The Double-Blind Effect
Chapter 10
I want Blood, Guts, and Chocolate Cake
"You know that I won't stop until I make you mine. Until I make you mine."—Public.
(Day 10 afternoon, before grand opening)
Since the day that Angel disappeared, Charlie grew apprehensive. "Annnnd… finished!" Dropping a color pencil on her desk, she sprang up from the desk chair and zoom over to the printer. She opened the copier's lid, tapping a few numbers on the touch screen, she hit copy. A large amount of paper printed out, she grabbed one sheet from the tray and gazed ecstatically at her handiwork. It was a missing demon reward paper. The top portion of the form had a drawing of a rainbow. The middle section was a cropped G-rated picture of Angel that she regrettably got off the internet, and at the bottom was the hotel's contact information. 'It's just a sea of porn as far as I can see.' Thinking back, she was not mentally prepared for that. The heiress had to watch hours of adorable animal videos to delete that memory.
She gathered up the stack of paper, strolling out of her office, and headed downstairs. The pile of paper exceeded above her head. This would be the one time she wished the elevator was working. 'The company is supposed to come tomorrow.' Her idea was to pass out flyers and post them throughout most of the city. The princess believed offering a reward would entice her fellow people to help, even if they were in it for profit. It's getting closer to the grand opening, where they'd soon be hosting a party for the potential sponsors, and it would reflect poorly on Charlie if she couldn't keep her only patient in line. While the thought of asking Alastor for help had occurred to her, she couldn't think what a deal maker would want in return.
Honestly, she wanted to ask Vaggie to come along, but they barely spoke to each other after their little… argument.
Her girlfriend still believed she was in the right and had no means to apologize. 'I'm not the one that should apologize. She should know when you run a hotel, you're going to have patients that'll ruffle your feathers, and it's your job to handle your emotions.'
And now, she was going alone.
To be alone was something unpleasant.
'I think I grabbed too many sheets of paper!' Suddenly, the stacks of paper wobbled from one side to the other, and several sheets of paper whooshed off the top. Going down the last step, the Hell Princess lost her footing. "W-whoa!" Her entire body circled, closing her doe eyes tightly, she prepared for impact, but instead of hitting the floor, she collided with Alastor. Papers soared into the air and slowly descended like snowflakes that scattered across the entire floor.
Unwanted touch.
Charlie unintentionally crashed into him before he had the opportunity to catch her or divert away. Rather than retreating like a feral cat, his deadly claws grasped her shoulders to stabilize her, and strangely this accidental touch didn't completely repulse the overlord, as it should have. Beads of sweat trickled off the side of his temple from the ludicrous concept. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
The sounds of static alerted the heiress, and she peaked open an eye before opening both. "A—Al?!" Twirling around to face him, she took a step back. "I'm fine. S-sorry, I—I didn't look where I was going and—" She stopped halfway through the explanation to see the papers scattered throughout the entrance of the hotel. "Oh man, what a mess!" Bending to her knees, she started to pick up the sheets of paper.
"It's an accident and nothing to get lathered up about." He merely professed, stooping down to help his demon belle; he picked up pieces of paper and shuffled them into a neat stack. Interestedly, he read the missing demon's article. "What's this?"
"Well, I'm tired of waiting around to see if Angel will return, and I thought I need to do something, so I came up with this idea. I could hang flyers around town and ask people if they've seen him." The princess answered. Collecting the stack of papers, she sauntered over to a side table and placed it there. 'I'll just take a handful.'
"What a pos-i-lute-ly spiffy idea! I shall accompany you, my demon belle!" Indeed, what a fascinating idea to think that demons would help their fellow kind?! He had to make sure that she didn't become too dejected after the posters fail because she wasn't at the highest peak of hope for him to destroy. Perhaps, lady luck will bless him again with another fortune to have the princess come to him and make a deal.
"Re—really? You don't have any other plans?" Charlie met his sultry gaze innocently and grabbed her bag.
"Nope! Come, come, let's get a wiggle on!" Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, Alastor practically hauled his plaything out of the hotel. He never did anything unless there was something to gain out of it, and watching her became his new source of entertainment.
She's positively, almost… addicting.
Yet as always, he'll sooner or later grow bored and look aimlessly around for something new to amuse him.
"O—oh, okay!" She breathlessly said as he unhooked his arm from her, and they casually sauntered the sidewalk of Pentagram City. They agreed that walking is a better approach because she could hang flyers and passed them out to demons. How could she describe walking with Alastor? She had an uncanny feeling that demons averted their route, and she figured this had to do with his reputation. One bonus she got to of this was demons weren't throwing trash behind her back, so overall it was a delightful change of pace.
Two hours sailed by from Charlie posting flyers on street lamps, all over some building walls, and handing out flyers to any brave souls that dared to cross their path. There was no way she'd step foot in Cannibal Colony; her mind could only handle so much in one day. They neared a Coffee Shop. 'Call it a hunch, but I'm picking up bad vibes from Angel's old workplace. He never went into detail about his personal life, yet anytime he talks about that place… he looks in pain. Typically, sinners dive back into old habits, so could Angel be there? What to do, what to do?'
"Shall we take a coffee break?"
Snapping back into reality, she smiled at him. "Yeah!"
He strolled to the establishment's door, holding it open for Charlie like a gentleman. His mother always preached to him about the rules to be a true southern gentleman. Not only did it have a charming effect on the fairer sex, it always made his mother lovingly smile when he did things like this. He could almost hear the smile in her voice… 'Dat's my baby boy, yah made your momma so proud.' The thought circulated through his mind to what he faintly remembered his mother's voice to sound like. Ever since he took residence in the hotel, he kept evoking past events from his previous life. That wasn't entirely precise; it only occurs around his plaything, where these happier memories derived. Why? ' Purely a coincidence.'
"Thanks!" Strolling into the cafe alongside Alastor, she went to the checkout counter.
"Let's see… I'll have a cup of joe! Black, no sugar or cream." He spoke to the male sheep barista. "And what will you have, ma chérie?"
"Ooh, erm—can I get a mocha cookie crumble Frappuccino extra whip cream."
The trembling, fear-stricken sheep typed in their orders as Alastor insisted on paying for their drinks. Afterward, they took a seat at a small round table, and within mere seconds, the waiter brought their orders.
"Thanks for buying my drink. I'll have to repay the debt!" Charlie graciously spoke as she voraciously sucked on the straw connected to the sugary iced drink.
"No, no, no, think nothing of it, my dear. It's my pleasure." He purred out the last sentence, which earned him a discrete blush from the princess, and the overlord reached over for his coffee cup to take a sip. "So, where else you wish to adventure to?"
"Oh well, I thought there is this demon that is sorta like Angel's friend and—" The princess paused for a moment because it felt like a dozen eyes avidly watched them, and it was indubitably a change of pace to the demons that avoid them on the streets. The indirect whispers and snickering was another story, and she detested it, for it was impolite to stare for that long!
'Is us being together so abnormal?' She assumed it had to do with their polar opposite beliefs. Why did that make her heart jump into high gear? Is it because she contemplation the idea of them being a couple? 'N-no wa-way!' Pulling out of her pocket a new phone, she held it out to them. "Take a picture; it'll last longer." Charlie sunnily announced. 'Kill them with kindness, Charlie.'
A dozen wicked glares slewed to the heiress, but before any brave soul could utter a word to her, Alastor's poisonous smile caught their attention. The room suddenly became ten degrees colder and ominous, and like a bunch of toothless prey, they sprang out of their seats to rush out of the Coffee Shop.
Charlie blinked a few times, struggling to understand what just happened. 'What was that about? Did Al do something?' Her naively gaze lingered to the Radio Demon, and she saw that he was resting his cheek against the palm of his hand, simply smiling at her. 'Was he annoyed too?'
"Such a shame, I was looking oh-so forward to have my picture taken with you! Now, what were you saying before, my dear?" Peculiarly, the stares exasperated him. 'No manners or class whatsoever!'
The Hell Princess faintly giggled before resuming. "Well, Al, like I was saying—"
Boom!
An explosion occurred a few blocks down. The building vibrated, the hanging lamps swiveled, and the tables trembled.
"W-what was that?!" Alarmingly, Charlie sprang out of the chair.
"Perhaps, another turf war? There have been numerous escalating reports about new fights since Execution Day." The overlord didn't care about the current turf wars, not when he has his own game to triumph.
"I'm gonna try to stop it! People could get hurt."
"How do you plan to achieve that?"
"Easy peasy lemon squeezy! I'm sure we can peacefully talk things through. You never know, sometimes a hug is an answer, even when the question is not known. You coming?"
'What a funny bird.' Alastor complied merely to satisfy his fascination about her intentions. "Let's ankle!"
They ventured out of the Coffee Shop through the main street, where signs of smoke ascended into the crimson sky, and demons vacated the area upon their arrival. There was a considerable percentage of the road missing from the explosion.
Charlie recognized one sinner from TV; it was Cherri Boom. She quarreled mere inches away with a bear demon. 'She's Angel's friend. I gotta talk to her!'
"Pheew! When was the last time you shower? You smell like a dumpster fire!" Cherri covered a nonexistence nose.
"Watch that tongue of yours, or I'll cut it off, you fuckin bitch!" The bear snarled.
"Oooh, I'm shaking… not!"
"Hey there, guys! I'm from the happ—Hazbin Hotel! Let's not fight. I'm sure we can resolve our issues by talking things through!" Charlie tentatively waved.
"N-no, we want to fight." They proclaimed, exchanging perplexed looks to one another.
The heiress tediously puffed her cheeks out, unwilling to throw in the towel that easily! "Okay, then let's solve this through a hug!" She lightheartedly smiled. Approaching them, she linked her arms around their back and pulled them in a warm hug.
Cherri and the bear sinner bodies stood fixed in a state of dumbfounding. When their senses came to, they stared at the smiling overlord.
"Ooh, fuck this, I'm out!" The dreadful bear stated, wrenching out of Charlie's arm, he hightailed it away.
The cyclops sighed in dismay when the spineless bastard ran off.
"Feel better?" She released the sinner from her arms.
"Not particular… do I know you? Oh, wait—I do! You're that demon chick that Angel's been freeloading off of." Snapping her fingers, when she called it.
"Umm—yeah, about that… have you seen him?"
"… He's not with you?" Cherri bewilderedly stared at the princess. Reeling Charlie closer, she spoke in a hushed voice. "Look, I don't know where he is, but whatever you do… trust me on this, don't go to Valentino! Angel isn't at that place, not since last time."
"What happen last time?" One brow lifted; her doe eyes were full of concern.
"If he didn't tell you then out of respect for being his friend, I can't tell you either. I'll be on the lookout, and if I see him, I'll find you. Okay, I gotta go!" The cyclops didn't want to linger around the Radio Demon more than she had to. She darted towards the direction of where that pathetic sinner's ass ran off to, so they could finish their fight.
'I guess I can't expect a long conversation out of her, but what she said was helpful.' A big smile was plastered on her face, warming her eyes as she turned around, giving the overlord two thumps-up. "See, no violence needed!"
Chuckling at his plaything enthusiasm, he almost wanted to ruin her fun by explaining to her that those two demons would fight somewhere else, and his presence aided in the matter. He restrained from doing so. Alastor wanted to savor this moment, for when the inevitable time comes, he'll savor from what was once her adorable, foolish happiness to a future vacant defeated look. "Did you obtain any information, sweetheart?"
"Erm—kind of. There is just one more place I'd like to go if you're cool with that."
"Lead the way, Charlie."
After a wordlessly nod, they strolled around the block, and within five minutes, they were in yards from the Demon's Fantasyland DVD store. She instantly recognized the owl demon leaning against the establishment with a baggie of Bojack drugs in hand. "Oh, that's him! Hey, Frankie, it's me!"
Frankie's puzzled gaze lingered over to the princess, who was frantically waving at him. 'Oh, I think I know her… right, she was here a few days ago with Angel. She's the only one that rented the normal DVDs. Huh, I feel like I've seen that guy somewhere… but where?' He stared at the overlord but couldn't put a name to his face and neglecting to look at the 'Beware Radio Demon' posters scattered throughout the city and one conveniently behind him. 'Maybe he's been on TV.' The effects of drugs crucially influenced his mind. "Oh, hey. Yah, here to rent more of that normal shit?"
"Oh no, not today, but thanks for offering. I came here to ask you a question. Have you seen Angel?"
"Nope, I don't even know what day of the week it is." He struggled to open the bag of drugs.
Charlie disappointedly frowned at the lack of memory the owl had because of the drug's influence. She saw a glimmering fragment of hope within Frankie. It was the same thing the princess observed in Angel. Snagging the drugs out of his hands, she ignited flames within her palm to torched it.
Alastor looked at her curiously.
"My drugs!" Frankie hysterically exclaimed.
"You don't need that. I got something better for you, anyway." Her hand shoveled into her bag, pulling out a pack of hell's gummy bears; she passed it over to Frankie.
"These laced with some drugs?" The owl suspiciously gawked at the bag before accepting it.
"Nope, they are just regular gummy bears! Look, I can see that there are redeemable qualities in you and I think it'd be beneficial if you'd consider giving my hotel a chance. It's gonna be opening in a few days, and I'd like to see you there!"
The sinner despondently let out a sigh because she stole his drugs, set it aflame, and now all he had was some candy. Rolling his eyes, he checked his watch. "My break is over. I gotta head inside."
"Please, think it over!" She beseeched.
"Yeah, yeah." He indifferently replied. Pushing the door open, he walked inside the store and glimpsed down at the bag of gummies. Frankie opened the bag, scooping a hand full of gummies out; he wolfed it down. 'It's decent, I guess….'
Charlie's stomach growled loudly for food; she could feel warmth staining her cheeks.
"Hungry?" Alastor stared at her then chuckled at the sound of her stomach growling again.
"Erm—I'm a tad hungry." Charlie sheepishly replied, straining to cover the fact that her stomach was bigger than her mouth.
"We've done all that we could do for today. Let us retire home. How about we make a comprise? I'll make the main entrée, and you, my dear, can make dessert?"
"Deal!"
"Attagirl!"
Evening
Alastor fashioned another New Orleans famous dish, one his mother often made for him, gumbo. He stirred a long wooden spoon in a large pot; bringing the wooden spoon to his mouth, he sampled the heavy stew. "Needs more zing." Reaching for some tobacco sauce, he greedily poured the contents into the succulent stew.
The heavenly aroma permeated throughout the kitchen as the Hell Princess tied up her hair into a ponytail, and her mouth nearly watering when she gawked at the pot of stew. She used the back of her hand to wipe her mouth in case of drool. 'What a colorful dish.' She thought, securing a pink apron around her body. The front of the apron had a cursive logo, which read. 'The secret ingredient is love.'
"What are you planning to bake, my demon belle?" He inquired. Mincing garlic over a wooden chopping board, he lifted the board to the pot and used the knife to push the garlic into the stew.
"Chocolate cake!" She bubbly responded.
"Now that's the bee's knees, what a classic selection! I'm sure you'll have everyone swoon over your dessert."
"Haha—I think you're giving me too much credit, Al!" The heiress lightheartedly laughed. Strolling to the refrigerator, she grabbed the wet ingredients such as eggs, butter, and milk. Settling the elements at the kitchen counter next to him, she went into the walk-in pantry to collect the dry ingredients such as sugar, flour, baking soda, and most importantly, chocolate powder!
"Baloney, everyone thought your apple pie was the swankiest thing!" Alastor countered. "And that scoop of vanilla ice cream you added, très Magnifique!"
'Everyone, but you… you don't eat sweets, Alastor. I'm only good at making desserts.' Charlie dolefully thought for she didn't have the faintest idea why she couldn't prepare meals like Alastor. Somehow, she mastered baking, but give her a chuck beef, and in some way, she'll turn it into inedible charcoal.
'French toast doesn't count as regular cooking.' In the depths of her subconscious mind, she wished for him to try her cooking and honestly praise her for it. Her heartbeat erratically increased its rate, demanding that she breathe quicker. 'Th-that's crazy! I—I don't want him to try my baking that badly! Do I? Noo, I need to get him out of my head!' The last sentence in her mind played on repeat for her body to function and her heart to decelerate.
Adding all the dry ingredients together in a metal bowl, Charlie unconsciously grabbed dark chocolate powder to pour into the mix. 'Huh, this is dark chocolate. Ah crap, I forgot to buy milk chocolate powder! What can I do now?' She downheartedly gazed at the instant coffee powder in front of her, then a light bulb in the back of her mind illuminated. 'That could work. I wonder if he'll like it—I mean, I wonder if they'll like it!" She vehemently assured herself that predestined dessert was for everyone and not one individual.
She grabbed the instant coffee drizzling it into a measuring cup, adding it to the dry bowl, then the wet ingredients, placing the metal bowl into an electric mixture to be whipped. The component perfectly intermingled and fashioned a smokey, dark chocolate cake batter. The princess placed the bowl back on the counter. Grabbing a rubber spatula, she scraped off some batter from the side and licked it. The taste of delicious dark chocolate and coffee teased her tastebuds.
"Darling, that doesn't smell like an ordinary chocolate cake." Alastor closed the lid to the pot and let the food simmer. He watched her curiously, waiting for an explanation.
"You're right, and it's not. I'm winging it." The heiress added the batter into the circular cake pan and set it into the preheated oven. She placed the dirty bowls into the sink. Next came the homemade icing. She added the same dry and wet ingredients into a new mixer bowl and then whisked the ingredients together until she got the right consistency. "I don't have the right ingredients to make a traditional chocolate cake, so I altered the recipe. I think I'll call it: The Especially Dark Chocolate Cake."
"And the coffee powder?"
"The secret ingredient, of course!"
'There are other recipes she could have followed with the ingredients she lacked. So, why did she go for a more bitter route?' For some unknown reason, this fascinated him. "My dear Charlie, did you intend to make this for me?" The words purred in his husky voice.
Dragging her finger along the edge of the whisk, she collected a sample of the icing and licked it. 'It needs something more.' Her rosy cheeks warmed with more than an embarrassment; she knew the color was deepening. In her desperation, she focused on chopping a bar of dark chocolate with a knife to keep preoccupied. "Wh—what?! Th—this is for ev-everyone!" She quickly spoke, hoping a professional front could cover up a lie.
'Your face tells me a different story, ma chérie.' The Radio Demon gazed lowered to her face, noting the rising color to her already rosy cheeks. 'I cannot stomach the overly sugared products; I prefer the taste of blood and guts.'
Charlie scooped a handful of uneven pieces of dark chocolate and tossed it into the mixer bowl. Adding a smidge of coffee powder to the icing, she took a piece of chocolate off the cutting board and scraped it alongside the bowl to collect some icing.
She popped the dark, chocolatey goodness into her mouth. 'Yum!' Remnants of melted dark chocolate coated the tips of her delicate fingers, and droplets of icing also overlaid parts of her fingers. "I know you don't enjoy sweets, Al. I just want to let you know you're welcome to sample the unfinished product." The heiress innocently expressed, resuming back to cutting the remaining portion of the chocolate bar. She accidentally sliced the tip of her finger, and out of embarrassment, she didn't whimper from a tiny cut. Averting her doe eyes from his gaze, she retracted her hands from the counter.
The scent of fresh blood permeated the room, and his pupils contracted into thin radio dials. Alastor's illuminate gaze dawdled over to his quiet plaything. "How thoughtful of you, my dear. I think I will have a ẗ̴̡͇͙́̄̏ȧ̶̞̤̓̅̔s̵͚͈̓t̸̖͉͠ͅe̶̜̦̬̲̽̅̌ ̸̙͕̄̒̑t̶̩̞̳̖̄̎́ḙ̴̬̄̈́͊̂s̸̥̀̈́̌͘t̵͚̙̙̜͋͒̈." His gloved claw captured her small wrist before she had the opportunity to wash her hands.
The Hell Princess met his sultry gaze virtuously; a rush of mysterious excitement sent her heart into running a marathon. "Umm—I should wash and disinfect my hand." She naïvely said to a well-known cannibal. 'Wh—what is he planning?!'
"Your knife skills leave room for improvement, sweetheart." The static vanished from the back of his voice; he raised her hand to meet his mouth. His tongue hotly slithered from the root of her index finger up to the tip, and the two distinct entities coalesced into his mouth. 'Disgustingly sweet chocolate.' Her eccentric metallic blood made the sweetened product worth it. The overlord never sampled anything of the sort before. Was it because her blood came from two different realms, one of the heavens and the other of hell?
He consumed an assortment of bloody raw meat from animals to demons in hell, and they all shared a similar metallic taste. Hers tasted unadulterated with a distinct sweetness to it, and he craved for more. 'Is this what sweet tastes like?' His black alters wildly expanded momentarily, bringing her whole finger into his mouth. His tongue greedily lapped the wound; the beads of blood teased him.
Blood raced up her neck to further warm her rosy cheeks, and she stood there motionless and flabbergasted. Charlie watched at him silently, her mind went blank, yet his warm tongue sent her heart into a furry of wild beats, telling her she's alive. It was astonishing. Alastor had such sharp and elongated fangs that she guaranteed he would have severed her finger off, but his mouth and tongue were so gentle, she didn't feel them. All logic pointed in the direction, she should be frightened, but her heart said no and waited in anticipation on the next move.
His tongue soothed the cut, ceasing the bleeding before he withdrew her finger from his mouth. "That was scrumptious, my compliments to the chef." The Radio Demon studied her reaction, her rosy cheeks puffed out embarrassed, but the desire in her doe eyes was clear as day.
Utterly still, Charlie forced herself to breathe, or she'd pass out. Her foggy mind sent penetratingly, deafening warning bells to her that nearly popped her eardrums. 'I—I need to leave right now! Just move one step at a time and make up an excuse.' Against her request, the butterflies in her stomach were doing summersaults. "I—I erm…." She stepped backward.
"Good Heavens, cat got your tongue, darling?" He took two steps towards her.
'Great usage of your vocabulary, Charlie.' His enthralling ones captured her eyes, yet every time she stepped backward, he advanced towards her. Her back suddenly hit the shelving of the walk-in pantry, and a few boxes of cereal fell to the ground. Gazing quickly over the shoulder in dismay to see where she was. 'Who moved the exit?!'
"My dear, you have some icing on your face." He spotted a smear of chocolate icing on the corner of her mouth.
"Huh?" Her doe eyes snapped back to him, realizing he blocked the exit. She tried to clean the smudge off with her sleeve, but he seized her wrist again and moved it aside.
"Allow me to take care of it." The Radio Demon narcissistically chuckled, looming in closer; his claw stretched towards her chin to lift it, and his torso descended to her level. His breath warm against her cheek, he planted a light, irresistible kiss against the corner of her mouth. His tongue darted out to lick up the icing. The second taste wasn't as terrible compared to the first try. It had to be the coffee that helped mask the sweet chocolate.
There was a shedload of reasons why Charlie should run like the wind, too bad her mind drugged on blissful ignorance to listen to any. Her hands automatically rested upon his shoulders; she didn't push back.
The overlord tugged on the princess's black bowtie; unraveling it, he tossed it onto the floor. Unfastening two buttons from her blue blouse, he exposed her lovely pale neck.
"I—I don't understand…." She breathlessly said.
"Darling, if you want me to stop, all you have to do is say the magic word 'stop,' and I will. I won't do anything that you don't want me to do." His lips brushed against her ear, purring those words, and his claws settle on the small of her back. The overlord drew her into his arms, and his sharp claws slithered underneath the back of her hem blouse only to teasingly knead her bare skin.
Easier said than done, the world around her was spinning from his mesmerizing touch. Her vision blurred with desire, along with some confusion.
Alastor sloped down to tenderly kiss the corner of her neck. His yellow fangs lightly punctured her delicate skin and forced a moan out of her. His tongue avidly lapped up the droplets of crimson blood that flowed out, and his mouth covered the wound to soothe it with kisses.
A tingling sensation lit within her lower stomach; her breathing became labored. The room felt a hundred degrees hotter. Charlie's hand cautiously touched his cheek, and in response, he wrenched his face out of the crook of her neck. Blood trickled down from his lip to chin, and his illuminating eyes seized hers. For a moment, time stood still, and nothing seemed to hold her back anymore, for her mind and body agreed. Tilting her head, she leans in and slowly closed her eyes….
"Hey princess, you around here?" Husk's voice reverberated from the entrance of the hotel. "Ya girlfriend wants to go over some inventory counts with ya."
Her body froze in dismay.
'Vaggie.' The heiress's mind whispered; her heart plunged downward from the sudden consciousness that transpired between them. Her heart belonged to her faithful moth, and it didn't matter if they were in a fight. Every couple in the universe goes through rough patches, and it'll only be a matter of time for them to rekindle their relationship.
Charlie stared at Alastor, a mysterious sadness clutching her heart. 'Wh—why do I have the sudden urge to cry?' Did she want to cry for Vaggie's sake or herself? "I'm so sorry this shouldn't have happened. Please try to understand. I'm in a committed relationship, Al." She caught her breath and a peculiar denial.
Wrenching out of his arms, she bolted out the walk-in closet, and to cover up the minor wound, she quickly fastened the buttons to the blouse. 'What's wrong with me?' After a few deep breathes and her infamous cheek rubbing technique. She mustered out a fake smile and veered around the corner to meet Husk. "How can I help you today, Husk?!" She brightly beamed.
The Radio Demon left unaccompanied with his daunting thoughts. 'Here, I thought I was about to claim victory, but it looks like this game has gone into overtime.' His sinner's heart lunged in anticipation. 'My plaything is beginging to falter….' An arrogant grin played on his mouth, and he covered it to suppress the menacing laughter that would have otherwise echoed throughout the hotel and alarm the others. 'Soon she'll be m̸̨̲̔͝͝͝į̶̢̬̹̓̔̾̄n̵̩̖̣̰̔é̶̢̟͔͓͓̋͐͗̒͐.'