Page 9 of Demon with Benefits
Meph shoved his phone back in his pocket and stared some more at the nearly completeFlayed Alive. Despite Jacqui’s lectures, he couldn’t help but wonder why he felt compelled to create such fucked-up art.
You’re a shallow piece of shit with no substance or personality.
Yeah, Iris was probably right about that. He might have said those very words about himself, and he certainly thought them often enough, so why had it stung to hear her say them aloud?
Your stupid jokes are just a distraction to keep people from catching a glimpse of your sad, miserable life.
Also possibly accurate.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Jacqui asked. He glanced over and found her looking at him. “It seems like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
“Oh, uh...” He shook himself out of it. “Just dunno how much color I wanna add, you know? Trying to decide whether to paint it with a lot of detail or leave it mostly gray.”
Jacqui set her clay hand down and came to stand beside him. “Hmm. That’s a toughie.”
“Color would make it more graphic.”
“But the lack is also suggestive.”
“Yeah.” Meph considered this. “It’s empty and cold. And kinda... unreachable. It makes it feel less real to the viewer, you know?” He gestured to the statue. “Only he knows what he’s going through. You can stand here and stare at him all day, but he’s just gonna be gray and blank.”
“The viewer will always be detached from his suffering. His pain goes too deep to be glimpsed by an outside perspective.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, which speaks to you more?” Jacqui turned that shrewd gaze on him. “Do you want his suffering to be shared by another? Or do you want him to be forever trapped alone in his colorless world?”
“I dunno,” he replied.
“Leave it for now.” She winked. “You can always change your mind later.”
Meph didn’t so much as glance at Iris during breakfast. It was like she wasn’t there.
Whatever, though. She didn’t care. She barely even noticed, in fact.
If she did notice, it was only because she was glad to have the break from his attention. Every time she ended up in a room with him, he fixed those red eyes on her like lasers, and they burned right through her. Anywhere she went, she could feel him watching her.
Right now, however, he sat across from her at the table, but instead of facing her, his body was angled toward Raum beside him, his arm slung over the back of the chair. He didn’t pay any attention to her, so she didn’t pay any attention to him.
Easy. Simple. Exactly what she wanted.
She didn’t notice how he was so built he managed to fill out the shoulders of his enormous hoodie. She didn’t notice the way a lock of black hair fell over his forehead into his eyes, or how the lines of Sheolic script tattooed down the left side of his face accentuated the curve of his cheekbone. And she definitely didn’t notice the tongue piercing that flashed when he licked his coffee spoon.
She’d wanted him to leave her alone, and he was. And, even better, he didn’t appear to be the least bit mad about their fight. In all likelihood, his goldfish brain had already forgotten about it. Win-win.
So why did she feel on the verge of screaming? She needed to get out of here. Away from these people that weren’t really people. Just... away.
The minute she shoved her last bite of food into her mouth, she was out of her chair and making excuses to leave.
“Already?” Lily asked.
“I made plans.”Plans to hide from everyone and not get out of my bed the rest of the day.
Lily was giving her an unreadable look, but she stood too. “I’ll walk you to the door.” She smiled at Mist, who was sitting beside her in his hulking demon form, all dark gray skin and eerie yellow eyes, and then followed Iris.
Iris glanced back at Belial before she rounded the corner. “Thanks for breakfast.”
The enormous demon nodded his platinum blond head from his seat at the head of the table. His face didn’t change at all. His sharp features could have been cut from stone. Iris fought back a shudder. Belial freaked her out. She’d heard about his rage attacks—how easily he could lose control, and how bad it could get when he did.
