A sigh of relief escaped my lips as Lucas and I approached my house. Nearing the front door, I tugged his arm and looked him in the eye.

“Lucas, before I go inside, I need to know something. Is there anything going on between you and that Robyn girl?”

He brushed my wet hair to the side. “No,” he answered with an intense stare. “I swear, Ali. I just thought she’d be a great asset to the band. That’s it. I’m so sorry about tonight, too. You don’t know how happy I am now that you’re back.”

He lowered his head to kiss me, but was met with a face-turning rejection. “I want you to stay away from her,” I demanded, backing away from him. “I don’t care if it sounds unfair or whatever. She’s bad news. If anyone found out she was stealing someone’s lyrics and giving them to the band, you may as well say goodbye to your reputation.”

“Yeah, it could be a problem. But right now, we need her as my co-singer. I can’t cut her out the band and ignore her forever, either. She goes to the same school as us.”

Excuses.

“Wow, so she means that much to you that you’d go against my decision and not kick her out? What don’t you understand? She’s evil.”

“Ali, chill. Don’t you think evil is a little overboard?”

Screw him. I dug into the left pocket of my jeans and took out my house keys. “Fine, whatever. Have fun with your new girl. You don’t have to worry about me, either. I’ll probably be in prison for murder.”

He tried grabbing my arm, but I swatted his hand away. “Chill out and keep your voice down,” he muttered. “I told you we had no other choice with that guy. It was him or us, and you can at least be more considerate of the other guys in the band. Yeah, Robyn might have stolen some lyrics, but who doesn’t nowadays? We have over fifty thousand followers online right now. We’re really taking off, and I don’t want our momentum to fade because you think Robyn’s possessed by a demon.”

“She is, Lucas. I felt it, okay? Why can’t you believe me?”

He looked away, sliding his hands into his cargo jean pockets. “The band means too much to me right now. It’s too important to give up. I’m sorry.”

His words were like daggers piercing my soul. Feeling betrayed, I pushed him back with force and glared. “I’m done talking to you.”

I unlocked the front door and walked inside without giving him a second look. Premature tears had begun to form in my eyes as I shut the door and started walking up to my room.

“Aliyah, you’re soaking wet,” my mom shrieked from the top of the staircase. “Where was Lucas? Why didn’t he drive you home?”

“His car broke down.”

And the lying queen strikes again.

“Alright, fine. You better be telling the truth. Go upstairs and get out those clothes before you get sick, because despite me telling your father not to, he signed you up to go back to school in two days.”

Great, back to that place. I nodded and continued walking to my room, only stopping after seeing my sister step out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head.

“Mya, hey. I missed you, sis.”

I approached her with open arms, but she took a step back and turned away.

“Yeah, hi,” she said before walking into her room and closing the door. I wanted to go in there and see what her problem was, but decided not to, as the overwhelming events of the day had already taken its toll on me. I figured the best option was to take a shower and call it a night.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

***

My eyelids opened and closed repeatedly as I laid in bed later that evening. With my body wrapped in the sheets like a caterpillar in a cocoon, my consciousness was beginning to fade until a blood-curdling chill sent shivers down my spine.

Quickly sitting up and observing the dark room with apprehension, I got out of the bed and stepped in front of my closet. It was then that the demon’s red eyes glowed after sliding the door open.

I raised my hand in its direction, hoping to pacify it with ease, but the light that would radiate in my palm refused to shine and disperse.

“Why isn’t it working?”

“You killed someone today. You can’t save or protect anyone.”

The demon’s raspy, sinister voice echoed inside my head. It began to cackle as I backed away in terror.

“It was an accident.”

“You don’t believe that. Do you think Lucas will take the blame for you if the police discover the body? He won’t. He has someone new in his life.”

“Shut up. Just shut up.”

The creature stomped out of the closet and continued its intrusion into my thoughts and emotions. I covered my ears and turned away, but what good did that do? This thing was in my mind, and I had no way of getting it out.

“He’s sleeping with Robyn right now.”

“No, Lucas loves me. I don’t believe anything you’re telling me.”

“I’m telling you what you tell yourself. Lucas won’t be alive for much longer. Robyn will devour his heart. He’s going to die. Just like Valeria.”

Nervous, hopeless, and unhinged, I rushed out of my room and ran into the bathroom, praying that it wouldn’t follow me. Powerless to stop my tormentor, I curled into a fetal position inside the bathtub and trembled thinking about the demon’s words.

He’s going to die. Just like Valeria.

***

The next morning, I returned to my room in distress and contemplated my relationship with Lucas while lying in bed with Cinnamon. I couldn’t entirely put my mind at ease after last night, but at least the demon was gone for now.

Brushing Cinnamon’s fur, I said to her, “He’s going to be okay. Right, girl?”

She responded with a whimper, which didn’t do me any favors. I sighed and leaned my head back on the headboard.

“I can’t stay here and do nothing.”

Putting our argument aside and calling him was the right thing to do. I grabbed my cell phone from underneath my pillow and dialed his number. The phone rang about four times before there was silence on the other end.

“Lucas?” I asked in worry, feeling my heart beating faster.

“He’s busy,” a female voice answered. “I see you’re still alive. Too bad so much has changed since you’ve been gone. I don’t think Lucas has time for you anymore.”

This slut.

“Oh really, hoe? I know this is Robyn. You better put him on the phone right now or I swear I’m gonna kill you.”

“Oh, so now you wanna kill? That’s funny, but you shouldn’t make threats like that. You might get your ass whipped. Again. Now wait and let me see if he’s able to talk.”

Slurs of profanity spewed out my mouth like a volcano. My blood boiled as I waited for him to answer the phone, feeling the urge to throw my cell across the room before finally hearing his voice.

“Ali? Hey.”

“What the hell are you doing with her? Where are you? Tell me right now.”

My frustration couldn’t be contained. I banged on the headboard with a closed fist, causing Cinnamon to grow uneasy and jump off the bed.

“Babe, I’m at the studio. Just calm down, alright? The other guys are here too. You can talk to them if you don’t believe me.”

“I don’t care about none of that. She was taunting me, Lucas. Are you gonna let her do that? She’s a fraud and a slut. Get rid of her.”

“Look, I’m not gonna allow her to mess with you, and I’m not gonna let her get away with taking that guy’s lyrics, either. But I can’t let her go right now. I told you this.”

I couldn’t believe him. He was really choosing her over me.

“And why can’t you?” I yelled before cooling down. “You know what? I’m starting to realize that all you care about is the band and your new girlfriend. After what happened last night, I need you now more than ever. I can’t get over something like that so easily. But fine, whatever. I see where your heart is, so I’m done. Go do what you want.”

My finger was inches away from ending the call when I heard him shout. “Wait. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t wanna lose you, but we need Robyn for a few more tracks until the demo is done.”

“You don’t need her. The song you played for me in the hospital was just fine until I heard her disgusting voice. Not to mention she has a lot of evil inside of her. You’re not safe around her.”

“Listen,” he huffed. “I’ll be there as soon as the next session is over, alright? I promise. Don’t give up on us.”

I rolled my eyes and remained silent for a brief moment before saying, “Fine.”