An Eternity of Eclipse (16 page)

I laughed my approval and patted his head. “Good. Now, there’s a banana peel over there.” I pointed in the direction I had tossed it. “Can you do me a favor and throw it in the trashcan before someone slips on it and hurt themselves?”

He bobbed his head, bowing to me once more before he happily ran over to pick up the banana peel. He hurled it into a nearby trashcan and ran to his older sister shouting, “Lala! I can buy my yoyo now because I’m cute!”

As he disappeared into the crowded streets with his sister, I bitterly bit into my chocolate. I chastised myself for throwing away the chance of hurting someone and being able to revel in their despair. I didn’t have the heart to hurt anyone tonight and because of this, the tension in my body was going to plague me for the entire night.

Great. Another thing to look forward to
, I thought grumpily.

It was only after I took in a deep breath that a realization washed over me. I belatedly conjured up an idea of what I could do to make my life more bearable. More importantly, I realized what I could do to defend myself against a Demon like Eclipse.

Why didn’t I think of this before?

If Eclipse could wreak havoc on my life, then why couldn’t I do the same to him?

I could feel my sadistic heart beat in excitement at the prospect of something so thrilling. I couldn’t believe this idea hadn’t come to me sooner. A cold and malicious smile slid across my lips. I finally saw the light at the end of a once impenetrable tunnel.

The overbearing and cunning Demon had no idea who he was fucking with. He did not know that he had awoken the monster inside me. If he wanted to play dirty, then I would play dirty with him.

“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” I said in a low voice, eager to get started with my plan. “I’m going to destroy you.”

Eclipse started the battle.

Now I was declaring war.

"Don’t you see the irrefutable truth?"
11
: Picking on a Demon

At a young age, I learned all too quickly about my sadistic tendencies.

When I was first admitted into the psychiatric hospital, I had always known that my fondness for sadism was alive inside me. I also knew that this was something I needed to hide.

It first started off with small animals—mainly butterflies. During our free time outside, I’d always run around in the gardens, catching butterflies in my hands and bringing them back inside with me. There, I’d do what I always did: sit at one of the windows, think about my life, brood about how much I hated being held captive, and then I’d rip the wings off of the butterflies. I wanted other living things to feel as trapped as I did, as helpless as I did, and as miserable as I did. It was only after that did I feel calm and collected again.

This sadistic and disturbing method of therapy gradually evolved into something a bit more . . . frowned upon.

Within my group of friends at the hospital (and I use the term “friends” very loosely), I was a master manipulator. I was charming, I was nice, and most of all, I had the face of an Angel. Some of my favorite pastimes were leaving banana peels on the floor or splashing anti-bacterial soap on the tiles in hopes of being able to watch the other patients or orderlies slip down and hurt themselves. There was even an instance where I convinced two other patients to fight each other while I stood off to the side. I would watch everything, faking fear in my eyes whenever an orderly appeared by my side to ask me why I was so scared. I was the mastermind, but never the one who got caught.

In high school, it was the same thing. My antics were subtle, usually shenanigans here and there used to get people to hurt themselves for my entertainment. It never got to the point where I killed or seriously injured anyone. It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I only wanted to enjoy their miseries.

As I grew older, the addiction became all-consuming.

It reached a point where I would have to perform my antics several times a day to quench my “thirst.” If I didn’t meet my quota, I’d be left feeling antsy and completely miserable the entire day. My needs evolved to a point where it was no longer feasible for me to perform multiple acts of mischief a day (since it maximized the chance of me getting caught). This was when I came up with the idea of immersing myself in a place filled with miserable people and this was why I started my volunteer work at hospitals, orphanages, and ultimately women’s shelters. It was one of the most ingenious ideas I had ever conceived. It was Heaven for me to be surrounded by so many unhappy people. I knew it was sick and disturbing, but it was like a compulsion that I couldn’t stop. No matter how hard I tried to wean myself from it, I would always end up losing. It was like there was something inside me that wouldn’t rest in peace until I fed into this addiction . . .

I had downgraded my sadistic activities since those earlier days because as I grew older, I started to feel slightly guilty about the things I was doing. As a result, I only allowed my malevolence to come out once in a blue moon. I had been relatively “normal”—for lack of a better word—this past year, but with the appearance of Eclipse, I couldn’t think of a better living thing to sic my sadistic tendencies on.

Would it be immoral to pick on a Demon, especially when he provoked me and picked on me first?

I didn’t think so.

This was why I was positively upbeat the following morning. A hidden smile tugged at my lips as I sat alone in the student quad area, watching a cartoon movie on my phone. I was waiting for my first class to start and waiting for my Demon-turned-victim to appear.

“Hi Gracie,” Eclipse greeted gently, the signature melodic lilt in his voice as alluring as ever.

In a matter of seconds, he was sitting beside me at the lone table I was at. The warmth of his body and the smoke from his cigarette moved around me. I felt his brown eyes lay its expectant gaze on me, and I smiled internally at this.

It was time to initiate my plan.

Jumpstarting the attack, I did well to brush him off with the cold shoulder. I ignored his salutation by upping the movie volume on my phone.

The easygoing aura that radiated from him subdued when I said nothing to him. “How long are you planning on giving me the cold shoulder and staying mad at me?”

I turned up the volume on the phone again as my reply to him, further drowning him out with my earphones. The funny thing was that one of my earphones wasn’t working, which meant that I could still hear him. I just wanted him to believe that I couldn’t.

“Gracie.” I could hear the tired sigh in his weary voice. He placed his arms on the table and lowered his head a bit. He tried to catch my eyes. “You know you can’t ignore me forever.”

I didn’t say anything to him nor did I deign to make eye contact with him. I merely continued to smack my lips together while loudly chewing on my gum.

Visibly unhappy with my silent treatment, he took one of the earphones out of my ear.

“How about I give you a break today?” he compromised softly. “The grades will continue to decline as planned and I can’t control your caloric intake because it’s in your system now, but I can stop all the accident-prone things from happening.”

I was already one step ahead of him. I had anticipated Eclipse to bribe me with the lessening of one punishment as barter to get me to cease with the silent treatment. Unfortunately for him, I was resolved on not giving in. I was going to see this plan through. I would only settle for him leaving me alone and allowing my life to return to normal again. Until then, the strategy would continue as planned.

Deliberately disregarding his offer, I blew a tired sigh, kept my eyes firmly away from his, and continued to blissfully ignore him. I was still loudly chewing on my gum, keenly aware that this was driving Eclipse crazy.

“Gracie, come on. Don’t do this.” I could hear the steel beneath his supple voice. He maintained his composure amidst his thinning patience. “I know that you’re upset with me because of the diet sabotage, but is giving me the silent treatment really the best way to deal with all this?”

When I didn’t say anything and merely kept my eyes solidified on my phone, he quietly and very bitterly added, “If it’s your plan to drive me crazy right now, then it’s working.”

If I weren’t still hell-bent on ignoring him, I would have laughed out loud at his unfiltered admission.

At long last, as my loud gum chewing became increasingly more obnoxious, the moment I had been waiting for arrived.

“What should I do to get you to speak to me again?”

“You know what I want,” I finally responded, whipping my head in his direction.

Eclipse arched a pleased brow at my swift reply.

“Good to hear your voice again, Gracie. I was this close to throwing you into bed so that I could hear your voice some other way.”

“You know what I want,” I reiterated, ignoring the tempting imagery of Eclipse throwing me into bed and the things he might do there to get me to speak to him. I couldn’t be distracted. I had a war to govern and a Demon to punish. “You know what you need to do.”

“And you know what
I
want,” he replied with the same aggravation. His gaze mirrored my own expression—determination, frustration, and desperation. “You know what I need from you. All you have to do is give me a simple ‘yes,’ and I’ll make everything right again.”

I smirked grimly to myself, having already anticipated him to say all this to me. I knew that it would take much more to break Eclipse than a simple silent treatment. I decided to cut my losses. No matter. The actual plan was for him to be as annoyed with my existence as I was with his. The silent treatment was just the beginning to throw him off. I had other things planned.

I bestowed him with a glare as my unspoken disapproval of him for not giving into my demands. I promptly resumed my cold shoulder by gathering my belongings to go to class without a second glance.

When I did this, I could hear Eclipse sigh in frustration.

I used this moment as my opportunity.

Lifting my books up and putting them inside my bag, I made sure to hold the bag limply and carelessly. I subtly allowed the red bag to brush persuasively against a styrofoam cup. With much anticipation, I watched the cup filled with steaming hot coffee obediently tip forward.

Splash!

“Bloody hell!”

The Demon of Lust leapt to his feet the moment the hot drink splattered across his white dress shirt and spilled onto his black pants. Eclipse’s eyes widened with shock as he shook the hot liquid off his hands. He glanced at me briefly, his expression unnerved. He picked up the empty cup and inspected its contents by taking a whiff from it. Bewilderment rippled on his face.

“Is this coffee?” He divided his disbelieving stare between the coffee cup and myself. “I thought you didn’t drink coffee?”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed carelessly, still chewing very loudly on my gum. “I don’t, do I?” I shrugged, staring up at him with innocence. “Well, sorry about spilling hot coffee on you. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“I’m not,” he replied slowly, his eyes staring at me with suspicion. I could see he was wondering whether or not I had done it on purpose.

Continuing with my bubbly gait to class, I swept past him. I was about to climb up the steps that led outside to campus when I turned back to him and tilted my head. I wore a sweet expression on my face.

“By the way, I have no idea if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I think there’s something stuck to your butt.”

A confused look spread over his face. Without delay, Eclipse examined the back of his pants. His eyes broadened once he spotted the five pieces of bright pink gum stuck to his perfectly defined rear. Silence streamed over him while he continued to gape at his pants in disbelief. It was only when he heard me chewing noisily on my gum that his eyes raised up to meet mine.

I regarded him with innocence radiating from my eyes. I jovially chewed on my gum, knowing very well that he could see the pink culprit dancing around in my mouth. It was easy to tell from his eyes that he was still debating on whether or not I was cruel enough to torture him like this—to plant gum on the seat where he sat. Though he looked suspicious, I surmised from the light in his eyes that he found it hard to believe that I would do something this mean. Surely, it must have been an accident.

With a simple parting smile, I turned away from him. Laughter threatened to spill out of my chest when I spat out the sixth gum in absolute glee. The image of the great Demon of Lust with pink gum stuck to his butt was just too funny to not find humor in.

I was officially picking on a Demon.

If I wasn’t going to Heaven for this, then there was no justice in this world.

This is just the beginning,
Eclipse
, I promised triumphantly, thinking about the long and wonderful day I had planned for him.
You’re going down.

●●●

I couldn’t remember having a more entertaining and fun day.

Throughout the entirety of Eclipse’s day, there was always something that went tragically wrong for him. Whether it be the little dust bunnies I stuck into his water bottle when he wasn’t looking, the drinks I kept accidentally spilling on him when we were together, or the many times I “accidentally” smacked his face while tossing my handbag over my shoulder, Eclipse was not given a moment of rest from my subtle wrath.

For the first time since I had met him, it actually seemed that Eclipse was beginning to look worn out from being around me.

Of course, being as stubborn and hardheaded as he was, Eclipse proved to be a tough opponent. Not once during any of my antics did he ever get angry with me. Sure, he’d appraise me with uneasiness in his eyes, but he was always cool, collected, and as charming as ever. The only time he ran off was when I “accidentally” bumped into him while we were walking to class. He crashed into the window drapes in the business hall, which was filled with the itching powder that I had planted.

It was a sight for the eyes, watching the normally cool and aloof Demon get flustered and uncomfortable as he scratched nearly every part of his body. After scratching himself for a good ten minutes, he uneasily told me that he had to go and disappeared in haste, leaving me to run into a little corner where I couldn’t help but giggle to myself. The misery that was rolling off of him was euphoric. It was Heaven to be able to get back at him for all the misfortune he had inflicted onto my life. It was also a great bonus to be able to quench my sadistic inclinations.

Ah yes, killing two birds with one stone.

Life couldn’t get any better than this.

After class, I was standing on the ladder in the library, categorizing newly returned books into their proper places when the Demon returned to my side. A laugh threatened to pour from my lips when I was reminded of all the crap I pulled on him today.