by Livvy Aarons
MKC
February
Dear Journal,
Today is Valentine’s Day…the day of love, sweethearts and passion. It is also the day that single people or the heartbroken get hammered for wanting to drown out their sorrows. I am a part of the latter but I will be at work. (Yay me.) Oh well, those are the cards and time to play the hand you’re dealt. I went back to work at Pete’s last week when he informed me that tonight all the girls had to look extra sexy, aka slutty. Cheers, I will be wearing all black including a black veil to symbolize what love means to me. The heartbroken will sympathize at least.
MKC
Dear Journal,
It’s three-thirty, I can’t sleep despite the pure exhaustion and I am bored out of my wits. Pete’s was busy tonight, so my tips were good. But due to the unfortunate episode that I had tonight, I now owe Pete a jukebox. Soon I’ll be giving him my first born if I can’t keep my cool and break more furniture. Truthfully If I wanted to get nasty, I could make jerk off Tristan pay for the jukebox—it really was his fault that I got so upset. The demon first had the balls to be all sweet by giving me flowers and seemed sincere when he told me that he was glad to see I was getting over Aidan. Then the bastard ruins my day week by handing me two envelopes, one from him and one from Aidan. Why in hell did Tristan have to pick today of all days to give me a note from my ex-boyfriend, who left me to rot at the curb. Tristan even told me that I couldn’t read his letter until I read Aidan’s. The real icing on the cake came when some bozo played Incubus’s “Southern Girl”; the very song Aidan always dedicated to me. This is where I sort of went a bit crazy and tossed a chair at the jukebox. Luckily, no one was hurting by the flying glass shards. I apologized to Pete but he was not mad. He said he found the whole thing funny and told me that perhaps he should have made me a bouncer instead. Pete could only laugh as his comments pissed me off further. He said that he should invest in a mud wrestling ring and let me work out my frustrations. I told him to go to hell and shove it up his ass. When I got home I threw Tristan’s flowers away; they were very beautiful but they were just a haunting reminder of what I couldn’t have. I may pour gas over the letters Tristan gave me and watch them burn to black ashes. I don’t owe them the time or effort.
MKC
March
Dear Journal,
It’s still cold outside even though the snow has already melted. It was shocking to wake up and see grass, I couldn’t help but smile. My birthday is in a month, I can only hope that my nineteenth year will be better than its predecessor. The letters that Tristan gave me are still among the unburned, I’m still not ready to read them. The demon was pissed that I hadn’t opened his letter, he said that he put a lot of time into it. I told him that if he truly wanted me to read it then he shouldn’t have given me Aidan’s letter with it. The spring gala is coming up, apparently it’s the equivalent of a debutant ball or something. My father told me that I had to attend since he was the manager of the biggest employer in town. Whatever—I may have to go but it doesn’t’ mean I have to enjoy it. He asked if I could find a date, I could help laughing at the irony in the situation. I wanted to tell him that I would check to see if the circus was in town that weekend so I could ask one of the dog faced boys to go with me. Perhaps I could get even luckier to score the drunken clown midget. Knowing the selfish bitch named Fate, she’ll probably send me Satan’s son to take then he can slaughter the entire town.
MKC
April
Dear Journal,
Spring has arrived, with it came the birth of new life and most of all it has brought me hope. The hope of fuzzy memories that will eventually fade into nothingness. I can barely remember his voice or the smile that use to make my heart skip a beat. Perhaps those memories are locked away in my subconscious collecting dust with the rest of my repressed memories. The nightmares I had about my mother’s death disappeared while Aidan pretended to love me, then when he left me they grew into nightmares about Aidan and my mother leaving me. Now I have no nightmares or dreams, they have even abandoned me. I cannot say that I miss any of them.
MKC
Chapter 12:
Owner of a Lonely Heart
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Inwardly I groaned at the sound of my alarm clock then slapped it silent. It was much too early to get up but I needed to write in my journal before I left for class. The whole writing out your feelings bullshit actually worked, it even helped mine and Julie’s friendship. All the bad thoughts I have are released on paper and Julie does not have to deal with them as often.
Dear Journal,
It’s Tuesday, only four days until my birthday. For some reason I am excited this year, the whole thing just feels like a finish line and it’s been an marathon kind of year. Luckily, no one but Julie and my family knows about it. I would hate for some smart ass to ruin a perfectly good week. Julie keeps asking what I want for my birthday; teasing her I said a backstage pass to the carnie show in Richmond. She didn’t see the humor and told me that I was going to the Spring Gala whether I wanted to or not. Julie told me that if I tried to get out of it, that she would tell Tristan about my birthday. There’s a nightmare waiting to happen. The demon was a taboo subject in itself. One minute he can’t stand to even talk to me, the next he’s telling me that I am everything that he could possibly want and yet the bastard sleeps with anyone that breathes. I can say that he is easy to talk to when he’s in a good mood. Tristan is a walking supernatural handbook, the guy knows everything. I suppose if I had been born before the wheel I would be a know it all too. Oh well, cheers to my evil human friend and my not so evil demon friend.
MKC
I made sure to lock up my journal when I finished; I couldn’t risk someone reading it. If the wrong person got a hold of it, I would either be locked away in some loony bin or they would laugh their ass off. Neither of the two sounded very appetizing. A few weeks ago I found out that just locking the door to my room wasn’t enough. Tristan could pop in whenever he wanted, elves could pick locks and Julie made a copy of the key. Technically, I couldn’t hide anything from Julie anyway but it was fun trying; she hated it.
I dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of faded jeans and a long sleeve tee shirt. Thanks to Julie introducing me to a wonderful kick boxing, my jeans were two sizes too big. She told me that I needed an outlet for all my anger and when I told her about the taekwondo classes I took when I was younger, she knew that kickboxing would be perfect. Once I grabbed my workout bag I headed downstairs; I wasn’t surprised to find my brother and father in the kitchen. My dad was drinking his coffee while reading the paper and Ben was doing what he did best, eating.
“Morning,” I said as I grabbed a banana from the counter.
Ben was still half-asleep, so a grunt from him was a good sign. My father however was watching me, “Are you not going to get hot in that shirt or is that the plan? Should I be checking your bag for bikini tops?”
I rolled my eyes, “You should know better than to ask that; it’s barely fifty-two outside.”
He seemed happy with my response. “Yeah, you are just like your mother was, cold blooded to the core.”
I smiled knowing that I had more in common with my mother than he knew. Glancing at the clock at cringed; the speed limit would definitely be broken this morning. “I better hop to it.” Quickly I shoved the last bite of banana in mouth.
“McKenna, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
I glanced in Ben’s direction then narrowed my eyes. The little twerp was constantly tattling on me for everything. “Yes daddy?”
“Relax—you’re not in trouble. Or is there something I should be aware of?” My father eyed me curiously. I shook my head no. “Good, I just wanted to know about the spring gala situation and what you may want for your birthday.”
I relaxed when my father went back to sipping on his coffee. “Um…no worries. I am going with Julie and her date and I am working on my birthday so it’s sort
of a bust. As far as gifts go, I would rather you not give me anything.”
My father didn’t look convinced, when he paid attention, had a sixth sense about lying. “Give the old man a hug then.”
I tossed the banana peeling into the trash before I hugged my father and then ran out the door. The man was perceptive but he didn’t dig too deeply into things. He mostly took things for face value and never really asked questions. I mean, he was married to my mother for ten years, never knowing about her abilities.
* * *
Arriving at school in rush, I saw Julie waiting for me beside her car. Despite our blotchy past both of us were glad to be on the same team again.
“Good morning, my little raincloud!” Julie shouted as I got out of my car.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, well some people cannot be a ray of sunshine at this ungodly hour.” The grin on her face was more exaggerate today for some reason. “What are you plotting now?”
Julie’s smile faded, “You forgot about tomorrow.”
I forced my mind to try to recall the importance of what tomorrow was. Inwardly I cringed when it remained a blank but I needed to have my sunshine back. Grabbing her arm, I lopped my own around it then laid my head against her shoulder. “Jules I am sorry I’m such a ditz. People like me are animals in a relationship and you are the best friend in the world if you could remind me.” Perhaps a little flattery could get her to forgive me faster.
“Stop the charade psycho—I’ll tell you.” Julie shrugged my head of her shoulder and headed towards the front door. “You were supposed to go dress shopping with me at the mall in Mallow. I am sure that you didn’t even mention it to your dad.”
“Oh yeah…It’s no biggie. My dad won’t be home until late tomorrow; we can still go.” I reassured her.
She let out a heavy sigh, “Fine. But you need to at least tell him where you’re going just in case. Remember that you are technically still in trouble with him about Pete’s jukebox.”
We laughed for a while but Julie stopped suddenly when we entered the two hundred wing of the building. The pale look of her face was troubling. “What’s wrong?”
Her brow pinched severely, “I think you should go home.”
Screw that Jules! I need answers. I stared at her harshly. Almost immediately, she looked past me then said, “Too late.”
I swallowed the bitter taste of fear then closed my eyes. It was nature to expect the worst, “Please Julie, give me some kind of hint with what I’m about to encounter.”
Ever so slowly I met her golden brown eyes; the eerily smug grin threw me for a loop. “The details are a bit shady but I can tell you that I am jealous and so is Tiffany…severely.”
Jeez! Can we skip the damn riddles today? I asked silently.
Julie snorted, “You know for someone who says that they hate that I can read their mind sure does use it a lot. Fine party pooper, Tristan backed out of Tiffany to the Spring Gala and said that he was going to ask you to go. The poor skank is mulling over it in her head.” I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer; shortly she joined in.
As the thought of Tristan taking me however started to set in, I felt down right sick. Julie slapped me on the back, “Oh Kenny! It’s not that bad; at least you would have a date.”
“Wow—just imagine an obsessive, stalker-like, four thousand year old demon wants to take little ol’ me to a dance. Talk about robbing the cradle.”.
Julie paled slightly, “You’re right. What if this is all a trap and he’s really going to sacrifice on his alter to the dark lord?”
“Jesus Julie!” I hissed then shook my head. When I whipped around to storm off I was greeted to a wall of black t-shirt encased muscle. The warm, masculine sea-breeze scent sent shivers down my spine; it was Tristan. He may have been a demonic hell spawn but damn he made a girl want to go to the dark side. My eyes drank in the delicious sight of him then sobered instantly at the strange downward turn of his full lips.
Behind me, Julie let out a squeak. “Bye Kenny, I’ll see you later…I got something I have to do before class.” Mentally I called her a chicken shit but I envied her ability to run from the situation.
“So she thinks I am going to sacrifice to, what she call him…oh yeah, the dark lord.” Tristan’s voice had an edge to it.
When I met his eyes I flinched they were as dark as night. “Umm, perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere else.” I lowered my voice to a whisper and slightly leaned forward, “Your eyes are black.”
Tristan never took the black orbs from my own when he grabbed my hand then snapped his fingers. “Is this better?” He asked letting go of my hand, leaving a tingling sensation where it had been.
Despite being baffled by what had just happened, I looked around and noticed that we were in a beautiful meadow. It was lined with thick, dense trees on all sides except for one, which was a rocky cliff that melted in to a grayish blue ocean. “Sure I guess. Umm—what in the hell did you do and where in world are we?”
Tristan sighed, walking towards the edge of the cliff then stopped to sit on a large flat rock about six feet from the edge. Like a sheep following their shepherd, I trailed behind then sat beside him. “We are on the coast of the Isle of Man; it’s an island between Scotland and Ireland. I come here to think sometimes, the area reminds me of my homeland. I think you can put two and two together to figure out what I did, however I can simplify it for your poor human brain. Certain breeds of demons and witches can use electricity or energy to flare to a location that they have been before. That being said there are even some of us who flare to a person if we have enough life essence to do so.”
When I blinked my lids felt rusty, I felt like I was being told that the boogeyman was really the Easter Bunny with a bad haircut. “Okaaay—so what you’re telling me is that what I know about the supernatural world is crap.” After swallowing a mouthful of stomach acid I shook my head in disbelief. “This is just fabulous.”
Instinctively I jerked away when Tristan touched my shoulder. He whispered something in a strange language then his shoulders slumped forward. “McKenna I could help you, as you see I am not without some usefulness.”
Well shit! The son of a bitch just had to make me feel like dirt for being mean to him. I so needed to grow a pair. “It’s been engrained into me that all demons are evil, soul-sucking monsters; this is going to be long road to recondition my brain to not see you as that.” Tristan was looking out at the sea, seemingly lost in the calm waters. “You are really old and obviously know more about this world than I do, so if you are still willing, I would like for you to help me. It just doesn’t make any sense to me on why you are helping me and this goes against everything I believe in but can we be friends?” In a sign of goodwill, I held my hand out for a handshake. Tristan slowly pried his eyes from the sea, to my face then down at my hand. He smiled crookedly as he grasped my hand. I had not realized that I was holding my breath until I relaxed and it rushed out. Before Tristan let go of my hand, he bent down and placed a feather light kiss on my knuckles. I snatched my hand away, “I said friends dammit!”
“Of course larisitá, that was nothing more than a friendly gentleman gesture.” Tristan chuckled, the light in his eyes returning and he relaxed back onto his elbows. The easygoing nature that I found charming had him lounging on the rock like a cat basking in the sun.
“Why don’t you tell me more about where you come from, I thought all demons come from Hell; so this should be really enlightening.”
Tristan scrubbed a hand over his perfectly chiseled face, “First I need you to just listen and not ask questions; it may be hard for you to accept it but know that I have no reason to lie about this. Secondly I cannot tell you everything right now; it would take days to make your little human brain comprehend the vastness of the world around you.” He sat up, looking more serious. “Lastly I need you to never repeat what I am about to share with you. Some of the information is highly secretive to the human realm and if the
wrong person found out you knew…it could get ugly. So is it still a go or would you rather believe in your brainwashing?”
My mother’s bloody image flashed in my mind. What if she knew and thought she was saving us? Before I could stop I blurted out the question hanging heavy in my heart. “Is that why she killed herself, so she couldn’t tell? Please Tristan I have to know about everything, regardless of when you get around to telling me everything and I swear not to question you.”
“Larisitá I promise I will find out what happened to your mother but anything is possible and I regret that I cannot tell you for certain right now.” I gave him a weary nod. Tristan smiled then checked his watch before he continued. “Sorry pet, I have to make this rather quick; time is not on our side at the moment. I mentioned our life essence earlier, this is what gives a supernatural their powers and it can be replenished but that process differs for every breed of being; that list is a very long, dangerous list. The knowledge of what every being needs to fundamentally exist will get you killed; possibly everyone in your bloodline would be slaughtered. I know more on that subject than I am willing to tell you and I do apologize but it is for your safety. Now as to my homeland, it is just one of the eight kingdoms of the Inferno Realm or what some beings call the Underworld or Hell, it is called Luxsuria—”