Page 6 of Under My Bed

Taking a deep breath, I leaned down and grabbed her face, squishing her round cheeks together. Then, I couldn't help but smile a little out of satisfaction when her eyes chilled over with apprehension with the movement of my thumb across her bottom lip.

Slowly, her eyes softened with curiosity as her eyebrows raised a little. "Do you have a body? Or are you just a shadowy thing?" Her words were almost incomprehensible because of how hard I gripped her face.

"Yes, I only hide myself like this to look more scary to you." I don't know why I bothered answering her stupid question. She didn't need to know about the muscular body I hid beneath this shadowy veil, nor did she need to see my blueish-gray skin. "No more stupid questions," I growled sharply, causing her to flinch as a spark of fear sparkled in her eyes.

It's been about a week since she's been here, and she's managed to grow a backbone. Yet, it was satisfying to see how I still struck fear into her. It would be utterly dull if she adapted fully because then I might actually be bored to death.

However, I had to give her praise where it was earned. Out of all the humans who had lived in this house, she was one of the very few who got somewhat used to my presence sooner than later. If my memory served me right, she might have been the only one besides one more who had adjusted well. The other few were already mentally ill and saw demons before they happened upon me, so I wasn't going to count them.

Looking back at her monitor, I turned the screen back on to reveal the image of a half-naked man. "Why do you even take such pictures of people? The stupid weddings and happy mushy couples I get, but why those sexual ones? Isn't that what porn and the internet are for?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at the screen with appreciative eyes. "They're not for that kind of thing. Pictures like these, boudoir pictures, they're meant to capture the beauty of the individual. Everyone has their reason for doing it, but I love doing boudoir sessions to help people gain that boost of self-esteem. Sometimes, people don't see what others do, and I love showing them that other side because many don't realize just how gorgeous or sexy they look from another's point of view. It's just a beautiful art on its own, and it's hard to describe the joy of it all."

"You humans get weirder and weirder by the centuries. I remember when it was so scandalous to show your damn ankles." I remarked with a mocking scoff.

"Ew, you sound old as fuck." She joked with a snicker.

And you're fresh, young prey. So ripe and perfect.

7

Stella

2 months later

"Wait, there really is no way to get rid of him? Are you sure?" I hated the defeated desperation in my voice, but I really did feel deflated after hearing what the paranormal investigator told me.

"I'm sorry, but it would seem that he is bound to the house at the very least. Unless you are willing to bulldoze and burn the place and the grounds to ashes, he remains. A priest can't help you here either because the demon is just too old and powerful." Offering a frank and apologetic smile, they placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but the best thing for you to do is move while you can. I don't know of the demon's full intentions or how dark they are, but he doesn't plan on letting you live in peace while you are here. Usually, my advice and methods for protection might work, but it won't work in this case, given the demon's power. I really am sorry, but this conclusion is as much as I can give you."

Unfortunately, the comfort didn't last long because the investigator's hand went flying off with the sudden appearance of a shadowy figure. "Leave before I throw you out of here myself." The demon seethed in a deepened and raspy growl.

So much for being a hardened investigator, the man took off faster than a startled rat at the demon's threat.

Unfortunately for me, I wasn't free to go.

A winded grunt squeezed out of me in response to the demon slamming and pinning me down on the couch. "You dare let another man touch you? You're lucky I didn't paint the walls of this place a nice shade of blood red just now." He seethed inches away from my face as the shadows from under the couch crept up and tied my body down.

"What is your problem? You won't leave me alone, constantly pestering me, continuously breaking my shit, keeping me up at night, and giving me no peace." Pausing, I breathed deeply to keep myself from fully exploding. "That man was doing nothing to you, nor is he important to me. He was just trying to give me some comfort about this shitty situation." With a frustrated sigh and yell, I glared at him with all the anger I could muster. "Do you really want me to suffer so much that you won't allow me one second of peace and comfort?"

The demon was quick to snap back at me. "You can get your stupid comfort with your ice cream and stupid stuffed animals, not from some stupid, insolent man who had bad intentions towards you. You have any idea what he was thinking about the whole time he was here? If anything, you should be thanking me for throwing his ass out of here or be begging me to teach him a lesson."

"Wow, a demon with some morals and honor, lucky me." I bit back sarcastically with a roll of my eyes.

Gritting my teeth, I hissed from the pain of him gripping my face and wrenching it around to face him fully. "You should count whatever blessing and miracle you have that I am not like the low-level demons." He growled at me, pressing me further into the couch. "If I was, then you would either be dead or my plaything until you wish for death."

Without a response in my mind, I bit my tongue and scowled at the demon instead. "What are you even doing with me?" Honestly, I wanted to know because this damn thing confused the ever-living fuck out of me.

It's been about two months since I moved into this place, and this demon began tormenting me. He had become rather annoying at this point in time rather than terrifying. I mean, I was still scared of him somewhat because he was a damn demon at the end of the day and held powers incomprehensible to me. He could easily kill me—thankfully, he hasn't tried—if he wanted.

Still, he gave me no reprieve, always popping out of the blue and giving me jump scares nearly around the clock, throwing my stuff around, knocking things over, nudging me awake at night, and he's even gone as far as tripping me and dragging me around using the shadows.

For the most part, he irritated me. It was usually only the first few scares that got me when the day would start or during the night when he would literally pop out of nowhere and shove his face right up to mine. If I had more guts, I might have tried to punch him a few times for his lack of personal space.

"Whatever the fuck I want because you are mine, and don't you forget that." Shivers ran down my spine at his possessive words, and a small concern nagged at me because of how much I enjoyed his words.

Yeah, I might be fucked up in the head a bit for somewhat liking the attention from the despicable demon. At least someone out there in the world cared enough to give me attention every day—even if it was the wrong kind of attention.

I really need some therapy.

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