"Go away"
If I assessed the strength of my own heart that was hammering my chest, it could probably crack a wall. But I had no other options either, but to face this thing in front of me as it was directing my legs to the bed. It invaded my space, forcing me to move under the push it was going for until I hit the mattress behind me and stumbled on it.
"Leave me alone-"
"Sshhh...that's okay"
Her voice was heard again as her figure was climbing on the same fabric my feet were kicking. I had no clue of what brought her here. I didn't know why she came for the second time and met me, while Mr. Krauss had made things clear that she should stay in her place unless she was called, or when my time was up. Only in those times she was allowed to be here, and I was so confused of which part of the deal that had went wrong.
Despite of being clueless about the visit I didn't ask for, I was sure about one thing, which was my own fear. That was because I was really scared at that time. This meeting was scarier than the one I experienced on the train to Northampton, and the reason for that was my hands were the only barrier I had between her chest and mine.
"Wh-what do you want?" I demanded the bravery I owned to stand along the frontier between me and the creature that appeared in the dark, wearing a mask that looked like the face of someone I loved.
"You questioned the wrong person," She whispered, leaning close to my face until I had to look away. "You should've asked yourself"
"I don't know what you are talking about-"
"I heard you, Chae..." Her lips landed on my cheek, trailing towards the flesh of mine that I kept away from her reach. "You called for me"
"I didn't-"
Her rough hands groped me around my neck, frightening my guard by that sudden move and she earned my eyes on hers in this struggling dimmed condition. My hands went to her wrists in an instant as she terrified me with the firm pressure she put on my throat, assuming that she might actually hurt me this time. Well, if a man that was born with a heart can kill another soul, nobody shall trust the one that doesn't even have any.
"I'm not a fool," She hissed before she tasted my lips, silencing more of my words that I tried to protest with. "You really want her, don't you?"
That was when I realised what she was talking about. It was my cry earlier that summoned her. It was my own frustration towards the things I didn't have that called her in. I didn't need to directly reach out to her, just like Mr. Krauss had said; demons can hear your soul. Even though I cried alone in this room, thinking that I had no one to show my sadness to, I was always heard. This creature had always been listening and waiting to use my defeat against me.
Pushing her away, I managed to free my mouth from hers. "I-I don't want this anymore"
"What?"
"We are done," I was so determined by what I just told her no matter how scared I was. "I've got what I want. I've seen her, I've met my Lisa" I panted, eyes looking at her who began to withdraw herself from pinning me on the bed. "I no longer need you"
As much as I didn't want to be near her, it still baffled my mind when she got off me, walking towards the window and letting the moonlight shone on her face. She looked so serious, no smile or even rage that I could spot, which brought another confusion to me. I really thought my intention in ending the whole thing would anger her, but I guessed I was wrong on that part. This demon was surprisingly being calm.
She sighed as her arms crossed, acting like how a human would. If only I didn't know who she really was, if only I didn't know the figure and the face she had on her were just her appearance in showing herself, I would have mistaken her as the Lisa I lost. That was how good she was in imitating a human, and no one should underestimate this excellent kind of deceit; demon level. She looked so convincing.
"That's a shame then," She shook her head, looking down. "Pity Lisa"
Getting up from the lying position, my gaze narrowed at her only.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You desired a Lisa you once loved," She turned her head slightly, probably looking at me over her shoulder. "And I gave you the best Lisa you could ever imagine. I thought you would like that" She paused for a second. "But apparently, it's only her who sees you that way"
"I don't understand-"
"She already liked you, Chae" The creature pressed her voice. "Why do you think she keeps coming to your stall?"
"She comes for the food, her friends introduced it-"
She scoffed, cutting off my sentence before I could finish it.
"You can't be that naive" She objected. "And I can't be that stupid to not knowing" She fully spun around this time, establishing a stronger eye contact. "There's no human heart I can't hear, Chae. I hear them all" She smirked all of the sudden, giving a different kind of fear for me to deal with. "What's his name again? Seth? Son of Andrews?"
I moved my stare as soon as I heard that name since I already saw it coming from her mouth.
But reminding me about that man wasn't enough for her, she probably have decided to dig the old pain out from my healed wound as her figure walked towards my bed frame again.
"You were only 18 at that time," She clicked her tongue for a few times, mocking me while her knees were pressing on the mattress. "And your entire childhood was spent with him, playing and praying together-"
"Stop" I commanded when the tears in my eyes had started to creep out.
"But he left you-"
"That's enough"
"You loved him but he-"
"He chose the church! Alright?!" I raised my voice, dragging my gaze back at her who already took the spot in front of me. "He chose God!" The heaviness in my chest stopped me for a while as my vision became more blurry. "It wasn't his fault!"
"Why do you think so?"
"Because when I look at myself now-" I paused when the sob weighed my throat. "Look at me, what am I doing?! Talking to a demon!" A tear finally dropped because of my first love that I hadn't cried for ever since I left Northamptonshire years ago. "Look at what I've done to myself..." I lowered my voice as it had gotten harder to breathe. "I'm just glad he didn't choose me"
She chuckled. "Ohh Chae, you offended me"
Her fingers wiped the wetness on my face and pushed my chin back up.
"What you had with him was so special. I know you were hurt" She whispered. "But when he finally wanted you again after all those years, you chose your Lisa instead" She continued. "You are willing to do anything to be loved. So this time...why don't you choose that Lisa too?"
Sniffling, I straightened my back to challenge her suggestion.
"Why should I?"
She leaned in with her eyes were eyeing on my lips again. "Because I know her heart just like I know yours," She muttered. "Unlike you with the history you had with Seth, you are her first, Chae"
My mouth agape in surprised.
"Wh-what?"
"You are that Lisa's first love" She elaborated as my heart drummed even stronger. "Her heart chose you at the first sight, and that's a pity"
I looked down one more time, feeling how my lips stammered in the sobs I was struggling to handle. Is it true? Can I trust this creature? Those were the questions that began to echo in my thoughts, coming back and forth without solution to come out with. I knew better about demon's tricks, considering that I had witnessed it firsthand based on what had happened to my dad. He trusted everything that was spoken to him without realising those demons only told him what he wanted to hear, not the truth.
For that being reminded, I should have known better since the thing in front of me was also one of them. But I guessed I had always been weak and there was nothing I could do about it.
"You don't have to believe me," She must have heard my doubt when she talked again. "But you've got to believe Lisa, she's nothing like anyone you have known before" Her grasp moved to my entire face, forcing me to give my attention back at her. "Listen to me, Chae. That Lisa will love you like no one ever did" Her whisper began to poison my already weak heart. "She will do anything for you, anything!" She stressed on that anything boldly. "And I believe so do you"
More tears stained my cheeks when I couldn't hold my sadness anymore. I just cried my frustration out like I did before the electricity went off earlier, like the demon I made a deal with wasn't even here with me, like I was alone and nobody heard me. There was no more fear as my sorrow was louder than everything else that lived in my heart. And the reason for that was because I just wanted to cry when I heard about the Lisa I was about to abandon in that universe. My heart already wept for her even though I had only met her twice.
Either one or two times, love knows no numbers.
"Think about it" She tried again while our foreheads met. "What if Seth and your Lisa don't deserve you for this reason? What if that Lisa is meant for you all along?" She went further. "Trust her, Chae. She can love you more than you could ever expect her to"
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before I made my final decision.
"But she's not here," I sobbed. "How can she's meant to be mine if she's not here, living with me? She's in a different world that is not even my place"
"That's why I'm here, Chae. I'm here to make everything work"
"I don't know-"
"I just need extra agreements with you, that's all" She persuaded me harder. "Think of Lisa, think of what you would be missing if you pull away now"
Opening my eyelids, I looked up and saw her eyes with small red colour painted in them.
"Only if you can get rid of that glass wall," I said strictly, trying to make an offer at last. "You know what I want, right? Do I need to tell you?"
"You want to be able to control that host, all the time"
"Yes, even if I'm sleeping in there. I don't want to travel back in here if I fall asleep"
She was silent for a moment, staring at me without blinking and I assumed I just gave her a very hard time to make her choice. It seemed like we were both putting pressure on each other, and I kind of liked it.
"That requires full possession, Chae" She stated.
"Are you saying it's impossible to do?"
"That's not it. I'm saying it's going to take some time"
"And why is that?"
"You're asking for the host of a believer," She answered me. "Sooner or later she would realise that something isn't right with her. And if she ever seek help from the church, or any priest," She paused. "Especially her dad, then we would be in trouble"
Being curious myself, I asked for more to know what we would be dealing with.
"What kind of trouble?"
"Exorcism," She answered without hesitation. "I might need to face the expulsion, and if I lose the battle, you won't be able to return to that host again"