Page 13 of The Devil

Although I physically shudder over his words, I force myself to quickly regain my composure, clear my throat, and look him right in the eye.

“I’m no toy, Lucius, and you will never ‘play’ with me. So again, thank you for the invitation but I must decline. Slut-fest parties are not my scene.”

I get up to leave him still smiling at me; I need to get away from that intense gaze of his before I do something stupid, like submit to his every desire.

“I hear Meri’s friend, Lori, would be up for anything with you, so maybe give her a call.”

“One drink, Topolina,” he calls out without bothering to turn and face me.

“No,” I reply, walking upstairs to my bedroom. I hear him laughing all the while I try to keep up my casual pace instead of running like I so want to.

Meri and I seem to have come to an unspoken understanding; we get together in the evenings, usually to eat and have a catch-up on her latest gossip and then we go our separate ways. She wants to hang out with her drama queens, and I don’t. I’m not here to ruin her summer and I don’t want her to think she has to hang out with me. After all, I am perfectly used to leading a mostly solitary existence. I’m actually happier in my own thoughts and I usually prefer the company of older people who have outgrown the need to cause issues where there are none.

Lucius was accurate in his assessment of me and the fact that I was born in the wrong era, but I work with what I’ve got. Dad is always telling me that I am lucky to be content with the simple things in life, unlike my brothers, who crave more than the everyday. Though, if I really think about it, he’s the one that has brought me up to be so. I was never allowed to have the same experiences as them; it being explained that I was more likely to get hurt, and that he was protecting me. Protecting me or caging me, it matters not. I am what I am, you cannot undo a childhood of being treated differently merely because of my sex. I will always listen to him and take on board his advice because he trained me to do so.

It’s Monday and after working in the garden all morning, I take a seat on one of the many wooden benches that are dotted around the lawn. Sitting cross-legged, I close my eyes against the peaked sunshine and let the warmth spread over my face. I’m actually managing to develop a little bit of a tan, especially now that I’ve given in to wearing shorts when I’m gardening. It’s far too hot to wear anything else. I sigh softly as a breeze brushes over my face and I hear birds twittering in the background. I am the epitome of calm and relaxed

“Here you are, Helena,” Owen’s familiar croaky voice calls out from across the flowerbeds, “got you a tea. It’s the least I can do for all the weeding you’ve done for me.”

Owen and I have developed a friendship and it feels nice to have someone normal to talk to. I still wish for my aunt to come home early, and I take in my mom’s phone calls for all their worth, but I appreciate having a familiar and friendly face about the place. After all, he’s the only adult here. Lucius may well be the same age as my big brother, but I hardly count him as human, let alone a responsible adult.

“Thank you,” I say as I accept the tea, which is almost black, but I don’t mind. “How often do you work here?” I ask as he takes a seat on the bench next to me.

“Most mornings and then I pop back in the afternoon to water everything when the heat’s died down. I’m not here at the weekends though. Those are reserved for my son, Billy.”

“I didn’t realize you had a son.” I smile awkwardly, feeling a little guilty for not trying harder to find out more about him. “How old is he?”

“Ten, going on twenty,” he replies with a smile, one that says he loves him no matter how hard he might be to parent at times. “I nearly lost him a few years ago.”

“Oh, God, that’s awful. He’s well now I hope?” I ask, suddenly feeling worried and saddened over the poor little boy who I’ve only just learned about.

“Oh, he’s not sick,” he says with a smile that showcases his teeth. His front teeth slightly overlap one another but it only adds to his charm. “I haven’t always had the best clean record if you know what I mean. His mother didn’t want me to have contact. I can’t say I blame her,” he explains before sipping his drink sadly. “But Paul took me on when Billy turned two, cleaned me up, and convinced Kerry to give me another chance. We used to hang out in this yard, Billy and me, under Paul’s supervision at first.” The memory seems to perk him up a little, and he becomes animated as he continues to tell the story. “Lucius used to join us and helped me to keep Billy entertained. It’s unusual for a fourteen-year-old rich boy to be helping a guy like me to play with a two-year-old. He was great though, couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Huh?” I blurt out, thinking about Lucius’ oddities and how they don’t fit this picture at all. “He’s a bit of a peculiar one,” I agree, “what happened to him? Why’s he so…so…”

“Shitty?” he answers for me bluntly and laughs. I can’t help my instant reaction to laugh with him. He’s so easy to talk to and we’re forming quite the brotherly, sisterly relationship. “I think it started with his mom passing away; not many people get over something like that. Plus, you can’t deny he’s another bored, rich kid, I suppose. It’s lucky he did have his mother’s influence for the first thirteen years of his life, or I don’t think the guy would have any moral compass whatsoever.”

“I guess,” I reply as I nod along, almost feeling a little sorry for Lucius. “Do you think it’s a bit of an act?”

“Who knows? Could be,” he muses, “but he’s always been a stand-up guy to Billy and me.” For a moment or two, we both stare into the bottom of our empty mugs of tea to contemplate the enigma that is Lucius Hastings. “Well, enough gossiping like two old ladies, I need to get back to it before I go and see Billy for lunch.”

“Ok, thanks for the tea and gossip,” I grin, and he winks at me before walking off down the path.

When I walk inside, about twenty minutes later, there is a note waiting for me on the kitchen table. I’m taken aback, so I open it before I’ve even washed off the dirt from the garden.

One drink, Topolina!

This can only be from the lord of darkness himself, which causes me to smirk. I then quickly reply by using the pen that’s been left next to it; he fully expected me to have a response to his proposition.

No thank you. I’m washing my hair.

The whereabouts of Lucius’ room still eludes me so I decide to just put it back where I found it. He’s bound to look and if he doesn’t, it really does not matter. Funny though, I’m beginning to enjoy our little jibes at one another. I continue getting my lunch together and take it outside to eat on the decking. Placing my legs up onto the chair opposite, I lay back and enjoy the sun beating down on my naked skin. It must be at least half an hour before I go back inside. As soon as I step through the doors with my dirty dishes, I notice the note is already gone.

This pattern of life continues over the next few days, right up until the day of Lucius’ party. He leaves me notes that request my presence for a drink, to which I always reply with ridiculous reasons for why I can’t. My personal favorite was telling him I had to trim my toenails using a ruler for precision and would therefore take me the entire evening.

During the morning, I hang out in the garden, chat with Owen over mid-morning tea, and then return to the kitchen for lunch where a note is waiting for me. Always the same original message, written in the same cursive script as the one I had found on Monday. Today, I go against the grain and leave it blank before I go out to eat. Of course, when I return inside, the note has been taken.

When early evening strikes, I make my way up to my room so as not to bump into anyone who might be setting up for Lucius’ soiree. I know Meri and her friends have congregated in her room down the hall, already beautifying themselves in the hopes of bagging one of his friends, or indeed, the man himself. I couldn’t think of anything worse, so I put on my music and end up taking an unintentional nap. A mixture of digging and too much sun has me passing out before I can stop myself from falling under.

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