Pretty Faces and Dark Places (8 page)

But so did your best friend.
A voice reminded me.

With tears shining in my eyes, I started sipping on the water. And once I got the first taste, I started coughing and spitting out the oddly tasting water. It wasn’t the same water I’d drunk all my life. Instead it was really different, a bit bitter and I think it was heavier, not as light as the water I was used to. It was like some kind of acid had been added to it.

“Shh,” Andrew took the water away and now was hushing me, as if that would help settle down my coughing. “Easy now, Beautiful Maya.”

“Please tell me where I am!” was the first thing I said when I stopped coughing and got back to breathing somewhat normally.

“I told you, Angel,” he said. “You’re home.”

“This is not my home, and you know it,” I said, trying my hardest not to show the fear in my voice. “I want to go back to my house; my grandmother must be going crazy searching for me!”

“Your grandmother will do okay without you, Maya,” he said seriously. “It’s me who needs you.” His hand touched my cheek tenderly, and I was surprised at the soothing feeling I got once I felt his touch, surprised even more that my cheeks didn’t sting like before.

Need me?

“How long was I sleeping?” I asked, because it wasn’t believable to me for the scratches on my face and the rest of my body, aside from my back, to be healed in just a few hours.

“Ten hours, Angel,” Andrew replied.

“What?!” I asked with wide eyes. “Oh my gosh! My grandmother must be going insane searching for me.”

“Humans don’t calculate time like we do,” Andrew said, confusing me even more.

“What do you mean humans? What are you?!” I asked, a part of me still wishing that those wings weren’t real, hoping that they were fake like the ones I’d worn last Halloween. But a huge part of me knew that I would never get that wish to come true – it was pretty obvious that the wings were real!

“I already told you,” he said, “I’m a demon.”

Demon!

“You can’t be serious.”

“Yes, I am. And so are you,” he told me.

“No, I’m not!” I objected. “I’m human.” The words sounded silly on my tongue.

“No, you’re not, Maya, not since you were brought to the underground world, and certainly not after the converting. The fact that you’re not taking it well is a little concerning, to be honest,” he said with a small frown.

Not a human?

Converting?

Underground world?

Taking it well?

Was he even sane?!

“What are you talking about? Please just let me go, I want to get back to my life! This is ridiculous!” I cried, hating the fact that I couldn’t move at all without feeling pain. It still didn’t stop me from trying, only to end up in the same position because I couldn’t stand the stinging in my back.

“This. Is. Your home!” Andrew shouted, his voice sounding around us so loudly that it was almost deafening. It was enough to make me stop talking at all, but it didn’t stop my silent tears from falling.

He scared me.

I sobbed, freeing my tears, stopped looking at him and stopped talking altogether. I was no longer asking him to give me answers, no longer begging him to get me back home. The voice he used to get me to shut up was still ringing in my ears. I was still not sure how someone as attractive as him could be able to let out that kind of voice – which I was sure could kill just by being used.

After a while, I heard Andrew huffing. I still wouldn’t dare look at him, but then he stood up and got down on his knees in front of where I was lying. I still didn’t look into his eyes, I only stared ahead of me, didn’t hold his gaze for a moment, not even when he touched my cheek again with the gentlest of touches.

“Maya,” he called, “Look at me.” His voice was tender and his tone was kind. “Maya, please look at me, Angel.”

I finally did as he was asking. For some reason I couldn’t stand the thought of him begging me this way, and I found a huge urge in me to simply obey.

His eyes held so much sweetness in them that it was almost too much to take in. They were warm and caring, and I couldn’t believe they belonged to the same one who’d just shouted at me that way.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just – I couldn’t bear the thought of you going anywhere away from where you belong. I’ve waited for this day for forever, and your reaction is not how it’s supposed to be. It’s a first for a new converter to act this way. You’re supposed to be happy to finally be with me, not thinking of the past and crying over it!”

My eyes now wouldn’t leave Andrew’s as I tried to comprehend what he was saying. None of his words made any sense to me. I didn’t know what he meant by the term ‘New converter’ or how he expected me to react to the fact that I had been kidnapped, or whatever had happened to me. Still, I only nodded.

“Angel, don’t nod to please me, I’m really sorry,” he tried again. I didn’t know how he knew that I’d only nodded so as not to get him angry with me again, but I really didn’t think much of it.

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

He then came even closer, brushing my feather bangs away from my face, then patted my cheek softly and smiled. “Go back to sleep now, Beautiful Maya. You’ll feel much better when you wake up.” And then he was gone.

To be honest, I didn’t know if I liked being alone or liked his company more, because when he left – my heart
ached
. I was scared of him, to a point. But the thought of being left alone for who knows how long and the fact that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to was even scarier. And being completely naked underneath this thin blanket that was covering me didn’t make my discomfort any better, only added to it humiliation and embarrassment.

I had no idea who would come inside if those doors opened again. I had no idea if someone
did
come inside, what they would do to me. I had no idea if I’d ever live to see the next day or get to see my grandmother again, and the thought only made my tears grow heavier.

I guess by some point as I got lost in my thoughts of the things going on around me and the things that had happened to me and all of my worry and fears about Sophie and for her – I fell asleep. And the next thing I knew, I found myself in a great room with a floor made from glass and walls made from crystal. Everything was perfectly lit and all of the lights were amazingly shining. It was breathtaking.

I walked with a grin decorating my face, loving the sweet scent of fresh air, and the cool breeze that ruffled my hair and my long white dress. My legs took me to a place that looked like a river, but it wasn’t normal water that I could see. This water sparkled as if it had glitter on it; it was such a sight to behold.

I was so caught up with the magnificent view that I almost missed the woman who was sitting by the side of the river, playing with her hand in the sparkling water. I smiled as I found my legs taking me to her, not even thinking twice about the fact that the woman had beautiful white wings on her back.

I got closer and closer to her, and when she looked at me, I found myself looking at an older version of myself, with her black hair and bright blue eyes.

“Mom!” I gasped.

“Oh, Maya!” my mother grinned in delight. “Come here, sweetie-pie, I’ve missed you.” She offered me her wide-open arms and I ran to her. I hugged her tightly and laughed loudly through my tears, tears that told of happiness and joy as my years of longing to see her beautiful face and feel her warm embrace consumed me.

“Mom! I’ve missed you so much!” I told her when she pulled back the slightest to look at my face, her smile sending warmth down my heart.

“I’ve missed you even more, my lovely girl,” she said. “But I’ve always watched over you.”

“Oh!” I said, “Mom, where am I? Am I dead?”

“No, sweetie, you were never meant to die,” she replied, confusing me even more than I was before asking the question.

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

“You have a huge responsibility on your shoulders now, Maya. Humans needs you.”

My mother’s words still rang in my ears even after I woke up. I had no idea what she’d meant by ‘Humans need me.’ Why didn’t she tell me that ‘My People’ needed me? Why did she sound like she was talking about a different race or species? What did she mean by saying I was never meant to die? Was I immortal? And what would that even make me if I wasn’t a human? Was I a demon like Andrew had told me? No. It couldn’t be. I refused to believe it. It wasn’t even sane that I was considering the words of a dead person. A dead person that I only saw in a dream, that is.

For the second time, I still had hope that when I opened my eyes I would find myself back home, sleeping in my own bed. And this time – the hope was even greater than the last time, because I found that I wasn’t feeling any pain like I was before.

I groaned as I sat up on the bed, holding the thin blanket up to my chest to cover my nudeness. My groan wasn’t a loud call to express pain; no, it was a voice I let out when disappointment hit me once I realized my hope was crushed. I was still in the same alien room, not in the familiarity and comfort of my own.

It was only then that I took a closer look at the room – it was odd. There was the bed I was sitting on, there was a dresser, a side table with a chair on either side, and I could see a slightly opened door that led to a walk-in closet. I could also see the elegant chamber that was in the center of the ceiling, but – everything just looked odd. Like, I was able to name everything I was looking at, and everything that was around me, but the decorations and the designs looked as if they belonged in the future, like they belonged to … a different world!

Oh, my goodness!
Andrew’s earlier words about an underground world came to my mind – could everything he had said really be true? That I wasn’t in my world anymore? And what about him telling me that I belonged here? It couldn’t be. There was no way I was a demon. Because if we thought about those past events, his words and my mom’s – it was crazy, they didn’t fit.

In the horror stories we read when having sleepovers with girls from elementary school – demons were bad. We always knew that demons were these freakishly ugly creatures who did bad things to humans, and my mom said that humans needed me. So, how could I help people if I was a demon? It was just – insane. Even more insane than the fact that I was considering all of this at all.

The floor was kind of the
only
thing I saw that looked somewhat familiar; it was some sort of black marble which was reflecting the lights of the chamber above. Everything else was so strange I couldn’t describe it. And the fact that even with the lights turned on, it seemed that the room was only dimly lit, not as bright as the lights should’ve made it. The whole atmosphere of the place was full of darkness. It was really weird.

A few moments after I woke up and as I was gazing at the strangely shaped roof, I heard the door being opened. And when I looked, I found Andrew making his way inside with another glass of water in his hand; he was wearing black jeans and that was it.

I swallowed thickly, not because I was thirsty, but because the sight of him made my mouth water. To be honest, I was embarrassed with myself for having those kinds of feelings towards him. It was like for a moment or two, I forgot all of the strange and horrible things that were happening to me. All of my thoughts were nothing but about how attractive Andrew was.

“Angel,” he said in greeting, his voice husky and his tone gentle. “How do you feel?” He smiled as he asked the question, coming to sit beside me on bed, facing me with one leg bent underneath him and the other dangling off the bed.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I replied softly, feeling my blush deepening as I took the glass from his offering hand and took a sip.

The back of his knuckles brushed tenderly against my cheek and he smiled sweetly. “This is lovely,” he said, and I assumed he was talking about my blush – just realizing that made said blush grow even redder, darker. And that earned me a light chuckle from him. “I’m going to miss it.”

I frowned, not knowing what he meant by that, it was like he knew somehow that I wasn’t going to blush again. How strange!

I didn’t ask.

“Do you think you are strong enough to get up?” he asked.

“Uh … I don’t feel any kind of pain,” I replied with the truth, which made the soft smile on Andrew’s lips brighten and grow bigger.

“That’s wonderful,” he cheered, his features growing even more beautiful as he grinned. Any trace of concern or worry disappeared with his gorgeous smile, making me wonder if he truly was what he was saying – a demon. Because seriously, he was far, far away from being an ugly creature like I’d always believed demons would be.

I couldn’t believe I was actually starting to believe that this wasn’t my world, that it was a different world I’d never known of, some kind of world that I’d only ever heard of in fairytales and horror stories as a kid.

How could everything just be real? Was I really far away from my home and my life as I’d always known it? What about Nana? The poor thing must’ve been going crazy searching for me.