Hi. My name is Easton…and I sold my soul to the Antichrist.
Things have changed since I moved out of my parents' house – I've changed. I still remember hearing the disbelief in my mother's voice when I told her that I wanted to go to college. She had those beautiful blue eyes that wouldn't hold any inner anguish, like it was a poison that needed to be expelled from the mind. I never said 'no' to her, even as a child. When I finally did, it was like…it was like I'd actually – physically – hit her. I could see the hurt in her youthful eyes, though it was not her own. What would dad say? The family business was still going strong after thirty something years of steady success. His son was going to college instead of picking up the old restaurant from his old man. He was looking forward to the dream too…father and son working side by side…and all that good stuff. It was not what I wanted though. What I wanted was to have something of my own. I liked to write mostly…not the ideal hobby one goes to college with, but it was something I was passionate about like millions of other people.
So, I moved out of the house and into the dorms by myself. I would not hear from either of my parents for a long time; my mother would still send money from time to time. Ultimately, I would drop out my second year. The money would stop coming. I moved into a one-man apartment with what little I made working small jobs in temporary positions. I even managed to keep a job waiting on people for a few months. Needless to say though…nothing turned out like I thought it would. By that time I was twenty-two. According to the map in my head, I was supposed to be making beautiful stories. I was supposed to be nearing the rough road of publishing, getting reviews, finding new inspiration! Instead I was overdue on my monthly payment to my landlord and I still had a considerable amount of debt to pay off.
I ended up on the streets. I stopped caring…because what can you really care about at that point? I had no income anymore, and finding another place to stay was next to impossible with no money on you. I was too stubborn to go home, however. I did not want to show up a failure; I feared rejection more than that. Here is where I am supposed to die. I am destined, according to the facts of life, to rot in my own waste as I become a shadow of a man who used to exist with his own dreams. But I didn't. I met Eve.
She was a tiny thing with a voice that made the air moan and a laugh that made you want to listen. Her eyes were mesmerizing and small, a deep and bright shade of green that made her light skin all the more appealing. Her hair was black and incredibly long; she mimicked a goddess with the thick strands ending at her hips. She had the most gorgeous lips I had ever seen, plump things that revealed such perfect teeth. How a woman like that could exist was beyond my knowledge…at the time. We met at a crossroads (very prevalent in the area). She asked for the time and I told her; it was after three in the morning, going on thirty-three minutes. How we started a conversation in the first place, I cannot entirely recall. The next thing I knew, we were talking…just talking in the middle of an intersection. I thought it was odd that she would be wandering out here, especially with a face like that.
Eve was from a wealthy family, adopted into their walls when she was barely a toddler. The religious bunch was invested in several different companies and worked with their church. She found all of it a bore and she left when she was eighteen. Now twenty-one, Eve was earning her own way through life; how, she would not say. From what she wore, I could tell it must have been a well-paying job. Tucked in to flared and black white pants was a black button down shirt, small details outlined in white. The shirt looked like silk, but I could have been mistaken. Her pale heels (not quite white) looked enormous on her feet, the black heel giving her a few extra inches; she was still shorter than me.
"But what are you doing here?" I asked her again.
She considered this for a moment, the brightness of her eyes becoming overcast with thoughts I could only imagine. "For you, Easton Crossley."
The red flag came a little late. Women never really had a firm place in all the time I had been alive. I had female friends at some point, a couple of brief crushes now and then. In college I tried dating a few times, but nothing ever lasted. There would be the long awaited kiss at the end of the night, and then nothing. Eve was different though…and how she knew me was terrifying.
"I am here for you," She repeated. "To give you what you could never give yourself."
I could barely believe what I was hearing. The drastic change in her tone from soft to its dominant peak was chilling. "What… How do you know who I am?"
She gave me another of her precious smiles. "I know a lot of people, Easton. I know you because it's my job to…my duty, my purpose. I'm here now to make a deal."
"What kind of deal…?"
"The sweetest of them all." She paused, her eyes searching mine. "I will give you everything you have ever wanted out of life. I will give you success and wealth, even the means to strike down your enemies. I promise you all of this…in exchange for you."
My mother always said that I would end up around another woman's finger. It is actually kind of funny now looking back. Eve's offer was complete bullshit to me. I thought to myself, she's probably one of those serial killers. She likes to pretend to be a man's last resort and then she kills them. I also thought she was crazy…maybe a little traumatized by a drug that made you think you were a god or something. I did not run away, unfortunately. I decided to humor myself as I looked at her. She was serious, or at least, she believed she was.
"In exchange for me? My soul would make more sense, you know…"
This made her laugh. "Eager to put your soul on the table? My…what would daddy say?"
I said nothing.
"I was planning on letting you go when it was all said and done…but this is far more interesting." She had another strange look in her eyes. "Your soul for everything you could ask for…"
Gambling was never my forte. Normally, a man's ultimate dream would be to make it big in Vegas. Of course I would be the man who would lose everything just playing poker. Still, my skepticism of the entire situation was showing and I really had nothing like this to think of. If it turned out to be as bogus as I thought, then at least I had a good story to tell my fellow street walkers.
"Your answer, Easton." She moved towards me, her hand lifted in a greeting gesture.
My...what would daddy say? I lifted my own to take hers. "Deal."
She grabbed my hand suddenly. It felt as if the whole world was shaking under my feet; sirens and shrieking machine alarms sounded in the distance. Eve was still though, her face a mask of indifference. "I will be seeing you very soon." She told me through the faintest of smiles.
Then she was gone.