The morning sun quickly snapped me out of a well deserved sleep as it crept its way through the windows in front of the shop, illuminating the entire room with a new day ahead. I'd diligently attempted to roll over and drift back into a few more hours of sleep, but the sun was proving to be too much to ignore. I than tried to feel through the pile on the coffee table next to the couch to shelter my now burning retinas with an old magazine, but simply resulted in the pile to noisily topple to the ground ...
"Shit..."
Might as well start the day...
A shower was the first thing on my to do list. Discard my clothes and find something new to wear. As I made a mental note of things to accomplish in the day I remembered my unexpected guest from the day before. That armed girl who ran away from her home, broke into my shop, stole my pizza than had the nerve to accuse me of raping her... And was now sleeping comfortably my bed upstairs... Shit... I needed new clothes, but whatever, the longer I can hold off doing laundry the better.
No breakfast for me either, what would have been eaten at this time went to the little thief upstairs. I was sure to make a mental note to obtain the girls name when she woke from her damn near eternal slumber.
After mulling over the things that had been brought to my attention so early in the day; No breakfast, no clean clothes, no gas in the Bike, no money to fill it with, no calls and not damn near enough sleep as I'd hoped, I was certain there was more shit to endure before things got better. Oh joy...
Luckily as I twisted the knob to the shower I was pleasantly presented with hot water to enjoy. I stripped down to nothing and pulled the curtains back to make my way in, I closed my eyes and hung my head down to let the hot steamy water cascade off the back of my head. I stretched my arms out to the shower wall for support and stepped forward to allow the water to run down my back. I could have fallen asleep had I flipped the light switch, but the sound of the shower and the hot water running down the full length of my body was enough to dare I say wash away the tortures from the day prior, and really, that's all I could hope for.
I snapped out of my daze and got to washing up.
Through the sound of the water in my ears, I'd swear I began to hear footsteps walking lightly through the floor boards upstairs. I made a conscious decision to wrap up my shower in case the kid was going need the bathroom. I grabbed the nearest towel and rung it over my hair to quickly dry it out, and resumed drying the rest of myself, I could than hear the stairs buckling violently as the girl made her way downstairs... Shit I needed to hurry up before she—
BANG the bathroom door flew open and smashed into the opposing wall before I could react
"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!"
As predicted... the day was going to get worse before it got better ...
"Lady?" I asked securing the towel around my waste. Not turning before doing so.
Without hesitation Lady slammed the bathroom door behind her and grabbed my shoulder forcing me to look at her, her two toned eyes pierced me with a vicious glare now flaming with fiery resentment.
"There is a FUCKING Child in your bed!"
Shit I knew that wouldn't look right on the outside.
"It's not what you think" I told her flatly sure not to meet her tone with a guilty sounding demeanor, if I knew anything about most people it's that when they tried their damnedest to look innocent was usually when they were in fact lying through their teeth.
"Than tell me what the hell is going on here, Dante!" She stepped in front of me and held both her arms on either side of me against the cold wall, ready to snap if I said the wrong thing.
The wall making contact with my skin sent a shiver up my spine, doubled with the blood thirsty devil huntress who now had me cornered.
"You remember me talking about the Incubus at someone home yesterday?"
"What about it!"
I went to lower her hands from either side of me and continued to explain, "She's one of the victims of that incubus, she ran away from home and thought I was the one terrorizing the family, so she followed me and while she was here, decided to steal from the fridge too..."Lady's gaze didn't wane, it's fierce glare still continued to bore into my soul seeking truth. I went on to say, "I explained that I was the one her family hired to exterminate the demon and that it was dead. Listen Lady, that kid upstairs hasn't had a single night's rest for the past month and when she knew that no harm was going to come, she collapsed. I took her to my bed to get a good night sleep..." When she didn't back down I than added, "Oh for Christ sake I slept on the couch already! What more do you want from me?"
She than relinquished her stance and turned around sighing, "Good... Because if that wasn't the case, I would have to kill you."
"No doubt.."
"So what are you going to do with her when she wakes up?" She asked making her way towards the now cracked bathroom door.
"Obviously I'm going to have her go home, she can't stay here, " I proceeded to dry myself off as Lady's eyes were averted towards the door, " there's no threat anymore. Plus the streets out at night are just as bad as any demon these days."
"True enough. "she agreed, she looked back and added, "And I guess because your bike is out of juice you couldn't take her home either then."
"Way to point out the obvious" I slipped into my pants and draped the towel over my shoulders, following Lady out the door into the office, I sat at the desk chair and sighed "I could use some money to at least get me some gas for the bike to get her home safely. You did clean me out last night y'know."
She stood averted contemplating for quite some time before sighing deeply and turning towards me, reaching into her shirt pulling out a 20 dollar bill, she past it over to me with resentful eyes and stated clearly, " Spend this on Pizza and I'll never bail you out ever again Dante."
I could feel the sparkle in my eyes as I gazed at my previously owned money, I pinched the bill between my index and middle finger and waved victoriously, "Thanks Lady! I can get the little lady home and a well deserved joyride too!"
"Yeah, whatever," She turned to leave strutting her way out, "You do that, those were my plans for the day thanks very much"
Finally, things were looking up.
"The next time I see that you've been broken into..."Her voice echoed into the office, she turned back and glared, " I'll just keep driving."
"Aww, you were worried." I smiled sweetly at her, being sure to add a slight hint of sarcasm.
"Fuck you"
With that last expletive, Lady left the building.
After Lady Left I took to digging into the desk to pull out some writing material, wanting to leave a note behind for the girl should she wake up before my return. The Gas Station was the next thing in question in order to get her home safely.
"Hey kid, I went out to get some gas for your trip home" I than reluctantly added "Help yourself to the pizza in the fridge if you're hungry." My eyes fell on those last words knowing damn well that it would probably be a few days before I got to eat again, than added another line " PS: the names Dante."
I left the note on door leading up to my bedroom, grabbed the old clothes from the bathroom and headed out.
I'd returned to Devil May Cry with 4 litres of Gas, my eyes fell upon my neglected Crimson Harley as she longed for the vibrant purr of her motor to rattle her gorgeous frame once more. I trotted over to her parked state. I was damn near gushing with excitement to fill her with plenty of fuel for my next joy ride. I emptied the fuel into the gas tank and screwed the lid on tight, running my gloved hand over every inch of her as I retreated back into the building.
I opened the doors to the shop to be greeted with a pair of well rested eyes, and sure enough, she was helping herself to my leftovers.
"I got your note" She reassured pushing a spare plate of pizza slices towards me "Thanks so much."
"The pleasure was all mine" I purred, so happy that It wouldn't be days now before I ate again, I perched myself on the corner of my desk and dug in, after a few mouthfuls I added, "So once we're finished eating I'll be taking you back to your parents."
It was silent for a few moments as we ate before she stated with almost a whimper "I don't want to go back home Dante..."
I felt my heart drop and a piece of crust lodge itself in my windpipe... I coughed into my arm and looked back at her with a determined glare "Listen, Kid. You need to go back home to your parents, I can't keep you here."
"But I'm scared" She buried her face into her arms and slouched over; she continued shaking "Those demons are fucking sick! They targeted me specifically!"
Still unnerved by the girls mouth I had to admit "Listen Kid, you're not old enough to see a PG rated flick so much as take that tone with me."
She raised her head and glare at me "Oh Sure, I'm not old enough to cuss but I'm old enough to get dry fucked by demons in my sleep? That makes perfect sense!"
I decided not to argue... Kid had a point.
But nonetheless I simply couldn't harbour a soon to be missing child in my shop, I was not eager to have another incident like this morning with Lady take place, especially with authorities should they find here here. I'd be shut down and incarcerated for sure.
"Please... Dante, What If there was more of them?"
I began to lose patience, "Listen kid, The Incubus that haunted your house is dead, I made damn well sure of that," I sighed looking down at her and added " Besides, this is my place of business and It's really not a place for minors to be hanging around all the time,"
"So what!" She retorted intolerantly and slammed her fists down on the desk, "You think I give a shit if you have hookers over and bang heroine ? Trust me I think I've been through worse for the past month!"
Taken aback from her boldness I explained simply "I just can't keep you here! Your parents are probably worried sick!"
She scoffed crossing her arms rebelliously "like they care... They spent a whole month accusing me of waking up screaming and crying at night just to get attention! Only recently did they realise after MOM had been rapped that I was telling the FUCKING truth! AFTER I`d been raped repeatedly night after night!"
It was indeed a tough pill to swallow, the incubus indisputably scarred her for life... To think there were demons out there that prayed on virgin girls... My heart did honestly go out to this kid, but I didn't have the patience for broken appliances let alone a ravaged teenage girl who refused to go home after the fact. I wasn't anyone security blanket.
God give me strength...
"And to think I thought this might help protect me too..." She removed the holster from her belt and discarded the firearm onto my desk where I'd finally gotten a good look at it, having forgotten to do so when I'd confronted her in the kitchen the day before. I was shocked to see the kind of heat she was packing.
"Is that a-?"
"500 Mag S&W... Was my Moms" She finished " Not like it would have done any good for me given you're still alive..." She stared at the handgun some time before her eyes became glistened with tears, and looked up at me desperately beseeching "Please Dante... I can't go home... I'm scared."
I groaned exasperatedly, This kid may have put on a tough exterior, but deep down it seemed she wasn't going to have it any other way... And honestly I couldn't blame her. I was struggling within myself to weigh the pros and cons of keeping this girl in my care. Sure she'd be around here while I was conducting business, but how was she any different from Patty Lowell? She used to hang around and even made herself useful at times. But as I nurtured that thought, I soon realised that this girl was far from anything like Patty. This girl was damaged goods beyond repair and had a demented personality to boot, going as far as stealing firearms from her parents and breaking into homes. Trust was becoming the main issue with letting her stay. That was the big thing... Finally, I decided her fate.
"I'll keep you here if you can follow these simple rules."
She raised her head attentively, "Really?"
" Yeah, first of all, you're not allowed to handle any of the weaponry that passes through those doors." I said pointing at the exit. Last thing I needed on my plate was a hormonal teenager in the possession of Devil Arms, "Secondly, understand that your stay here is temporary, you will eventually have to go back home." She unenthusiastically nodded in agreement " third, You will keep the on goings of this office to yourself, nothing leaves those front doors... "She nodded again, " You will have respect for your elders, IE Me. And finally, you need to tell me your name missy"
She kept quiet for a moment and I suddenly felt a sense of Déjà Vu.
"Missy's fine."
I shook my head, recalling my debut with Lady.
I turned my back on the girl and picked up my second slice of pizza, as I bit into it and chewed, I sincerely hoped deep down that this wasn't some horrible horrible mistake...
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