An Eternity of Eclipse (32 page)

Oh. My. God.

Someone kill me. This was the lamest matchmaking effort ever displayed in the history of humanity.

“You’re such a good guy, Eclipse!” Dawn approved. She began to motion for the girls to follow her towards the exit. “Well then. We’re going to leave the two of you alone. Have a safe night!”

With sneaky grins on their faces, Ara and Dawn ushered Kina and Missy away, winking at me and giving me a thumbs up before they disappeared into the crowd.

“Your friends are very bad actresses,” Eclipse whispered into my ear. Amusement colored his voice when he added, “So I’m your neighbor now?”

I expelled a tired breath. “DonKi told them about some random guy crashing my date. I didn’t want to tell them it was a Demon who was after my soul. Instead, I fibbed and told them that you were some new guy who moved into my apartment complex.”

He clicked his tongue in knowledge. “Now after seeing what I look like, they have decided that they should play matchmaker?”

“It would seem like it.”

He smiled mischievously, sliding an arm around my waist. Pulling me close against his body, he began to steer us towards the exit.

“We shouldn’t disappoint them now, should we?” He chuckled upon seeing the distaste on my face. He playfully pinched my nose as we navigated through the crowd. “I was just kidding, Gracie. A Demon and a human cannot be a couple—it’s against the laws of nature. One of us has to change for the other. And since I’m not willing to become human and you are unwilling to be a Demon, we are at a stalemate, aren’t we?” A playful smirk edged his lips. “Unless you want to make things official and become a Demon tonight.”

I rolled my eyes and drunkenly pushed him away.

“I don’t think so, Ashtray,” I dismissed, running outside to enjoy the fresh cool air.

His soft chuckle followed closely behind me.

“One day, you will truly consider becoming a Demon for me,” he teased, raising a challenging brow at me. “You can’t resist my charms forever, Teacup.”

“Not forever,” I wistfully agreed as we left the liveliness of the club and embarked onto the more monumental portion of the evening. “Only until the day I die.”

“But I could wait an Eternity for you.”
22:
Here’s to an Eternity

In an effort to save money, Eclipse and I opted out of calling a cab after leaving the club and decided to walk home instead. The journey back to my apartment was unfortunately a long one because
Soleil
was far from my neighborhood. Thankfully, the walk proved to be a good one because the cold chill and fresh air were helping me sober up. My once congested mind felt liberated with the serene setting.

We walked around the city, submerging ourselves into the sea of people swarming the streets at night. Reflections of neon signs, car headlights, and streetlights glowed on the surface of the damp pavement that had been touched by rain earlier in the evening. The city had a luminous glow to it and there was a sense of purity in the air that left me feeling sated. Under any other circumstances, I would have dreaded walking outside after a downpour, especially if I was only wearing a party dress and a pair of heels. However, tonight, it felt incredibly nice and perfect. It was so pleasant that when Eclipse suggested that we take a detour to the business district to further enjoy the tranquility of the night, I accepted without a second thought.

The amazing thing about this whole walk was the calm silence emanating from Eclipse. Throughout our journey across the streets that were protected by skyscrapers, he barely said anything. It was a complete 180 from his usual talkative self. Apart from talking about how cold it was and asking me if I wanted to take a little detour, he appeared to be lost in his own world of thoughts as well.

A peaceful stream of smoke swam away from his lips while his eyes silently admired the illuminated world around him.

“I walk around here a lot when you get pissed off at me.” His voice finally penetrated the silence, drawing me out of my stupor.

I turned to him, watching as a small smile graced his lips. He was admiring a beautiful building in the distance.

“Do you really?” It was difficult for me to imagine a Demon doing something so normal—so human.

“Do you think I just go back to my throne when I disappear?” He laughed under his breath, bringing his eyes back down to meet mine. “At night, when I feel that it’s time to leave you alone, I take a pit stop here before I return to my Kingdom.”

“Why?”

“Ahhhh!”

Just as I posed this question, an elderly woman, who was walking in the sea of pedestrians amongst us, suddenly slipped on the damp pavement. Her black handbag escaped her grip as she fell forward with a loud scream. Her face was headed straight towards the unforgiving concrete.

It happened so quickly.

She was on her way down until Eclipse caught her in time, saving her from her misfortune.

“Oh! Thank you so much, dear!” she whispered, no doubt grateful to be saved.

Eclipse smiled kindly, helping her regain her balance. Under the radiance of the night, his beautiful face mirrored the glow of an Angel’s. “It was absolutely no problem.”

The sadistic part of me was disappointed that he saved her. I would have loved to enjoy her misery. I was unhappy with his actions, but for the seconds to follow, this fleeting sadism dissolved with the cold night. To my surprise, I felt warmed to be able to witness him being nice to someone. I couldn’t explain it. Strangely enough, I felt proud of him. I would even go as far as saying that I admired him.

His gracious action was contagious—so much so that even I crouched down, fought the foot traffic that waltzed around the elderly woman’s spilled items, and helped gather her belongings. Once everything was safely packed into her bag, I stood up and handed it to her.

“Thank you so much,” she whispered, looking between Eclipse and I. Her face beamed with gratitude. “God bless you both.”

“No problem, ma’am,” we both said before bowing and continuing with our walk around the business district.

“The first thing you should know is that I look down on your race,” Eclipse told me, answering my previous question about why he took walks around the business district at night. I felt the defensive nerves within me spark up, but I held in the need to defend my race. I remained quiet and allowed him to continue. He smiled lightly and then said, “I look down on your race, but I can honestly say that nothing in this God-given world beats your enthusiasm to challenge the confines of life.” He peered up at all the towering buildings surrounding him. His eyes illumed with genuine admiration. “Your constant desire to find out the limits of the sky, to be grander than you are, and your ability to create works of art in the form of these breathtaking infrastructures is very fascinating. It is the equivalent of ants figuring out how to start fire—it is simply amazing.” As if knowing that it wasn’t appropriate for a Demon of his caliber to speak so positively about humans—even in the smallest dosages—Eclipse smiled self-deprecatingly. “Plus, it’s amazing to be out here at night. The world is so busy. There are thousands of people surrounding you when you walk these streets, but you could still feel alone and lost. It’s a liberating and unsettling feeling mixed into one. But the chaos around here makes it easy for me to categorize my thoughts. At the end of the day, I find it very soothing to be out here, completely lost in the structured chaos.”

“It’s your way of relaxing,” I provided for him.

He nodded before his eyes settled on mine. Curiosity infused the depths of his brown eyes. “What do you do to relax, Teacup?”

“I relax by immersing myself in the misery of others,” I confessed, thinking back to the disappointment I experienced when Eclipse saved that elderly woman. I showcased kindness because, in a perplexed moment, I felt influenced by Eclipse’s unprecedented graciousness. However, much like so many other moments in my life, I could feel my sadism overshadow my kindheartedness. I felt the bitter and cruel sensation return to me. If given a second chance, I would have held Eclipse back from saving her and I would have taken great joy in her fall. Thoughts like these made what was left of my humanity feel ashamed; it made me hate myself for always losing to my sadism.

This was my life—a life filled with contradictions.

I wanted to be a good person, but in the end, I would always be a bad person.

I smiled dryly to myself, my bitter eyes meandering around the busy world surrounding me. The cool wind tousled my hair like waves in an ocean.

“Normal people take walks to relax. For me, I go out to find someone’s misery to enjoy. If I can’t find it organically, then I create it by causing the misery. The only time I can truly relax and enjoy myself is when I’ve had my fill of the misery of others. For example, right now, I’m not happy. I’m actually a bit angry at you for saving that woman and for influencing me to help her. Now all that is running through my head is that I should’ve stopped you so that I could watch her fall on her face and relish in her pain.”

Eclipse grinned in understanding. He was not surprised by this admission. Instead of responding to the elevated anger I harbored for him, he continued along with the former half of my statement. “And you feel nothing when you’re surrounded by these thousands of people? Surely the majority here must be miserable. Why can’t you just enjoy it all here?”

“I’ve tried,” I admitted sadly. “In a place like this, where everyone’s thoughts are all over the place, the emotions are mixed together with the chaos. I feel nothing when I walk around here. It’s all white noise; it is never the music I need.” I shrugged despondently. “I would need everyone out here to be miserable at the same time if I wanted to enjoy their miseries.”

“It must be terrible,” Eclipse mused carelessly, surveying the streets, “to live in a world where you feel so alone amongst your own kind. And to make matters worse, you’re stuck with an addiction that you cannot control.”

It was only after he said this did I realize that I unknowingly opened up more than I should have.

I couldn’t have that.

My eyes sharpened on his cigarette. He was smoking it as though it was his lifeline. His mention of my addiction brought my attention to his. Eclipse had always presented himself to be strong-willed. With his desire for me aside, I couldn’t fathom why he was addicted to smoking. Shouldn’t someone like him be above it?

Sensing my opportunity, I shifted the spotlight to his addiction.

“Why do you smoke?”

Eclipse’s shoulders lifted in a lackadaisical shrug. A lighthearted smile overtook his face and he began to walk backwards. His retreating footsteps mirrored my advancing footsteps as we continued down the busy street. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s bad for you.”

An entertained glint sparkled in his eyes. “Oh?”

I went on quickly, wanting to beat him at this game and drill into his head that he shouldn’t be smoking. “And it's bad for your heart.”

Smoke and laughter emitted from Eclipse’s entertained face. He kept walking backwards, skillfully maneuvering around people and never bumping into anyone. “My heart is already bad, heartless as some would say.”

I frowned. “It turns your teeth yellow.”

He smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth as a wordless contradiction to my warning.

“It’s bad for your lungs.”

He continued to walk at a brisk pace, not even breaking a sweat. It was his silent and arrogant way of telling me that his lungs were fine.

Not giving up, I pilfered through my mind for the bad consequences of smoking. I hastily added, “And it gives you bad breath!”

He stopped at once, nearly causing me to crash into him. My heels bumped into his shoes, bringing me to a complete stop. In a fluid motion, while a blur of people, cars, and nightlife dimmed in the background, he bent down slightly, gave me one of his breathtaking smiles, and took it upon himself to decadently blow smoke into my face.

“Tell me, Teacup,” he purred, his lips just above the tip of my nose. He pecked it gently, causing my cheeks to enflame. With a soft whisper, he asked, “Do I have bad breath?”

Instead of coughing in disgust as I had anticipated, I breathed in the smoke. I inhaled the most wonderful scent I could ever dream of smelling. I found myself eager for more when the smoke dissolved under the weight of the cold air. I was captivated, but I was also rational enough to know when I was in a precarious predicament. Without hesitation, I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him away to put some distance between us. I couldn’t let myself be affected by his charms. It was getting tiring to consciously force myself to push him away when all I wanted was to be close to him. Regardless, it was the best tactic I could come up with when faced with an adversary like Eclipse who radiated physical extravagance.

“What kind of cigarette is that anyway?” I asked faintly, trying to change the subject. My brows furrowed in genuine curiosity. “Why doesn’t it smell bad?”

“This,” he answered, taking the cigarette out of his lips and taking a second to gaze at it, “is a very special cigarette.”

“It’s not bad for you,” I supplied, and he nodded before continuing down the sidewalk. I followed closely beside him. “It doesn’t have any negative effects on you?”

“No,” he conceded with slight amusement. He placed the cigarette back in his mouth and continued to smoke it. “Unlike your race, my race is a bit smarter. We do not create anything to kill us; we merely create things to entertain and benefit us.”

I frowned at another one of his casual disses to my race, but relented in arguing when his criticism was well warranted. As it would appear, we were the only race stupid enough to create things that can kill us rather than benefit us. Stupidity was stupidity. You couldn’t defend that.

“What are the benefits of smoking that cigarette?” I asked, staring at it as the end lit up and a fog of smoke coursed away from his lips.

“It has a calming effect on me,” he provided casually. “Plus, it’s become a bad habit of sorts.” Then, as though arriving at the destination he had been seeking all night, Eclipse stopped in a quiet part of the street. His eyes gazed up at the infrastructure that stood across from us. I looked up too and observed that it was the building that he had been admiring all night. It was one of the highest buildings on the block.

“Let’s go up there,” he suggested, his excited eyes staring up at the edifice like it was a work of art.

I gave him a strange look. I recalled my extreme fear of heights and felt my body quake. “Excuse me?”

“To the roof of this building,” he clarified, his eyes still staring upwards. “The view must be nice. I want to see it.”

“Wh-what?” My eyes bloomed wide at his possible tactic of getting us up there. He wasn’t suggesting demonic stuff, was he? I was afraid of heights, but I was more afraid of demonic magic. “How will we get up there?”

He laughed and brought his gaze back down to me. “By taking the elevator, of course.”

He made it sound so obvious that it made me feel a bit silly for thinking that he was going to use magic to get us up there. Though I was relieved we were given a pardon from playing around with his demonic powers, I grew more paranoid at the phobia I had of heights.

“But . . . but isn’t the building rigged with alarms?” I voiced as my subtle way of telling him that I really didn’t want to go up there.