by Laurèn Lee
Charlie slackened his grip and she hoped, maybe, just maybe, he would stop and let her go. He removed one hand from her throat, still straddling her. Her wishful thinking quickly evaporated, though, once she heard the click of a metal belt and saw Charlie ripping his pants off with his free hand.
Charlie’s weight upon her was becoming unbearable and Charlotte tried to scream out in pain, but she couldn’t make a sound. She was completely pinned down, succumbed by force. Her life began to flash before her eyes. She saw her mother and father cooing over her as a young child. She stood on stage for her first dance recital, glowing after she received a standing ovation. She felt her first kiss, she saw her first boyfriend, the first time she went to bed with a man.
Then, she saw Tori. Flashes of their friendship flew across her mind. She saw the two of them accepting their high school diplomas, filling out their college applications and even pricking each other’s infant fingers to make a blood pact; sisters forever.
Charlotte began to see images of Liam, their first date, their last dinner together. But suddenly, another man came into focus; it was Adriel. She’d never see him again, unless of course she was sent to Hell, too. After all, she had murdered someone, even though she felt it had been justified.
“Now, I’m going to show you what happens to silly little girls who disrespect their men. You think what happened to the waitress was bad? Just wait to see what I have in store for you, Charlotte,” Charlie threatened menacingly.
Charlotte closed her eyes, not wanting to look into the face of the man about to end her life.
“You ready?”
And then it all went black.
27
Present
Charlotte started to come about and wondered if she would be waking up in Heaven or waking up in Hell. She assumed it would be the latter considering she didn’t have a soul and had murdered a man in cold blood.
She moaned in pain and thought, Wait, if I’m dead, why do I feel like I just got hit by a bus?
Charlotte opened her eyes to see she was not in Heaven or Hell, but in her bedroom with Adriel. He was sitting next to her, eyes focused on her like a hawk.
“You’re alive,” he whispered.
“Unfortunately.”
Adriel broke out into a genuine smile and stroked her cheek.
“What happened?”
Charlotte’s throat felt extremely bruised and sore. It hurt for her to take a breath and especially to speak. However, she welcomed the pain because it meant she was still alive.
“I came back once I knew you were in trouble,” he said.
“Where —?”
“He’s still in the other room.”
Charlotte's eyes grew rapidly; she felt the terror return.
“He won’t be able to hurt you, but I told you, Char, you need to be the one to do it. He isn’t going anywhere until you’re ready.”
Charlotte sighed. Once Adriel admitted he’d come to her rescue, she hoped he would have finished the job on his own. But, beggars can’t be choosers, he did save her life.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, you still need to kill Charlie and eventually John,” he said smirking.
He gingerly eased Charlotte into a sitting position. She was grateful for his patience, as she felt weak and vulnerable. She nearly felt déjà vu, remembering when Adriel helped her off the hospital floor after the accident. He handed her a glass of water along with a pain killer to ease the trauma she felt from nearly being strangled to death.
“So, what’s your preferred weapon of choice?” he asked.
“I’m going to pretend this is a normal conversation we’re having.” Within a few minutes, she’d already begun to feel a slight relief from the medicine.
Adriel laughed, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Well,” she said looking at her blood-stained clothes, “I’d rather not use a knife again. It’s way too messy. Hey, I know. Liam plays softball in the summer. I could use his bat?”
“Great idea, slugger!”
“Adriel?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you come to me sooner?” She eyed him sadly.
Even though he saved her life, he’d nearly let Charlie kill her.
“I… I thought you’d be able to handle it.”
“With a grown man on top of me, strangling me?” The hurt in her voice emanated across the room.
“I’m sorry, Charlotte. I don’t know what else to say.”
Charlotte returned his gaze. She eyed him suspiciously waiting for him to elaborate. There’s no way he truly thought she could thwart Charlie all on her own. So, why didn’t he come sooner? Why didn’t he come to save her at the first signs of danger?
Adriel hung his head, now avoiding eye contact with her. She assumed the conversation was over even though she wasn’t satisfied with the ending. Feeling even more relieved of her pain, Charlotte stood up, rubbed her neck carefully and stretched.
She needed to prepare for round two, and this time, she was going back with a vengeance. She found Liam’s bat and tossed it around like a heavy baton. The fearlessness and power crept back into her swagger. She felt like Negan from The Walking Dead. She felt like a bad-ass. She felt like she was in charge, but this time, she knew she’d finish the job.
She swung open the bedroom door to see Charlie tied tightly to the bed post. His face had turned a bright puce from trying to break free, but there’s no way he’d be able to worm out of this. He had socks in his mouth, preventing him from making any additional noises. Adriel had done some damage to him, though. Charlie’s eye was swollen shut and his clothing appeared speckled with blood. As to whose blood was whose, Charlotte had no idea.
She strolled in and twirled her bat dramatically. She felt stronger now, the adrenaline rush had returned, further numbing her injuries.
“Ready, Charlie?”
She could see the pleading in his eyes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to change her mind.
“This is for the girl you raped and murdered at the casino,” Charlotte spat and swung as hard as she could, smashing the bat into Charlie’s knee.
Tears streamed out of Charlie’s eyes, but the sock in his mouth continued to prevent him from audibly crying out in pain.
“And this… this is for me, you sick bastard!”
Charlotte aimed, swung and did not miss.
28
Present
Charlotte let out a monstrous sigh of relief. It was over, for now.
Adriel turned her around to give her a high five, but she walked straight past him and out of the bedroom.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a shower and wash this blood off of myself if you don’t mind.”
“We’re not done yet, you know! We still need to track down John,” Adriel reminded her.
“Well, I look like a merciless murderer right now, so I think we have a little time to spare.”
As she walked to the bathroom, she began peeling off her sweaty, blood-stained clothes.
“I know you’re watching me, Adriel and you can stop at any time.”
“Just making sure you’re okay.”
“Uh huh.”
Charlotte turned on the hot water and waited for the entire bathroom to steam up before stepping into the shower.
The water scolded her skin, but it didn’t bother her. She needed to wash away as much of the evil as she could. Strangely enough, though, she didn’t feel an ounce of guilt. She didn’t feel bad for what she had just done, she felt victorious. She was able to scour up a few pieces of justice for Jessica and she couldn’t wait to put the nail in John’s coffin too.
“Are you almost done?” Adriel asked through the door.
“No, go away.”
“Need some help finishing up?”
Charlotte ignored him and wished he’d give her a few more minutes of peace and quiet. She was still trying to digest everything that had gone
down that evening. She wanted to think back and remember what Greg and Charlie’s faces had looked like when they knew they were going to die. If only she’d taken a picture, then she could savor the moments forever.
She finished conditioning her hair and lathered herself with her Burt’s Bees peach body wash, paying extra attention to the dried blood under her fingernails. As she scrubbed, the water turned crimson as it streamed down the drain. Charlotte washed her body until her skin felt raw.
Good enough.
Charlotte turned the water off and grabbed her towel hanging just outside of the shower on a metallic hook.
“Ready yet?” Adriel asked as he burst into the bathroom.
“Hey, I locked that door!” Charlotte said, astonished.
“I can make fire in my hands and steal souls, but you’re surprised I can open a locked door?”
“Shut up,” Charlotte sneered.
It wasn’t until now, they both realized Charlotte was dripping wet, smelling of fresh peaches and vanilla, and wearing only a towel.
Adriel reached out to touch her cheek. Charlotte wanted to pull away, but another part of her wanted nothing more than to feel Adriel’s skin against hers. She stepped closer to him so they were only inches apart.
“Why me?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Adriel said staring at her lips. “But, I’m glad it was you.”
Charlotte closed her eyes and kissed Adriel cautiously at first, and then more urgently. He intertwined his fingers throughout her wet hair and she pushed him against the bathroom door. Charlotte felt the familiar fire ignite within her and she wanted nothing more than to keep kissing Adriel until the memories of the day became distant and foreign.
She gently opened her eyes and saw his eyes were open, too. The flames around his pupils danced rapidly, his breathing intensified with every moment their lips remained locked.
Adriel pulled her towel so it fell to the floor and resumed covering her mouth with his. The bathroom remained steamy for some time even though the hot water was no longer running.
…
Charlotte left the bathroom feeling lightheaded and woozy. She felt equally shocked as euphoric, but also extremely confused.
I just willingly cheated on my fiancé, she thought to herself. She also thought about how he technically cheated first, though, when he forced himself upon an innocent girl. At least her tryst had been consensual.
Again, thinking about what Liam had done made her sick to her stomach. She nearly wished he wasn’t in a coma. She wanted him to feel the full extent of his pain and injuries. Although, even if he could realize his pain, it wouldn’t nearly be as intense as Charlotte’s internal turmoil.
Charlotte sat on her bed and contemplated what she would do next. What would happen after fulfilling her pact with Adriel? Surely, she’d get her soul back and her conscience told her she would need to leave Liam. She wondered if maybe he had been coerced somehow into committing the inhumane act, but deep down, she knew no one had pressured him at all. No one could pressure Liam into anything.
She’d need to start over, find a new place to live, possibly move to a new city. There’s no way she could stay in Buffalo if Liam stayed too. Buffalo has a way of always letting you run into people you wished you’d never see again.
“Everything okay?” Adriel asked.
“Yeah,” Charlotte said, plainly.
“Did I do something wrong? Are you okay?”
“No, of course not,” she said. “I’m fine.”
Adriel eyed her suspiciously; even a demon knew a girl was never fine, no matter how many times she promised she was.
“Okay, well, it’s time we get going then,” he suggested.
“Oh yeah, gotta remove the dead bodies in the spare bedroom.”
“No, we need to take care of John,” Adriel reminded her.
“I just showered!” Charlotte whined.
“I’ll move the bodies for safe keeping, you put on something nice,” he instructed.
“What, are you taking me on a date?” she asked amusingly.
“Did one of those jerks hit you in the head? I said we gotta take care of John.”
“All right, all right,” she pouted.
Charlotte looked through her closet, grateful to be searching for a nice outfit while Adriel took care of the dead bodies across the hall. After a few minutes, she found exactly what she was looking for, a low-cut black blouse which would match perfectly with a tight pair of jeans.
“Voila!” she called out, dressed to kill, literally.
“Very sexy,” Adriel whistled.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” Charlotte asked, intrigued and ready for more action. “Please tell me this time around will be less messy?”
“You’ll see!” he smirked.
…
Adriel and Charlotte strolled down the buzzing streets of Downtown Buffalo, laughing and teasing each other about the day’s events thus far.
“Forget Journalism, you should have played baseball.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Charlotte grinned. “He didn’t know what hit him!”
They pair laughed loudly as though it was the most casual thing in the world to jest about the death of a man they had just murdered.
“This is nice.”
“What is?” Adriel asked.
“Actually walking somewhere for a change. Acting like normal human beings.”
“Well, I’m a demon, not a human. But yes, this is rather normal for us. You look beautiful, by the way,” he added.
“And you look charming as always,” she said, nudging him in the ribs.
“Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be here all week,” he bowed to no one in particular.
“Remember when we first met?” Charlotte asked.
“When I had you driven off a cliff or in the hospital?”
Charlotte’s smile wavered and she nudged him in the ribs again, this time more forcefully.
“In the hospital,” she clarified.
“Yes, of course, I remember. You kept pinching yourself thinking you could wake up,” Adriel chortled.
“Well, in my defense, you were pretty intimidating. And, it’s not like I had any previous experience with demons.”
“True, my dear. So, how intimidating was I, on a scale of one to ten?”
“Definitely an eight or nine,” she said.
“How about now?” Adriel asked silkily as he pushed her up against an older brick building. So many people were out and about, though, the gesture went unnoticed.
“Oh! Now, definitely a ten,” Charlotte giggled.
Adriel and Charlotte’s chest rose and fell furiously as they began kissing each other again. His hands held her back tightly while her hands grasped his cheeks. It was minutes before either needed to come up for air. Having no soul made murder easy, fear disappear, but made passion a million times more intense. They had stopped kissing, but Charlotte continued to hold Adriel close to her.
“Can we go home and kill John another night?”
“You have no idea how much I would love to take you home right now, but we have a job to do and we need to finish it,” Adriel sighed, defeated.
Charlotte felt deep longing within her body. Adriel was magnetic North and Charlotte felt powerless to fend off his pull. She felt drawn to him like the ocean’s waves to the force of the moon. She knew she had to fulfill her pact with Adriel, but in the moment, all she truly wanted was to be with him, curled up in bed in each other’s arms.
“Adriel, what are we doing?” Charlotte pressed.
“We are on our way to find John.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. She hoped Adriel would read her mind so she didn’t have to spell it out for him. She was falling for him and falling hard. But, Adriel was a demon, so this was certainly uncharted territory for Charlotte.
“I don’t know,” he said seriously while revealing he had read her thoughts. “Come on, we’ve got to go.”
Charlotte pushe
d him away, slightly hurt but understanding all the same. They continued to walk a few more blocks in silence, however, when Adriel’s hand would brush against hers, Charlotte couldn’t help but sense the magnetic pull between them tug at her heartstrings.
“Well, this is it,” Charlotte said pointing up to Liam’s office.
The building towered over all the others on the street and its steel frame loomed with superiority.
“Wait, how do you know John is still at work?”
“I called pretending to be a very wealthy potential client. He’s patiently waiting for us,” Adriel said, rubbing his hands together maliciously.
“Okay, let’s go,” Charlotte announced.
Adriel and Charlotte walked confidently into the building and approached the receptionist’s desk.
“Hello there, uh, Denise,” Adriel greeted her charmingly.
“Hi,” Denise responded, blushing.
“We’re here to meet with Mr. Chapman,” Adriel said.
“Yes, absolutely! He’s on the 8th floor, Suite 100,” Denise instructed.
“Thank you, beautiful!”
Charlotte and Adriel entered the elevator and Charlotte mimicked someone throwing up.
“What?”
“‘Thank you, beautiful,’” Charlotte chided.
“Jealous?”
“You wish,” she responded, her cheeks reddening even more than the receptionist’s had.
Adriel had pushed the elevator button for the 8th floor and whispered into Charlotte’s ear, “You’re a million times more beautiful than the receptionist.”
Chills ran down her spine and her stomach somersaulted like an Olympic tumbler.
Just then, the elevator doors opened up and Charlotte knew they were on the correct floor, she recognized the futuristic furniture instantly.
“Come on, I know the way,” she said.
They walked down the hall, passing several framed prestigious business awards along the way.
“Fancy-schmancy,” Adriel mumbled.
They reached an office door with John’s name on a gold plate stretching across the entire door’s width.
Charlotte held her breath and knocked.
