The Demon I Used To Be

Seventh Chapter

April 1, 2021

I stretched and yawned, simultaneously, as I laid on my couch. I opened my left eye slowly; I was too lazy to open them both at once. Rays of the sun refracted through the closed glass windows into the room. With my stretching, I got my legs and hands out of my quilt. "These nights have been way too short. C'mon!" I whined, curling myself. I heard a gentle knock on the door. I ignored. I didn't want anything getting me out of 'bed'. The knock became more consistent. I gritted, taking my quilt off, completely, then headed to the door.

My eyes met the shiny dark eyes that had been behind the door. His hair was black and curly. He had dark skin. He stared back, silently, like he'd forgotten a treasure in my eyes. The fact that there was no bra padding my breast and my n*****s protruded through the black v-neck tee I had on made me uncomfortable. I shut the door. I locked it with its key that had remained in its lock then I took in a deep breath, followed by a huge sigh. What went on in my heart from the moment my gaze laid on the lad till I shut the door was choking. I trudged back to the couch and plopped into it with my face down. The urge to put on a bra and head back to the 'stare contest' was gigantic but the strength to do so was quite the opposite.

He knocked again. I grumbled. I had two bras; one was dirty and the other was lost in a heap of clean clothes on the wooden table. I headed towards it, sluggishly, and pulled out a plain navy blue singlet. I tied the singlet around my bust then moved over to the door when I heard the knock again.

"What do you want?"

His eyes dropped to the singlet and he smirked. I folded my arms across my breast. "What do you want?" I repeated, more loudly. "What are YOU doing here?"

"Excuse me? I live here"

He touched my hair and loosened some strands to fall over my face. "You live in my basement". My eyes widened. Whatever had stolen my senses that morning was good at it. "Um..." I gulped. He stared blankly at me. His lips were still twitched. "I can explain". I said that after not being able to think of any reasonable abrupt explanation.

"Go on". He moved closer and planted his left palm on the frame of the door, above my head. He was about five inches taller. I raised my head...and eyes, to get the view of his face I had before he moved. There were a few strands of hair beneath his jaw. I placed my hands on his chest. He wore a blue long-sleeved round-neck T-shirt. I caressed it, softly. I had learned to use my womanly charm when I needed it, even before I became a woman.

"You see...I'm really tired now, and I can't even think of a good explanation." I drew circles and almost straight lines with my index finger. He tittered. "We should probably talk over dinner" he replied.

"If that's what you want then it's fine" I looked away. He kissed my cheek. "I'll be outside the gate at seven. You'd have to use the window like you've always been doing. I stay with a pretty large family up there"

My hands fell off his body as he headed towards my right. I had never gotten a good view of what behind that door looked like when nobody was knocking. Although, in the nearly seven and half years I had spent there, he was the third person to visit my room. I stood at the edge of a stuffy passage that slipped slightly out of darkness thanks to the rays reflected from the floor of my room. By my right, there were stairs, leading up. I spun on my heel and walked back into the room. I closed the door gently and locked it the second time that morning.

So, I needed a dress for dinner and all I had was a pile of trousers, shorts and tops.

**

I was at a distance from my dad's land. The man hoped he'd live there with his sons and daughters. Unfortunately for him, he lived with a son and daughters. My dad was the person I least liked at home; I loved Alex's sisters even more. He had this crazy male-child mentality which was the reason he got separated from Alex's mum and left his sisters with her. The light skinned man with dark eyes and slightly wrinkled chin had now abandoned all his wealth to no one since the only existing child had no idea what to do.

There was a man with his hands on his waist, admiring the open field. Tall grasses had covered everywhere but the ash pile that used to be a house when I was younger and the path I had stamped almost everyday. I walked passed the man and then through the path. He probably wondered what I was up to - or not.

I knelt at the foot of Bell's grave. The friend I had finally gotten for Alyssa 'lived' beside her in her own grave. Her name was Tinkerbell. Her name was also Martha. She must've stopped breathing; she still was at the time I put her there, though, faintly.

"Oh Bell" I sighed, hovering over her grave. My black gloves, like the knee of my black trousers, got smirched, but I didn't mind. I had had my bath at 'my' stream and changed into the trousers and a black long-sleeved tee with round neck. On my feet was a pair of black boots I had been wearing everyday since the beginning of the year. One thing I'd learned from my dad in the few years we spent together was recognition of long-lasting wears. Although he didn't wear a clothe more than thrice, he still cared that they were of the best quality.

"Look girl, you gotta leave. Don't you have stuff to do"

The words were loud and clear. I just couldn't say where they had come from. I rose back to my knees and looked around. All I could see was the bush formed by the grass. My eyes widened. My heart pounded harder. Slowly, I sprang up, still watching carefully for any living or nonliving being. I whirled around and dashed out, along the open path.

"What were doing in there?" A man clothed in a sky blue shirt tucked in baggy blue jeans asked as I got to the road. He was the man I had seen earlier. His eyes were widened and his hands were still firm on his waist, on a dark brown belt. "Moron!" I spat at his concerned look. "You just scared the hell out of me." I gave him a glare and then walked away.

I actually had stuff to do. The next thing on my mind was the dinner. I stopped by a bakery, Famous Ashey's bakery. They had the best bread around. Mum bought bread from there on her way home whenever she went to work. She managed dad's soda factory but didn't go everyday until she had Alyssa and dad became strict; he chilled when she took in the third time.

They had bread loaves of different sizes on a shelf behind their display window and I had some money in my trouser pocket.

**

I picked a navy blue dress from a line filled with dry clothes and admired. I was behind a bungalow and I had no idea who the owner was. It was getting dark, probably about 6:30pm. I held the dress between my thighs to pull off my shirt then hung it on the line. I threw on the dress. It was fitted to my body size and had a free netty arm with a fitted cuff. I removed my trousers and left the quiet environment with my former clothes hanging in place of the dress I had just stolen; so basically, it was more of trade by barter which was not exactly the method I had been using since I now had more clothes than I had had in the ash tote.

I strolled down to the gate of the building I lived in. There was a dark coloured Mercedes Benz car in front of it. The red and orange rear lights were bright. The car hooted as I approached. Through the side mirror, I saw the dark skinned young man that had nearly knocked down my room door with his persistent knocks thrust his hand to wave. I walked sluggishly towards the car. My feet began to feel cold. My heart throbbed harder. I hadn't thought about what was about to happen. It was going to be my first date - or at least dinner with a guy I had only met that morning. The only proper dinners I had ever been a part of were those with my family. I went round and reached the front passenger door. The lights in the car were on. I opened the door and sat in. I bowed slightly so my hair hid my face.

"What's up?"

I rose my head and tilted it towards him. He curved my hair behind my ear, leaving my face bare and then he laughed hard.