Page 16 of The Devil in Disguise

I turn to face forward and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. The car backs out of the spot and swiftly takes off down the main road. My devil’s well-defined hands grip the steering wheel tightly and I lose myself staring at the swirling black ink tattooed along his arms. Something about the tattoos pulls at a loose thread of a memory. Something about him is so familiar and not for the first time I find myself wondering if this man, this monster is someone I know. I wonder to myself if he’s someone I’ve spoken to before, interacted with before.

How long has this man been moving along the periphery of my life and more importantly, why?

Sensing my eyes on him, he turns his head to glance at me quickly before returning his focus to the road. “You feeling alright? We weren’t too rough on you, were we?”

The Devil checking on me to make sure he didn’t hurt me during our kinky threesome… That’s a new one.

“Yeah, I’m good.” My voice comes out as barely a whisper. I’m exhausted and my body is completely spent after what we just did in that classroom. “Thank you for this by the way.” I hold up the sleeve of his black hoodie towards him and he grunts in acknowledgment.

“I couldn’t have you freezing to death now, could I? We’re not done playing yet.” I can almost hear the smirk spread across his face as his right hand falls on my thigh, his left still gripping the steering wheel. He caresses the tender spot on the inside of my thigh in a relaxing pattern.

“We’re not going to my house? I’m cold and tired and could use a change of clothes. Clearly.” I motion to my complete lack of pants.

“Not yet, angel.” His hand continues to trace comforting patterns along my leg, lulling me into a sense of calm. “I have more in store for you tonight. And you won’t need pants for whatI have in mind.”

It takes me a minute to register what he just said. I assumed they’d be done with me. I figured we’d had our fun and now they’d dump me and ride off into the cool Halloween night to cause mayhem somewhere but clearly I’ve read this situation wrong. They have no intention of letting me go.

“I need to ask you…” I stumble over my words, trying to find the right way to phrase what I have to say. “You dropped me off the other night, but I didn’t give you my address.”

I pause, waiting for him to jump in and explain, which he doesn’t. The silence hangs heavy between us as the air in the car seems to thicken. I wait a moment. Then another. And another until it becomes clear he’s not going to offer up an explanation on his own.

Finally I break the uncomfortable silence. “So how did you know where I live?”

“I know pretty much everything there is to know about you, Celeste.”

I cock my head at his use of my name. My real name. The name I haven’t given him.

“What the fuck did you just call me?”

“What? Celeste?” His chuckle is cold and humorless. “I told you, angel, I know everything about you and you’re going to play along and be a good little girl or I will have totakewhat I need from you.” His hand bruisingly grabs at my thigh in a possessive hold. “I would hate to hurt you before our fun is over.”

I’m unsettled by his words but deep down I’m also curious. I’ve already fallen down the rabbit hole. What choice do I have but to play along with their fucked up games?

“Do I at least get to know your name then? Fair is fair.”

“There is no fair in life, angel.”

His hand resumes its slow caress of my thighs, his tender touch beginning to hypnotize me into a sense of calm comfort. Clearlyhe’s not going to answer any of my questions. This isn’t that kind of game.

“Where are you taking me then?”

He doesn’t answer, leaning forward to hit a button on the dash. Music streams through the speakers. The glow of flickering flames from inside the carved pumpkins flashes past the window as we speed out of town. Conversation over apparently. I lean back and close my eyes, letting the cold and damp air pull me further into exhaustion.

When I wake, I’m cold and alone. Everything is silent. Even the sound of the rain is absent. It’s eerie and unsettling, forcing my heart rate to increase at an uncomfortable level. Silence makes me extremely uncomfortable. It takes me back to a time when calm always meant a storm was brewing. The anxiety begins bubbling up from my stomach and towards my chest, threatening to pull me under.

I practice my breathing exercises, desperate to ground myself. I’m still in his car. It smells distinctly like him. I hold onto that smell, letting it comfort me.

Calming down, I begin to look around and assess the situation. We’re parked in the woods, it seems. There’s nothing around but darkness and trees. Feeling around in the hoodie pocket, I notice my phone is missing. I have no idea what time it is but it must be late since it’s so dark. We must have been parked here for a while.

Maybe he abandoned me to get rid of me? He wouldn’t leave his car though, would he? He said he wasn’t done with me so why the hell am I deserted in the fucking woods?

Cold and nervous, I decide that I better look around outsideand see if I can find them. I push the car door wide open and throw myself out. My foot slides out from beneath me as it hits the slick surface of the rain-covered ground. I fall forward, my knee squelching in the thick mud underneath me. I have no shoes or socks and I’m only wearing an oversized black hoodie and my undergarments. The cold night air nips at all my exposed skin and every step is torturously slow as I barrel through the mud and slick moss on the forest floor. Twigs and bushes poke into me, shredding the skin of my exposed legs until I’m raw and bloodied. It’s damp and cold and I’m completely alone. Desperately seeking safety, I scan the forest around me, but all I see is darkness.

A sudden noise cracks across the silent night, causing me to jump. Coming from my left is the distinct sound of a twig snapping. I still completely, holding my breath and willing my ears to focus in on the sound. It’s nothing. Probably just a fucking squirrel or some shit.

I scan my surroundings again, trying to gain any sense of where I could be or how I got here. Above me, the sky is pitch black with clouds obscuring the stars. Only the pale light of the obstructed moon breaks through the oppressive darkness. The only sound around me is the thundering of my heart in my chest. I need to make a plan and figure out how to get out of here. If I stay out here all night, I’ll freeze to death.

I take a trembling step forward, before second guessing my path and turning. I’m surrounded by a vast and empty forest. The darkened trees are like the bars of a prison. Shadows shift and creep across the damp ground as I take another step forward.

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