Dealing With The Devil

She looked at me with those bright caramel eyes and simply by her smile, my day brightened.

“Come on, Baby. Join me”, she laughed. The sweet sound of her voice coursed through my veins and filled me completely.

I knew at that moment that she is the sole reason for my existence. Every breath I take is for her and she is mine, for eternity.

Shawna was the perfect ball of optimism. Her smile, her expressive eyes, her insistent chatter and her way of seeing life, she was just flawless. And I fell in love with her, every time my eyes met hers’. She was a fragile flower that I wanted to safeguard from the world. Most of the days, all I wanted was, to hold her tight in my arms and block out the rest of the world from her. 

I met her in my college where I was nicknamed the “Dark Cloak”, a sick joke for my broody attitude. But within 3 months of meeting her, I became her “Dark Prince”. She saw the light in me even when I thought, I was barren and empty. I knew I didn’t deserve her but if letting her go was the right decision, then I didn’t want to be right. And hence our blissful days started.

“Come on Hunter. How long are you stay on the shore? It's boring to be alone”, she whined as I chuckled. I slowly set up our blankets at the beach and the picnic basket.

“I think I know how to get yo- “, her words were cut off and my head whipped to her side. A motorboat with no control had hit her square and a bunch of people was bringing her wounded body to the shore in hastening. Everything went at a fast pace that I was the only one who couldn’t move. The ocean turned red and my eyes clouded with a blurry image as I let darkness engulf me completely.

My eyes snapped open and I could hear my own erratic heartbeats. My fingers were curled around a half-empty Whiskey bottle and my eyes finally adjusted to the dark surroundings. I was in a park with a liquor bottle in my hands. It’s a surprise that I haven’t got arrested yet. My watch glowed a hazy 11’pm and my head felt like it was constantly hounded by a huge axe.

My thoughts were once again pulled to the day I lost her. I couldn’t be there with her even in those final moments. I woke up in the same hospital where she died, 2 days later. I had vowed to never let her go and to love her forever. Fate tricked me into believing a ‘Happily Ever After’ and snatched my dream even before I could cherish it fully. “I am sorry, man. She couldn’t make it”, these words resonated in my mind like the hourly chime of a clock, reminding me every second that I wasn’t her Prince-like she thought of me as. The news of her death broke my heart into a million pieces and I lived in denial for about an entire month before my friends started pulling me out of my dark solace.

Linda May, my 40 years old aunt was the one who finally pushed me to a new city. I still remember her parting words to me - “New place, New life, New love. Just trust your heart”.

I do trust my heart, however, broken it might be. It led me to her, maybe it will lead me again. I just want her and deep thoughts of ending my life crossed my mind. But my astute aunt made me promise that I will live my life to the fullest. So here I am living it to the fullest – drinking and mourning. 

Not all the days were this depressing, but this is the exact date of her death. I lost my Princess exactly 730 days before. So, this is my day to rue and regret every single second of my dissipating life.

The bright full moon was happily smiling at me or maybe smirking, who knows. I started to walk down the long, deserted roads that were swaggering slightly, or was it the alcohol’s influence? I didn’t know and I didn’t care anymore.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, bright red lights hit me in my face and the last thought I had was my Angel’s face looking at me inquisitively. Darkness swallowed me once again and the thoughts of reuniting with her warmed my heart.

The first thing I noticed was the softness of the place where I was laying. Distinct voices whizzed into my fuzzy mind and my head was throbbing constantly.

I thought heaven would be fun. Oh! I ended up in hell.

But isn’t hell supposed to be more hell-ish than the current soft comforter I am on?

“Mae, he is obviously hammered. It's not really safe to stay here for the night with him. Why can’t you listen to any of my words?”, a guy huffed and I could hear the rustling of the kitchen utensils.

“I told you, Vin. He is my senior at college. I have seen him and he is not a serial killer. Please go home and prepare yourself for the interview. I can take care of all this”, some girl pleaded.

Where the heck am I?

My coherent thoughts frizzled out as I passed out again.

Dark brown ceiling and a slow fan were the first things I saw. My head was still throbbing but my eyes slowly adjusted to the surroundings. I was resting on the couch with one of my legs dangling by my side. Alcohol had slowly left my system and now the only thing I had, was a painful hangover. The tv was still running with some movie and a chair was by my side.

A girl, almost my same age, was sleeping soundly with the Tv remote upon her lap. So, this is Mae. I looked around to find the other guy gone and the clock ticking close to 2 am. I looked down to see a huge bandage wound tightly over my left arm.

What the hell happened and why am I here?

I slowly got up to get some water from the nearby bottle. Extreme pain shot across my hand and involuntarily, a loud grunt escaped me. The girl stirred in her sleep and slowly awoke from her deep slumber.

“Oh! You’re awake”, she started in a hesitant voice.

“Yes. Care to tell me what’s going on?”, I enquired, hoping to sound calm.

“Ha. Well… I was reversing my car in a hurry when I accidentally hit you”, she said in a low voice but quickly added, “I am not the only one at fault here. You were pretty drunk as well. I didn’t want to call the cops and make a big deal out of this. So, I brought you to my home with the help of my friend”, she finished sheepishly. 

 I inspected my bandaged hand and she narrowed her eyes as if challenging me to condemn her first-aid skills. I merely grabbed the bottle from the table and drank it in silence. She was clearly waiting for me to say something but I was just confused by the fact I am not dead yet.

“Can I leave in the morning?”, I asked in a flat tone.

Her eyes widened at my request. I guess she expected me to either fight or apologize. But, I was at fault and the gash on my arm was the result of it. I maybe broody and scary to all, but I am not going to unfair.

“Ye—Yeah sure. You can stay”, she stammered and I merely nodded my head on reply.

“Oh! I am Mae Winters by the way. We go to the same college. I have seen you in the cafeteria sometimes”, she said hoping to sound conversational.

I merely shrugged in reply and I noticed her shoulders sag in defeat. The girl was really trying to be nice whilst I was being a jerk to her.

Looking at her closely, she was easy on the eyes with short wavy hair that reached a little further her shoulders. Bright green eyes that were dulled by my behavior were staring off to some vacant space. She was wearing an oversized tee that said “I LOVE ZZZzz…” and yoga pants. Even the tiniest of her reactions can easily be gauged, not that I am noticing her but she was indeed a beautiful young lady.

I didn’t want to spread my despair and agony to others as well and so I spoke to her, “Well, I am Hunter Davy, but I guess you already know that. Anyways, it was very nice of you to bring me here. So, thank you”.

Her eyes visibly widened in shock at my words and a slow grin replaced her frown.

“So, you can be nice to others?”, she said in mock surprise. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion since I rarely talk to people and even more rarely create trouble with them.

My silence must have been clear as she explained, “There is a common misconception that you will bite the head of the guy who tries to talk to you, figuratively, of course”, she said with a growing smile.

“No, I am as human as the others”, I passed a tight-lipped comment.

“Umm. Yeah. Of course. I didn’t mean it that way. It's just that you don’t talk much to anyone and rumors arise. That’s all. So yeah. I have to go to sleep”, she finished hurriedly and turned to her room.

“Oh, Before I leave, you might want to get some actual stitches for that gash, it was pretty big. Anyways, the cast should be enough for the night. If you want anything, just give me a shout. I mean, just call me”, she was rambling and the poor thing didn’t know when to stop.

A small chuckle escaped me and she looked at me, stunned. A mild pinkness coated her cheeks and she looked adorable as the blush deepened.

“Mae Winters, thank you for your hospitality. I will be out of your hair by sunrise. Have a good night”, I finished in my most formal tone. It might have appeared like I was teasing her skittishness but it was impossible not to.

“Right. G’nnyt”, she said before rushing to her room.

Despite the horrific start I had, the day has turned out to be better than what I anticipated, much, much better. A slow smile found its way as I settled for the night’s shut-eye. I may have met the girl by fluke but turning luck into an opportunity was what I did. And I couldn’t wait to get back on my feet.