A Soft Storm

chapter 3

Today, I had a mission.

One that may cost me my life.

I was going to kill the demon.

I circled Mason's desk, holding a Bible in my hands and mumbled an exorcism prayer from one of the pages. I saw a vein pop out from his forehead in irritation and I seemed to have gathered a bit of spectators from the couch.

Mason instantly shot his threatening glare at me, "What the fuc-

"May the power of Christ compel you!" I tossed the holy water from a small jar on top of the demonic entity. I looked up to see if the Bastard was melting or turning to ash or something but all there was, was a "I'm going to kill you" glare from Mason's frighteningly angry face.

The guys tossed their heads in laughter and the demon held out his gun, shooting it instantly. I squealed, feeling the bullet just barely graze my skin and go through the wall behind me. "What the f**k are you doing?" He turned to me, panting with fury.

I turned back down to the Bible, frantically looking for another prayer, "Why isn't it working!?"

"I'm not a f*****g demon you stupid b***h!" Mason slammed his fists into the desk. I squealed, slowly moving towards the window. "Do you want to die?!"

"It's pay back!" I hissed, my words shaking in fear as his dark stare burned through my skin. "F-For the bite!"

I watched his expression grow cold and silent. A silent Boss. Not good. Not good at all. I'll admit, this was not the best idea I've had. "I'll give you another one if you want it so f*****g badly."

Instantly, I tossed myself behind Sebastian, "Sebastian! There is a terrifying Vampire after me! Kill it before it kills us all!"

Liam turned around to face me as Mason screamed at Sebastina to let him through, "You're an i***t you know that?"

I stubbornly pouted, turning my head away, "He deserves it!"

"If Sebastian wasn't here, I'm pretty sure you would've died first week." Santo chuckled, cruelly amused by my agony.

Mason shoved Sebastian to the side and right as I was certain my life was about to end, the office doors flew open revealing my favorite person at the moment. Ludo and his father Gene.

Now these two are people I'd love to talk about. Ludo is a 13 year old kid whom is probably way too f*****g friendly with gangsters for his age. His father was one of Mason's subordinates, really nice man and terrifyingly good at using a bat. It was no secret that Ludo seemed to idolize Mason of all people. Apparently, Ludo sees something beyond the Demon's terrible attitude and murderous ways. Whenever Ludo was around, Mason was less of an asshole, making me love the kid all the more.

Ludo's eyes lit up as he saw Mason and sprinted over, wrapping his arms around his torso. "Mason!" He smiled happily.

Mason looked down to the boy and then turned away so nobody could view his touched expression. "Get off, Ludo."

Ludo obeyed following Mason to his desk and energetically viewing all of the papers. He tilted his head, clearly focused on one in particular, "What's Midnight Rise?"

"None of your business." Mason sighed, moving the folder Ludo was focused on and then opened yet another folder, placing it on his lap so his little fan couldn't see it.

Ludo smiled, running over to behind Mason's chair, "So, at school I have to do a report on my most inspirational person and I want to do you. Whattya say?"

I looked at Mason as he seemed bothered by the subject, "Find someone else."

Ludo's expression died down and he looked away, embarrassed and hurt. Did that asshole just f*****g say that to the only damn person in the world stupid enough to idolize his demonic ass? I stood up, giving a sharp glare to Mason and lightly tapped Ludo, smiling, "Hey. Do you want some cake? I made some yesterday but, these bastards are letting it go to waste."

The boy's face lit up a little and he nodded, "Yeah!"

I chuckled, "Alright then." He followed me to the fourth floor, to the kitchen, and I pulled out the beautiful white cake I worked hard on. 

"Big or small?" I awaited his answer, hovering the knife over the dessert. Silence. I turned to him and was nearly heart broken by the sad expression his face, "Ludo?" I spoke softly.

"O-Oh." He shook his head, looking to the cake, "Small.."

I hesitated before nodding and cutting it. I placed the vanilla piece on top of his place and treated myself to a piece as well. "Cassidy?" Ludo spoke as I busily moved my portion onto a plate.

"Hm?" I licked the frosting off the knife.

"You know Mason the best, right? He never pays attention to me and always shooes me like I'm a nuisance. Do you think Mason hates me?"

I stared at him, "B-Best? That's a little... I don't know a lot about the guy, Sebastian is probably the guy you wanna ask." My words seemed to make him only feel worse, "B-But! Mason is always extremely rude and mean but, when you're around he's unusually calm and nice."

"Well that's only because Mason says you do stupid stuff and drive him insane."

"Oh did he?" I tightened my grip on the knife, grinning at all the images I had on stabbing the metal through his thick skull. "Is that so..." I gritted my teeth.

"But, I think you're funny." He smiled, "And you're really nice and good at cooking! I know you think he's really mean but..." Ludo looked down to his feet, "Mason is a really good person. And... I wanted to do my project on him but, I don't think he wants anything to do with me."

That bastard? Nice? Does this kid even see how the demon's making him feel!?

I rubbed in between my eyebrows, trying to think of a comforting thing to say. "Listen, I'm positive he doesn't hate you, Ludo. The boss is always busy, so I'm sure he wants to do it but he just can't." My words weren't working. Damn demon, putting me in this f*****g situation! "But, I'll try and convince him?"

"Really?" Ludo smiled brightly.

This kid... My smile twitched.

How many times am I going to have to risk my life today? I sighed and nodded, "Yeah."

"Thank you, Cassidy!" I felt him hug me and my body felt warm. I smiled softly, rubbing his head. Well, I can see how this holy thing can tame even a demon. Maybe I should've thrown him on Mason instead of the holy water.

Next, I found myself walking up to Mason's desk. I turned to the guys, swallowing every ounce of fear I had, "Leave."

Mason looked up to me, hissing, "You don't tell them to f*****g leave, slave."

"Then you tell them." My gaze was sharp against his. I was so going to f*****g die but, this felt so good.

His glare stayed on me and then turned to the guys, causing me to let out a breath of relief. "Give me a minute." They all nodded and left the room, leaving it silent and empty with just me and an evil spirit. "This better be f*****g good if you don't want a bullet to the head this time."

I took in a deep breath, "You need to do Ludo's project." I braced myself for a slap or something but, he just stared, waiting for more words. "Mas-Boss... You know how much he loves you and idolizes you. How could you push him away like that? He feels terrible. Don't you feel guilty for saying that s**t to him."

Mason averted his gaze and pulled out his folder, ignoring my presence, "No."

This asshole.

"I don't understand you, you know that?" I shook my head irritably, "Why are you trying to hide the fact that you might actually care for him? It's a f*****g report! A couple of questions and you're done! Isn't that enough to repay his dedication to you? Despite how evil and cruel people think you are, he truly believes you're a great person. Are you going to just f**k that up?"

"Nobody told you to get involved, don't stick your damn nose into other people's f*****g busy. Don't forget your place."

I fixed my jaw, growing more irritated by his completely nonchalant attitude. What the f**k is his problem? "He asked me to get involved! He's so scared you hate him that he had to ask me to f*****g come in here and do this. Do you not understand that a single action can affect someone entirely!? Or are you just the same ignorant asshole everyone thinks you are but Ludo claims you not to be?"

Mason's fingers tightened onto the folder and I saw the vein of anger pop onto his forehead. He looked up to me and growled, "Listen you b***h. I said no because he shouldn't be choosing me. Someone like me shouldn't be his f*****g inspirational icon."

I paused for a moment. Did the demon just... insult himself? I let out a breath, calming myself despite how angry Mason was now, "What you think doesn't matter alright? This is his project, he chose you. Whether or not he should means s**t. You control a lot of f*****g things, but you can't decide the choices of others."

Mason stared at me, making me grow increasingly more frightened and nervous. I bit my lip, losing that ounce of courage I had and fully coming into complete regret of my entire rant. He clenched his jaw, "Send Ludo in."

My face lit up. He wasn't going to kill me.

But that was besides the point! I opened the door, seeing everyone was listening, as usual, and I smiled at Ludo who was sitting against the wall, "Mason wants to see you." Ludo looked up, his mood instantly lighting up as though I flipped on a switch.

"Thank you!" He yelled before rushing into the room.

As I heard the door slammed, I staggered towards the wall and slid down it, letting out a huge relieved sigh. Why do I do such stupid s**t? Sebastian stood across from me and spoke, "I thought you were going to die in there."

I flinched, "So did I."

"Did little miss Cassidy get through to the boss?" Leo lifted an eyebrow.

I shrugged and let out a long yawn, "More like made him realize what an asshole he was being."

"Man, he sure treats you nicely considering you aren't dead." Lyam laughed.

I scowled, "Nicely!? He only hurts me!"

"But, you're the only one who does s**t to piss him off." Santo snickered, "It's entertaining to say the least."

Most of the time I don't even mean to do it! Most. I rubbed my face, "It's his fault for forcing some street rat to work, or serve, him."

I left the base as soon as the sun went down, the last few days had me worn out. I was completely sleep deprived. Remember that job I talked about? Yeah well I work once a week (explaining the low pay), on Wednesdays, since that's the only time I'm allowed to leave early, as a Bar Hostess. Which basically takes the life out of me the following few days.

I turned into my alleyway and looked for my keys. As I tried to put it into the lock, it seemed it was busted. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash and I widened my eyes, slamming the door open. Behind the door was a man dressed entirely in black, my saved up tip money in his dirty f*****g hands and a shiny little knife in the other.

"Who the f**k are you!?" I growled, watching him begin to circle me like some scavenger. My eyes darted towards the cash, "Out of every f*****g house out here, you had to rob the shack? Really? What kind of burglar are you?"

I heard him lowly growl, "Shut up b***h! I got what I wanted, now be a good little girl and move to the side so I can leave."

I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyes, trying to find the effort to stay awake. This fucker first decides to come in and take my f*****g money and now he's in the way of me and my beautiful slumber. I stepped forward, "You know, if you think s**t like a small knife is going to be threatening to me, you clearly haven't spent a lot of time in this neighborhood."

Quickly, he swiped the knife at me and I leaned back, barely missing the tip of it, "Back the f**k up!"

I sighed, "C'mon, just drop the money and go."

Instantly, he stepped forward onto my foot and felt a stinging pain dig its way through my cheek. I hissed and grabbed onto his arm, "Alright. First of all, carry a f*****g gun instead of a knife if you plan on robbing someone's goddamn house." I twisted it behind his back and pulled his hair, receiving a groan from his lips. "Secondly, let me introduce myself. I'm Cassidy. I've been dealing with punks like you since I was 12, and if you don't think anyone in this neighborhood could take on an amateur like you, you're gonna get yourself killed." I pushed him forward, "Thirdly, I work for the f*****g mafia," I kicked him outside, collecting the money from his hand as he fell forward, "Don't fool around with people you can't f*****g handle."

I slammed the door shut before I could hear his pathetic retort and winced as my fingers graze my bloody scratch. Great. Two bandages, each caused by two different dumb asses.

Exhausted from both punks I had to fight against today, I completely passed out.

. . .

"Why the f**k is there a bandage on your cheek?" Mason looked up at me as I entered the room, letting out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

I touched it, forgetting I had it on, and then shrugged, "Does it matter?"

Mason hardened his glare, "I don't like people messing up my toys before I do."

I sighed, taking a count of coffee and tea orders before responding to the increasingly impatient demon, "Some punk tried to rob me last night and he ended up slicing me up a bit."

Why was he still staring?

I gulped, slowly looking towards him and saw his finger was gesturing me to walk over to him. Hesitantly, I paused before obeying and found myself right next to him as he sat on his desk. Slowly, his fingers pried off the bandage and his eyes widened with anger, "A little?"

"Why do you care, sir?" I sighed, slowly putting back on the bandage, "It happens all the time where I live. It's not like I couldn't handle him."

Mason clenched his jaw and slowly sat back down, "Move out."

"Don't be ridiculous." I growled, "I can't afford anything else."

The boss's eyes seemed to glint with mischief, "I'll let you move into my place if you become my s*x slave."

Instantly, I pulled the bible from my bag and slammed it into his face, "You damned s*x demon!"

Almost as though this whole thing was rehearsed, I ran down to the storage room and hid out till the beast was tamed. You know, sometimes I wished I pick pocketed the f*****g president and was placed in federal prison that day instead of here, where I have to battle demons and gangsters.