CHAPTER TEN

Kyle wanted to kill his own body when he saw the two rolling around on his and Madi's bed. Even though it wasn't him doing it exactly, he still felt disgusting and dirty. He didn't like Madison Montgomery. In fact, he hated how the other woman – who was so different from his own Madi – could even share the same name as her.

"God, damn it!" He kicked the bed, feeling his feet go through the foamy mattress. It was such a peculiar feeling. It felt as if his feet had sank into the foam and he could feel everything, but nothing moved. Did the cells of his feet fuse with the objects that he goes through?

"Let's fuck," Madison purred, tugging eagerly at the other Kyle's plaid shirt. "You were pretty hot before, but then you went brain-dead. I like the new you, though. Very sexy. Very naughty."

The demon chuckled, roaming his hand down her body before stopping at the hands that were still working on his shirt. "You're a quick fuck girl, aren't you? An easy lay."

"Shut up and fuck me."

Kyle's ears twitched when he heard the doorknob turn and his heart immediately dropped. This was never anything he wanted her to see.

Madi gaped at the two figures desecrating their bed. Her teary eyes showed how heartbroken and devastated she was.

Kyle instinctively walked over to her and tried to hold her in his arms. Her warmth comforted him, but he knew she couldn't feel the same.

When she turned on her heels and ran off, he desperately shouted after her, catching Nan's attention as he followed after his sister.

He never wanted to see her run from him. Never.

But she ran and ran, and then…

Screeeeech!

Thud!

A loud scream rang through the air, but it wasn't his Madi.

No… No… It was as if his nightmares had finally come true.

He had never told anyone of them before, but since he met her, he had repeated nightmares of her dying. It scared him as a child and he'd cling to her as long as he could, hoping that that would keep her longer with him. As he grew older, he dismissed them as his greatest fear peeking through.

What still nagged him was how his nightmares would always cycle through the different ways she'd die.

This was never one of them.

He knelt by her head, crying. Her hooded eyes settled on him before fluttering closed and he knew his own life had ended there.

…

Life for Kyle had been but a distant dream. He floated around with no intentions of ever claiming his body, again. It was pointless. What use did he have of the stupid thing, now?

…

It clenched its jaws as Madison rubbed herself again him. "Come on. Let's not let her ruin the mood."

Madi wasn't supposed to be home so early. Granted, he hadn't factored in the difference of her walking back home alone, which would take less time than when they spoke and it teased her every minute of the way back.

"Go away. I'm done." He ran his hand through his messy curls in frustration. Things hadn't gone as planned.

True, he wanted her to feel the heart-shattering pain, but it hadn't brought him the satisfaction that he expected. In fact, it was the opposite. He felt wretched.

"What?" Madison gaped at him. "What do you mean, go away? I didn't come all the way here, get naked, only to be brushed off like some whore!"

She clung on like a koala. "Come on, Kyle. You're the only one who can make me feel anything. Only you can understand because – "

"A whore? A whore would have more self-respect than you," he hissed. "Now, go away." His eyes gleamed red, shocking the blonde into silence. "If you refuse, I can show you something worse than this façade of a life that you have."

With that, she scrambled away, scooping up her clothes as she left.

He sighed before leaving as well. The musky scent of lust unfulfilled was brining a bad taste to his mouth.

As he reached the lower floor, he froze. The sudden dread pulled viciously at him. He hadn't felt anything so strongly for such a long time. It made his borrow heart thud painfully against his chest. "Madi!"

He ran out of the house and saw the others were already there, standing about a bleeding form.

The transparent form of Kyle – invisible to everyone else – was kneeling by her still body.

This wasn't what he wanted to happen. His plans were going all wrong! She wasn't allowed to die, now. He still had uses for her!

He tugged at the curls in frustration. With a rough push, everyone parted for him. "Madi!"

Her eyes were half-hooded. The pool of blood spread across the pavement, soaking into his jeans. His fingers graced the soft, pale neck, but he already knew that he would find nothing. Her glassy eyes told him everything he had to know.

He looked around. She was nowhere to be seen. Was she still in there?

"Let's just do CPR!" Zoe suggested as sirens could be heard speeding towards them. "We won't' be able to help her if she's gone for too long and I don't think she'd want to wake up frozen in the morgue."

Kyle trailed his fingers past her collarbone and rested upon the swell of her left breast.

She was his. She was going to listen to whatever he wanted and he still needed her alive.

A spark jolted into her body and she let out a breathless gasp. Her chest rose and fell quickly before she fell limp once more, but she was alive. That was a close one. Had her spirit left already, he would've had to resort to something more drastic.

He leaned back, seeing Kyle staring at him with hatred burning in his eyes.

…

I felt as if I was trapped in a ball of pain that was quickly expanding, pressing harder and harder against me. It had blossomed from my core and spread until I could handle it no more.

My dark world was bursting with colourful specks of pain that left me feeling nauseated.

Was I dead?

… Kyle…?

Would he know that I was here or were we still in different planes because he had been brought back?

I really missed him.

KYLE?!

Was I going to be separated from him even in death?

I curled up into a ball, holding myself and imagined him embracing me. I missed him. I missed him so, so much.

The demon had ruined everything. Why had I agreed to let it use his body? Surely, someone else could've helped him. Why hadn't I just tried harder? Would he hate me for what I had done?

Now, I couldn't stop picturing him and Madison Montgomery in our bed – Kyle and mine. I should've been able to separate the two entities in my head, but sometimes, the spirit was very good at tricking me.

He'd shower me with affection like Kyle used to before cruelly reminding me that he wasn't actually there.

It loved to leave me confused with my feelings. At times, I thought it could actually work out. I could accept this demon and even feel amiably towards it for Kyle's sake.

Of course, It had no actual intentions to keep any of its words. It said it would never hurt me, but it had done the one thing that could've truly broken me. Kyle was my everything. To use his likeness against me like that… It was despicable.

How much did that demon hate me, to do something like that…? I had given it everything I could – my body… my soul… even a part of my heart, but it wasn't enough in the end, was it?

I threw my head back and laughed. I had been such a fool. What had it all been for? I should've known better. I made a deal with the Devil and thought I'd come out on top? What an idiot…

I floated around in the darkness, wallowing in my own self-pity.

"My child…"

I looked over to the side to see something other than the all-consuming darkness. It was a pale, regal woman. She had a gentle smile as she hovered near me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Was she death? Was I finally going to be taken away?

"My poor dear…" She held her hand towards me and it was then that I noticed the dark, feathered wings stretched behind her. "Take my hand. I can fix this for you. You do not have to be part of its games any longer."

I instinctively reached over to her, but stopped when I remembered that that was how I had gotten into this mess in the first place. I was impulsive and didn't think of the consequences.

"I can't…" I whispered back to her. "I have to wait for him." Yes, I was going to wait for Kyle, first, even if it took me decades and he no longer loved me.

"Remember that you will always have a choice," she said before fading away as if she had never been there.

I was alone, again…

"Kyle, I'm sorry," I sobbed, clenching my eyes shut. HE was stuck with the demonic spirit because of me. If he didn't hate m –

"Look at me!"

I was jerked painfully back into reality and stared at burning crimson eyes. "I am not done with you, yet. How dare you think you can escape me?!"

"Young man!"

I was dropped back on to the hard mattress. My heart was racing with the beeps to my left and the pain in my body was finally registering.

"What do you think you're doing to the poor girl?!" the nurse harped, cuffing the back of his head. She quickly turned to me and checked all the wounds that I didn't know were there. "If I see you abuse her, again, I will have you in the slammer!"

Once she was done with her procedure, she huffed away without another word.

"W-what do you want?" My voice cracked. I was too tired to care, now. "Haven't y-you done enough?" I refused to let the tears fall.

He sat back down on the bed, narrowing his eyes at me. His cold fingers brushed against my swollen cheeks. "You've always been so weak."

I pursed my lips and looked away. "Do you really think that's what I want? I – I've tried to be strong for him. I'd give absolutely anything for him to be happy, b-but… it never goes right!"

I took in a shaky breath. "Aren't you happy, now? Or did you come here to finish the job?"

He tilted his head. "You haven't been listening, have you? You're more valuable to me alive than dead."

"I-I don't understand…" I whimpered, pathetically. "I don't understand why any of this is happening…"

He looked so frustrated as he tugged his hair. Instead of speaking, we ended up falling into an awkward silence.

"Do you… really like her…?" I finally whispered, my insecurities quickly bleeding through

His head tilted to the side. "Her? The little slut?" The smirk spread across the angelic face. 'She's fun, but too loose." He leaned in. "I'm sure you're much better in bed."

"Shouldn't you already know?" I hissed in indignation. "You've already had me."

"Yes, but I haven't had her. I'm not sure I Ever want to even go there." He slipped his finger under my blanket and gripped my upper thigh, causing me to wince. "I'm always willing to have another go here, though – refresh my memories. I believe old age hasn't done well with my memories."

I tried to push him away, but felt my injuries stretch and a sharp pain made me fall back limp. I couldn't remember how I even ended up here. Had I fallen down the stairs? The last thing I remember was that disgusting scene of those two together on our bed.

The thought brought an ache to my heart all over again. I wished that I could forget that, too.

"Please, leave me alone…" I whispered. My eyes were closed for fear of him seeing the tears that were sure to spill out at any second.

Without another word, I felt the bed shift and then… he was gone.

For my next few days at the hospital, I didn't catch a glimpse of him. My regulars were Cordelia, Nana, and Zoe. They kept me company while the loneliness nagged at the corners of my mind.

It didn't feel right without him. Somehow, even the demon posing as Kyle had somehow dulled away the sadness, but every thought always led to that day in my room, now.

When I finally returned to the manor, Nan helped me with the wheel chair and I received a half-hearted welcome back. She stopped in front of the grand staircase. We stared at the obstacle in wonder.

"Alright, she's back. Go on." I heard the irritated voice of Fiona call out.

Kyle immediately appeared, running excitedly over to me like a puppy. "Madi!"

I held him close, breathing in his familiar scent. "I missed you," I murmured.

"Missed. Madi." He held on tighter. "Missed. Madi. Love."

He gently lifted me into his arms and carried me up the steps while Nan folded up my wheelchair and brought it to my room.

"Love you." He kissed me as we were settled on the soft bed.

I tried desperately to get the images out of the way. All I could do was cling on to him and cry.

…

Kyle sighed, nuzzling her hair. He hated seeing her cry, especially when he didn't know how to help her. He knew it was because of what they had done. What he had indirectly agreed to.

Flexing his fingers, he wanted to hate himself and the demon for what happened, but this was the most human he had felt in such a long time. "Love…"

She hadn't said much and he was afraid that she no longer felt the same way towards him. The very thought made his already aching heart ache even more.

When she snuggled closer against him, however, some of the worry alleviated, but he knew that it would never be the same again. He couldn't blame her for seeing him differently. He should never have let it use his body.

What had it all been for? He was still a clumsy idiot who couldn't even string together a full sentence.

The next few days rolled by at an agonising pace. Not only was Madi completely clammed up, he had to deal with the diva's persistent advances. No matter how adamantly he tried to express his disinterest, it was as if that one time had her completely attached to him. He had been sure that the demon had frightened her off that day, but he was sorely mistaken. Was he some novelty that she wanted to try?

Just the mere thought that the demon could allow such a woman near his body was enough for him to lose whatever faith and respect he had for it.

"Go 'way," he grumbled, scrambling away from the blonde before Zoe appeared with her arms crossed.

"I don't think he's interested," she told her.

Madison rolled her eyes. "What do you know? You don't see us together before or you would've seen just how interested he was."

"Come on, Kyle." Zoe pulled on his hand. 'I'm going to show you how to work my laptop. You can listen to some of the lessons I've downloaded for you."

He looked helplessly at Madi who was on her wheelchair by the window. He had felt her gaze on him, but as soon as he returned it, she had looked away.

Forlornly, he stood up and left with Zoe, but he didn't want her. He wanted his Madi. He wanted to hold her and love her. He wanted her to know that he would always be hers.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm sorry! Things will look up… Eventually… Hopefully before any of you start hating me?

Thank you ThatOneGirlwiththeM, NameWithNoMeaning, SeleneMoon21, PorcelainPuppetLady, GayMexicanBatman, guests (Guest and anonymouscsifan) for reviewing!

ThatOneGirlwiththeM: Haha! My year is not too bad, right now. This cough has been lingering, but it's not unbearable. I've started my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge, again (I failed last year when I stopped in September at 38…), but I've gotten 5 books down already, this year! I just need to make sure I don't burn myself out reading too much too early! How about you? Anything interested happening or planned?

NameWithNoMeaning: 2016 started horribly when David Bowie and Alan Rickman passed away. I'm just really hoping things like that aren't going to happen anytime soon, again (knock on wood)!

SeleneMoon21: Haha! More you shall get!

PorcelainPuppetLady: If Madi ever came to life… She'd hate me…

Guest: Thank you!

anonymouscsifan: I feel like Nan likes to just watch everything go to Hell and maybe interfere when she needs to for people she care about. Other than that… Nan will be Nan. And now Nan looks weird to me because I've typed it up too many times…

GayMexicanBatman: Haha! And this story needs you to keep it alive‼

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I'm also looking for book/book series recommendations! I prefer something with romance + one of the following: mystery, darkness, plot, adventure. Nothing too Mary Sue, such as main character being extremely special and over powered. Thank you so much in advance!