Page 11 of Soul Food

Except for Flo from the rap duo I toured with called LoFlo. The bastard was a sleaze-ball who had been trying to get in my pants all summer during our worldwide tour. It got to the point to where I’d take a separate plane from them—I never understood their names—when traveling between countries. Finally, we’d reached a breaking point in Minnesota when he had forced his hand on me. Of course, Rupert heard the commotion on the other side, and I could hear his giant steps making their way down the hall to my dressing room. Flo did too because he cursed and pushed me away.

“Fucking bitch,” he muttered like a child who didn’t understand what no meant.

Only he didn’t make it five steps when he gasped, the soul reaper’s shadowy form whipped out in the bright fluorescent lights and zipped through his chest quickly. Flo’s body rocked forward, tumbling to the floor just as Rupert opened the door.

I gripped my chest and leaned against the mirror in a daze as Rupert dropped down to check Flo’s pulse. It wasn’t the first time he had encountered a dead body around me, and it wouldn’t be the last. He had actually witnessed my makeup artist dying a similar way. He claimed that she was simply moving my stuff around when she fell over. I hadn’t been in the room, but I knew what had been while I was on stage—the demon’s book. The same thing might have happened when a fan snuck inside my dressing room. I was willing to bet the fan touched the book in the same way the makeup artist had.

That tour was canceled rather quickly with Flo’s death, and with it, angry fans sunk their teeth into my reputation claiming I was cursed. Of course, they were right. It took time, but I went off the radar for a couple of years and focused on writing lyrics, unconcerned that lives were being stolen because of me.

Had I been terrified when the demon killed Flo? Yes. Had I felt bad about it? No. The guy was a class A prick, and I just had a feeling he was very accustomed to putting his hands on women.

Was I terrified the first time the demon ever killed someone because of me? Yes. Was I furious? Absolutely. Confused? Of course!

Matt might have been an actor, but he was a great guy and when I encountered him during my music video, he mesmerized me in the same way he had his fans. Not disgustingly, but with a cheesy smile and an honest-to-God good American boy politeness that I would have never pegged for a famous star such as him. So when the golden boy showed an interest in me? I was dumbfounded, and I gave him a good chase before I crumbled and let him kiss me for the first time when he came to visit me at the studio. He tugged me to the elevator; I remembered it so vividly. He kept asking me to join him for coffee since it was so early, and he knew I’d been at the studio overworking like I always did. But I had refused because I was fueled with a new type of song. A chemistry song. Possibly even a love song. He gave me one last kiss before he stepped through the door and just as the elevator began to close the demon rose up and took him from me.

At first, I didn’t understand why the demon did this to me. Honestly, it broke me and scared the shit out of me at the same time, reminding me that the demon was ever present in my life. Several months later, I began to understand when I went to a club. I found myself straddling a stranger in a private room. He knew who I was, but I didn’t care to know him. I needed a release that singing and songwriting couldn’t give me, but the demon would never allow me to fuck a guy. He breezed through the stranger’s body while I was making out with him, stealing his breath from his lips as I tore away from him. What did I do? I got the hell out of there before someone recognized me.

Slightly drunk, angry, and hurt, I let Rupert drive me home as I cried and screamed at the demon in the back seat. Rupert had no clue what I was going on about. Why was the demon doing this? I wasn’t a virgin when I encountered him, but he refused to let me get close to any guys that wanted between my legs.

“I’m not a fucking virgin,” I slurred that night in the back seat. “Why are you doing this to me? My soul isn’t going to get any less tasty for wanting nooky. You cock blocking SOB!”

Rupert was a good guy. He never questioned my antics or fits although I rarely had moments like that. He probably thought I was really cursed with everything he’d witnessed, but he stayed by my side. I gave him good merch for his wife in return.

Back to the present…

Because of my fucked up lack of a sex life, I had a newfound love for vibrators. The only dying going on with them were the batteries or if I forgot to charge them. Did I mention that my orgasms had fucking super powers? Every time I came, the lights flickered and went out until the moment passed.

Who knew what the hell the demon did to me?

But, my time was about to end. Which meant I had to take care of everything that I would leave behind.

“Want me to take him to use the bathroom?” Max asked, and Moose growled in return. He backed up, and I chuckled.

“Nah, I got him. You can just stand back and observe.”

Chapter Three

RUTH

I was two hours from my L.A. home when Jayne called. I was sipping straight black coffee since it should have been too early to be awake, but I was restless as of late.

I guess knowing you’re about to lose your soul made it hard to sleep. Made you wonder how much life you could work into two months. Would any new music come to me? Any last words to leave behind? Who would look after Moose once I was gone, and who would keep sticking my mother in rehab when she got too bad again until the day she chose to get better for herself? I had to figure it out, all the while enjoying what days I had left.

And even more importantly, I tried to figure out where my money was needed most.

I wasn’t even going to act like music, and this life wasn’t all about me because it was. Singing, songwriting, the tours, the fans, that was all for me. I was a greedy little bitch and accepted that I didn’t mind attention. I felt my voice was well deserved of its praise. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t be compassionate. Even though I treated myself like a queen sometimes, I respected each and every person I encountered. I tried to stay humble, because I knew what it was like to be at the bottom, and I definitely knew how it felt to be treated like shit.

Even the media couldn’t say otherwise, and they were like sharks always looking for a fish to fry. The only person I’d ever shown hatred for was Liz. And that was in my earlier years before I learned to just let it go. Lethergo. She wasn’t worth it. The only thing that had given me a weird reputation was the deaths that surrounded me.

“Hello, Earth to Ruth? Didn’t you hear me?” Jayne yelled over the phone.

I blinked, took notice of Moose as he lay on his back, paws straight up in the air, completely dead to the world before I responded, “Sorry. What?”

She sighed. I’d imagined her tossing her light brown hair back over her shoulder as she walked down the hall. I thought I heard her heels clacking against the expensive tile. “I said, guess who has to stop in the studio tomorrow to sign off on the new band?”

She didn’t even have to say his name for me to know who she was talking about—Amit Kingston, the president of Black Hearts. A man shrouded in mystery. He took over the old president’s position around the same time I signed on with them. Coincidentally, the old president was killed outside his house by what they claimed to be a dog attack that same day. His own dog to be exact. It was big news back then, and all everyone talked about. Before that event no one knew about Amit. Some even assumed he was related to the former president, possibly an unknown grandchild. Why else would he get a multi-million dollar company? But none of his family knew the guy. I’d still yet to catch a glimpse of him after all these years. Jayne encountered him a few times and claimed he was the sexiest and most frightening man she’d ever met. Once she snapped me a back shot of him in a dark blue suit. There were only three things I could point out about him in the photo.

His dark brown hair.

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