1. Redemption

After four months of being possessed by a demon, Aaron Grimes struggles with memories and results of actions that were performed with his hands. His first priority: the demon's former captive.

At this point he gave it about a one in four chance that she would actually be there. After all, she didn’t have to be. He stopped on the sidewalk for a moment, considering turning back and forgetting about the whole thing. She had no reason to be there; she didn’t owe him anything. She wouldn’t understand that this was to do with what he felt he owed her. There was no point in going in there and looking like a fool.

No. He took a deep breath. He had to face this, to try to repair some of the damage he’d indirectly caused. Adjusting his dark jacket and running a hand through his hair, he entered the coffee shop.

She was there. He knew instantly, from the corner of his eye. Her face was all he’d been seeing when his eyes closed since it had been over, and not for the right reasons. The pain he had watched his hands and his body cause her was seared into his retinas. Paying for a simple coffee, he walked over to the booth in which she sat carefully. He took a seat without waiting, familiar with the intimidation that came with his height and stature when standing over others. She kept her eyes off to the side and her hands on her own drink. Her cuts, or at least the ones he could see, were closing, and bruises he could recognize had changed color.

“Hi,” he began, at a loss for words. “Are you… doing alright?”

She scoffed lightly, still keeping her eyes far from contact with his. “Not really.”

“Jesus. Sorry.” He rested his brow against his hand for a moment with his eyes shut, and then sighed and pulled a cigar from his front pocket. He noticed her eyeing it as he slipped the holder between his teeth and lit the end. “You’re surprised?”

She looked up at him with a c**k-eyed glance and the makings of a grin. “Black & Mild mini cigars, huh?”

A sparkle came to his eye. “You’re expecting Camels because that a*****e smoked them. For four months, in my body, f*****g Camels!” He saw her smile and he felt himself float for a moment. “June…” he let the name fall off his tongue differently than that beast had. “I wish I’d had the pleasure of asking your name myself.”

She let her eyes fall back down quickly. “He…. Had you the whole time? Even the first night?”

Concern grew on his face. “Yeah. That wasn’t me either. There are so many things I would have done differently even then. I was planning-“

“You were planning?” She cut him off.

He took a long, drawn out drag and let it out slowly. “I’d been watching you sing for a few nights. You were beautiful.  I convinced myself I might have a shot, and I went to the restroom to make sure I didn’t look drunk.” He stopped there and stared into space to the right of her for a long moment, then took a drink of his coffee.

“That’s it? That’s when he… took you?”

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath and shook his head. “Sorry, I’m trying to open up about this, but that’s not really something I usually do. I saw black and something forced itself into me and suddenly I was in the backseat. Suddenly I was walking out of the bathroom and I wasn’t even doing it. I couldn’t stop it. I had no control…” He rubbed his forehead. “It was surreal.”

June stayed quiet, taking a few sips of her own beverage. The thought came tumbling off her lips just as It was occurring, after an extended bout of silence and right as Aaron was about to speak again. “Did you know what he wanted?”

His eyes squeezed shut and he shook his head off to the side. “Christ, I didn’t know he was a he. I had no idea what the f**k was going on. I thought I was going crazy, or someone had slipped something into my drink. I thought that for a while, actually, when all he was doing was downing drinks, but then he started doing s**t I wouldn’t do.”

“Like what?”

He was ready. “Like I wouldn’t have swiped three wallets on my walk from the barstool to you, and I wouldn’t have grabbed you.”

She closed her eyes. “Look, I don’t need to know any more. I appreciate whatever you’re trying to do here, but it’s not necessary.” She moved to get up.

“Wait. June, I’m not him. I need you to know that. I know that you look at my face and you see him. I know you look at my face and you see everything that he did to you, over and over in your mind. I know because I look at you and I see what my own hands did, and it haunts me. It f*****g haunts me, June; I haven’t slept this whole time since because of the things he made me watch myself do. But please, don’t think for a second that I’m anything like him.”

The shield of timid delicacy she’d walked into the coffee shop with seemed to be gone now. “How do I know?” She asked seriously.

He didn’t miss a beat. “Let me show you.”

June furrowed her brow and turned away.

“Now let me see you, pretty thing.” His large hands forced her chin up to look at him, and she promptly snapped her teeth around the side of his ring finger and bit down as hard as she could. He barked and pulled his hand away. “You f*****g c**t!” The other hand came down and backhanded June three feet back onto the bed to which she was chained.

For what must have been a few minutes, her vision was black and her ears rung. Suddenly her shoulder was forced down and she was on her back with his body towering on top of her. “I like you,” he growled, wrapping his fingers around her throat. “I’ve already killed four people with these hands and none of them put up a fight like this.” A terrible grin crept across his face with every word.

June froze for a moment, and then panicked. She thrashed wildly and tried to scream, but little came out and her efforts only seemed to rile him up. He laughed and held his grip until the last second, until her field of vision had been reduced to a pin and her thrashing was dying out, and then released her throat. Air flooded into her lungs and her tunnel vision expanded, although distorted. He watched her with a sick hunger as she writhed. “No, it might be easier to just wait until you pass out, but that’s not nearly as fun, is it?”

“June?” The gentleness of the voice brought her back. The same face looked back at her, but softly and with concern. “Are you alright? Your guy over there is getting worried, I think, and that’s not good for me.”

She smiled slightly and glanced over at Cory, sitting across the room at a table by himself, watching without looking. “You noticed him.”

“Well, he’s a bit hard to miss sometimes,” Aaron replied simply. “What, exactly, uh…. Is he?”

June chuckled. “You won’t believe me.”

He leaned back and took a drag. “I was apparently possessed by a demon. I’ll believe you. Try me.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “He’s a vampire.”

He froze, for about five seconds, blinked, and said, “Okay, you were right.”

She outright laughed, and it was the first time Aaron had heard her do so. It was music to his ears. He also noticed her red-headed friend across the room relax again.

“God, does it have to be that?” He chuckled. “Vampires? That’s so…. High school, I don’t know.” She nodded, almost giggling. “So that’s why he looks like that?” he asked seriously. “I saw his eyes once, too.”

“Well, yeah.” She took a sip, a bit too casual. “He’s dead.”

Aaron’s expression contorted. “What the f**k?”

She laughed, again a bit out of place. “That’s how it works. You’re expecting the glamour from the movies. Don’t. His heart doesn’t beat. He’s cold.”

He whistled. “This is insane. All of it. We should step back.”

“Okay… Aaron.” She said his name out loud for the first time. “You said you were in the marching band?”

He grinned. “I played the tuba.”

“Of course you did.”

“Hey!” They both smiled. “And the lead in The Phantom of the Opera.”

June tilted her head. “I can see it. I bet that fit you.”

“Oh, God.” He rubbed his temples, chuckling. “I don’t think so.” June froze. She had heard those words spoken by that voice before, and somehow she was thrown back.

She kicked and screamed, the blood rushing to her head. “Put me the f**k down!”

“I don’t think so.” A sick smile bent his cold voice. In an effortless movement he slung her over his shoulder and hauled her through the hallway.

“You m**********r,” she wheezed, his shoulder in her gut. “Put me down. I mean it.”

“Ooh, I mean it! I really really mean it!” He echoed in sarcastic falsetto. He slammed her onto the bed on her back, forced her down with a hand on her chest, and brought his face inches from hers. “Jesus Christ, that’s pathetic. It’s so f*****g pathetic it’s almost endearing.”

Spitting in his face was almost a reflex. He straightened his back, wiped his face, and laughed. His cold, deep, and absolutely sinister laugh was bone-chilling. “You want to play? We’ll play.”

                Again his voice calling her name pulled her back to reality. She slumped down and buried her head in her arms on the table.

“It’s okay, June. I’m not going to hurt you.” He flinched. “…Anymore.”     

Author's Note

Please tell me your thoughts, whatever they may be. I will write more if you enjoy reading it.

Reviews

[Rebecca Church]

Very interesting, I have to say, the only thing I can say is the final transition to the last flashback of the chapter feels off to me, but this may just be me. It's still a grand read, of course there's always room for improvement, but thats only gained by if you keep writing. So keep at it! you got a good thing going here.

[MedicalNightmare]

Thanks for reading! I did have difficulty making it clear that his words were triggering memories at random, so I'll definitely keep that in mind. The flashback element actually reflects some recent personal issues, and that sudden change and the triviality of the unrelated things triggering it when everything is going totally fine is something I definitely want to develop and emphasis on. Thanks for your feedback!

[btinge]

So Far I really like it, its intriguing and since I haven't read any of your other chapters yet, but the premise of an unknowing possession is something I'd definitely read more about.

[DB Heinemann]

Great opening line, firstly. I was immediately hooked.(And hey, looks like you found some other people to look at your work after all.)
This would be one of the few times I feel useless as a critiquer. Amazing chapter- almost no complaints. And you know I like to complain.
The only off thing is I'm getting MAYBE small corny vibe from the dialogue but that's most things. Ugh, I hate not having anything to complain about. Maybe the next chapter will be worse....

[Chris Folio]

Thank you for sending me the read request, I loved it. I'm not joking, your story telling and dialogue truly made it play out like a great movie. The characters are mysterious let you still know and are able to follow along well. I love the flashbacks too, it really added a lot to the scene. Keep it up my friend, you have something wonderful here!

[MedicalNightmare]

oh my gosh thank you. This is really encouraging. I've never shared any creative writing like this and I wasn't sure anyone would like it lol

[Author Gus]

First off, welcome to the café, it's always nice to see new writers! I agree that the last flashback was out of place, but my main objection is formatting. When writing extended works, like books, you have to get the little things right. Not adding an indent to start your paragraphs is distracting to the reader, in my mind while I was reading I was also blocking off paragraphs, and that prevented me from really immersing myself in the story.
That being said, I can't be too picky about reading a free book, it's very generous of you to offer to write an entire manuscript free of charge.

[MedicalNightmare]

Thanks for reading. I'm not actually suse what happened to the indents... on another website I posted this on they turned into a run of symbols