An Eternity of Eclipse (15 page)

His pleasant smile remained. “I don’t want a woman who is disciplined, unsatisfied, and miserable. I want a woman who is happy, wild, and demanding in my bed. If you enjoying sweets is what it’ll take to get you to the latter, then I’d gladly supply you with your own candy land.”

“You’re such a bullshitter,” I couldn’t help but say. I knew he was up to something. It was frustrating that I couldn’t figure out the possible rationale behind tempting me to eat a doughnut and drink hot chocolate. “I know that this is another one of your tricks to get me into giving you my soul. I just can’t figure out why you’re choosing this method. Are you trying to woo me with kindness?”

A chuckle escaped his lips. My accusation amused him to no end. “You know me too well, Gracie. You’re right. This is a persuasion tactic, one that I have been looking forward to the most actually. To be perfectly honest though, I wasn’t sure how hardheaded you would be when it came to sweets. I was pleasantly surprised when you opened your mind and started to enjoy all that I was offering you.” He laughed again, watching me as I munched on the doughnut. There was desire in his eyes, one that had me feeling hot all over. “I have to admit . . . I am a bit jealous. I would give anything for you to look at me the way you look at that doughnut, like you just want to go wild and devour me.”

Um, what was wrong with his Demon eyes? I had been looking at him like that since I first met him!

In fear of my instincts blurting out the wrong thing, I ignored his last comment and changed the subject. “Why me? Why did you choose me?”

The question had been lingering in my mind. I really wanted him to answer it. There was something unsettling about his answer about wanting to sleep with me. For some reason, I really believed that there was more to it than something so superficial.

He smirked at me in amusement. He clearly didn’t want to tread on that topic. “Didn’t I answer this question already?”

I regarded him sternly. I did not share that same amusement. He didn't want to venture on this topic, but I did. “You’re really here because you want to sleep with me?”

“Because I want you,” he clarified with a bored sigh. “As I told you the other night, sex with you is just a very nice bonus.”

“Why do you want me then?”

He fell silent for a few moments. In the silence, he simply took the time to gaze at me in a carefree and lighthearted manner. He looked like he was debating about whether or not he should encourage this direction of the conversation. When he saw the stubbornness in my eyes—that I wouldn't let this topic go—he relented.

“Did I not tell you that you’re famous in my world?”

“So that means my soul is very coveted,” I reasoned, following the train of thought he subtly led me on. “Getting my soul would be a hell of a trophy for a Demon.”

He nodded, impressed with what I concluded. “You’re right. Your soul is very coveted. It is quite possibly the most coveted soul in this millennium alone. Every Demon has heard of you, every Demon wants to meet you, and every Demon wants to be the one to own your soul.” He smiled with pride and shrugged. “And a Demon who owns your soul will have the most powerful bragging rights for the centuries to come. I think that's a very powerful incentive for anyone, yes?”

I smirked bitterly at him. It finally made sense why he was so determined to come after me and torture me. I was nothing but a trophy for him to take back to Hell. For reasons I didn’t understand, this subtle confession from him hurt my feelings. Don't get me wrong. I was sexually attracted to the Demon, but I was no way in love with him. It simply sucked to find out that someone was courting you because they saw superficial value in you, not because they liked you for who you were. This momentarily offended me, but much like other things that had disappointed me in life, I didn't allow it to consume me. I was a strong girl. Nothing was powerful enough to break me—at least not at that point in my life.

“Why are you the only Demon I’ve met then?” I asked him carelessly. It occurred to me that in my almost twenty-one years of existence, I had never seen another Demon.

A light changed in his eyes at my question. The instant I saw this change, I felt my mind come alive with alertness. Although he didn’t change his cool façade, that miniscule change in his eyes was all that I needed to know that I was on to something.

“If my soul is so coveted,” I launched, gazing at him vigilantly, “then why haven’t I seen an abundance of Demons after my soul? Why are you the only one? Why aren’t there more competing with you for my soul?”

He regarded me with silence at my questions.

“Really?” I taunted, irate with his sudden silent treatment. “I’ve finally managed to shut up the great Demon of Lust?"

I wasn't typically this rude with anyone else. With Eclipse, I felt comfortable being true to my nature. Perhaps it was because he had such an exhaustive personality and the only way I could deal with him was to allow my true personality to shine through. Whatever the reason, it was odd. There were no cover-ups when I was with him, no false façade of innocence, and no two-faced personality. I was at my rawest and most imperfect form, and the weird thing was that I felt okay with it. I felt safe being myself around him.

At long last, Eclipse finally nodded, wordlessly telling me that he would grant me a boon. He placed his arms on the table and leaned in closer to me. I mirrored his movements, excited to hear the answer. The smoke curling away from his cigarette butt swam around us while his smile turned into a secretive grin.

After what felt like an eternity of anticipation, he parted his lips and said, “Because the Heavens opened for me and I found you first.”

“The Heavens opened for you and you found me first?” I repeated slowly, puzzled with the cryptic answer. I furrowed my brows together. “What does that even mean?”

“It means that I’m never giving up on you,” he assured me, his eyes pulsing with conviction. “It means that I
can’t
give up on you. My fate is sealed with yours. I can’t turn back now.”

I absorbed what he said, my eyes staring into his. Then, after blinking several times, I burst out laughing, nearly choking on my doughnut as I shook my head. The ridiculousness of what he said tickled my funny bone. I knew he wasn’t going to tell me the truth, but I hadn’t anticipated him to make up such a dumb lie.

Let’s be real. How could his fate be intertwined with mine?  

He broke out of his secretive grin and laughed with me. Exhilaration twinkled his eyes at the knowledge that he was able to make me smile.

“That was a stupid lie, wasn’t it?” he asked, smiling as he watched me laugh my butt off. After a few moments of allowing me to simmer down from my giggling-fest, he looked at me and appreciatively said, “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” I asked absentmindedly, taking a sip out of my hot chocolate and biting into another piece of my doughnut. I was still reeling from the good laugh I had.

“That you’re so much more beautiful when you smile, when you laugh without a care in the world.”

My heart skipped a beat when those words rolled over me.

I cleared my throat and briefly broke eye contact. Instead of permitting myself to fangirl over this line, I simply smirked at him. I hadn’t forgotten that he was after my soul. He may have made me laugh, but at the end of the day, he was still my foe. I couldn’t allow this lighthearted moment to cloud my judgment. With my mouth filled with scrumptious calories, I asked, “How long are you going to pursue this hopeless cause?”

He looked at me with a resolved expression that startled me, for I feared it meant that he would never give up. His focus then rested on my lips. Eliciting a sigh, he lifted up a hand and tucked my loose bangs behind my ear.

“As long as it takes,” he distractedly whispered before leaning in to brush his lips over the upper part of my lip.

My breath caught in my chest.

I didn’t understand what was happening until his lips grazed mine softly—too soft and too fleeting to be called a kiss—and allowed a rogue doughnut glaze that was stuck to my upper lip to slide into the fortress of his mouth. My doughnut plate and hot chocolate cup was replenished again, yet, at that moment, all that caught my attention was his proximity and his hot breath swimming beside my lips. I found myself lost in him again. He was just so intoxicating, so—

“Don’t be too angry with me, Gracie.”

I was barely catching my breath when I digested the contents of his words. Before I could decipher what the hell he was talking about, he imparted me with a guilt-filled smile before disappearing, leaving me to sit there alone, lost in my own world of confusion.

What’s he talking about? Don’t be too angry with him for what?

“Grace!” a familiar voice called out to me, snapping me out of my thoughts about Eclipse and what he may have done to piss me off. “What on earth are you eating?”

Dawn’s outraged eyes were huge as she approached the booth I was sitting at. Dressed in a taupe summer dress, she gaped at the doughnut and hot chocolate I had in my possession.

“I-I only had a little bit!” I defended, my mouth still mindlessly munching on the doughnut.

After becoming close with Dawn, I had confided in her about my issues with my weight and had personally asked her to help police me should I ever lose control. Dawn had always taken her duty seriously because she was a health fanatic. I imagined walking in on me eating a doughnut and drinking hot chocolate was not a happy sight for her.

At my reply, she eyed the crumbs of glaze stuck to my coat, and I quickly dusted it off, my cheeks blushing a bit.

Her eyes turned into suspicious slits. “How much is a ‘little bit’?”

“Like about . . .” My eyes went upwards. I replayed all the times I ate the junk food in my mind. I was mentally counting in my head when I realized—
holy crap!
This was my thirteenth helping! “Holy shit!”

In a belated panic, I threw the doughnut and the hot chocolate away. I was appalled with myself. How did I eat so much without knowing it? Even after ridding myself of the caloric indulgence, I still found myself having cravings for it. I wanted doughnuts, I wanted hot chocolates, I wanted cookies, I wanted cakes, I wanted ice cream—essentially anything that could quench my sweet tooth. I wanted them all in my tummy. I could feel the overwhelming desire for all the sweets in the world overtake me, and I realized all too quickly what Eclipse had done to me. He had cursed me into having a mindless obsession over sweets, so much so that my yearning for it was all-consuming!

Crap.

Holy fucking crap.

This is what I get for letting my guard down with that freaking Demon.

Suddenly, the nice little bonding session I had with Eclipse was overshadowed by the fact that he had managed to screw me over again.

I was back to hating him, and unfortunately this time around, as I felt the evil calories make a home in my body, I knew I had to make things right and pay for my momentary bout of weakness. There was only one thing a human being could do after succumbing to thirteen helpings of doughnuts.

Regrettably for me, this activity was going to kick my ass so hard that I wouldn’t be able to move for a week.

"Don’t you get it by now?"
10
: War

“Fucking Eclipse. Fucking Eclipse!”

I was dying. I was literally dying.

I had just spent an hour running and was now finishing the last twenty minutes of my hour-long love-fest with the stairmaster. If you had been on a stairmaster, then you would know that the remaining twenty minutes would seem like a lifetime away. The endless seconds on that torturous machine taunted me, triggering me to feel like shit for all the crap I consumed. The blasphemous part was that I was still craving sweets while I was on this damn machine. How was it possible that I was longing for red velvet cupcakes when I was dying from exhaustion?

I hated my life. I absolutely hated my life.

I was on the verge of blacking out from exhaustion. I had never worked out this aggressively in my life. Right when I was about to keel over, the bane of my existence appeared to make me hate my life even more.

Eclipse.

I wasn’t sure how long he had been there, but there Eclipse was, running on a treadmill beside my stairmaster. He was smoking up a storm with his cigarette while he ran like he was modeling for a sporting goods commercial.

Wearing nothing but black basketball shorts and matching running shoes, Eclipse’s naked upper body glistened underneath the gym lighting. Sweat was trickling seductively down his body, running past his back, coursing down his chest, and kissing over his washboard stomach. The sight made me so weak in the knees that I had to hold onto the railing, afraid that if I lost my balance I would meet my death.

That jerk.

He had ruined me.

I would never look at another man’s body the same way again. How would anything impress me now that I had been gifted with the sexiest sight ever to be bestowed to a woman? Humans were created to be imperfect—to be flawed. It was against the laws of nature for me to see Eclipse like this, to be given a view of what the male body in the form of perfection should look like. Eclipse wasn’t the standard; he was the paragon, and he had ruined any future I would have with my future husband.

I couldn’t have hated the bastard more.

Clearly sensing my venomous glare, Eclipse veered his attention to me. He flashed me one of his breathtaking smiles, and with ease, he grabbed his small white towel and jumped off the treadmill. With mischievous eyes, he began wiping himself dry. Like the experienced tease he was, he grabbed a blue jacket from the floor and zipped himself up, hiding his body from me as quickly as he had shown it off. An air of innocence exuded from him when he lowered himself to sit comfortably on the treadmill belt.

“Damn, that was a hard workout,” he uttered, panting for breath as he continued to smoke his cigarette. Humor rippled in his eyes when he took in the exhaustive state I was in. “I'm glad I'm done with that workout. I can't imagine doing it for another hour. I'm
so
exhausted.”

I gritted my teeth.

He was mocking me. He knew that I still had to workout. While he got to sit there and chill, I had to continue to work my ass off. It was the very image of his triumphant smirk that reminded me why I was dying in the gym in the first place. Fury cloaked my face as I appraised him in all of his post-workout glory. It wasn’t fair that he looked unbelievably sexy while effortlessly sweating and I looked like a sweaty pig. It wasn't fair that he was so relaxed and I was so miserable.

Resembling a sweaty pig or not, I wasn’t going to let him mock me. I carefully hopped off the stairmaster for a fleeting moment and crouched down to retrieve my earpiece from my gym bag. I dramatically stuck the earpiece into my ear and jumped back onto the stairmaster. I wasted no time in confronting him. 

“You,” I growled. My lungs gasped for air. Below me, the level on my stairmaster increased from ten to thirteen. Fire blazed in my eyes. “What the hell did you feed me? Why am I craving sweets so much?”

He sighed, already anticipating my reaction. With a casual inhalation of his cigarette, he decided to enlighten me on the new reality of my life. “The doughnut was for your cravings.”

Okay, that much I knew.

“And the hot chocolate?”

“To slow your metabolism down and double the calories of any sweets you digest.”

“What?!”
I shrieked, scaring everyone in the near-empty gym. Because I had my earpiece on, I didn’t shy away with my reaction. At this point, I didn’t give a damn if people thought I was crazy. I had more important matters to tend to—like yelling at a Demon who decided to fuck with my metabolism. “You fed me demonic-crack doughnut and demonic-crack hot chocolate?”

He bobbed his head. His expression was utterly guiltless. “I did.”

“You cruel bastard!” I screeched. I panted heavily, my legs growing weaker with every progressing step. Sweat was dripping off of me like rain, and if it were possible, I could swear that there was steam wafting from my ears. It took my last vestige of control to not cuss at him. “How could you do this to a former overweight girl? Do you know how hard it was for me to lose weight and discipline myself in the first place?”

“Gracie,” he began diplomatically, “there are very few things in life that you care about. You’ve killed your family, you couldn’t care less about the acquaintances you call your friends, and you don’t exactly have an empathetic bone in your body. You are the very embodiment of a selfish and self-absorbed human being. The only thing you care about is your control over your life. You value your drive to be the best in life and your vanity—your superficiality taking precedence. I’m not doing anything to hurt you physically, but you have to understand that it only leaves me with the psychological part. The only device I’m left with is using your own obsession against you. It is my best option if I even want a remote chance of getting you to turn over your soul to me.”

“You
a
sshole,” I growled breathlessly. If this were someone else he was screwing over, then I would applaud him for his brilliant strategy. Since it was me that he was screwing over, I harbored only resentment for him.

Although I knew that he felt slightly bad for making me suffer, I could still see the amusement in his eyes. He was darn happy to see me so affected by his method of attack. It only meant that he was one step closer to owning my soul.

“Go find yourself another human and life would be easier for you, Demon,” I replied, nearly dying from the rapid pace of the moving stairs. Screwing with my grades was one thing, but my weight and my weakness towards sweets was another thing entirely. This battle was getting more gruesome and unforgiving. The most frustrating thing was that I was losing. I was frigging losing to him.

And while I may have been losing, I wasn’t going to give up.

Some may say that because I had sadistic tendencies, then it would mean that I had no soul and there was no point in hanging onto it. Even though I was a horrible person to begin with, in my mind, sadistic tendencies or not, I was still a human being with a soul. As long as this was true, then I would hold onto it until the end.

My soul—what was left of my humanity—was mine and mine alone.

I would
never
part with it.

“I’m . . . I'm not . . . giving you . . . my soul,” I said in between pants. Conviction emanated from every word I uttered. “Not . . . now . . . not ever.”

Eclipse merely chuckled at my answer. My back was hunched over and I was on level thirteen of the stairmaster. I was sweating and huffing up a storm. It was clear that he found hilarity in my stubborn nature. On the flip side, he also understood that with every battle, all it took was one moment of weakness and the winner would be crowned. His eyes challenged me to be that winner because it was clear that he truly believed he was going to get my soul.

“Thirteen
servings of doughnuts and hot chocolate, all of which are doubled in calories,” he noted lightly. He stood up from his seat and approached me with a purposeful gait. There was a sinful glint in his eyes when he added, “That’s a hell of an endeavor to burn off.” He then flashed a wicked smile that silently promised he’d win this battle against me. “Good luck with your futile efforts. When you’re ready to be kinder to yourself, you know the right words to say.” He courteously angled his head at me. “Have a good workout, Gracie.”

In a blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving me to dwell in my own state of misery.

With a pout and the urge to cry myself to sleep, especially after being reminded that I had to burn off the
doubled
calories of thirteen doughnuts and hot chocolates, I added another hour onto the stairmaster. I seriously contemplated jumping to my death as the excruciating seconds became more endless.

Only two hours and ten more minutes to go.

●●●

After my hellish gym session, I pathetically rested on the bench outside of the gym’s building. I was in pain and my entire body was in shock. The most blasphemous part of all was that I was still hungry for the culprits that led me into this misery in the first place.

The banana I was munching on was doing a horrible job of quelling my cravings for sweets because I didn’t want healthy sweets. I wanted unhealthy sweets that were fattening and delicious, and I couldn’t despise this craving more. I groaned in despair, taking the last bite of my banana when I heard soft footsteps approach me.

“Hi ma’am!” the little chipmunk voice greeted me, snapping me out of my thoughts. While still laying down on the bench, I angled my head in the direction of the voice. I came face-to-face with a cute chubby kid who was about six-years-old. He was holding a brown carton box and was smiling innocently at me. “Ma’am, would you like to buy some chocolates? If I sell a lot, my fieldtrip gets paid for and I get a really cool yoyo!”

My eyes blossomed at the prospect of chocolates.

I propelled upright and gaped at him with open judgment. How simultaneously cruel and ingenious was this kid to come to a gym to sell his damn chocolates? I had never felt so pissed off and so thankful to see some cute chubby kid selling me chocolates. I didn’t know where the kid came from, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about how much it cost, I didn’t care if eating these chocolates would make my efforts at the gym today useless, and I didn’t care if I would feel guilty after I was done eating them. All I cared about was my chocolates.

“Give me the whole box.”

His eyes enlarged into the size of golf balls. “
Really?
”

I nodded vehemently, feeling more and more bitter towards him as each second passed. Innocent or not, he was the harbinger of temptation and he was playing a key role in screwing up my diet.

It was odd for me to realize that after being tortured by Eclipse, I had actually forgotten all about my sadistic inclinations. It wasn’t that I forgot that I had sadistic tendencies, but for some strange reason, I just hadn’t had the urge to revel in someone else's misery lately. However, now that I was reminded of it, I could feel the need spike up again. I was desperate for another dosage of someone’s despair and this kid would be the perfect victim.  

I tossed the banana peel underneath a shady area and then handed the child a wad of money for his box of chocolates. He definitely picked the wrong time and the wrong person to approach. I was not the nicest person to be around when I was tired, hungry, and just plain pissed off. I could feel my chest constrict in need, and I knew that this kid had to be the one to quench the thirst I was yearning for . . .

“Thank you, ma’am!” the little boy shouted, giving me a polite bow.

I nodded dismissively at him and began unwrapping my first chocolate bar. I bit into it and groaned out in joy. While munching on my chocolates and knowing all too well that I was doubling my caloric intake, I kept my eyes on the cute fat kid as he walked away in glee. He was so happy to be able to sell his entire box of chocolates that he didn't even notice that there was a banana peel waiting for him in the darkness. He was getting closer and closer to it. Then—

I expelled a tortured sigh.

I should have let him step on it because his misery would make me feel better. For reasons that evaded my own understanding, I couldn’t do it. My sadistic tendencies—alive as they were—weren’t powerful enough to overshadow the sense of morality I felt for the kid. I didn’t have the heart to hurt him, even though I really wanted to enjoy someone’s misfortune.

“Hey cutie,” I called out just as his small feet were about to unknowingly make contact with the banana peel. He turned to me, blushing at the name I had called him. I imagined he must’ve had a small crush on me and that me calling him a “cutie” just lit up his little world.

Ah damn, why do I always have such a weakness when it comes to innocent and cute-looking kids?

“Yes ma’am?” he responded, jogging back in a cheerful bounce.

I smiled and handed him twenty dollars. “Here’s the money to buy your yoyo because you’re so cute.” I laughed before adding, “The next time you see me, please don’t bring me anymore chocolates to buy, okay? I don’t want to get cavities.”

His eyes broadened even more. He nodded his head fervently. “Okay! I won’t sell you chocolates anymore!”