Page 55 of The Devil and His Goddess

“You guys don’t need to get me anything,” I argued and shook my head with a grin, even though they couldn’t see me.

“You think we aren’t going to get our favorite daughter something for Christmas?” Dad exclaimed.

“I’m youronlydaughter,” I laughed.

“Exactly,” Mom fired back. “So let us spoil you.”

“What about us?” my youngest brother, Mitch, asked from somewhere in the background.

“Yeah,” Todd chimed in. “Spoil us, too.”

The four of them began bickering playfully about me being the favorite child since I was the oldest and only girl. I listened with an unrelenting smile. My family was boisterous and loved to nag, but we were as close as a family could be, even as distance separated us.

When our weekly phone call ended, I tossed my phone onto my bed and stood with a stretch. It was Friday night, and I had the house to myself since Aiysha was out of town for the weekend. After a long, strenuous work week, I debated what I should do on this night of endless opportunities.

I showered and debated on rotting on the couch while watching reality TV or just calling it early to get some rest. I thought about seeing what Iyla, Addie, or Eden were up to but remembered they, too, had plans tonight. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice urged me to reach out to Perseus to see what he was doing, but I fought to ignore that voice.

His flirtation and presence at work had been oddly miniscule this week. Sure, I was being extra evasive, but that had never stopped him from pursuing before. I wasn’t sure if that was his way of giving me space to decide if I wanted to give him a shot or something else entirely. Not knowing bugged the shit out of me. I nibbled on my thumb and stared at his contact in my phone.

To call or not to call …

Just as I scrounged up the courage to call, a knock sounded on the front door. I’d been so engrossed in my frantic thoughts that the sudden muted banging made me jump. I held my chest and made sure my t-shirt and sweatpants were in place as I jogged downstairs.

It was just past 8, so as I neared the front door, I frowned and wondered who could be here. It wasn’t uncommon for Katerina and Elijah to show up on weekends to hang out or practice, though they typically gave me a heads-up first.

While wondering who the late visitor was, I made it to the front door and slowly peeked through the glass. My eyes widened in surprise, and the trepidation receded.

Opening the door with a warm smile, I greeted, “Drake. Hi.”

Drake flashed me a nervous smile as he fidgeted his hands inside his dark hoodie pockets and shifted from foot to foot. “H-Hey, Harper.”

When he didn’t say anything else, my smile almost slipped under the weight of confusion. Keeping my friendly expression in place, I cleared the awkward feeling from my throat and asked, “Um, what can I do for you?”

His brown eyes bounced from his feet to my eyes then back to his shoes again. He chewed on his chapped lip and cleared his throat before stuttering, “I-I just wanted … I don’t understand why you …”

I leaned in closer in an effort to make out what he mumbled, but his words were lost on me. The more I watched him twitch slightly or listened to his incoherent grumbles, the more uncomfortable I grew. Something wasn’t right.

Drake was typically pretty awkward, but the way he fumbled about right now, like a man on edge, wasn’t normal, even for him. The ball of nerves in my stomach began to coil tighter, and my mouth dried as a chill ran down my spine with a rising question.

“H-How,” I began quietly, gripping the door handle harder, “did you get my address?”

His dark eyes snapped up to meet mine, and in that moment, a frigid wave of understanding washed over me. My throat closed up in panic as my eyes widened.

I leapt back across the threshold and hurried to slam the door, but Drake shot forward at an alarming speed and wedged his arm through the opening. A wizz of silver flashed across my vision as I tried to close the door, despite half of his arm and shoulder blocking it. I barely jumped out of the way as he swung his knife in my direction.

Terror seized me as I screamed and abandoned the front door to race through the house. Panic stole my breath as I realized my phone was still on my bed upstairs. Knowing running up there would trap me in here with him, I bypassed the way to call for help in favor ofescape.

Tears clouded my eyes as I ran for the back door. Drake’s footsteps were right on my heels. Without thinking, I looked behind me to see how close he was and caught him reaching out to grab my hair.

With a startled yelp, I darted to the side, nearly tripping over my own frantic feet. Drake slammed into the kitchen counter, unable to stop his own momentum, which bought me enough time to put the island between us. He righted himself too fast and stared at me with bitter eyes. His hand clenched and unclenched the knife as he stood opposite me with only the island between us, cornering me against the cabinets.

My breath came out hard and desperate as I realized with a desolate whimper that the knife block was on his half of the kitchen. If I ran for my own blade, he’d beat me there before I could even take two steps. Around me were cups, plates, and glassware. With shaky hands, I fumbled behind me forsomethingI could throw at him.

He spotted my movement and seemingly realized my intentions, which made his furious scowl deepen. He jabbed his knife in the air toward me and screamed, “Why? Why do you want to fight me? Do you think Iwantedto do it this way, huh? I don’t want to hurt you, even thoughyouhurtme.”

He raked his hands, knife and all, through his greasy hair and shook his head adamantly. “I’ve been faithful to you all this time. Why do you want to resist? Why do you pretend you haven’t felt the same about me? I know you have.”

“Drake,” I pleaded, holding a shaking hand out as if that could ward him off. “Please don’t hurt me. I—I’m your friend, remember? Please—”

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