The Devil Calls Me Sweetheart

8

     Astel insisted on giving me a ride to my company's building this morning. Of course, I refused with much resistance. Being his stubborn self, Astel threatened me once again.

"I'm literally offering you a ride so you wouldn't need to take the bus," he yelled, rubbing his forehead.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm perfectly fine with public transport, I don't need your help."

"Do you know how many damn creeps are there? For all you know, they might me sitting next to you."

"Well, I'm living with a creep but I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Not for long if you keep that attitude, sweetheart."

My eyes thinned to slits. He thinks he can just boss me around now. That's what I get for letting him live here, you stupid devil.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid!

I hope Astel will be cursed, god damn it.

"I'll be waiting in the car." The door shut behind him with arrogance.

-

As soon as he pulled into the parking lot, I swooshed the door open and left him behind with a smile of victory. If he wanted to be my personal driver, then so be it. I'll treat him like one until he couldn't bear it no more.

"You forgot your bag!" Astel's voice yelled over the rolled down window. I halted, reddening in embarrassment, having to walk back reluctantly to him. Going to the passenger side, I bent down inside, my eyes falling upon the empty leather seat, a little crease showing signs of having sat there earlier.

"Where is it?"

"What an idiot." He leaned against the window smugly. I stared blankly at him. He waited for a second before letting out a breath of exhaust, pointing at my body. I followed his pointer finger, leading down to where sat my cross-body bag.

"You're such a jerk." My feet stomped away, cheeks puffing out at the waste of time.

"And you're the idiot for falling for it, sweetheart!"

Cool air conditioner fanned my sweaty face from the breezing sun outside as I entered the building. Nobody acknowledged my presence as I made way to the elevator, all lost in their own world of business and money. I pressed my floor number, humming along to the elevator music I enjoyed secretly.

The door opened to the floor beneath mine and entered Ethan.

"Morning Rose, I was on my way up."

"Good morning Ethan!"

I debated on whether this was the appropriate time to tell about the new plans for this upcoming weekend. The elevator dinged open. "About this Saturday...," I started.

"Are you cancelling on me?" he joked as I struggled to keep up with his pace. He was a busy manager, after all. I pushed away the guilt from interrupting his work.

"My friend wanted us to come to a party, you don't have to though. I can tell her no!" I bit my lip, worried about how he might react.

Ethan grabbed some documents from the printer, waiting for the remaining to come out. "What time?"

"Uh I believe it starts at six, might be seven."

A co-worker rushed to us, well Ethan. "Could you sign this?"

He took the pen from her grip, signing it. She scurried away and he turned back to me. "I'd love to, how about we stay there until nine and afterwards we have dinner at my house?"

I watched as he took the stack of papers from the printer, organizing them in his hands. "Alright, cool. Well, I'll let you go back to work," I smiled awkwardly. He returned my gesture as I searched for signs of annoyance. Either he genuinely didn't think of me as a waste of time, or he was good at hiding it.

Getting rid of bad thoughts, I bet on the first option. This entire time he could have been rude, but he wasn't. He wasn't like some other superiors that were ticked off by my mere breathing. I shuddered at some memories of the other team's manager. She was a cookie with the hardest shell. Her pointy glasses and structured cheekbones added to her image.

I went to sit behind my desk with a slight bounce to every footstep, sitting on my uncomfortable chair that if you leaned too far back, you'd fall on the ground. I felt giddy with excitement. I kept thinking about our date. Ethan said it was a date.

But as I thought more and more, my excitement was replaced with distress. He said we'd be at his house, at nine! Nine in the evening! It could be considered night. Would we be alone? Or did he live with his parents? His parents. Was I supposed to make an impression on his parents?

My hands fidgeted visibly with the computer's mouse. My nose scrunched up at how my grip was slipping from the mouse because of the sweat. Disgusting. I should calm down.

Breathe. In and out. Inhale and exhale.

-

A fire burned inside my mind, it felt like was paying my sins in hell. Olivia's bubbly smile played on repeat in my head, drowning me in guilt from keeping Astel's existence a secret. She was honest. I always thought I was too, until came the time where I actually had something too hide. It was now I realized how much of a hypocrite I was.

But it was justifiable, right?

I sat inside a small coffee shop during lunch, waiting for her to show up. I had made up my mind to tell her the partial truth. It would lift up my conscience a bit. I'd tell her the part that's believable.

A sound signalled somebody entered. Lifting myself up a bit from the booth and straining my neck to see, her neon green tank top didn't go unnoticed. I tried predicting how our conversation would go, giving myself my own pep-talk while she ordered a drink.

She came back with a drink I wasn't sure what it was, though it was colored gradient from red to orange to a citrus yellow. "What's up?"

It was hard staring straight into her emerald orbs. It felt nerve-wracking. Instead, I focused on my own drink, playing with the straw. "Nothing much," I replied casually.

"Oh! Did you ask your manager?"

My ears perked up at his mention. "He said yes! We'll leave early though, he said he wanted dinner at his house!"

"His house? You're moving quite fast."

"It's just dinner."

"If you say so."

A comfortable silence settled. She grabbed her phone, taking pictures. Clearing my throat, I broke the silence. "I made a friend."

She tore her eyes off her screen with a cheerful grin. "Who is it?"

"His name is Astel."

"Oh a boy! How did you meet him?"

I gulped down my drink. "At... a store."

"That's nice." She nodded in approval. I waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. Well, that was anti-climatic. I worried for nothing, which shouldn't be a shocker since I did not reveal to her I, in fact, lived with him, a devil.

"You can invite Astel too if you want," Olivia said.

"Why would I invite him?" I replied bewildered.

"Well, it's not like he has to stick to you at the party. He can find a date for himself if he wants."

"He wouldn't want that," I said a little too fast, a little too loud for my liking. Liv scrunched her eyebrows. "What I mean is, I would feel obligated to talk to him since he's not the type to hit up random people." Wrong, that was a lie. I actually didn't know if Astel is the type to socialize in an unfamiliar surrounding. I have never seen him not by my side, obviously since I have only one pair of eyes.

"Okay then, since you know him more than me." Olivia checked her phone. "Your lunch is almost over."

"Ah right! I'll see you on Saturday Liv!" I got up from my booth and engulfed my friend in a tight hug, making sure not to spill my or her drink on either of us.