Chapter 6

She thought about all that Charlie had told her. He was right. She didn't have much of a life here. Ever since the first day she'd left the orphanage, all she bothered about was work, work, work.

And where did all those years of endless work get her?

Nowhere.

She'd worked for so long that she'd missed out on having a social life. The only real friends she was ever able to make were Betty and Sophia, former employees of the store she currently works. Most of the time, she didn't even have time for her friends, or her boyfriend, which explained why Kale was able to get away with cheating on her for so long and she didn't even notice.

She closed her eyes as the harsh reality of her thoughts swept over her.

Maybe the demon world would have more to offer her, she thought.

She checked the time, it was 6 pm. She had to close the store off early today because she couldn't handle the mental trauma that came with remembering all that had happened the previous night, thankfully, the boss wasn't around.

She was already breaking down, and she needed more answers, as she still wasn't clear on everything that was going on. Lying down here and thinking about it won't solve the problem.

She got up from her bed and put on her jacket and shoes. Within a few minutes, she was back at Charlie's place.

"I thought you said it was better to die than marry someone you don't love," he playfully smirked as he welcomed her in.

Not being in the mood for any such humor, Stacy went straight to the point.

"I need to know. Is there any other way apart from this? Is there any other way for me to stay alive apart from marrying you and becoming a demon?"

Charlie shook his head, understanding her perfectly. "I'm sorry, Stacy, but I'd be lying to you if I told you otherwise. Any other thing we try to do will get you killed, and I know Hiva better than anyone, he will definitely follow this up. We just have to do as I've promised him."

She thought coming here might make her feel a bit better, a bit comforted, maybe Charlie might have probably thought of something to do about it during her absence, but instead, he only told her things that made her feel worse.

As she left his house in the same manner she did previously, she delved back into her thoughts.

There was only one thing to do at this point; accept his offer and become a demon, after all, it felt like she was already dead. She was going to quit her job tomorrow, as it didn't make much sense to still be working at this point.

These might be the last few moments of her life, and she didn't want to live them the way she had done for the past 10 years.

The manager would even be mad at her for closing the store early without any prior notice. But that was the least of her problems. Thankfully, she had her rent down and some savings she could survive on for the next few months.

Now back in her bedroom where she laid before, she closed her eyes and after a few minutes, she was fast asleep, dreaming about how her last few days as a human would be.

***

Stacy's sleep was interrupted the next day by the sound of her alarm clock. Nice try Stacy, setting an alarm on a Sunday. Now it would be so hard to fall back asleep given the happenings of the previous days, she moaned.

Looking at the time; it was half-past 12. She had slept for quite a while.

Now it was time to get up, take a shower, and have some breakfast. After leaving the bathroom, she put on some clothes and went into the kitchen, making herself some waffles and a bowl of oatmeal. As she was about to settle down to eat, she heard a knock on her door. She stood up and checked the window to see who it was.

It was Betty

"Hey girl," Betty greeted as Stacy went to the door to let her in. "Sophia and I have been trying to reach you. We came to your apartment yesterday morning but you weren't around and you haven't been picking up your phone, what happened?"

"Long story, Bet," Stacy yawned. "Where's Sophia?"

"She's at home, I told her I'd come to check on you today again," Betty replied as she followed Stacy into the kitchen to take a seat.

"Are you okay, girl? You look like you've been crying."

"Long story, Bet," she repeated.

"Well, I can wait,"

"Kale broke up with me," Stacy stated blankly as she continued eating her breakfast.

Upon hearing her, Betty dropped her jaw, staring at her wide-eyed. "Wait, do you mean that, after so many years, it's finally over?"

"Yes," Stacy replied.

"Wow Stace, I'm so sorry," she said as she took her hand in hers in effort to console her, but it didn't seem as if Stacy needed consoling, she just let out the words like they meant nothing to her.

"That's not even the funniest part," Stacy continued, "while we were still dating, he was having a serious affair."

"What??" Betty was stunned. "You can't be serious!"

"I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't see things for myself, Bet. His pregnant chic came here herself to tell me that yesterday."

"Kale got someone else pregnant? And she came to your house???"

"Yes."

"How did she even know where you lived?"

Stacy had already finished her breakfast by now, so she and Betty left the kitchen and went to the living room. They continued their conversation as they moved.

"I don't know," Stacy replied. "Kale must have probably told her, and you know what? I don't care. The only thing I care about right now is erasing the fact that he ever even existed from my mind,"

Although shocked by all she'd revealed, and with how much she knew Stacy loved Kale, Betty didn't expect this type of strength from her. She was truly impressed.

"That's the spirit, girl. Told you countless times how that jerk didn't deserve you."

"I know, and I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I should have listened to you and Sophia."

"No, no, no, girl. Don't even think of doing that to yourself! You've been through enough already."

Stacy sighed as Betty took her hands. "What happened wasn't your fault, okay? You weren't the one who cheated, and you weren't the one who got someone else pregnant, do you understand that?"

Stacy nodded, "Yes,"

"To be honest, it was wrong, but I kind of like what the pregnant chic did, the Stacy I know would have still thought that there would still be a chance to get back together with Kale after the break up,"

Stacy just bent her head. She didn't even want to imagine the look Betty was giving her right now.

"I'm not here to shame you, dear. I know you've learned your lesson, and now it's time to move on," she nudged closer to embrace her friend, putting the breakup conversation behind them.

Stacy felt grateful to have such an encouraging friend. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, darling, Sophia and I are here for you anytime!"

After their talk, Betty gave Sophia a call to update her on what had happened. Knowing how Stacy must be feeling by now, she rushed over to come and see her.

The two friends made efforts to distract her by making them watch a movie and then playing a few games to cheer her up. Stacy saw their efforts, and she appreciated it. But no matter how much time she spent with them, she couldn't help but relive the moments on the ritual ground in her head.

It was good to have friends by her side in this trying moment, but it still hurt so much knowing you had a big issue on you mind, and you didn't know what to do about it, you couldn't share it with anyone. She sighed as she recalled Charlie's warning.

Her friends mistook her sad feelings to be caused by the breakup, and they tried everything in their power to make her forget about it, but maybe Stacy wasn't ready to do that today.

It was already night by the time Betty and Sophia had left. Stacy then made sure to turn off her alarm clock before drowning her head into her pillow for the night.

***

The next day, Stacy quit her job before heading over to Charlie's place to inform him of her decision.

"Hello," she greeted him as he opened the door almost immediately after she'd knocked, as if he'd been expecting her.

"Come on in," Charlie welcomed her and they both walked into his living room.

"I'm sorry for the way I reacted the other day," she said.

"I know you don't want to marry someone you don't love, but you have to understand that making that decision wasn't easy for me either. I just didn't know what else to do to save you at that moment," Charlie replied.

"I know, and that's what I came to talk to you about. I've decided to go ahead with the transformation. I've decided to become a demon."

Charlie looked at her surprisingly as she said this, "Why the sudden change of mind?" he had to ask.

She began to explain, "at first, I thought it sounded ridiculous, that it would be better to die instead. I have friends, but they each have their own happy lives outside of our friendship, something I failed to create for myself. I have no family, I have nothing, but if living as a demon is going to offer me a new life, maybe something better to live for, then I will accept it."