My Demon

4. Supplying a demon

"Caeli... Have you slept well this week?" Akane asked Caeli, a little bit surprised and by the face Caeli was making that day.

“You know, if you continue with that look you're going to scare the whole place...” Akane said bringing her chair closer to Caeli's, and also, looking around to see the rest of the customers of the place. The surprise was reflected on her face when she saw that there was no one there, and her surprise was greater when she saw how the waiters were trembling in one of the corners of the cafeteria, as if they were afraid of the Italian, -and she could not understand them, giving by the face of Caeli-.

“Well, I correct myself, you've already scared everyone,” she said with a quiet laugh, thus she receive an angry and disgusted gaze of the blue-eyed girl, getting Akane to shut up almost instantly.

"And whose damn fault do you think it is?!" Caeli growled, putting both hands on the table, banging them on the wood, and quickly getting up from her place while continuing to stare at her friend, making Akane frown quietly confused.

"Hey, calm down girl, why would it be my fault that you're in a dog's mood?” Akane asked crossing her arms quite indignant at what the artist had told her. But Caeli simply tensed up at what the reporter had asked her. “And well Caeli? I'm anxiously waiting to know why I'm guilty of your anger.”

The brunette swallowed thick and looked in all directions, looking for an escape, whatever it was, but in all the possibilities that were forming in her head she could find nothing with which she could create an evasion and get out of the grave she had just dug herself.

«Shit, think of something quick!» Caeli closed her eyes and breathed in as much air as her lungs would allow, and with a soft sigh she sat down in her place to deny.

“Ah... forgive me, Akane, the truth is just that...” she muttered with a little difficulty, not knowing what to say naturally that didn't seem like a lie.

“I haven't slept very well these last few days,” she said, taking the bridge of her nose with two of her fingers and leaning on the back of her chair. After a few seconds of silence, Caeli looked at Akane, who was tapping her fingers over and over again on the surface of the table. Damn the journalist for having a nose for gossip.

“And... What is the thing that hasn't let you sleep well this week?” Akane asked, arching one of her eyebrows, now more interested in knowing what it was the thing that had prevented her friend from resting. The artist knew that her Japanese friend was more curious watching her best friend's small gestures. She had both elbows resting on the table, her head resting equally on the backs of her hands, a sign that confirmed that she would remain attentive to all the information that the brunette offered her. And her eyes that shone with that slight mocking tone.

Caeli had known her for a long time and knew very well that she could get all the information she wanted. But Caeli just folded her arms and sighed once more: “It was... a parasite, that's what hasn't let me sleep at all,” she said simply as she crossed her legs.

“A... parasite, you say?” Akane c****d her head without understanding very well what the girl was referring to. And shaking her head, she sighed and took her chair, she began to get closer to Caeli to listen carefully to what she was saying.

“A stupid cat that doesn't let me sleep and always wants to eat,” Caeli snapped, emphasizing the last word. On the other hand, when she realized what she was saying made the redhead put on a gesture of concern and doubt, Caeli simply said: “But don't worry, I'll take care of that vermin soon, you don't have to worry about anything Akane.”

“Okay, if you say so...” Akane shook her head, and once more crossed her arms to look at Caeli with a grimace, and then moved on to a malicious smile when she noticed something on the artist's skin.

“Well, since you don't want to tell me what's wrong with you, at least you invite me to coffee, besides~...” Akane paused briefly and then moved a little closer to the table, with a mischievous gesture on her face and with her index finger she pointed to the mark that Caeli had on her neck. “You'll have to tell me who is the sucker who did that to you~”

Caeli froze in her place, put a hand on her neck in embarrassment, and at the same time, her cheeks took on a strong crimson hue. Akane let out a slight laugh, trying to cover her mouth so as not to laugh, but when she saw that Caeli was only getting redder, she began to laugh loudly, banging on the table and making the waiters look at them strangely and with a gesture of disapproval for their behaviour.

After a long time in which Caeli could not be more embarrassed, Akane, for her part, began to calm down after such loud laughter and with her index finger she got rid of a small tear that was in one of her eyes.

“Oh, dear lord, how good that was, it's been a while since I've laughed so hard, not even at Curt's stupidities... Not bad.” Akane turned her gaze to Caeli, this time showing a gleam of complete attention.

“So tell me… Who is the lucky young man who helped you forget the stupid Orfeo?”

Caeli grimaced at her friend's question, scratching the back of her neck nervously, pulling back her wavy hair.

“You see, it's a little more complicated to explain than that” Caeli said with nervousness in her voice. Akane fell silent, and a sympathetic expression crossed her face.

“I see, I didn't think it was possible, because of your tastes of course. But now I can believe it because I hear it from your own mouth,” Akane said while smiling sweetly and Caeli raised an eyebrow curiously, did she know what Caeli was going to talk about? Did Akane know that she was referring to a demon?

“Not him, but her, right?” Akane said, closing her eyes in understanding and taking the hands of the artist who opened her eyelids in amazement at what she was hearing.

“Don't worry Eli, I will support you in all your decisions, you know that this does not bother me in the least-...”

“NO! Akane, I'm neither lesbian nor bisexual,” Caeli shouted and there she gave herself a mental blow, it was impossible for her friend to have discovered what had really happened, not even the situations she had lived those weeks with the demon, no one could imagine it.

“Hah... Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with people who are. Far from it. But I haven't had my s****l awakening with a woman yet, if that's what you mean.”

“Then who made you that hickey, darling?” Akane asked, snorting in exasperation at Caeli's refusal to tell her what had happened.

"It's not a hickey," Caeli murmured, looking away a little embarrassed at what the redhead was saying to her. «For God's sake, stop asking! I don't want to answer any more things!»

“Sure, and I'm St. Teresa of Calcutta,” Akane said with pure sarcasm, rolling her eyes in the process, as she began to rattle on the surface of the table, nervous and with an insistent look at Caeli.

“Come on, tell me then who is in charge of making you forget Orfeo, you know that I have little patience for these things.”

Caeli could only shake her head, refusing to answer Akane's questions and clenched her fists tightly, letting her knuckles turn completely white. Two feelings were very present in Caeli’s body: anger and sadness. The anger for the damn person, or rather, demon who had made those marks on her, not only because of the marks but because of the dreams that made her have some nights. Dreams that made her wake up completely exhausted, sweaty, overwhelmed and sometimes, although she did not want to admit it, wet.

And, above all, sadness, since she had not been able to forget Orfeo and what he had meant to her, and she had really tried to forget about him.

“Seriously, can we talk about any other subject? You know I'm not comfortable talking about him,” Caeli began to caress her arm slowly and scratching it superficially, while letting her gaze get lost in a dead spot in the room, that discomfort had begun to squeeze the pit of her stomach, forcing her to gently squeeze her stomach with her free hand. Akane instantly understood what her friend had told her, and with a sad expression she was silent for a few seconds. Perhaps she should have been quiet and then the uncomfortable atmosphere that had formed in the air wouldn’t be there.

Silence... That was what flooded the room where they were for long minutes. Both were silent, one with a blank look and a hint of emptiness in her eyes, the other simply staring at her with pure worry and pain. Akane hated to see Caeli like that.

«She's exactly in the same state as she was that day,» Akane thought sadly when she saw that empty look on her friend. Once, only once had she seen Caeli like this. And no one could imagine how horrible it had been for both the girl with beautiful blue eyes and those around her to see that image. Pain, sadness... Those adjectives fell short of being able to describe and express what Caeli could express with those orbs that possessed so much life.

Caeli breathed in and shook her head, then looked at her reddish-haired friend with a faint smile.

“It's okay Akane, how about we ask for the bill and leave?” Akane nodded, and the two smiled again at the same time.

“Of course, darling, and forgive me if I have made you uncomfortable, just... I only care about you and I care about your life. I don't want you to be like...” Akane muttered and Caeli stopped her from speaking by caressing her hand and nodding at what her friend had said.

So, after they asked for the bill, the now calmer waiter offered it to them so they could pay. After doing so, the two young women got up and looked at each other for a few seconds in silence, they approached themselves to hug each other. One because she needed it and the other because she wanted to help and support her. Then, they separated, looked at each other for a few moments and with a brief laugh that they shared. They both left the place.

º º º º º º º

After leaving the cafeteria we spent the whole day wandering around the beautiful city that never sleeps. We went to many places, places that I visited with him. But thanks to Akane, the memories Caeli had spent in each place with Orfeo became slightly blurred. Lately I had been trying not to think too much about him, and I must admit that with all my regret, it had been thanks to Thomirchotch. He was doing a great job of not letting me rest for a single moment even in my own home. Although if he wanted to hurt me, he knew exactly what he had to say, that demon was able to blurt out the phrase with the greatest of poisons whenever he wanted to so that he could leave me in the damn misery. And that day had been the straw that had broken the camel's back, I needed to run away from home, I knew that Tom could not follow me since as he told me: "Demons do not exist for humans and we cannot establish any kind of relationship with them beyond a contract". So if I went away for a few hours and be with Akane, my mind would thank me. Thanks to my best friend, the hours passed, and before we knew it, we were already in Akane's car, right in front of my family's flower shop.

“Thank you for bringing me," I said with a smile as I opened the passenger door, although I was still sitting in the seat of the running car.

"You know there's no problem," a faint smile formed on Akane's lips as she stared at me, making me return the same gesture and just before leaving, she took my arm making me turn my face in her direction. “If you need anything or you need to tell me something, you know I'm here for you, okay? I know there's something going on, I can feel it. And if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you. When you are ready, here I am so that you can speak and relieve the burden on your shoulders” The first thing I did was to be moved, Akane's words made me feel relieved, being with her fixed parts of my soul that she had not broken.

After saying goodbye with a hug, I got out of the car, locked behind me and watched as Akane drove off. And as I watched the car drive away, I just sighed.

“I'm sorry Akane, someday I'll tell you the whole truth," I muttered on the air, knowing that I had been a coward for not telling my close friend the truth. There, the icy wind made me shiver and feel cold in my bones. When I was alone, that sensation of contraction would come out, and it would bring back bad memories... Memories that I preferred to forget, even though I knew it wasn't possible. I put my hands together and hit my cheeks hard to calm down, I shouldn't be sad in front of my mother, she needed me and I had to be strong for both of us. After that, I turned around and stopped in front of the door of the flower shop and put a smile on my lips to take the knob and enter the establishment.

As soon as I did I received a big hug from my mother, who had a big smile on her face. I reciprocated that tender gesture and smiled at her equally.

“Why so much effusiveness, mom?” I asked her, letting out a faint laugh so that she would simply shake her head.

"Can't I give my beautiful daughter a hug and be happy that she comes to see me?" Chiara asked and I simply laughed at her comment. I loved these small moments with my mother, even if it seemed silly, these hugs for us made a world, they made us understand that we were there, that we were real, and for my mother that was the most important thing, especially since my father had passed away, she needed to feel that I was there with her.

I sighed and after a pleasant chat telling her everything I had done with Akane that day, she caressed my cheeks with an endearing gesture on her face and she told me: “You look much better now.”

And with a kiss on the cheek I said goodbye to her, because I had only gone to see her for a while. After that, I took a taxi and went to the nearest station that could take me to Queens. After long minutes on the train, I managed to reach my district and after a while walking through the quiet streets of the Middle Village, I arrived at my house and looked around to smile.

“Home sweet home," I whispered with a faint smile, unconcerned about all problems as I entered the house and locked it.

But all faded as soon as I felt a pair of arms around my waist at the same time that an extra weight formed on my shoulder, making my eyes roll in exasperation, I had forgotten about this i***t. “Yes, welcome home angioletto ~” Then I remembered something and abruptly separated myself from him to look at him with a frown.

"What the hell are you doing here? What if my...?" I instantly fell silent when I remembered that my mother would not come yet, and soon I growled notoriously. "Just… Leave it," I whispered pushing him away calmly, while he laughed mockingly at me. It was interesting how my mood could change so quickly in a matter of seconds because of this demon.

At that moment, the black-haired man shook his head and soon began to chase me and instead of walking fast, I began to run, trying to escape from him. It seemed like the game of cat and mouse, and never better said, because if I let that demon catch me it wouldn't take long for him to eat me.

“Tom, be still, f**k!” I shouted at him, scurrying like some vermin every time he tried to catch me in his arms, and when I felt cornered, I showed the cross of my chest, and with a little girl's cry he disappeared from my sight, making me sigh softly.

At that moment I heard the sound of a notification on my phone, and when I looked at who the message belonged to, I laughed softly. It seemed that my mother had a radar to know where I was and how I was. After that I began to go to my room, talking pleasantly with my mother by messages, telling her that I had had a small setback, and at the moment I wrote that, the call from her did not take long to be received on my phone.

"Mom," I said, sighing in a calm voice so that she wouldn't get upset.

“Don't worry, mom, I'm fine, I haven't done anything nor it happened anything to me, it's just that I thought I saw a cockroach, but it was just my imagination,” I spoke and she sighed through the phone line, grateful that it had been nothing.

"For God's sake, don't give me these scares, Caeli," she said, sighing with relief again, and for my part I just laughed. I knew she was good with assumptions, but I doubted very much that she knew I have a demon living under our roof.

"I'm sorry mom, I won't do it again," a faint smile formed on my lips and after a slight laugh from both of us I just sighed.

“Well, I'm going upstairs to rest a little, today has been a very busy day with Akane, who has taken me from here to there through the city without stopping,” we both let out a soft laugh and for a few moments we were silent.

"Well honey, if you need something, call me, okay?" My mother said in that soft, charming voice that relaxed me in an instant.

"No need, you know I'll calm down myself before I force you to come from the store," and so, my mother said goodbye once more and hung up the phone because it was time to go back to work, and that was also for me, but in a very different sense.

As I went to my room I sighed of relief and looked in all directions, seeing that Tom was nowhere hidden, which surprised me a little.

«What is he up to now?» I thought with a grimace, every time I showed him the crucifix he disappeared, but that was only meaning that some damn joke awaited me, if it wasn't a scare, it was a nightmare, and if it wasn't a nightmare, it was some mind game to make me fall into a trap. After a few minutes seeing that nothing was happening, I raised an eyebrow and then shrugged my shoulders.

“Well, while he’s gone, I'll sleep more," I said, stretching in my place to let out a quiet gasp as I heard the bones in my back creak.

After that gesture, I sighed once more that day and lay down on the mattress of my bed, but... why was it so hard? “What the...?” My eyes suddenly opened as I felt strong arms wrap around my waist again. My body tensed and little by little my expression changed to slowly turn my head, and see that I was leaning on a stocky chest. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt a warm breath in one of my ears, my cheeks got a powerful crimson tone, I felt my heart burst my ears at the sensation and I swallowed thick when I heard that voice that irritated me so much.

"Hehehe, you have fallen into the trap little mouse~”, that deep voice resounded in my ears making me tremble in the arms of my captor. Soon I turned to face Tom, who smiled more cynically as he felt how I had placed my hands on his chest. At the sight of that damn smile I felt my blood boil, but his damn arms had surrounded me, preventing me from getting up and away from him. “Hey, hey, hey... Don't you remember? I must stock up dear~”

I opened my eyes in surprise. “No! Not again! You know how awkward it is that people keep asking me who is doing this to me?!” I growled, pointing to the clear mark of the crime etched into the skin of my neck, but instantly my lips were sealed by the man's hand. “HMM!!”

"Shhh, I don't care what your other little human friends ask you. A deal is a deal. I can't leave, and you're so charitable that you accepted the terms of this deal," Tom said in his hoarse voice, grabbing the hair on the back of my neck to pull them up. Forcing me to surrender to him. “I can always feed myself in your dreams, if you prefer it” he smiled again, and I trembled as I remembered the damned dreams that demon had forced me to have and that felt so vivid.

This damn guy could control my dreams and feed on my energy through them. All thanks to the pact we had made.

"Why don’t you create another damn nightmare for me that rips away two days' worth of energy? Or let me guess, to create a lucid and s****l dream for me as if you were a damn incubus?” I snapped angrily.

"Both are very good options. I feed on the chaos and desires of the people. And your screams in both dreams are the most delicious.”

"It's detestable that you use my suffering to feed yourself.”

"Honey, I'm a demon, did you expect me to be considerate?” Tom asked with a lopsided smile as he grabbed my cheeks and crushed them.

“You were the little girl who made an invocation without knowing the consequences it has. Now shut that mouth and feed me, unless you want me to use your dreams to make you relive the night when your useless father died.”

At that moment I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hit my forehead with his making him growl really annoyed when he fell on the bed and I took it upon myself to move his arms away to take his wrists and put them on the sides of his head.

"I may be unaware and naïve on many demon-related subjects. But I'm going to make one thing clear to you, damn monster, you insult my father again and I'll make this time we're together a damn ordeal for both of us, worse than being in damn purgatory," I growled, digging my nails into his wrists as he sharpened his gaze against my being.

“And thanks to you I have learned a couple of things. That unless the pact is broken, you can't do me any physical harm. Maybe psychological, but as you told me, my damn head is in chaos, so nothing you say or do is going to make me fall into madness and ask you for a damn wish. You're stuck with me.”

"You forget something, Angioletto," he said laughing while the vein in his neck was bulging, what I had said seemed to have bothered him, and that made me happy.

“I'm not stuck with you," Tom growled as he lifted me up without any problem and left me right under his body and watched as his eyes glowed in that intoxicating green.

“You are the one who will never be able to get rid of me. I will be here, all the time, even if I can't do physical harm, do you think I don't have the means to make you fall and offer me your soul on a silver platter?” His mocking laughter echoed throughout the room as I felt my chest squeeze.

“If I haven't done it yet, it's because you're just an insignificant human who makes me feel sorry for you. So, while I'm still good, hold up your end of the bargain we made, feed me, and I won't bother you more than once in a while, okay?”

My brow furrowed, I felt my blood boil full of rage and disdain for this demon. His words full of poison dug like blades into my skin, it was annoying to know that I could not get rid of him, that he had the power and the handle by the pan. At that moment I clenched my fists and grabbed him tightly by the neck.

"I'll find a way to subdue you," I said, and he smiled cynically.

“Try it dear”

And there we both closed the distance that separated us, in a fierce kiss, full of rage and hatred. Since it almost felt more like a fight, we were both struggling to be in control, the heat was overwhelming, and slowly the rage had turned into desire, and even if I didn't want to, my damn body had begun to react for him. «Fuck, why did he have to know how to kiss?» I thought, beginning to give in to that kiss, which slowly began to steal my air.

º º º º º º º

The demon smiled when he saw how the girl reciprocated his kiss, he felt how his body began to recover the little power he had lost while he was in the world of humans, how the energy of the pact flowed and gave him back what he had lost.

Well, in the invocation there was a small problem at the time of her call, perhaps due to how inexperienced that girl was in the magical subject had made the spell go wrong, since his body demanded energy, and he had to supply himself with the person who had summoned her. A short-lived setback, although he planned to prolong it, since he knew that Caeli hated him. In some way, he liked that.

He liked to see that although she hated him, she fell for his charms, it was delightful to see how her blue eyes full of anger became full of desire and rage intertwined.

Besides, playing the sorrow card with humans always worked for him, even if they were afraid or angry, manipulating feelings was something quite simple for Tom, and considering that although that human was an i***t, she was very good at heart. And that was something that the devil did not intend to miss.

On Caeli's side, her eyelids had begun to close slowly at the same time that she stopped offering resistance to the kiss of Tom, the demon's arms stopped straining when he saw that she did not oppose his touch. Although it was also due to the fact that the devil's saliva had certain aphrodisiac qualities that only appeared when he needed it so that his victims would not resist. His large hands began to slowly caress the woman's back. Making both bodies feel the heat and friction more noticeably - especially when she caressed the boy's chest. The demon, who had his eyes closed, opened them to see the girl's face and be able to appreciate her carefully.

A sweet, seductive caramel skin that looked stained by that beautiful crimson hue on her cheeks. A peaceful and serene expression that somehow seemed to relax him when she did not have a frown. Who knew that with a kiss that beast could be so relaxed? The first few days he had been stocking up on the human had undoubtedly been more complicated, but that day, perhaps it was because of the fight, but she had undoubtedly begun to succumb.

Then, slowly, Caeli began to open her eyelids, revealing those beautiful orbs. The color of the sky that stared into the devil's eyes. Faced with the awkward situation due to eye contact, she looked away and tried to push the man apart. "That's enough, that's all for you today," she said trying to walk away, but the boy didn't let her.

What's more, the demon had 'forced' her to hide between his shoulder and his neck, at the same time as he hugged her, while she left her hands resting on the demon's pectorals.

"W-What are you doing Tom?" he didn't say anything, he just smiled and stroked the soft hair that today, she kept in a loose ponytail.

«How uncomfortable...» she thought, letting herself be caressed by the boy, because as long as he didn't do anything else she preferred not to fight.

But the man felt how slowly the power flowed through his body at the girl's acceptance. «Although I like her better when she screams in her nightmares or the sound she makes when moaning, this is not so bad,» Tom thought with a smile and when he noticed his gesture his expression changed to one of slight annoyance.

«What the f**k did I just think?» Tom asked in his thoughts and when he heard a soft yawn, he lowered his gaze to see how the girl was falling asleep, had he been stealing so much energy from her that now she was going to stay sleeping in his arms?

The brunette rubbed her face on the boy's neck, making him smile slyly.

“If you do something, I'll stick my crucifix into your chest," Caeli whispered when she inhaled the boy's scent and stood completely still in place.

While they always insulting and hating each other, there were slight moments when they got tired of fighting and tolerated themselves. Because of the pact he could not physically harm the girl, at least not with his own hands. So he used his silver tongue to get what he wanted. The supply "agreement" had come a week and a half ago, when the girl could no longer stand the nightmares and the damn dreams that left her breathless and without knowing how to differentiate reality from dreams and had demanded from the demon another way to offer him energy so that Tom could not play god with Caeli’s mind. And he, taking advantage of the girl's stupidity, had offered her another way, at first she resisted much more, of course. But over time Tom knew that she would fall, everyone ended up doing it. Undoubtedly, seeing her so fragile and tender only made the man smile because of how easy she sometimes made it for him, and having her in his arms asleep he could only laugh.

"Hehe~ you'll fall soon, little one," Tom whispered with a smile showing that shiny row of teeth. “Before you know it you will have already told me your wish, or at least I hope so," he said sighing exasperated, but not annoyed, he had been living with Caeli for more than a month, and honestly he loved to annoy and t*****e that little human.

Time passed, and with that sweet scent she professed, in the end the demon's eyelids ended up betraying him and Tom fell asleep hugging Caeli. That night, they both slept very peacefully, she had not had any nightmares or lucid dreams, just... It had been peace. And he... Well, he had had a good night's sleep. Or so it was until the next morning, when the demon transformed into a cat ended up on the roof again, hissing when he saw the girl's cross very visible in front of his eyes. There was Caeli, with a pronounced blush and her brow noticeably furrowed and rage coursing through her veins again.

For Tom had taken advantage of waking up earlier to have a little fun with the sleeping girl to leave her more marks than necessary, and visible ones on top of that. And there Caeli blamed herself for trusting that the demon would not do anything to her while she was asleep. He blamed himself for having made that damn agreement and blamed himself again for having made that damn summoning.

But it was kind of funny that her mother, that arrived late at night didn’t see them sleeping in the bed of Caeli… Maybe it was all due to Tom’s powers.

At that moment she looked up at the demon, seeing how he growled at her in his animal form and she snorted, since if that would be strange for anyone else, for her it was already becoming routine and that was one of the things that worried her the most.

«I must investigate to see how to get rid of it, and fast.»