Chapter 40: Devil Town.

Chapter 40: Devil Town.

"No way." I say, throwing my head back in laughter.

"For real." Devon says, tightening his grip on my waist.

We are outside Devon's frat house. I made Andrè drive three hours to see him. Devon thought It'd be a great idea to go out and get some fresh air. So, here we are.

Things with Devon are getting pretty serious and I'm kinda happy that we get to go to school together in less than two months. And I know he's a sophomore, he only has two more years left, but who cares?

I don't and that's all that matters.

"You're crazy." I say, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I know." He says and I chuckle.

It wasn't easy moving on from Zachary. Hell, I don't think I've moved on one bit, but I don't cry when I look at his pictures anymore, so that's a good thing.

"It's getting chilly, wanna head back inside?" He asks me.

"Sure." I say as I stand up from the porch steps we were seated on.

I do a little stretch and I can literally hear my bones snap.

Crap, I'm getting old.

Devon takes my hand in his as he leads me inside the house. Two boys are throwing a football around the living room. Two other boys are arguing over something. One boy is skating around the house. This place is a madhouse.

"Don't mind them." Devon tells me as he leads me to his bedroom.

It's really hard not to mind them.

When we get to his bedroom I hear the lock click, but I don't think much of it.

Why did he lock the door?

I'm getting nervous now.

"Why is the door locked?" I ask him.

"Don't worry, I locked it so that my frat boys won't get in. But if you're feeling uncomfortable I can unlock it." He tells me.

"No, it's fine." I tell him as I take my shoes off.

I snuggle into his bed, taking in the scent of Vanilla that lingered around his sheets.

"You're cute." Devon says as he gets in bed with me.

He cups my face in his hands as his thumb rubs my cheek.

"Can I kiss you, Larry?" He asks me, staring at me. His lips inches

I gulp.

Don't do it, Vee.

"Um...I gotta pee." I lie.

"It's um...that way." Devin says, pointing at the wooden door beside his dresser.

I literally jump off the bed and scurry to the bathroom. I close the door behind me and I slide down till my butt hits the floor.

Dammit, Vee.

Pull yourself together.

Feeling the sudden urge to use the bathroom I sit on the toilet seat and do my dirty business.

Okay, eww.

I take in the décor of the bathroom as I wash my hands. The walls are baby blue with white stripes. It's really cute. Grabbing a paper towel, I dry my hands. A plastic bag stuffed beside the counter catches my eye.

What could that be?

Don't do it, Valarie.

I crouch and I try to take the plastic bag out of the compartment it's stuffed in.

It won't budge.

"What are you doing?" I hear Devon's voice behind me.

Shit.

"Nothing." I say, standing up. "And why are you in here? I could have been naked or something." I yell at him.

"But you're not." He says in a firm tone. "What were you doing, Valarie?" He asks me again.

"Bossy." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Answer me." He demands, his green eyes staring daggers at me.

Okay, pause.

Why is he going off at me?

"What?" I ask with an innocent look on my face.

"What were you looking for, Valarie?" He asks coming closer, making me press my back on the edge of the sink.

"Nothing." I tell him as he clenches his jaw.

"I think I'm gonna go." I say, trying to leave the bathroom but he blocks me.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asks me with a sinister smile. He grabs my hand and digs his nails in it.

"Ouch, you're hurting me." I cry out.

"What were you doing in here?" He asks me again.

"I came in here to pee." I tell him.

"Bullshit." He says through clenched teeth, digging his nails deeper into my skin.

"Stop." I yell. I try pushing him away from me, but he doesn't budge.

"What did you see?" He asks me as he pulls me back into his bedroom.

"Nothing, I promise you." I say as tears travel down my cheeks.

He shoves me towards the bed and I fall face flat beside the edge of the bed.

How did I get here?

I need to leave.

Now.

I start crawling towards the door, but before I can't get anywhere Devon grabs me by my hair and forces me to stand up.

"What did you see?" He yells at me, bringing my face closer to his.

"I said I didn't see anything." I yell in his face.

He captures my lips in his and all I can taste is stale beer. He tastes disgusting.

I shove him and he stumbles back and hits the mirror beside his dresser. I quickly grab my purse that is laying on the floor beside the door. I try to open the door but it doesn't open.

He has the keys.

Shit.

"Looking for these?" Devon asks me, holding the key in his hand.

"Give it to me." I demand.

"No." He says in a playful tone.

I walk over to him and I act like I'm about to kiss him, but instead, I kick him in the nuts. He falls to the ground and the key lays on the rug.

I grab it and rush to the door, I fumble with the lock hoping that it opens.

The door finally opens and I sigh in relief as I run out of Devon's room.

What just happened back there?

What could be so precious to Devon that he wouldn't want me to see? He literally hurt me physically to get me to talk.

I'm done with him.

I walk out of the building, holding my purse tight around my arm. I grab my phone from my purse and I dial Andrè's number.

***

"Get off my property, McCain." I tell him as I walk towards my front door.

"Nice to see you too." He says giving me his award-winning smile.

"How are you?" I ask him as I open the front door, signaling him to come in.

He walks inside the house and I trail behind him.

"I'm good. You don't look too good." He says, staring at me.

"I don't feel too good either." I say, closing the door behind me.

I literally had to wrestle with a six foot giant man who wanted to kill me.

"What's that?" Ashton asks me and I stare at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him, folding my arms.

"This." He says, grabbing my left arm. The bruises from Devon digging his nails in me are in his full view. "What happened?" He asks me in a low and dangerous tone.

"Nothing." I say, taking my hand away from him. "Gosh, you act like I can't take care of myself. I don't need a hero, Ash. So, stop trying to be one." I tell him before I turn around and start walking up the stairs.

I'm so sick and tired of these boys treating me like I'm some weak vessel. I am a strong and independent young lady.

"I don't know about strong." My subconscious counters.

Shut up.

As I open my room door, I am not surprised when I see Zachary laying on my bed.

"That's it. I'm calling the police." I say, taking out my phone from my purse.

"Just listen to me." He pleas.

"No." I shout.

"How many times do I have to listen? I am done trying to figure us out. You've moved on and that's great. You need to stop coming here." I tell him.

I'm really tired of having the same conversations with Zachary over and over again.

Why won't he just leave me alone?

"I don't want you to be with him." He says and I shake my head.

"No way. You're not going to tell me who I can and cannot date. Can't you see how selfish you're being? You've moved on, Zach. You've got someone better and I..." I can't finish my sentence because he interrupts me.

"She's not better." He says, leaning on the headboard. "There's no one better, Vee." He tells me.

"Then why are you with her?" I ask him, but he doesn't respond.

"You need to leave my house and never come back. Delete my number, erase my name from your head. I don't know you...not anymore." I tell him, folding my arms as I wait for him to leave.

He doesn't argue with me as he reluctantly gets up and leaves through the window.

I let out a sigh as I walk towards my bed.

"Hey, honey." I hear my mother say from the other side of the door.

"Come in." I yell as I lean on my dresser.

"Are you busy?" She asks as she walks into my room.

"No." I say, putting my hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"Great because we need to talk." She tells me before she sits on my bed.

"What's going on?" I ask her.

"I don't know how to tell you this but um..." She says, trailing off.

"Mom, just say it." I say, urging her to go on.

"Your father and I are getting a divorce." She says, staring at me as she waits for my response.

Oh Langston, you've done a number on me.

I told you.

Devil town.

"How? Why? What happened? I thought things were fine." I ask my mother.

Why do bad things keep happening to me?

I'm cursed.

"They were, that was until I caught your father sleeping with his secretary." She says, folding her arms.

"It just had to be his secretary." I say, rubbing my forehead.

"That whore." My mother says, looking off into space like she was lost in thought.

"How are you holding up?" I ask her, really worried about her health.

"I feel like shit, but let's look on the bright side huh? I'm gonna get a lot of money from this divorce." My mother says, sarcasm clear in her tone.

"I can't believe dad would do that." I tell her.

"Probably why he's never home." My subconscious adds.

"And the crazy thing isn't that he cheated on me. No, it's the fact that he's going to marry her." My mother tells me and I freeze.

"He's going to what?" I ask her in disbelief.