Demonic Influence (I hate my co-workers)

I Walk A Lonely Road

Hey guys, it's been a while. I'm really sorry about that, these last few weeks have been rough, and I haven't had much inspiration. Hope you enjoy the chapter at least.

I like to call this, "I can't solve the problems in my own relationship, but I'll damn well make my fictional characters solve theirs."

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Eddy walked numbly down the road, eyes trained on the pavement, movements sluggish and tired. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew for sure he wasn't going back to Brett.

He could have walked for days, months, he wouldn't have known. Time hadn't meant much to him in the first place but now it seemed as trivial as choosing an outfit to wear that day. He could still feel their fingers all over him, touching him, caressing him, burning him. Even thinking back to it, he shuddered, clutching himself feebly in his own arms.

It wasn't until he made it to the quaint little shop next to nothing and on the edge of nowhere that he figured out where he was. Pushing open the door to Bubble Trouble, Eddy winced at the cheerful chime of the bell.

At this noise, the same large white cat as before walked around the bend, a deep rumble of a purr in the back of its throat. Eddy squatted down before he knew what he was doing, and held out his hand. The cat sniffed him for only a moment before smashing its forehead against his palm. Eddy took the time to notice the small black patch on one of its ears. The cat's eyes were two different colors.

"Well well well..."

Eddy looked up and made eye contact with Mary, standing behind the counter, arms crossed. He was sure she wasn't standing there just a moment prior, yet she didn't look out of breath. He stood up.

"Mary," he said, smiling a little awkwardly. It didn't reach his eyes. "Long time no see."

"Eddy Chen," Mary started, and some little voice in the back of Eddy's head asked him how she knew his last name, "I could smack you." Mary shook her head, gesturing to the seat in front of her. "Sit down."

Eddy made his way to the front of the store quickly and sat. Mary wordlessly slid a bubble tea to him, and while he fumbled for his wallet, she simply waved him off. "It's on the house."

"Thanks," Eddy said, barely more than a whisper under his breath.

"Now," Mary ordered, "Talk."

Eddy opened his mouth tentatively, and closed it again. "What about?" He asked softly.

"Bullshit." Mary frowned at him, voice raising in volume as her brow furrowed deeper and deeper. "You know exactly what happened, and it's pretty much the opposite of what you should have done! How did you manage to screw that up so badly, huh? You were supposed to bring him to see me, not up there!" She jerked her thumb at the ceiling, making a face as she did so.

Eddy blinked, processing this. "You... you know about-?" he trailed off, simply flicking his eyes up briefly at the wooden ceiling.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! God, you kind of have that air around you now. If I didn't know any better I would say you were an angel yourself."

Eddy felt his stomach sink. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he whispered.

Something clicked in Mary's head, and her eyes grew sympathetic. "Oh honey, no," she said. There was a very long pause, and she sighed. "Sorry."

Eddy just nodded and took a longer sip of his bubble tea. I'll unwrap that later. There was only so much he could handle at any given time.

"Does Fred know?"

Eddy jerked his head up. "You know Fred?" he asked cautiously.

Mary smiled fondly at that, chuckling a little bit. "Everyone knows Fred."

Eddy nodded. That checked out. "No, he doesn't know," he responded.

There was a lull in the conversation, and Eddy could start to feel his thoughts close in on him. The large white cat with the black ear was purring loudly, rubbing up against and between his legs.

"Tell me what happened with Brett," Mary said quietly, allowing the conversation's tone to become more somber, making this feel like a little bit less of a lecture.

"I don't know," Eddy said cautiously, voice breaking on the last syllable. "I just... they called me up there to answer for Brett falling, even though I had no part of that at all, and when I wouldn't tell them 'the truth,' they called Brett up, and he was just filled with so much hate and rage, and he told them everything, and they wouldn't let him look at me, and I was so confused, and then he told Gab- the archangel and all the others these lies about me and then he just up and left and-" Eddy stopped, alarmed. He reached up tentatively to touch the pads of his fingers against the side of his face. They came away wet and slightly salty.

Mary gave him a bittersweet smile, pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket and passing it to Eddy, who accepted it gratefully. It had a little spiderweb engraved in the corner. "Did you follow my advice at least?" she asked him, when he was finished wiping his eyes.

"What advice?" Eddy asked her.

"You know, from the letter," Mary responded, giving him a funny look.

Eddy shook his head, returning her funny look. "I never got any letter."

Mary bit her lip, before a strange look crossed her face. "I think I know what happened." she said, even quieter than before.

Eddy opened his mouth to respond, but his question was interrupted by the dinging of the bell on the door. Both he and Mary looked up as the door closed, making direct eye contact with the man who had just stepped inside the shop to join them. Eddy's heart dropped as he looked at Brett, looking like a deer in headlights.

Shit.

"But.." Mary continued slowly, "I think it would be better if you just figured it out by talking it out with him." A small smile was tugging at the corners of her lips, and she raised her voice just slightly. "Welcome to Bubble Trouble, Brett Yang."