Photograph | Mammon

Six

"Could you... turn a bit?"

"I don't know, can I?"

She dropped the eraser onto the floor. "What's your problem today?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't give me that, you've been having an attitude for this whole session".

"Well..."

Hearing their witch-like cackles he knew she had to be there. He peeked through the crack to see her talking to the ladies with the camera he gifted adorned around her neck. Despite their demonic behaviour towards him, they appeared sweet around her.

She suddenly started to scrunch her face in visible discomfort. Amongst their happiness, they immediately notice her drop in energy. "Dear, is everything alright?"

"It's almost lunchtime for us, you should head back home"

"Thank you for understanding, excuse me..."

He then remembered at their last meeting she did the exact same thing...

Did she have diarrhoea?

He warned her not to eat BaldDuck noodles... Now he had something else to stress about. As he turned back there stood a grandma facing straight in his direction. His breath hitched. Could she see him? No, that's impossible, he was in his hidden state.

The old woman walked towards him.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Now she stood right before him. Had his powers seriously become this weak!?

"Helen-- what are you doing?" the worker sighed before trying to gently take her back to her seat. "Why are you fighting the curtain?"

"I saw a boy..."

"...you can't see--" she shushed the nurse, "not with my eyes... here" she ominously pointed to her chest.

The nurse looked at her fellow co-worker in distress, she appeared to be new to the job. The other woman intervened by gently placing her arm around her waist and turning her body towards the door, "Helen, it's time for lunch~"

She stopped and turned to him, "I will come for you later" she pointed directly at him before walking away.

Why did older women always trouble him? They were like his Achilles heel. He was relieved that Helen appeared mentally unstable to the others.

He needed to give this to her and just fuck off back into the devildom. This time, being hyperaware of that blind lady able to see him, he stayed in his hidden state and walked through the walls trying to find her.

She held her phone up to her ear. "You picked up..."

"Yeah, well you did call me like 10 times." her younger brother's voice was cold. As it always had been.

"How are you?"

"Good." His short, curt answers hurt her deeply, but she understood he was at a stressful point in his life.

"Are you eating well?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine-- is it something important?"

"No, just checking on you."

He sighed hearing the genuine care in her tone, "Sorry for-- I'm just busy, I'm free in 2 weeks if you want to meet--"

"No, no, you're obviously busy... I'm glad to hear that you're okay..."

"I'll call you when I'm free, promise" She knew it was just empty words, but it weirdly made her feel better.

"Bye--" he ends the call ends but she sighs with a content smile on her face. He'll be fine...

She gasped at the sudden hand on her shoulder. "Mammon?"

"Jesus Christ, I thought I killed you-- and what did you call me?"

She had no excuse for the strange name so she decided to change the topic, "Stephen, isn't today your off day?" Stephen was a doctor at this hospital and someone she's known for years.

"Timetable change, one of the other doctors quit so I have to fill in until they find a replacement-- I almost regret this line of work"

"You should've regretted it during your 10-year degree."

"Don't tell me the truth so brutally haha... who were you talking to?" her eyes immediately darted away from his gaze, and his body relaxed understanding who it was.

"How is he?"

"He's... busy."

"I bet he is, those types of corporations are definitely not easy to work for" he chuckled as she painfully looked at him, "I know you feel bad... but don't feel uncomfortable talking about him, I care about you as much as I cared about him, ok?"

"I know you do, but... you know."

"I know, but... you'll always be family to me" He ruffled the top of her head.

Mammon stood at a distance as he held the gift in his hand.

Who... is that?

"... it's nothing."

She glared at him, he was horrendous at lying but even worse at telling the truth. "Is this because you were in the hospital on the weekend?"

"You knew?"

"One of the ladies described a tanned white-haired boy staring at me, so yeah, I knew"

"Helen..." he mumbled under his breath in genuine annoyance. "...You said that you have no friends."

"Um, does my loneliness piss you off?"

"You lied"

"Huh?"

"You... and... him..."

"I... am... confused."

"So, you're dating a doctor?"

"No I'm only yours baby--" He swatted her arms away as if there was a fly coming towards him, "Fuck off!"

She pondered momentarily before looking back at him, "You mean Stephen?"

"I don't know that dweeb's name."

"Justin Bieber hair?" he nodded. He wasn't sure what annoyed him more. The fact that she lied about not having any friends or the fact that she was friends with someone as raggedy as Stephen.

"He's... an old friend"

"Still a friend."

"If you must know... he's my little brother's friend-- so he's a little brother to me by default"

"I-i see--" he was about to speak until he saw her smug expression, "Go and fuck yourself"

"Did you change your name to yourself?"

"I don't like you."

"I know... YOU LOVE ME-- you can't just go into an invisible state when you want to avoid me!"

He became visible again to flip her off before returning to the unseeable state.