Elizabeth stayed in the bathtub until the water was cold and her skin was pruny. By the time she emerged from the bathroom it was completely dark outside and she was feeling strangely alone and vulnerable. Rubbing her arms, she huddled in bed under the covers. Every creak and groan made her jump. Her eyes darted from window to window when the rain pelted against them. Even the shadows in the room seemed alive. The dark masses in the corners of her room moved if she stared too long at them, creeping closer and closer to the bed. She wasn’t sure if it was his goal, but Ben had done a good job of scaring her. She remained in bed, hiding under the covers in the fetal position, too afraid to move.
It felt like she was going crazy and was unable to sleep. When was Ben coming back? Was he coming back? Surely he wouldn’t leave her alone all night by herself, especially after that huge deal he made about leaving everything locked and not letting anyone in. Sneaking out of bed, she slowly tip-toed through the dark house. Only the dim moon light made it through the windows, casting strange shadows on the walls.
Moving slowly, she was careful not to run into anything, and eventually she came to Ben’s room. Sneaking inside, she hoped that maybe he had come back while she was in the bathroom, but the room was empty. The only things occupying the space were an old chair that belonged to her grandmother and a large bed. When did he bring that over?
Sliding her feet over the wood floors, she moved closer to the bed. It was a king size that nearly took up the entire wall. There was a sizable headboard on it and a footboard, but she couldn’t make out the color or any details in the darkness. Running a hand along the bed, she grazed the sheets with her fingers. They were soft and were either Egyptian cotton or silk. Even the pillows were soft and the fabric cool to the touch.
Methodically petting the bed, Elizabeth stayed in the room longer than intended. Sliding her hand off the sheets, she turned to leave when the light popped on. Yelping, she leapt into the air. Her heart was pounding and was about to jump out of her chest. Standing in the doorway was Ben. His hand was still resting on the light switch and frowning he glared at her coldly.
“What are you doing in here?”
He sounded upset and Elizabeth couldn’t help but go on the defensive. “I’m sorry but this is my house,” she said. “I was just seeing if you had made it back yet.”
He didn’t say anything and remained as motionless as a statue. Swallowing, Elizabeth stared at her bare feet. Rubbing her arms, she said, “Well, I’ll get out. Goodnight.”
Moving cautiously, she slid her feet over the floors towards the door. Seeing him out of the corner of her eye, she paused for a second. He never moved but his eyes remained fixed on her. They were lifeless and looking back at the floor she went to take another step but was stopped. His arms wrapped around her and, flying backwards, she was suddenly on his bed. He was straddling her, surrounding her, making escape impossible. His eyes were vibrant, suddenly filled with life, and Elizabeth felt like she would melt any second.
They stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Closing his eyes, Belial suddenly sat up. Sliding off of her, he sat on the edge of the bed. Staring at the ceiling he ran his hands over his face. Elizabeth was confused. Looking around cautiously she sat up and rubbed her arms slowly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This is my fault.”
Looking down at her, his eyebrows rose. “This is not your fault,” he said. “If anything, it’s mine. I told Lucifer I’d keep my distance and I couldn’t keep my word for more than a few hours.”
Letting out a short laugh, Elizabeth confessed, “The real reason I snuck in here was because I was scared. With everything you told me to do before you left, I couldn’t sleep, and thought if I’d come in here I’d feel better.”
Chuckling, he looked away for a moment. “Did it?”
“Did it what?”
“Make you feel better?”
Letting out a sigh Elizabeth figured she might as well keep the conversation going since it was so hard to get him to talk at all. “Yeah, it kind of did.”
Pushing against the bed to leave, Belial placed a hand on her good shoulder causing her to pause. He was up in a second and, walking towards the door, he offered, “Then why don’t you stay in here tonight?”
Thinking it over for second, Elizabeth nodded in agreement. The lights clicked off and smiling, she climbed under the covers, dumbfounded that he gave her his bed for the night. Turning on her side, she felt the bed shift and the covers lift behind her. Her heart stopped. He wasn’t giving her his bed; he intended to share it. Belial took his time climbing under the covers and with every passing second, her heart beat faster. He didn’t move towards her, however, and within a minute, she was relaxed and drifting to sleep.
The next morning she woke early in the same position she had gone to sleep in. Rolling onto her back, she saw Ben was still lying next to her asleep. Being as quiet as possible, she slipped out of bed and snuck back to her room. It took longer than normal to get dressed but at least her shoulder wasn’t as sore as it had been. It was still tight and didn’t have its full range of motion back, but it was workable. Moving quietly and quickly, she made her way through the house and left for work without disturbing her guest.
Driving was more difficult than she expected, but she made it on time. It felt great to be back to her normal routine. She immediately got to work and was more than excited to see the horses again. The second she stepped into the barn they whinnied and poked their heads over the stall doors. Certain tasks took her longer than normal, but she worked the whole day with a broad smile on her face. When it was time to go home, however, she was met by an unexpected surprise. Ben was leaning against her car patiently. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face was stone cold.
Closing the barn door for the night, Elizabeth barely glanced at him. “Ben.”
“You didn’t tell me you were leaving.”
Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “Well, excuse me, but I didn’t know I needed to ask permission before going to work.”
Looking away, his hands turned into tight fists. Scowling, he glared at her. She was impossible and completely infuriating. She was making his job exceedingly more difficult and didn’t even care.
Her eyes never left him. Walking around the car, she unlocked the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. Before she could close the door, Belial caught it. “Move over,” he said. “I’ll drive.”
“Excuse me?”
He didn’t move. Staring at her intently he was ready to wait as long as it took for her to concede. Growling and mumbling under her breath, Elizabeth maneuvered over the stick shift and climbed into the passenger seat. Satisfied Belial dropped into driver’s seat and closed the door. Starting the engine, he drove slowly down the muddy, dirt road towards the exit.
“How’s your shoulder?”
“Do you want to know, or is this Lucifer asking?”
He glared at her. The more time she spent with him the less perfect he seemed. Although his looks never failed him, his attitude changed on a daily basis.
“You’re frustrating,” she said, “and you can tell your boss my shoulder is starting to feel better.”
He continued to glare at her and letting out an excessive sigh, looked back at the road. “Do you remember anything else about the man?”
“What man?”
“The one you saw last night in your yard.” He was agitated and it showed in is voice.
“Oh.” Elizabeth thought for a minute, but it was getting late and he was far away so there really wasn’t much to remember. “I don’t know,” she said. “It was getting dark.”
Frowning, he gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Did he see you?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I guess. Maybe.”
“Do you remember anything?!”
Elizabeth’s mouth fell open. Who does he think he is? “Stop the car.”
“Wha
t?”
“Stop the car!” she said. “I’m walking home.”
He pulled over to the side of the road reluctantly. Quickly unhooking the seatbelt, Elizabeth was halfway out the door when he grabbed her arm. “Remember the last time you said you were walking home, someone tried to kill you.”
His words hit way too close to home. Her shoulder throbbed again, sending a nagging pain down her back. He was right. Groaning, she plopped back onto the seat and closed the door. Nodding in approval, Belial merged back onto the road and continued towards her house.
Elizabeth was hoping the rest of the drive would be silent but she wouldn’t get her wish. Only a few minutes passed when he made a poor attempt at apologizing. “Look,” he said, “I know you don’t understand what’s going on and frankly I’m not able tell you. But you have to understand that I’m acting like this because I have to keep you safe and this is the only way I know how.”
He glanced at her after his little speech, and appeared to be telling the truth. Although it was hard to say since he wasn’t exactly human.
“I know you’re trying to help me,” she said, “but I can’t have you acting like a parent or whatever. I need my space.”
He frowned but nodded that he understood. The corners of her mouth rose for a split second. She prayed that he was being sincere. They made it back to her house without any other fights. She was more than relieved to be there and was looking forward to a warm, relaxing bath. Whatever plans she had of taking the night easy would have to be put on hold however. She had a visitor who would not wait.
Chapter 12