Page 28 of The Devil

“Why are you even asking?” He rolls his eyes, shaking his head while I grin and make my way through the crowd of excited, engrossed, sweaty bodies. No one even notices when I crouch down in front of the stage to the left-hand side, hidden by the shadow cast out from the old velvet curtains. Their musty smell betrays their age, as well as the fact no one has washed them in all the years they’ve framed this stage.

I click away on the Leica camera I bought using some of the money left to me by my nonna. The rest I put away into savings for more sensible things, like buying a place of my own one day. I hope she’s not cursing me too much up there; she had left the three of us a note telling us to blow it on something fun. To be fair, I’m not the only one who is saving their inheritance for a rainy day. Nate bought a car and Cam is investing his share in his own company, which is something to do with computers. Truthfully, I have no idea what it is because I’m clueless when it comes to technology outside of my camera. He’s a frickin’ genius though. I always go to him when I want him to do stuff to my photos, and being the kind of the big brother that he is, he’s keen to teach me how to do it myself. I can tell it’s frustrating for him because I am crap with technology. But we’re close, really close; we’d do anything for one another.

To say I’m in love with my new camera is an understatement. The longer I spend using it, the more natural I feel with it. I’m constantly thinking about new ideas and ways to capture different shots; it has become an obsession. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night, just to try out a new technique or frame that’s come to me. Tonight, the band is giving me all kinds of inspiration, so I snap away at the guys on stage, their faces etched with all the emotions they’re feeling as they play. The lead singer is right there, living and breathing the song while he strums against his electric guitar. It’s a beautiful thing to watch, to listen to, and I get to capture it all on my camera.

After the song ends, with the sound of the crowd emitting whoops and whistles, the band decide to play something a little more upbeat and a little less heavy in subject. I slowly straighten up, the whole time snapping away to try and get the perfect shot, when someone comes barreling into me at full force, causing me to collapse onto the floor with a huge, male body landing on top of me. I laugh because I didn’t reach out to save myself or protect any of my body parts, instead, I’m gripping my camera close to my chest to make sure it’s not harmed in any way.

“Helena?” I immediately open my eyes to see who just said my name, because I don’t recognize the voice, even though they obviously know me. “Helena Carter? Is that you?”

When my eyes finally manage to refocus, I look closely at the man on top of me and begin filtering people through my head, trying to work out who he is. It’s only when he helps me to my feet and smiles at me with recognition that I see him as the boy who I went to school with.

Evan Stone was in my year at school, but he never spoke to me. I remember him as a popular preppy rich kid who ran around with Mason Spencer. They were usually terrorizing the local female population, not that they complained. I actually know Mason better than Evan because he played football with Cam. In fact, they’re still friends, and always catch up with one another in the school break when they both return home from their respective colleges. Fortunately, Evan appears to be charming and polite, which can’t be said about Mason.

“Can I get a drink with you? After you finish work?” he asks after we have reacquainted ourselves. His nervous, hopeful expression encourages me to take pity on him, so I agree to finish up with Jet and then meet Evan at a local café on campus, one that stays open during the night instead of the day. I’m not sure I’m ready to go out with a guy, but perhaps it will do me good and set me on the path to moving on from Lucius Hastings.

“Who was that?” Jet asks with concern etched all over his face.

“Oh, some guy I went to school with,” I reply with a happy-go-lucky smile. “What a co-winky-dink, huh?”

“Hmm,” he says, looking none too impressed by Evan who is now back to chatting and laughing with his own group of friends. “He’s a prick.”

“Wow, Jet! Don’t mince your words, will you?” I laugh, swatting his behind with my cloth. Usually, he joins in with my playfulness, but his eyes are remaining firmly fixed on Evan and his group of beautiful friends, the type he used to hang out with at school.

“He’s in one of my classes and he sure does love himself,” he says, now openly scowling in Evan’s direction.

“Don’t worry, I have no interest in dating him,” I reassure him as I clap my hands on top of his shoulders. His eyes are still on Evan, who is now staring at the two of us with a strange look on his face. It’s at that moment, Jet steps into my arms and presses his lips on top of mine, with his hands gently resting on my waist. It’s a nice kiss; a reawakening from the Lucius fog that has clouded my head ever since we slept together. But it’s not him. It’s not the all-consuming, desperate need that I had for him.

“Nothing, huh?” he says when he steps back from me. I look at the ground with a heavy sigh, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but not able to lie either.

“It was nice though,” I admit, wincing with an awkward smile, “and if I wasn’t so fucked up from a guy in my past, who looks just like you, I would have been really into it…really into you.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a prick too,” he says in such a way, I know this won’t mess up our friendship.

“I won’t disagree with you but…well, you know.” I drop away from him and pick up the cloth I had dropped on the floor so I can throw it into the washing basket.

“You’re still in love with him,” he says, and I freeze, realizing that I am, and might always be. God, I feel so pathetically crap right now.

“Oh, come here, Hels,” he says as he pulls me into a friendly hug while I break down in tears. Tears of sadness, tears of frustration, but mostly tears of humiliation.

“I don’t know how to get over him,” I sob, clutching onto this beautiful, funny, lovely man who would probably put everything into trying to make me happy if only I would give him a chance.

“You will…one day,” he whispers. “But don’t try and do it with that piece of shit over there. I don’t trust him, and you are worth a lot more than his kind of arrogance. You’d just be swapping one asshole for another, trust me.” I pull away, wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, and nod. “Atta girl,” he says, patting my arm before we both fall into work again.

An hour or so later, I arrive back at my dorm room, worn out and more than ready for bed. Alas, when I unlock the door, I am met with heavy grunting and a vision of naked flesh that will be forever etched inside my mind. This isn’t the first time I’ve walked in on Meri and her boyfriend, David. Yes,thatDavid. I’ve seen his hairy ass more times than I’ve seen my own. It doesn’t stop me from slapping my hands over my eyes, even if technically, the damage has already been done. I begin backing out the door when Meri suddenly calls out for me to stop.

“God, Hels, sorry. Give us…two?...Three then?” She’s not even talking to me now; she’s bargaining with David over how long it’s going to take for them to finish. I almost wish I hadn’t canceled on Evan. I could have been sipping tea in a café instead of teetering on the edge of somebody else’s orgasm. “Five minutes, Hels!”

I mumble some sort of acknowledgment as I close the door, then slide down the wall to sit on the floor beneath me while they noisily finish their sex session. The girl across the hall walks back from the end of the hallway and gives me a smile and a wave that conveys her sympathy for my current situation. We’ve met many a time like this, so I smile and wave back, silently telling her, “Yes, David is over for the weekend again.”

Less than five minutes later, I hear them finish but make no attempt to move until the coast is crystal clear. Instead, I reach for my phone and give Cam a call. I’ve been pestering him about not giving up on college because his business might well be starting to take off, but he still needs to have the know-how to run such a venture. It’s late, but I know he’ll still be up, probably messing about on his computer.

“Hels,” he says after two rings, “how is my favorite sister?”

“Waiting for Meri…again!” I listen to his dirty chuckle and suddenly miss him, Nate too. “Mom said you were home this weekend. David’s here and I was wondering if I might come and see you guys?”

Plus, it might be good to give Jet a little bit of distance, just so we can start afresh after our impromptu kiss.

“Actually, yeah, I am. Did she tell you they were headed out of town? One of Dad’s work things. Anyway, we may or may not be throwing a little social gathering,” he says, sounding sly. My parents would flip if they knew that’s what they were planning, but more fool them for leaving the place alone with my wayward brothers.

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