Chocolate! (on hiatus)

Ch 20: Familiar

He groaned, "This is ridiculous."

"I can't trust you!"

"Oh so thats what this is about? I hurt little Lolas feelings and now her heart can't bear to put trust in me. Even before you knew what I am you knew I was a convicted criminal you idiot. I never gave you a reason to trust me to begin with."

I sniffled, "you were nice to me..."

"If thats your version of nice you really are a stupid girl."

"You said you would help me keep the shop..you helped me pick out court clothes..you got up and met me at the shop every day exactly at five in the morning...you made candy with me...y-you told me it was okay to be me that there was nothing wrong with me! you were nicer to me than anyone since grandpa."

He was silent for a moment, Lavender eyes meeting my own, "thats kind of a pathetic thing to admit you know?"

He just stood there and watched me rub tears from my eyes, "Your horrible and a liar!"

"I didn't even do anything bad to you."

"You took away my choice and made me...do things to myself!"

"Would you rather I have done it?"

"NO! I would rather of never been controlled!"

He shrugged, "Thats wasn't an option it was either me or Karma. I figured you would rather end the night still a virgin you should be happy I was nice enough to do that for you."

I hiccuped through a tiny cry. "You used me in a ritual."

"I had to feed."

"You didn't have to use me!"

"but I wanted to, because frankly it had been a while since I had a demon of that level, their fear is one of my favorite things. Are you done crying yet?"

I cried harder.

"Fucking hell. Stop it Lola its not like you're hurt."

Maybe not physically but I was hurt, "I thought you were my connection to grandpa but all you do is lie!"

A loud sigh, "I am your last connection to your gramps, That shop, this house, that car, and me."

"Grandpa wouldn't befriend a demon!"

"He didn't befriend me, he summoned me."

"NO! ONLY BAD PEOPLE DO THAT!" 

Footsteps, "lost people get desperate sometimes lola."

"GRANDPA WASNT LOST!"

"He was."

"NO!'

"Lola.."

"NO!..no.."

Fingers brushed the skin on my wrist and I jerked away, "DONT! don't touch me Absinthe."

His eyes narrowed, "I told you not to call me that."

"Why not?! its your name!"

"It hasn't been my name in thirty years Lola, its not my name anymore."

"T-thirty years?"

"Are you done crying yet? eat your fucking breakfast so we can leave."

I stared at the stove wide eyed and then back to the demon wearing the mask of a man, "...only if you tell me why you changed your name."

He stared at me for a long moment, a coldness in his eyes that i never really noticed before as he leaned toward me, "Bartering with a demon is a stupid thing little girl."

I gripped my fluffy pink shorts, working up the courage to look up at him defiantly, "I think you have already established that I'm stupid."

He chuckled, "fine, I'll tell you what why I changed my name if you eat and you never even bring up the topic of kicking me out again. its annoying seeing as I'm going to be here as long as I feel like."

That seems easy enough, "..okay."

He held out his hand and I placed my own in it, shocked to feel a prick of pain. "Good girl, a deal has been struck, start eating."

I picked up a bowl and scooped up some oatmeal, "uhm...what happens if I go back on the deal."

He smirked, "you die."

I dropped the spoon.

"Well actually you get sick and then die I think, no one has ever lived long enough to go back on their deal with me."

I gulped, "..so why the name change?"

"Oh that. Well I had to in order to become the old mans familiar didn't I? oh..you wouldn't know about that would you now Lola?"

"A familiar is a spirit usually in the form of an animal who assists those who practice magic."

He tisked, "and to think I was going to make you squirm on that one for a while. Well at least you're not totally incompetent."

my brows furrowed, how does a demon become a familiar"...wait don't they disappear when their master dies..grandpa mentioned that once when he was going on one of his stories about magic..."

Axel looked away from me, "eat Lola, less you get sick and die from bleeding out your eye sockets."

I stuffed the food into my mouth. "but.."

He peered at me.

"grandpa died..you should be gone."

"is that so?"

My eyes widened, "does that mean grandpa isn't really-"

His face fell, "no Lola..no thats not that what that means. Why would you even think that?"

I stared down at my food, "I-I just miss him."

Axel didn't say another word, he just sat there and watched me eat.