Deals with the Devil (PA #1)

Chapter 12

Willow, Age Sixteen

Thud. Thud. Thud.

What's the definition of insanity again? Doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results? Does that make me insane? Because every night, I go to bed thinking that this night will definitely be the night that I fall asleep with no issues. Surely, Rome has to take a break at some point, right? A night off to rest and recharge for more bouts of furious sex-having the next day. (Still avoiding curses, so sex-having it is). But no. For the past two years, every night without fail Rome has turned our shared wall into his own personal drumset, letting the bang of his metal headboard against the wooden barrier reverberate through my otherwise silent room.  

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I press the sides of my pillow to the sides of my face, attempting in vain to block the loud noise from entering my eardrums. It's been at least an hour, and Romeo is showing no signs of slowing down or stopping. If anything, he seems to be picking up speed, with the sound of his thumping headboard crescendoing like a percussion section pounding their instruments as hard as they can.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

No longer trying to uselessly cover my ears, I lift my pillow over my face to cover my mouth before screaming out my frustration. Unlike the immortal demons around here, I'm a mortal who has mortal needs. Like several hours of sleep each night. However, Romeo's after hours activities tend to get in the way of that. I've always been too shy or outright embarrassed to ask him to quiet down, but this is seriously getting out of hand.

THUD. THUD. CRASH.

Okay, so they definitely broke something. Of course, it doesn't keep Rome from continuing his journey to pound town. That's it. I genuinely cannot take it anymore. Pushing up, I kick off my blanket before sliding out of my elevated bed. Pausing to shove my perpetually cold feet into my dragon-shaped slippers (courtesy of Eli), I shuffle towards my door and slowly crack it open. Not wanting to wake anyone else up, because for some reason the noise coming from Rome's room doesn't reach the hallway, I quietly step into the darkened corridor.

On dragon-muffled steps, I approach Rome's door before knocking as gently as I can. When a minute goes by with no response, I lose my already frayed patience. Deciding to take the Eli approach, I open the door without any invitation. Before the room can come into view, I use my left hand to shield my eyes and then step past the threshold. When the thump of the bed becomes evident again, I deduce that Romeo and his partner have not noticed my presence.

Reaching behind my back with my free hand, I close the door and then clear my throat loudly. No response. "Excuse me!" I yell out.

Thud. Th—

The racket abruptly ends. "Oh, shit," I hear in Rome's voice before the sound of rustling fabric reaches my ears. "Oh, shit. Oh, shit." Romeo repeats it over and over again as his words come from different parts of the room, almost as if he's racing to pick things up or put something away.

His sex partner is not happy with my interruption. "What the Heaven are you doing here, Willow? Isn't it past your bedtime or something?" I fight the temptation to lower my hand and attach a face to the woman's voice because assuaging curiosity is really not worth seeing some random person's genitals. For all I know, each of her limbs could be tied to a separate bedpost, leaving her vagina on full display. I really don't know what kind of thing Rome is into, and this isn't the night to find out either.

"You're incredibly right, sex-haver. It is past my bedtime and I would like to go to bed. But your loud sex marathon is seriously getting in the way of that. Why can't you guys be like human couples and be done in ten minutes or less? This all seems very excessive."

Romeo takes a break in his frantic movements to bark out a laugh before resuming his fabric rustling. Did he pitch some kind of sex tent or something? Maybe he has a camping fetish? Is that even a thing? Oh, who am I kidding. There's a fetish for literally everything. Eli and I once watched some bizarre human pornographic video that makes me queasy to this day. You do not want to know what those two girls did with that cup.

Now feeling like throwing up, I realize that I missed whatever response the unknown female threw in my direction. Taking a stab in the dark, I say, "Look. I'm sorry that I interrupted your sexy times. But it's really late and I'm really tired. Can you please just call it a night and pick it back up tomorrow? I just want to sleep."

Without waiting for a response, I turn my body and blindly walk toward the door. Letting out a little oomph as I collide with the wood, I feel my way around before I find the golden handle and twist it. Easing the door forward, I finally open my eyes and quickly return to my bedroom.

My body barely hits my bed when my door slams open and Romeo rushes in. In less than three pounding heartbeats, he's at my side. His long black hair is tousled, his silk pajama bottoms are creased, and his bare chest glistens with sweat. Not wanting to see further evidence of his sexcapades, I focus my attention on his green eyes. They search my face, swinging back-and-forth for a sign of some kind. Sighing at whatever he finds, he reaches out for me before forcing himself back.

He clenches his fists but softens his eyes. "I'm sorry about that, Low. I didn't realize that I was keeping you up. To be honest, I didn't even know that you could hear me at all. I would have never done that kind of thing if I did know. You have to believe me." His voice is sincere but his words are ridiculous.

I give him an incredulous look. "How could you think that I was unaware of your sexual activities? It seems like you're always trying to use your headboard to break down my wall. I would have to be seriously hearing impaired to miss that."

He breaks eye contact with me to stare sheepishly at the ground. "Well, I thought that your auditory functions weren't that great, on account of you being human and all. And you never said anything for two years, so I figured it was my secret."

At that, I have to scoff. "Secret? Everyone in this damn castle knows about your sex life. It's not like your conquests keep quiet about their time with you. I'm pretty sure that there's even a notebook full of the names and signatures of those who had the honor of sleeping with you. Hardly a secret." I'm going for sarcasm at the end there, but Rome's sudden grin makes me think that I failed.

"Honor, huh? You jealous, Low? Because you know you're still my favorite girl. I'm just not at the point where I can control my Sin yet, but I only ever really want to be with you."

As if this is some glowing compliment that erases two years of pent-up frustration and hurt feelings, Rome once again reaches out for me. This time, his strong arms encase my body and familiar tingles rise up in the places where our skin connects. I sit stiffly, refusing to relax into his comforting embrace.

Finally noticing my unrelenting body and realizing that I'm still seriously upset by his actions, Rome pulls back. He cups my cheeks with his large hands before he speaks softly to me. "Willow, I really am sorry about everything. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you or cause you pain in any way. When Lust first came to me, I was unprepared for how strongly it would influence my life. While it's still not a good excuse, I promise you that I'll work harder to control my urges. And I can guarantee that I'll never disturb your sleep with any loud noises, sexual or otherwise, that come from my room. I love you, Low. Please forgive me for being the dumbass that Alexander always accused me of."

I want to smile at the mention of Alexander and Rome's antics, but the muscles near my mouth refuse to cooperate. Still bogged down by sad thoughts that I usually ignore, the best I can offer is a small nod. "I'll try, Rome. Just give me some time to be a little bit emo about it."

Romeo mimics my nod before moving forward and placing a small kiss at the center of my forehead. He removes his hands from my cheeks and smiles sadly at me for a few moments. With a whispered goodnight, he leaves the room as abruptly as he entered it. When the door closes behind his body with a soft click, I lay back on my bed and try to quiet the thoughts racing around in my brain. Like most nights, my sleep is restless and unsatisfying.