Page 12 of The Devil

“You slut!” one of the girls to Meri’s left says to me with real hatred in her eyes. Given that she looks like a streetside prostitute at the moment, I drop my mouth open over her unfounded insult. I think about trying to defend myself, to make her take it back, but in the end, I shrug my shoulders and choose to say nothing. After all, what’s the point? I know these girls will believe whatever they want to, regardless of the facts.

“Lori!” Meri snaps on my behalf. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for it, isn’t there, Hels?” She looks at me with worry in her eyes, as though she’s got a hint of doubt about what happened between Lucius and me.

“When I get a migraine, I lose my vision and become very weak. Meri’s mom had left my stronger painkillers down here and it was hard to find them. Lucius helped me take them and then put me to bed…alone!” I draw out the last word, just to make my point.

“So, why did I see him leaving your room about half an hour ago?” the one who I thought was asleep asks me. I think I’ll call her stirrer, for a few obvious reasons.

“Why don’t you ask him?” I shrug, becoming increasingly exasperated by this interrogation. I don’t owe these people any explanation, apart from maybe Meri.

“I did,” she replies, “he told me to ask you and then told me to fuck off and leave him alone,” she huffs. “I can’t believe you like that asshole, Lori!”

I try to hide my smile, imagining this little exchange between them. Lucius doesn’t believe he owes anyone anything, so I can only imagine how insignificant he finds this little group of drama queens. Poor old Meri included.

“Oh, please, like you’d turn him down if he offered it to you,” the girl to the left of Lori laughs. “He’s hotter than hell and has a devilishly wicked personality. Don’t act like he doesn’t get you wet between the legs.”

I can no longer hold in my laughter, whereas Lori is becoming increasingly agitated over all this talk of girls gushing over the mere thought of her crush.

“Eww! Please don’t be so crude, Lisa, it’s too early and I’m too hungover,” Meri grumbles. “Scarlet, stop interrogating my cousin, there’s not a chance in hell she’d go near someone like Lucius. Right, Hels?”

I silently nod before walking toward the bi-fold doors so I can escape into the garden and continue potting plants, something that is much more my style. The girls settle back into silence while they nurse their pounding heads.

Chapter 8

Helena

Hasting’s Villaremains quiet for the rest of the day and apart from a cleaning company coming in to clear up the mess, it remains empty. It’s only when the light begins to fade that I realize I’ve been in the garden for most of the day. My little plot is beginning to take shape and I hope that what I’ve planted takes root. When I walk back to the kitchen, I leave my muddy flip-flops at the door. My hands are filthy and there’s mud scraped up and down my arms, so I head straight to the sink to clean up before I go and change.

Once I turn off the faucet, I hear Lucius talking to someone on the phone. He sounds like his usual calm, almost bored-sounding self. I continue to listen as he wanders into the kitchen where I am still shaking my hands into the sink, only for him to stop when he sees me. I notice he has his ear glued to his phone and is continuing to talk to whoever is on the line. Seeing as he’s making no attempt to acknowledge me, I carry on getting myself some water and a piece of toast. I don’t want to eat it but if it means the headaches stay away, I’ll force it down. I bypass Lucius on the phone as I head to the table where I park my butt and begin nibbling, all the while trying not to eavesdrop on his conversation.

“Topolina,” he eventually says in greeting, “are you better now?”

The air feels heavier when he comes to sit on the chair opposite me, stretching himself out to his full length.

“I’m good, thank you,” I reply, then continue eating my toast slowly, albeit uncomfortably in front of him. “And you? Meri was quite the picture of sickness this morning.”

“I’m well,” he says with a shrug, “those girls drink beyond their body’s means. I am smarter than that, therefore I am rarely hungover the next day. Tell me, Topolina, have you ever had a drink before?”

“Of course,” I scoff.

“I mean a ‘proper’ drink,” he clarifies, “and I don’t mean a glass of wine with your parents. I’m talking about really letting yourself go, so much so, you let all your timid inhibitions fall away.”

He cocks his head to the side with his sadistic smirk, one that makes me feel like I have zero life experience in anything.

“Then, no.” I sigh in frustration, bracing myself for him to tease me over it. “To be honest, it’s not exactly something that’s on my bucket list.”

“In that case, I know precisely what I want; what you owe me.” His smile turns even more sinister than before, warning me that I should run far away from him and his ‘wants’. “I want you to attend my party next Friday and I want you to get completely fucked with me.”

“No,” I reply bluntly.

“No?” He laughs as he flings his head back. “Now, come on, Topolina, you owe me for being some pansy knight in shining armor yesterday. Do you know the shit I got for doing that?”

“Sorry, but I’m not really interested. In fact, it’s more of a reason to decline,” I answer matter of factly. “I’m not letting my inhibitions down when your disgusting friends are around. They would have slept with me under the influence of migraine medication, even after having just thrown up in the kitchen sink. I can’t imagine what they’d do to me under the influence of alcohol.”

“That’s not a problem, Topolina,” he says with a more serious expression, “they know you’re off limits.”

“Off limits?” I question, arching my eyebrow over his strange choice of words. “And how do they know I amoff limits?”

“I told them,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, then leans in closer, as if he’s about to impart some secret intel. “I told them you’remytoy to play with.”

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