An Eternity of Dead Sun (An Eternity of Eclipse Novel Book 2) (28 page)

Coco’s normally tidy brown hair was falling all over the place. I felt bad standing there watching the poor Demon puke her guts out. I thought about how she stood up for me and felt worse. I owed her. It was only right that I helped her out.

“Fu
c
k my life,” I wailed quietly, gathering her hair with one hand to prevent the vomit from touching it.

With the other hand, I gently moved my hand up and down her back to help her feel a bit better. She continued her love affair with the toilet as I did this. After another ten minutes of her puking her guts out, I helped her clean up at the sink. Once we determined that Coco was presentable, I gave her a breath mint. Together, we returned to our table.

“What kind of Demon throws up from drinking alcohol?” I asked judgmentally.

I nudged the untouched glass of water over to Coco, motioning for her to drink it.

“I’m a lightweight,” she grumbled tiredly. She obediently took a sip.

“Coco, I have to ask,” I began while we waited for our check. The curiosity hadn’t evaded me. Since she seemed out of it, I thought it was a good opportunity to probe her for answers. “How is it possible that you’re so religious, but you’re a Demon?”

If looks could kill, the glare she hurled in my direction would have buried me six feet under.

I would normally recoil in fear if a Demon glared at me with such spite, but I felt comfortable around Coco now, so much so that I continued to sit there, quietly staring at her. I refrained from using any persuasive words for her to share her story with me, and I posited that this was the way to Coco’s glaring heart. After a full second of me gazing expectantly at her, she softened up.

“I believe in God’s existence, but that doesn’t mean I have the conviction or strength to rely on God’s existence to help me through my life.”

She took a moment to swirl her water around with her black straw. I recognized the emotion pouring out of her: regret. She took in a deep breath, avoiding eye contact by staring at the floating ice in her cup.

“Let’s just say that I had a really tough life and that the only one I prayed to was God. I desperately prayed to him and when he couldn’t deliver fast enough, Phix appeared, telling me that I could either wait a lifetime for God to answer or I could take matters into my own hands.” She raised her eyes to meet mine. “Long story short, here I am . . . paying for taking the easy way out. You reap what you sow. Now I’m stuck babysitting you as punishment for selling my soul to a Demon.”

I smiled evenly, not bothering to feel sympathetic towards her. If she was foolish enough to take the easy way out and make a deal with a Demon to be rich and famous, then, as she said, she would have to reap what she sowed. Stupidity wasn’t an ailment. In her case, it was a choice.

Despite not feeling sympathy, I still empathized with what she went through.

“Well, you’re not the only one who’s stuck in this situation,” I mumbled, thinking about my own predicament. I was stuck with being a Source that everyone wanted to either own, torture, eat, or kill. My life sucked too.

“Yeah,” Coco agreed mindlessly, taking another sip from her water, “it must suck for his Dark Majesty to be punished and sent here to convert you.”

I felt like Coco had just picked up a cube of ice from her drink and slid it down my spinal column.

My face drained of blood.

I turned to her slowly. “
What
did you just say?”

What the hell did she mean by that? How was Eclipse “punished” with me when he chose to come here for me?

Coco’s eyes broadened like an owl’s. Sobriety began to glimmer through the cracks of her once inebriated eyes.

Trying to play it off, she faked a high-pitched and drunk voice by saying, “What? What did I just say? I don’t remember.”

I wouldn’t let it go. “You just said that Eclipse was
punished
with me.”

“No, I didn’t,” she lied, avoiding eye contact. The misery emanating from her was undeniable. She had fu
c
ked up and she was trying to cover her ass.

It was too late.

She had screwed up around the wrong person.
I wasn’t going to let this go.

“Coco,” I persisted. “I just frigging held your hair while you threw up. We may hate each other, but considering the non-biological sister factor in what I did for you, you owe me.” When she didn’t say anything, I viciously added, “Screw it. Open your eyes wide right now. I’m going to stab your eye with my pencil and then squirt lemon juice into it!”

“Okay, okay!” Coco acquiesced, obviously knowing that I was capable of executing my threat. She gave a defeated sigh. “Phix said that his Dark Majesty is a Fallen Demon.”

“Yes, I know that much,” I replied, impatiently gesturing for her to go on.

“Well, if you’re a Fallen Demon, then you are punished. His powers were stripped from him and because he wants his powers back, they made him a deal—one that is almost sure to fail.”

The drumming of my heart expedited in dread. “They
assigned
me to him?” I whispered in a broken voice. “Without him prompting them to?”

Coco nodded. “They told him that a powerful Source is still in existence and is going to reach the age of maturity. They wanted him to take your soul and convert you.”

I felt the breath escape me. “How did Eclipse react?”

“He was pissed. Out of all his brothers, he was the one who looked down upon and hated the human race the most. He was furious that he was forced to come to Earth to babysit some worthless human. It was said that he got so angry that the storms and flood that hit the country was a result of his rage.”

I froze, remembering clearly how violent the weather was in the days before I met him. The weather was like that because he was angry that he was stuck with me?

Nausea coiled in my stomach.

Worthless human?

A severe case of vertigo hit me.

“He told me that
he
chose me and that the reason why they stripped his powers was because he didn’t want to hurt me.” Strain quivered in my miserable voice. “He said that their task for him was to find something a Fallen Angel sent to Earth. He told me that he went to them and
told
them that he wanted me, that it was his idea to come here and convert me in the first place.”

“Well, the power thing is true. If he had more than 3/10 of his power, then he’d kill you.” Coco sighed. “And the Genesis thing is the actual big trophy that he’s after. I mean, no one in their right mind would come to Earth to try and convert you. It is well-known that converting a Source would be a death sentence. Everyone wants to kill the Source, and the Demon stuck with the conversion is stuck with that Source until the end, which pretty much means death. That was why his Elders gave you to him. It’s because you’re his punishment. If he didn’t accept you, then he would have no chance of coming back to power. So he took the assignment begrudgingly, and now here he is, stuck in a world he looks down upon . . . with you.”

I felt like Eclipse had indirectly punched me in the gut and spat on my face. I had never felt more small and insignificant than I did sitting in that booth, soaking in Coco’s words. I ruminated over how Eclipse behaved around me, how seductive he was, and how caring he showed himself to be.

It was all a lie.

My stomach wrenched at the recollection of me foolishly calling him my first “real friend” in the world and me being so worried about him when he went into hibernation.

I was so stupid.

Of course he didn’t choose me. 
He was punished with me.
He was only nice and patient with me because he needed me happy. He needed me to trust him and to grow attached to him so that when he asked for my soul, I would willingly give it to him. Only then could he return to power and get rid of me like the trash I was to him.

I was never the one who was stuck with him . . .

He was stuck with me all along.

I closed my eyes, feeling my heart sink further down. I replayed Lyna’s words at the hospital. I had told her that weeks prior, I couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

Her response to me was,
“Funny, weeks ago, he said the same thing about you.”

I disregarded it as meaning nothing, but I saw the truth now. Lyna was mocking me. She knew the truth the entire time. Then, I recalled Sloth and Tony. They knew as well. That was probably why they found it hilarious when I ran into their restaurant, literally begging them to help Eclipse. This must’ve been why Tony called me a fool when I called Eclipse my friend.

Everyone knew but me.

This whole time, I thought Eclipse cared about me, if only remotely. I assumed everyone else saw this too. But the truth was that everyone knew he was faking his affections towards me all along.

Everyone knew he was punished with me
except
for me.

Stupefaction exhausted me of the ability to form a coherent reaction.

I was just numb.

I felt like I had been caught naked in a stadium filled with people who had been watching me the entire time, finding entertainment in my stupidity. My chest tightened as a sickening humiliation swept over me. Lyna, Sloth, Tony, Phix, Coco . . . and Eclipse.

Everyone had been laughing at me all along.

I was so embarrassed, so angry, and so overwhelmed with my emotions that I didn’t know what to do.

And Coco was right there . . . like a sitting duck.

My rage getting the best of me, I couldn’t help but take it all out on her.

Bam!

“Ahhh!” she shrieked after I punched her dead in the eye before taking off, my eyes threatening to spill out tears of shame.

“Wait! Where are you going?!” Coco shouted as I took off.

I could hear her frenzied footsteps chase after me.

She was a fast runner, but I was faster and much more cunning.

Once I was outside, I hid in the corner behind an alley. When I saw Coco run out of the restaurant, I ducked my head down behind the shadows.

She looked from left to right, considering her options. By now, OinkOink had stirred from his sleep from all the movement. He poked his little furry head out of my bag. Just when he was about to bark in confusion, I placed an index finger before my lips as my way of telling him to be quiet. Blinking at me and being the good puppy that he was, he held in his bark.

I turned back to Coco just in time to see her sprint in the opposite direction.

After watching her disappear, I came out of hiding and dimly stared at the busy street around me. I had been on this block more times than I could count, but I had never felt more lost.

I didn’t know where to go.

My only sanctuary in this city was my apartment, and Eclipse was there. My lower lip trembled in humiliation. How could I go there when his presence would only remind me of my own stupidity?

I let out a shaky breath.

I had to go somewhere Coco wouldn’t think to find me, somewhere that was safe enough for me to be alone. At once, the perfect place appeared in my mind. It was safe, close by, and unsuspecting.

It was the perfect secret haven.

“You are finally here . . .”
19
: Broken Pride

The student lounge was packed when I arrived.

I pitifully sat myself on an open couch while munching on chips and watching whatever was on TV. The truth was that I really wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. All I could think about was Eclipse. I mulled over our entire relationship, how much he had lied to me, and how stupid I felt to have fallen for his deception. I had always prided myself on my intelligence, for my ability to see people’s true colors. Leave it to a Demon to make me feel like the biggest chump in the world.

“Hi Grace.”

My traffic of thoughts skidded to a halt at the greeting. A surprised smile illuminated my lips when I was faced with Shin.

“Hi . . . Hi Shin,” I uttered, rousing out of my pathetic thoughts about Eclipse. I forced an even bigger smile to appear on my face as I returned his greeting. I didn’t want to appear miserable in front of him.

Shin returned my smile with a radiant one of his own. Tonight, he was wearing a crème-colored jacket and black pants that made him look more polished than I had ever seen him. His shoulder length hair was tied up in his signature half-ponytail. There was a calming aura to him that made me feel at ease. If there was anyone that I would tolerate disrupting my time alone, it was him.

He motioned to a group of four guys playing pool across the room. “I was hanging out with the guys, and I saw you. I just wanted to stop by and say hi.” His dark brown eyes appraised my sullen demeanor. Like the thoughtful person he was, he kindly tilted his head at me and asked, “Tough night?”

I gave an awkward laugh, finding it unnecessary to insult his intelligence by lying to him. “You could say that.”

He nodded in understanding. He looked at me and then to his friends again. “Would you like to come hang out with us? You know, to take your mind off of it? The guys and I are experts in helping girls forget about their problems.”

I laughed softly at the light sense of humor he injected into his offer. “That’s really nice of you, but I think I’ll stay here. You know, to sulk by myself.”

Shin grinned. Instead of leaving me to sulk by myself, he took a seat on the couch across from mine. He placed his soda on the coffee table between us. “Troubles with your boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I said honestly. I had never once considered Eclipse to be my boyfriend, and I never would. This was not “boy” trouble—this was a Demon problem.

“I see,” Shin replied. “It’s just complicated?”

I bobbed my head absently, feeling bad that he was keeping me company because he felt sorry for me. I considered thanking him for his concerns and urging him to leave, but Shin didn’t strike me as the type of person who would leave when someone needed his help. So placing my own bitterness for Eclipse aside, I did my best to be social for someone who was kind enough to keep me company.

“Do you come here often?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed warmly. “When the guys and I don’t feel like doing school work, we come here and chill the night away.” He chuckled, shaking his head at me. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be sitting here by yourself. It gives creeps the opportunity to hit on you.”

Amusement laced my voice. “I’m lucky that you’re here instead of one of those opportunistic guys who are looking to bed me.”

“I don’t know.” A teasing grin quirked his lips. “Perhaps I am one of those horndogs who is looking to sweet-talk you. I’m not exactly known for being the angelic type anyway.”

I laughed. I agreed that in terms of outward appearances, he didn’t appear like he would be the angelic type. Then again, Shin had proven me wrong time and time again. He was just so kind, polite, and nice to be around; he definitely didn’t appear to be the bad boy player that he personified.

“So what has gotten you down in the dumps, Grace?” he inquired, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

“I feel very lost right now and I don’t know what has become of my life,” I shared hazily, drinking my soda. I smiled cynically and leaned back in my seat. It couldn’t hurt to vent to him, if only minutely. “Not something you want to hear when you want to chill the night away, huh, Shin?”

“We all go through our phases,” he assured, never once making me feel like a burden to be around. “I’ve had days like that where I feel so lost that I don’t know what has become of my life.”

I inclined my head at him, struck by this admission. “You don’t seem like the type.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” he replied, and I bobbed my head in agreement. “I know I seem like the type who doesn’t give a damn, but I have my days. The thing about being lost is that when you are found again, it’s the best feeling in the world—to wake up with a purpose rather than uncertainty.”

“How’d you become so enlightened?” I asked unthinkingly. Curiosity glowed in my eyes. With every passing second, Shin appeared more interesting and more mysterious to me.

“My part-time job,” he answered, pride present in the nuance of his voice. “In my free time, I work with my church.” His eyes lit up. “Let me tell you. If you should ever feel lost, all you have to do is turn to your church for advice and everything is put into perspective for you. Helping those who are less fortunate than you is one of the better purposes a college student could ask for.”

“Church?” I blurted, surprised.

He grinned, leaning back in his seat. He folded his arms over his chest with a playful look. “I don’t look like the religious type?”

I shook my head honestly. “But as of late, I’ve come to find that no one is as they appear.”

The expression on his face flickered enigmatically. “Well, I’m no saint so don’t throw me on your non-threatening list as of yet.”

I laughed quietly at his joking words.

Once my laughter died down, he regarded me seriously and said, “What happened, Grace? I’m not here to share my religious values or life story with you. You look like you need someone to vent to and I want to offer that type of solace.” He shrugged, grinning coyly to himself. “If you haven’t guessed, I like butting into people’s business and helping if I can.”

“You make it your own personal mission to be my Guardian Angel?” I joked lightly, remembering how he stood up for Sony and me at the grocery store.

Sony, a seven-year-old boy from a shelter I volunteered at, had dropped a pumpkin on someone’s foot. Instead of being understanding and gracious, the man decided to curse Sony out. While I was too spineless to stand up for Sony, Shin, who was a stranger at the time, was kind enough to defend us. I would never forget how incredible he was to me in my time of need.

“There’s something about you that draws me in,” he admitted, and I felt my heart flutter at his words. His shoulders rose into a shrug. “I’m very curious about you and”—he laughed—“I guess I like to play my part. Every guy jumps at the chance to be a beautiful girl’s knight in shining armor, and I couldn’t miss the chance with you.”

The fluttering of my heart increased with his last words.
He called me beautiful.
Despite our few interactions, Shin and I had always had a very flirtatious relationship. If I weren’t currently mind-fucked by a manipulative Demon, then I would’ve engaged in some unabashed flirting with Shin. Unfortunately, Eclipse, even when he wasn’t around, still had a strong presence in my life. I was too pissed off at him to even effectively flirt with Shin.

I was saved from having to respond to the last of Shin’s words when he glanced at my wrist. His brows drew down in intrigue. “Those are interesting looking bracelets. There are no clasps for them?”

My eyes trailed after his gaze. On my wrist sat the seven gold bangles that were glowing under the lounge lighting. I raised my eyes to meet his and shook my head in response.

Shin laughed with incredulity. “How on earth do you take them off then?”

“I’ve been wearing them for as long as I could remember. I’ve never taken them off.”

His dark brown eyes enlarged. “It doesn’t annoy you that you can’t take them off when you want to?”

“Oh no,” I replied, mindlessly playing with my bangles now that he had brought my attention to them. “I’ve grown up with them, so I don’t even notice that I’m wearing them sometimes.” I fondly grazed my fingers over my bangles. “They’ve become like another layer of skin for me. I only notice them when other people point them out.”

An amused chuckle poured from him. “It happens often?”

I nodded, thinking back to all the times where people would gush or ask questions about the jewelry on my wrist. “Girls always compliment them, asking me where I got them, and guys, who are usually looking to hit on me, ask about them as their opening line to get me to be comfortable with them.”

At my comment about the guys who hit on me, Shin guided the conversation right back to why he sat down in the first place. “How did this guy screw up, Grace?”

I bit my lips, initially hesitant with confiding in him. But then, after feeling all these emotions bubble within me, I had to release them. I needed someone to vent to and Shin seemed like the perfect candidate. He was understanding, he was attentive, and even if I didn’t know him that well, I felt that he was also trustworthy.

“I found out that he’s been using me and I was too stupid to see it,” I revealed in one breath. “It all makes sense now. A part of me suspected this in the beginning, but like I said, I was too stupid to see it.”

“How did you find out?”

“Someone else.”

He crumpled his face in empathy. “That’s possibly one of the worst ways to find out. Have you at least confronted him about it?”

“No,” I answered before quickly adding, “I want to make it clear that this guy is not my boyfriend. I just don’t like being used in any capacity.”

Shin smiled in approval. He loved the answer I gave him. “You deserve better than him.”

“Grrrr . . .”

From beside me, OinkOink growled irately at Shin. I had forgotten that the puppy was beside me all along. It’d make sense that the little ball of fluff would get defensive if someone were to talk badly about his beloved owner.

Shin chuckled, staring at OinkOink with an entertained smile. “I don’t think your puppy likes me very much.”

I smiled apologetically and then glared at OinkOink. Upon seeing the disapproval on my face, OinkOink stopped growling. Almost fearfully, he whimpered and behaved himself.

“Sorry about that,” I said to Shin. “He’s usually a really friendly puppy. I think he’s tired. I’ve been running around with him all day.”

Shin nodded, showing no ill will towards the impolite puppy. “Of course.”

“There you are, you sneaky short girl!” shouted an annoyingly recognizable voice.

I whipped my head around and spotted Coco walking into the student lounge. Phix was by her side, rushing over to me as well.

“Ah, damn,” I moaned under my breath, not believing that the two baby Demons actually found me.

They indignantly stomped over to us, claiming the attention of all the students around us. Phix and Coco’s eyes darted from me to Shin. Their stares on him were laced with venom.

“She’s spoken for, buddy,” Phix said territorially.

Behind him, Coco added, “Yeah, so go check yourself.”

“Shut up,” I snarled at them before turning to Shin and giving him another apologetic smile. I was mortified that everyone around me was being so rude to him. “I’m really sorry about this, Shin.”

Shin merely ignored them and kept his gentle gaze on me. “It’s alright. I should get going anyway.” He got up, picked up his soda can, and warmly added, “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll be here, Grace.”

“Thank you for listening, Shin,” I said gratefully, standing up as well. “I appreciate it.”

“It was my pleasure.” He inclined his head and waved, walking back towards his friends. “Good night, Grace.”

“Look at him acting like he’s some Angel,” Coco gritted out to Phix as she stared after Shin. “He may be insanely cute, but we all know he just wants to get into Gracie’s pants.”

Angered by their sudden appearance, I flipped my attention back to the two Demons. With a growl under my breath, I roughly grabbed my bag and motioned for them to follow me out. I couldn’t risk them further making a scene at the student lounge.

“I’m not going home,” I told them inflexibly after walking out with them. We were now stationed at the stairs outside the lounge. Below us were students meandering around the grounds, hanging out with friends as the cool wind swept past us.

They exchanged exasperated looks before Phix cocked his head at Coco. “Leave first, Coco. Go watch his Dark Majesty. I’ll bring her home soon.”

Coco lifted a skeptical brow. “You sure you can handle her? Didn’t she beat you up the other day?”

“Didn’t she punch you a second ago?”

I had to hand it to Phix. He was quite possibly the only male alive who could deliver such a crass line to a woman and still appear naïve and innocent. There was a playful charm in his voice that made it difficult to be severely mad at him.