Chapter 7
1334 Words
After getting very little sleep the night before, I had called into work asking for the day off and taken a nap.
I had just finished my bath when there was a knock at my door.
"Give me a minute!" I shouted as I threw on a pair of black leggings and an old black shirt that hung off one of my shoulders.
I put Soul out in the back and opened the door, Sam stood looking extremely awkward.
"Hi."
I raised my brows, "Hi?"
"I... uh... your friend at the diner said you called in sick."
I gave him a questioning look.
"Oh, well... I came to check on you."
"I'm okay, I just had trouble sleeping and needed some rest."
SAM
*earlier that day*
I sat at my usual booth, my eyes on the back of the diner, I hadn't seen any sign of Stephi, I knew she was working today, I knew all of her shifts from coming here so often.
Why do I care? I shouldn't care.
Since when was I even capable of caring?
I glanced back up at the waitress, her friend, the blond one was making her way toward me.
"Hi! What can I get you today?" She was loud and bubbly, something I found extremely annoying.
"Where is Lili? I, uh, I mean Stephi."
She shrugged a shoulder, "At home, she called in sick today. Can I get you anything?"
I frowned, she was sick? I wondered if she had somehow managed to get a piece of her body through the portal at the restaurant the night before.
If she had, that would certainly make her ill, humans were not able to handle the shift in energy between their world and mine.
"Sir?"
Her high-pitched voice pulled me back to reality, "Do you know what's wrong with her?"
"No. Why are you so interested in Steph?"
That was a damn good question. Why was I so interested in her? A human.
"I saw her last night, she was drenched from the rain, I was just...concerned is all. Could I get my usual to go," I took a breath, "And something Stephi would like?"
The woman smiled, "Absolutely!"
I watched as she walked away, annoyed with both myself and the waitress.
I should collect a soul today, perhaps that was what was messing with my head, I hadn't had any gruesome fun in a while.
My eyes scanned the road outside the diner, watching all these shells with souls within, souls waiting for me to pick them like a ripened apple from the tree.
But I need to pick someone deserving, the thought came into my head and I had to stop myself from growling.
Since when the fvck did I care if they were deserving of pain?
It's that human girl, she's making me soft.
I stood, refusing to allow this foolishness to continue.
I was once an archangel, now the cruelest demon known, and here I sat telling myself I should only reap those who deserved it. No, I could not, would not allow this.
"Sir, your order is ready, and I threw in a lemon and poppy seed muffin for Steph, and for a drink here's a chocolate coffee milkshake with extra cream and a cherry, just how she likes it."
I turned, "Thank you." And walked over to pay for the order, finding the milkshake order rather adorable.
Wait. Adorable?
I pulled my face in disgust, what in the hell had gotten into me?!
Paying for my order I stepped out onto the street, the smell of human souls reminding me of my original plan.
I glanced down at the bag in my one hand, milkshake in the other, and rolled my eyes.
Right, as if I was going to go and reap souls with a fvcking milkshake in my hand.
When she had opened the door I wasn't sure what I had expected, but it certainly wasn't to see her standing barefoot with her neck exposed.
Running through why I had come, I held out the bag and milkshake, "Your friend, the loud one, she said you like these."
I watched her chuckle, her eyes twinkling, and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
At the thought, I sighed. I needed to stop doing this.
It was absurd.
I need to put an end to this right now.
"Do you want to come in?"
"Yes." Fvck. So much to putting an end to this.
I followed her in and sat at her kitchen counter as she unpacked the food and took a sip of her milkshake.
She slid my food across to me, but my eyes were glued to her as she picked up the cherry by the stem, sucking the cream from it before popping it in her mouth.
I shifted uncomfortably, my pants getting tighter at the scene.
Stupid human body.
"I really appreciate you coming over, Sam." She took a set opposite me and began picking at the muffin.
"It's nothing, really. I was worried the rain had made you sick last night."
She shrugged, the shirt shifting slightly, exposing more of her neck to me.
She hadn't worn any fragrances, allowing me to get a proper scent of her soul.
I shook my head, What the fvck am I doing?
She tilted her head to the side, "Sam? Were you even listening?"
"No, my mind was elsewhere."
"A lot going on?"
"Yes, you could say that."
She turned her attention behind me where the news was reporting snowfall somewhere, "I wish it would snow here. I've always wanted to experience it."
Snow? She sounded so wistful as she spoke, and it struck me strange how easily appeased some humans were.
"You've never seen snow?"
She shook her head, her damp her dripping droplets of water from the ends.
"No, it's never snowed here, and I'm not big on travel so I haven't seen it."
I turned back to the television, I had seen everything in my time.
"Sam, did you walk past my place last night?"
Shit, how had she known?
"Yes, I did. I was looking for my cat." What a damn lie, but it was the only thing I could think of.
"I thought I saw you! I woke up from a nightmare and saw you when I looked out the window.
I relaxed, she didn't know I had been in her room, I knew about her so-called nightmare.
"Do you often have them? Nightmares, I mean."
"Fairly often, yes. Donnie thought I was going crazy."
My jaw clenched involuntarily, partly because I wished I could tell her that she was far from crazy, and partly because I hated the sound of his name on her lips.
"A lot of people have nightmares, nothing crazy about it."
She nodded again and took another sip of her milkshake.
"Are you still off tomorrow? Since you didn't work today."
"I'm still off tomorrow, why?"
"I would like to show you something, I think you would enjoy it."
"Sure, Lord knows I could get out more."
I wanted to roll my eyes as if the Lord had anything to do with this.
I refrained and got to my feet, "I should go, I will see you tomorrow morning around ten. Wear something comfortable and bring something warm."
She frowned, scrunching her face up, "Warm? Have you felt how hot it is, Sam?"
"Yes, but trust me on this."
She laughed and walked me to the door, waving as I left.
As much as a part of me hated it, a small part of me was relieved to feel this new within, it was the first time I had ever felt so light, and I enjoyed it.
And I was beginning to relish it.
The truth was that deep down I knew that there was no way I would be able to give up this human woman.
- Writer
