Eight
The Past
“Cassandra!” Venus shouts, waking me up after just two hours of sleep. It would seem I’m meant to be exhausted for a few days. She’s standing out in the hall outside my door when I find her. She hands me a pair of simple, black sandals.
“Get dressed, you’re going with me, don’t ask questions.”
I nod obediently and go back into my room. I quickly throw on my dress, run a brush through my hair and pull it back, and slip into the shoes. Venus leads me downstairs to the front door. She unlocks it and gestures for me to follow her outside. I give her an odd look, but don’t question it.
Her car is parked in the driveway, though I can’t ever remember her using it, at least not when she brought me here. We climb into the little, silver Pontiac Grand Prix and she starts the car. I stare out the window, watching the countryside roll by. I don’t even know how long its been since I’ve been outside the house. A year and a half? Something like that, I believe. The last time I was out was the day Venus dragged me to the house.
“One year, seven months, and two days. That’s how long you’ve been here,” she tells me, seeing me stare at the view.
“Long time,” I muse.
“Not compared to Emily’s three years and one day or Richard’s seven years, eight months, and…thirteen days. But it’s far longer than I expected you to last,” she replies.
Almost eight years… Sometimes, often actually, I wonder how Richard handles it.
The drive is short and the area seems vaguely familiar. We pass by an old park and I realize we’re in the town where I grew up. I spent many nights sleeping in the oak tree in that park.
I bite back my curiosity. She told me not to ask questions and I know better than to disobey her.
We pull up outside an old café, one I once frequented with my parents. The area is almost entirely deserted. Tables clutter up the patio, but only one is occupied. Even from the back, I recognize the figure sitting there. The tattoos trailing down his arms are the biggest hint, but I’d probably still recognize him even if he had on long sleeves. The dyed black hair is a lot shorter than I ever recall it being, and the brown roots are more noticeable. A cigarette butt smolders in the ash tray beside him and I crinkle my nose at the bitter smell.
“I thought you quit,” I say as we approach. He jumps and turns around. Those gorgeous hazel eyes meet mine.
“I thought you were dead.”
I shrug and sit down across from him, ignoring Venus for the time being. “How’re you and…Nicole?”
“We split up. She couldn’t put up with all my shit. I don’t really blame her.”
“So what’re you doing here, Ian?” I ask.
He sighs. “Amy’s in the hospital.”
I flinch as though he’s hit me. Little Amelia… She’s…eight? Nine? now. Something close to that. “Why?”
“Pancreatic cancer runs in the family, apparently.”
My eyes widen. “No.”
He nods. “Yeah. I know. It fucking sucks.”
He pulls a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket. I narrow my eyes at him and he reluctantly replaces them in his pocket.
“I always hated it when you did that.”
“I always hated it when you smoked.”
“What’re you doing here, Cassie?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
Both of us turn to Venus. She smiles. “He wants to make a deal, child. I brought you along because I thought it would amuse me.”
“Deal’s not worth it, Ian. I know you love Amy, so do I. But she’s better off dead than growing up without her big brother. You’re no role model, but Amy needs you.”
“Are you kidding me, Cass? You know damn well that the only thing that having me in her life will do is fuck her up. What the hell kind of crack are you on?”
I roll my eyes. “It will be the worse decision you ever make. Even if it’s worth it, you’ll be in hell. For eternity. Think about what that means.”
“Damn it! I’ve already thought this through. I know what it means. But that’s my baby sister. My eight year old baby sister.”
I sigh and close my eyes. “It’s your choice, but as someone who’s been in your shoes, I don’t recommend making the deal. Especially since you’re…you.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that you won’t take well to being owned by someone, Ian. I didn’t take well to it and I was always the calmer of the two of us.”
“I’m out of options, Cass.”
“Fine, Ian. Fine, but I guarantee you will regret this choice at one point.”
“Do you?”
“I regret not having any other options. I regret selling my soul. But I don’t regret the bargain that was made.”
“What was the bargain?”
I open my eyes and stare into his before shaking my head. “It’s personal, Ian. Don’t worry about it.”
“Cassandra, go back to the car,” Venus orders, her tone serious.
I sigh again. “Bye, Ian. I suppose I’ll see you later if you make a deal.”
“Bye, Cass. Was good seeing you.”
I wish I could say the same. I leave the table and take my seat in the car. From there I watch as Venus and Ian negotiate on the terms of their agreement. I cringe when Venus pulls out a contract, having known what agreement they would reach beforehand. He signs his name and she hands him a knife. He slits his hand, dripping blood onto the contract and sealing the deal. The one person I had left outside the house just damned his soul.
Venus clambers into the car and starts it up without a word. I stay silent for a short while, before I can’t hold back my question anymore.
“Why? Why am I here?”
“Why do you think, child?”
“Because you’re still punishing me for Michael’s fight with Mars, right?”
She nods. “Precisely.”
“And it’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?”
“Of course, Cassandra. It most certainly isn’t going to get any better.”
“I thought you didn’t make deals with people whose lives you’ve saved.”
“This is a unique situation. Usually I won’t do it because it reunites a happy couple. With you two, it isn’t the case. Having him around won’t make you happy at all and you know this. You’re going to be absolutely miserable the moment he enters the house. This is a win-win situation for me.”
A groan escapes my lips. “Why me?”
“You know the answer to that, too.”
“I think you’ve made enough of an example of me to last for eternity.”
“Not at all. You’re a brilliant reminder of what happens when a soul refuses to break. It’s just easier to give in than it is to be in your position. You had best teach Michael this before he ends up where you are.”
That less than pleasant note ends all conversation in the car. Venus picks up a new encyclopedia set at a bookstore on the way out of town, but that’s the only stop we make before arriving back at the house. She escorts me back into the house before heading out again, presumably to damn more souls.
I glance at a clock to find that we were gone three hours. It somehow didn’t seem that long. I stop by the kitchen to get something to eat and Emily practically mauls me. She pulls me into a hug choked with sobs.
“What’s wrong, Em?” I demand, beginning to worry.
“Venus was gone and you were gone and we couldn’t find you anywhere and she hates you so much and we couldn’t find you and I thought… Cassie, I really thought…”
I hug my panicked friend back and attempt to calm her. “I’m not dead yet, Em. Don’t worry.”
“Don’t scare me like that again, honey. I was terrified. I thought I’d finally lost you.” She releases me from her smothering embrace. “You need to tell Michael that you’re alive. I think he barred the door to his bedroom.”
“Because I need to deal with more drama today,” I mumble. Louder, I reply, “I’m on it.”
I head back upstairs and stop in front of Michael’s door. I try to open it, but it hardly budges.
“Go away!” he shouts.
“Damn it, Michael! You have no idea what a nightmare of a morning I’ve had. Now, open this damn door before I beat it down and come kick your ass.”
There’s a brief pause before he opens the door and greets me much like Emily did.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he whispers.
“Language,” I reply.
“Hypocrite,” he teases.
I sigh and let it slip. Venus isn’t here anyway. “I’ve had a long morning.”
“So I gathered.”
“Our shift starts in three hours. I’m going to go back to sleep. I suggest you do the same.”
He releases me and I walk over to my bedroom. Tired as I am, I don’t go to sleep right away. I walk over to my closet and move stuff around until I find the box of stuff that I came here with. My ratted pair of jeans and worn out T-shirt are on top. I’ve outgrown both and wouldn’t wear them even if I hadn’t, they’re mostly still around for sentimental reasons. Underneath them rests a wooden bangle that my parents gave me for my eleventh birthday. That still fits, but I never wear it. Below that is an old switchblade. I grab that and replace the other objects.
I lean back against the wall of the closest and release the blade of the knife. I sit there and twirl it in my hand and watch the light reflect off the blade. It’s the same knife that one year, seven months, and two days ago I attempted suicide with. I put it in my pocket when Venus dragged me here. Today seems like a good day to finish that business, before things get worse. I contemplate it again and my eyes move from the blade to the scars on my wrist from the last attempt. Two more minutes and I wouldn’t even be sitting here.
My mind wanders over to Emily’s expression when I got back. Then to Michael’s reaction upon discovering that I wasn’t dead. I sigh and retract the blade of the knife. Today is not the day. For now, my friends still need me around. I return the blade to the bottom of the box and go collapse on my bed.
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A/N: Not much to say today. Hope you all enjoyed meeting Ian! I should update again Wednesday!