned into my cheek.
"You aren't going to get away with this," I managed to get out through clenched teeth.
John threw his head back and laughed like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I may have pissed my pants a little at the menacing sound.
"What do you guys think? Should I fuck up her face like she did mine? It's really too bad. She's such a gorgeous girl." He trailed his index finger down the side of my face and bopped my nose with it. I shivered in revulsion at his touch. This was going to hurt.
His fist connected with the center of my face, snapping my head back. My eyes slammed shut and warm liquid filled my nose and started seeping out. He then threw a punch at my chest that left me gasping for breath.
The two men that had ahold of my arms let me go and I fell to the ground, my palms scraping on the rough surface of the dirt. With one last kick to my stomach, John stepped away, laughing.
"I'm taking it easy on you, Dee. I hope you appreciate my leniency. If it were anyone else, it'd be so much worse." He squatted down next to me and patted my head. "I do hope you enjoyed my party. Don't let me see you at my house again."
With that, they turned and left me bleeding next to my car.
Chapter Two
The mission had gone smashingly. A fist smashing right into my face. It had to be karma for keeping this from those who were supposed to be guarding me.
Guarding me from what exactly was still up for debate. I didn't need babysitters to steal harmless files, did I?
I had considered calling the police, but what would I tell them? Hell, he and his father had been arrested and gotten off scot-free. They probably had the cops on a leash.
This was the second time in my life I had the shit beaten out of me. The first time was when the Fallen kidnapped me. I didn't really remember much because I was in and out of consciousness. Olly healed me before I could fully wake up and process the pain.
The pain from John's beating still had me feeling intensely sorry for myself on Sunday. My face and bruises hadn't looked that bad on Friday night, but now everything was blue and dark purple. It was going to be hard to hide the evidence.
Ava stayed with me Friday and Saturday. I had been unable to get anything else out of her about her new look and job. I hoped she wasn't headed down the same path of bad decisions I had been down.
I was alone again. In hindsight, going to the party was a mistake. I hadn't thought he'd actually beat me, maybe just give me shit about breaking his nose. I should've known he had no moral compass. What a jackass.
I hadn't even bothered getting the files out of my car. It took too much effort to go up and down the stairs. With Ava being gone, I had to hobble down the stairs to get food. I made sure to grab the files out of my glovebox.
Taking them back to my room, I sat on my bed and stared at the blood red folders. None of them were thick, with only a few documents in each. I ran my hand over one of the folders. It was Lucifer's.
I lifted the corner. There was only one piece of paper inside. I stood and stared down at the folder. If I looked in the files, I would know more about myself, hopefully. I might also find out things I didn't want to know about myself. It was hard enough being the daughter of the devil, but now there was a great probability my mother was right up there on the list of most hated too.
No one ever talked about the Lilith. She was mysterious. She was deadly. Some internet websites said she stole babies. Some said she was a demon. Movies and TV shows often portrayed her as an evil vampire queen. A few sources proclaimed she was the representation of the independent woman and should be revered.
