It's hard for me. Damn hard. And I don't mean mentally — although I still can't come to terms with what happened to me anyway — but currently I'm suffering more physically. I can't move, and I'm sure something is crushing me.
I open one eye and look uncertainly ahead, afraid of what I will see. What if finding myself in the home of an angel and two demons is just an illusion, and I actually wake up in the street, crushed by a motorcycle? Perhaps I'm still stuck in the aftermath of the accident, and everything I've seen so far is an image I simply presented to myself in my head?
Should I say I'm happy when I open my eyes and see the smiling, handsome face of a demon above me instead of a starry sky?
I groan in pain when this mean asshole starts jumping on my stomach, taking pleasure in my suffering. Two, black wings sprout from his back, with which he rubs against a nearby wall, as they are too big, considering the average size of the room.
Maybe I'm abnormal, but currently I wonder if it hurts him.
- You'll ruffle your feathers," I speak with difficulty, when he stops terrorizing me and leans over my face. He grabs my cheeks and mercilessly pulls at my skin, as if I were a humble, sweet child.
- When you lie down, you look like a sweet potato.
Is this damned — it must also be said, deadly handsome — demon just laughing at the shape of my face?
I blink my eyelids, staring at him in disbelief as he affectionately — or maybe it's just my impression — brushes a strand of hair away from my eyes.
I'm confused.
- I like girls with a nice chin. I'm Thomas, but in hell I'm known by the nickname V, and I find only people with this shape of face attractive.
Either he is empty and was just a playboy with no brains when he was alive, or he is just playing the demonic idiot.
- Can you get off me? Probably your wings weigh as much as I do, so imagine how hard it is for me to breathe.
- But we haven't said hello yet," he announces with a smile on his face.
- Your laughing at my face shape was the perfect greeting at which I managed to hate you. I guess demons have it in them that no one likes them.
I look at his face and notice that I have not offended him in any way. He seems to be amused by my words.
- Demons have their own way of saying hello, which I will now present to you, potato.
He leans in even more, and with wide-open eyes, I watch him as he touches his nose to my cheek. I nervously swallow my saliva and get the impression that I am suffocating inside, unable to react to this in any way.
Someone help me before this demon makes my heart jump out of my chest and explode in the air. I beg.
- At this point, you can't control yourself, can you? - he whispers, pleasantly teasing my skin. - Demons have it in them to be seductive. Once you are hunted, you are his until he gets bored.
He innocently brushes his lips against mine, as if he's trying to tease me, and without taking his eyes off me, he straightens up to a sitting position. His powerful wings disappear, and then he smiles at my fleetingly.
When he descends from my belly, I feel such relief that I loudly let the air out of my mouth. He, however, does not head for the door, but chooses the balcony. I watch him as he steps outside and sits on the railing.
I get off the bed and head to the window with a slow step. I stop in the aisle, feeling the wind brush my face, while playing with my loose hair. Thomas looks over his shoulder to glance at me, then smiles roguishly and swoops down like a bird.
I run up to the railing and lean over it to see if he's okay, but he's obviously walking among the flowers all right. He lifts his face and, despite the distance, I can see the frantic gleam in his eyes.
*
Even though I've been here for two days, I'm unable to settle down so quickly. I am uncomfortable when I have to leave the room that is my asylum and face unearthly beings. Until now, I told myself that all this was an illusion caused by hitting myself in the head during an accident. For how else to explain the fact that I was given a second life by my Guardian Angel and now, together with him and his demonic friends, I am forced to live in one house?
For any human being, this is unrealistic. And I just keep telling myself that this is some strange, incomprehensible dream, when I am simply lying in a coma.
- Jennie, my first, human friend. - Like an electric shock, I look over my shoulder when I hear Lisa's excited voice. I strain my eyes to see anything in this dark corridor and finally spot her; she emerges from the gloom, wearing a cropped pink dress with a teenage cut.
I have to admit that regardless of what she wears, she looks like a million dollars.
I will start getting jealous of that.
- I heard that you were outraged by the welcome of my sassy little brother. Allow me to explain it to you on his behalf. - He faces me and puts his hands on my shoulders. She smiles so radiantly that she looks like the friendliest girl on earth, but appearances are deceiving because she hides more darkness under her skin than anyone could expect. - We in the demon world greet each other just like that. With a kiss on the lips.
- But I'm not a demon," I interject hastily, and she blows on the fringe that overlaps her eyes.
- Don't catch my words, human girl. - I remain silent, allowing her to continue. - What I mean is that in general demons greet each other in this way. I don't mean among themselves. I even greet Andy, who is an angel, this way. He only lets me do it when he's intoxicated, but it's always a plus. - He shrugs his shoulders.
A demon kisses an angel? And that's a novelty.
I blink my eyelids, wondering how this is possible. I still can't grasp that all this is real, and I'm not in some fairy tale or crazy dream.
Lisa puts her arm around my shoulder and leads me to the stairs. Her face doesn't close, and she winds me up on the subject of kisses, claiming that I should do it with every one of them and not be ashamed of it at all.
She is actually a demon. These creatures are strange and can't control themselves with anything. Even when it comes to telling stupid things.
As I sit down at the table, an unknown force slides a cup under my nose, and I stare at it with wide-open eyes. Finally, I lift my face and look at Andy, who is the author of this feat.
He smiles at me in a friendly way, encouraging me to sip some warm tea.
- Do you think your life will look like this every day? - He shakes his head, letting me know that these caressing gestures are only for one day. - Starting tomorrow, you return to the university and continue to live like a human being, even though you are no longer one hundred percent one. I will arrange for you to study under a new name. You don't have to worry about that.
- How are you going to do that? - I ask before biting my tongue. That's silly because there is an angel standing in front of me who can arrange it at the snap of a finger.
I see the dull look he's aiming at me and I already know what he means. I should shut up before she thinks I'm a moron.
- If she asked me something so idiotic, I would understand. Intelligence does not shine. Only her legs," she announces, glancing at Lisa's tights, which shine as if they were sprinkled with glitter.
The blonde storms off like a child and tightens her lips in anger. I watch as one of the paintings falls to the floor, a confirmation of her anger.
- Victor - I speak when I notice him pacing the room. He is sad and doesn't speak at all. He doesn't even react to his name. Furthermore, he probably doesn't remember it.
I approach him to finally strike up a conversation. My heart breaks when I see him suffering.
- It must be difficult for you. This waiting.
He looks at me. His eyes are full of sadness and fear like I've never seen in him.
I clench my eyelids from under which tears flow. He sees it, but doesn't ask me why I'm crying. He just looks at me, as if he guesses that it's because of him. I get the impression that he doesn't want to know the truth.
*
Riding in a car driven by an angel would probably seem like the safest trip to anyone, but I have to object to those words. I've just been a passenger in my Guardian Angel, and what he does on the road makes my heart go up to my throat. And damn him! He's breaking all the rules!
I feel like returning all my breakfast as he squeezes between the cars, looking relaxed.
- I'm curious how many fines you've managed to collect. Does heaven pay them for you?
I look at him and see an amused face.
- There is no need to do so. Every policeman lets me off the hook. I have that gleam in my eye for a reason," he claims, and I have to admit he's right. Who would dare to write a ticket to a heavenly being?
- If you disregard the rules, how do the demons drive? - I think I get goosebumps just thinking about it. For a moment, it makes me flinch.
- Recipe.
- Huh - I don't think I've had such a shock since my parents jumped out with the text that I can't have a boyfriend until I graduate.
- Does every person think that demons exist only to do evil? They just have a punishment. They messed up during their lifetime and now have to torment themselves with black wings on their backs. Furthermore, they like to wade, but they can also behave normally. The same is true of angels. They act as guardians of people, but they need madness. The only grave sin that can throw us into hell is to hurt a person or, in a worse case, kill him.
I furrow my eyebrows, wondering what Lisa and her brother did when they were human that they fell after death.
- This is all new to me, incomprehensible. I always imagined the division between angels and demons differently. Above all, I thought you guys hated each other.
Andy looks at me fleetingly and smiles.
- You are connected to us and are the only one who knows the truth. You must remember to keep it deep in your heart and not tell anyone. It's a secret that could affect our future fate.
I nod my head. We pull into the parking lot and I get sad when I see the faces of friends who don't remember me.
- Wait for me and I will arrange everything.
We get out of the car and I see what a sensation Andy's appearance in a public place is making. People are delighted. They usually talk among themselves about the rich siblings who live in the palace, but occasionally, they have the pleasure of seeing them in person.
When he disappears from their sight, I become their next attraction. Well, yes. Nobody knows me. People don't remember me, so they wonder who I am when I get out of the car of a mysterious guy with millions in his bank account.
I lean against the door and watch the people circling the parking lot. My attention is caught by Sarah. She has been my best friend for many years, and when she looks at me, I feel like raising my hand and greeting her as I always do, but at the last moment I refrain.
I'm going to look foolish. After all, she doesn't know me.
I sigh with resignation and lower my head, looking down at my hands, which I begin to play without of boredom.
I know it will be difficult for me to start all over again. My previous name was recognizable in this place, and I didn't worry about whether anyone liked me. I had many friends. My boyfriend was the biggest hunk at the university and that made me popular.
And now? I have to start all over again. To look at the faces of friends and not appear before them that I know them perfectly. This I can still bear, but.... I don't know what I will do when I accidentally bump into my parents. I have no idea what my reaction will be, how I will behave in front of them in such a situation.
The only thought that comforts me is that they do not suffer. They don't remember me, as if I simply never existed.
I feel tears coming to my eyes, so I hastily blink my eyelids to avoid crying in the parking lot, especially since I am the center of attention. Passing students are watching me, so what would it look like if I unexpectedly start blubbering?
Why doesn't Andy just leave me in the car? Is he afraid I'll steal his fancy car? Did he smell satanic semen in me, or what on earth?
- Are you new in town? Are you going to study here? - I lift my face and look at the group of girls who approach me. I know them by sight, but I never talked to them because I thought they were not worthy of interest. Maybe now I should change my mind?
- Yes. - They plunge into me with such an intense stare that I have no doubt that they are waiting for me to start talking, which connects me to Andy and his devilish roommates. - I'm new in this city, and my cousin has gone to take care of the formalities - I lie to them, and I'm so dumbfounded that I bite my lip uncontrollably.
I get the impression that their faces are becoming friendlier. Did I do the right thing to call Andy - cousin?
- You are so pretty... How could we doubt that you are not related to this wonderful man?
I swallow my saliva nervously and force a smile. The man? If they knew the truth.... they would probably have fallen to a heart attack in disbelief.
What a show. It's a good thing, however, that one doesn't go to hell for lying because they would surely put me in a cauldron and boil me alive.
- I'm far from my cousin's beauty.
I don't know how Andy did it, but he has been standing by the hood for a long time, watching me with amusement in his eyes. He laughs at my lies.
When did I overlook his return?
- Uh, everything is already taken care of?
What's going on that makes my cheeks burn? Did I just blush? It's probably from embarrassment....
I lower my gaze as he ignores my question and, with a smile on his face, turns to the girls who accompany me.
- I hope you will give my cousin a warm welcome. - He specially marks the last word, and I get the impression that he wants to laugh. - You have to because she often makes things up and creates exuberant stories that sometimes turn into fairy tales. Maybe when she finds friends, she'll get over it.
I cringe my eyebrows because she understates my value in front of strange girls. What if they turn away from me because of this?
But they stare at his face, not listening to what he is talking about, only nodding. They look as if someone has put them under hypnosis.
Beauty — beauty, but this is an exaggeration. A pretty face they have not seen? Let them watch the election of the mistress.
*
Dusk has fallen, and I'm sitting in front of the palace. For three years it has belonged to the beings who recently took me under their wing. As I remember today, the day they unexpectedly appeared in the city and moved into the most desirable place for people. They caused a giant sensation with this, and for the first months the residents spoke only about them. They wondered how the young people had such a fortune and whether their beauty was the work of a plastic surgeon.
Furthermore, they are rich, so it's obvious that people might have thought so.
It's a pity that until now, no one knows that they are extraterrestrial beings, and I am the only one who has the pleasure of hiding their secret deep in my heart.
Sitting on a bench, surrounded by various species of flowers, I look at a sizable fountain, which is illuminated in the darkness with many colors. It looks beautiful, and I can't take my eyes off it.
- Hi, potato. - I direct my gaze to the sidewalk, which Thomas is following, accompanied by two, young and beautiful ladies. He puts his arm around them, looking currently like a regular human playboy.
What surprises me is that he leads them home. I was sure all along that they keep a certain distance from people.
Well, unless. They hypnotize them to forget everything. Could it be that they have the same power as vampires? Exactly. One wonders if these creatures are also alive.... I wouldn't be surprised at all.
- I guess you haven't seen a potato," I mutter, offended by the fact that he keeps addressing me like this.
Am I fat in his eyes that he expresses himself so ugly about me? I'm not even a kilo overweight, so what on earth does he mean?
His ladies giggle, as if they have been intoxicated by the spell of idiocy.
That I also let myself be persuaded to live alongside demons. What tempted me? Well, exactly. What could have tempted me, if not the demons?
He ignores me and just with that roguish smile of his on his face, heads for the door. He takes one step and I witness his ladies fly almost over my head and their butts land clumsily on the sidewalk. I'm sure they whipped them hard.
- You're doing it again! - I hear his shriek and see him come out at Lisa's side. The blonde is rubbing her hands together and there is a beaming smile on her face.
- Play with those human girls, but don't bring them home. Andy has clarified it that we are to be careful and not invite anyone here. This is for our safety.
Thomas points his finger at the bruised girls, who lie on the sidewalk and break down crying. They howl so shrilly as they massage their buttocks that the sound is starting to drive me crazy. They sound like coyotes.
- You have hurt them. They are suffering.
- You suffer more when you pretend to be a good boy.
Unexpectedly, they both burst into laughter. There's no doubt in my mind that they are hellish twins.
- Jennie! - I blink my eyelids and look impatiently at Lisa. I have no doubt that this girl has come up with an idea. - We need to prepare you for your new life. How will you go to the university tomorrow? You don't even have any clothes to change into.
I smile sourly, afraid of what's on her mind.
- I can manage.
- You won't! - she denies in a raised voice, and I open my eyes wider. - Now we are going to the mall.
- Now? - My surprise is so strong that I uncontrollably start screaming. - It's late evening! All the stores are already closed....
- Well, that's right. That is, it's the perfect time for shopping.
I look at her, wondering what she is talking about. I ignore Thomas the whole time because I feel that he doesn't take his eyes off me. His gaze is so intense that for a moment, I even got hot, even though the September air is already cool.
- I really don't need this. I think this is the wrong time. - I put my hands out in front of me, hoping that he will let me go, but how do I want to win over the demon?
- I am not denied! - Indignantly she crosses her arms on her chest and stamps her foot like an angry child.
- Demons are not denied," Thomas corrects her, and I lower my head and nervously look at the ground. I feel insecure in their company. - It's hard for demons to pretend to be good creatures, so think how she takes pity on you.
I want to lift my head and look at them, but I'm not given the chance because an unknown force unexpectedly lifts me in the air and throws me directly into Thomas' arms. I looked at him with wide-open eyes, wondering how this was possible.
- Since you don't want to go of your own free will, we'll kidnap you. That's what we're best at," he announces, smiling devilishly.
Should I start to worry? I just find myself in the arms of a demon, accompanied only by his infernal twin sister.
I want to scream and communicate to Andy what they are planning, but a gag appears in my mouth.
I am helpless and at their mercy.