A cigarette butt flies through the air and lands in front of me, the end of it still on fire. I stop in my tracks, staring down at it as the tip gets brighter and darker, brighter and darker as though it were breathing.
“Miiiiiine.”
I scream and run through the park beside me, darting around the slide, slapping the chains of the swings out of my path, sprinting into the dark, far away from the street. My feet barely feel the ground beneath me as I veer right, adrenaline and fear guiding me who the fuck knows where. I just know I can’t stop. I have to keep running, staying in the dark, keeping to the shadows. I keep veering right until I run into a row of buildings. I jog along until finally the row of buildings vanishes, and I realize I’m standing in the hospital parking lot, right back where I started.
Shit. I just did a complete fucking circle.
“Contessa!” Someone calls my name.
I spin around and see Dr. Z idling by the curb, waving his arm out the window. “Come on, get in my car, you’re soaking wet.”
In that moment, I realize how heavy my clothes feel, the weight of them, pulling me toward the soggy, wet grass. I shake my head slowly, turn away from him and take off in a sprint.
Man, I wish I had grabbed my boots before I left the hospital room like a crazed patient escaping the psych ward.
Tires peel, and I know he’s chasing after me with his car. I work my way back to the park, staying once again out of the illuminated spaces, trying to find my way back to a familiar place so I can make my way back home. When I reach the street, I see his car fishtail round the corner and barrel toward me through a curtain of rain.
Fuck it. I stop running, sit on the curb and hold my knees, sobbing. He’s just going to follow me all the way to my house.
His car skids to a stop, and he pulls to the curb, his headlights blinding me. An umbrella pops open over me, and he grabs my bicep, pulling me off the ground. “Get up, Contessa. Your cast is getting ruined.”
I pull my arm away and put my hand up, keeping him at a distance. “You can’t be here, Dr. Z. It’s not safe.”
“Joshua,” he says, taking a step closer. “Just call me Joshua.”
“Fine, Joshua, whatever, you have to stay away from me.” I take another step back as he moves forward.
“Contessa, why am I not safe? Who keeps hurting you?” He holds the umbrella out toward me, letting it hover over my cast arm.
Tears burst from my eyes. “Please, Joshua, just let me go home. It’s the only way to keep you safe. I have to face him—let him take me.”
“Who?” He drops the umbrella, letting the wind take it across the street, where it smacks into a storefront window. “Tell me…” he says, grabbing me by both arms and pulling my face close to his. “…so, I can protect you.”
I drop my head, ashamed to gaze into his eyes. He wants so desperately to help me, but being involved with me threatens his life, and I can’t have that.
“Why?” I ask, my eyes meeting his. “Why are you so fucking determined to help me, to save me? Don’t you see, I’m trying to keep you safe, trying to keep you from getting hurt or worse?”
“Safe from who?” He places a palm on each side of my whimpering face. “Tell me.”
I slap his arms away from my cheeks and yell, “Mastyx!”
“Mastyx? Who’s that, your boyfriend?”
If I’m ever going to get him to leave me alone, I need just to tell him the truth. Maybe then, he’ll go away.
“He’s the demon who saved me the night of the accident. He pulled me from the car. I made a deal with him to save my life, and now I belong to him.”
Joshua furrows his brow. “Saved you? Demon? No, Contessa, I think you’re confused.”
“I’m not confused!” I scream at him.
He holds his hands up in front of him and says, “Alright, calm down. Why don’t you get into my car, and we can go back to the hospital? There’s a warm fire in the lobby and—”
“No!” I shout. “No fires. He travels through the flames.”
His arm slides around my lower back, guiding me toward his car. “Fine. Just get in. We need to get out of the rain.”
I hesitate at first and then give in. I’m going to hell either way, I might as well make it worth it. My wet clothes soak into his seats the second I sit down. He drops into the seat beside me and cranks the heat inside the car. “Where to?”
