Unholy Love

Chapter Three

"The devil."

I can't help but laugh at what he has just told me. The Devil? Please! He is taking this Hallowe'en stuff far too seriously, and he doesn't even like Hallowe'en! His mouth goes into a big O in surprise of my reaction. Why is he surprised? He cannot possibly think that I will be taking him seriously when he says something like this to me. It's absurd. I don't understand why he would say something like this. Is he playing a sick joke on me and all that forest freak out was all staged? The idea of that makes me feel livid.

"Are you fucking with me?" I ask stunned.

"Why would I fuck with you like that?" he asks very seriously. He doesn't seem to be playing along with my laughter, nor my sudden anger at him. I don't want to believe it, this is a joke, a silly Hallowe'en joke.

"Well... because its Hallowe'en..." I continue still sitting down. I suddenly feel lost for words as I see him get all rough around the edges. His expression doesn't change. He is stern about this. He doesn't look to be comfortable right now, like there is a hint of panic in the way he is holding up his body.

"I'm being very much serious Annabelle!" he declares his voice like a foghorn. Why is he raising his voice at me for a joke?

"Please don't joke about stuff like that, it's fucking ridiculous!" I shout back at him as I stand back up to my feet. They still feel a little shaky, but my surprise and annoyance with him graces me with some strength.

"I'm not fucking around with this Annabelle!"

Shivers run down my spine with the way he says my name. So gravely and gruff, but loud, very loud in fact. I walk around the coffee table standing inches away from him.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" I yelp.

"Then shut the fuck up and listen to me!" he says violently. I am taken a back. He has never told me to be quiet like this before.

An unexpected gust of fury showers over me and abruptly my palm is swinging at his face clapping the side of his cheek. It hurts me more than it hurts him. My palm is tingling in pain. I look down rubbing my other hand on it to cool down the aching. When I look back up Damien is facing away, his face turned to the right of him. There isn't even the slightest bit of redness on his cheek from my slap. When he sluggishly turns his head around to face me again, I yelp backwards almost falling at my own tangled feet.

"What the fuck!" I gasp my voice all wobbly. He is staring at me with black eyes. Completely black, exactly like what I saw back in the forest. It almost looks like black pearls so squeaky clean I can see myself in them, and I look terrified, I am terrified! I hug myself with my arms to protect myself from him. He blinks his eyes and then suddenly they go back to the sparkly crystal blue eyes that I am much more familiar with.

"What the fuck was that! What happened to your eyes?" I say wheezing. I am suddenly struggling to breathe. My voice is low and trying to take a breath in, is painful. My chest feels tight and stings. I feel faint like I'm about to pass out. My head is all fuzzy and I cannot articulate any of my thoughts running through my disorganised head.

I lean onto the wall near the fireplace to keep myself steady. Damien is by my side, his hands wanting to reach out to help me. "Don't touch me!" I scream but it sounds more like a squeal of a pig as my voice is breaking from my struggles to breathe.

"Annabelle you need to sit down, let me help you," he says in a Soto voce.

"No! I can help myself," I say as I stumble clumsily back over to the sofa.

There is a moment of silence which is filled with the sound of an old clock ticking away and the unblemished sounds of the hissing fireplace. I am breathing heavily. My hands grasping onto my chest in hope that the pain goes away, but I feel weak. My hands are shaking. I cannot fathom everything that has just happened. This is either a dream or Damien planned all of this, that evil bastard!