chapter nine

LUCI'S POV

I was an enigma of hope that sprouted from the darkest depths of malice.

A light that would always be distinguished by evil. I was a girl that would never truly be good.

I assumed that my mind and body had come to terms with my dubious fate. But it was still a concept that was hard for me to grasp.

Lucille Black was who! was. Daughter of Lucifer and Mallory.

A poisoned chalice or a wolf in sheep's skin.

I knew my eyes mirrored a luscious pool of blood. They seemed to do that a lot lately as | became more acquainted with Saint.

My leg twitched as | felt the lukewarm liquid from our hands seep into my jeans. | attempted to rub off the water but stopped midway when I realized it would just have to dry off.

Saint had remained silent. The air inside the car was thick and heavy.

My neck felt strained and I knew that another red mark formed. In the last three days, it felt like Saint had choked me hundreds of times. ] wanted to ask him why he did it to me so often, but | knew the answer would not be of my liking.

The fire inside me danced. Saint was afraid. Even if he would not admit it. My mere existence was daunting to him and the revelation that my father is evil itself was eating him alive.

I'll admit it was severely amusing. The way his eyes widened when my hand was engulfed in a giant flame. To the way, his heart quickened and his breathing increased.

I smelled his fear. It was highly invigorating. | didn't know why, but Saint being scared of me sent a rush down my spine.

The very thought intoxicated my senses.

I turned my head and leaned it against my seat to look at Saint.

He kept one hand tightly gripped on the steering wheel, and another hand on top of the gear shift.

After our "altercation" he hadn't spoken to me. It had been three hours since then and the world around us had started to become dark.

The sun had begun to set and the sky emitted pink and orange hues. The road in front of us was clearing as more and more vehicles began to pass by.

The scenery was beautiful. 1 cursed under my breath as I did not have my camera to capture the rare moment. | settled for my phone camera and held it up.

As | took my photos | noticed eyes boring onto my phone screen. | noticed Saint looking into my phone camera and he immediately turned away when | noticed.

I rolled my eyes and sunk back into my seat. | reclined my seat back a bit when Saint reached over to the centre console.

He unlocked it with one hand and took out a pair of sleek black sunglasses.

I didn't recognize the logo, but based on its exterior it seemed expensive.

He swiftly placed the sunglasses over his eyes and placed his hand back on the gear shift.

Since my seat was reclined back his body was angled upright for me. I watched how his jaw clenched when he made a swift turn to the other lane.

His jaw was sharp and clean. His black wavy hair brushed into his eyes a bit and | focused my attention on his blond roots that began to protrude from his scalp.

As much as! despised Saint, I couldn't help but admit that he was attractive. | guess it made sense now that I knew he was an angel.

It was the type of beauty that made people envious. Not because you admired that person's looks, but because you hated the fact that you didn't look like them. You want to be them in the very flesh.

"Take a picture darling, it'll last longer."

I scoffed and quickly averted my gaze. I thought to myself for a second before pulling out my phone and holding it towards his direction.

The sunset in contrast with Saint was a sight. I snapped the picture quickly and shut off my phone.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" he asked.

"You told me to," | shrugged. "I was just following directions, sir."

I whispered the last part lowly. | didn't know where my burst of defiance came from, but it gave me a rush messing with Saint. Maybe this is the way he felt when he did the same to me.

I couldn't read his expression because of his glasses but! did notice his jaw clenched.

"Bring me back the Luci who would cower every time | spoke." he seethed.

"Bring me back the Saint who wasn't an asshole," | retorted. 'Oh wait... that version of you never existed."

"Watch yourself,' he warned. 'I don't know where all this confidence came from but don't cross the line with me."

I shifted in my seat and twiddled my thumbs together. A part of me regretted coming on this little trip, but the other part of me knew it would benefit me somehow.

I slumped in my seat and watched the sunset. The pink and orange hues started to fade and slowly get replaced by the dark blue night sky.

I groaned when | felt my stomach start to grumble. My body as a whole felt sluggish. I hadn't eaten breakfast and my lunch earlier was barely enough. That including using so much energy earlier was draining.

Saint removed his glasses and let them hang loosely from his shirt.

"You hungry?" he asked.

My stomach growled in response and I nodded.

"Yeah, a bit."

"There's a restaurant at the next exit. I'll pull over there."

I sat quietly in my seat as Saint merged lanes. He made a sharp turn to the exit and onto the desolate street.

I wasn't quite sure what city we were in, but | knew it was hundreds of miles from my home. The area was bare and I didn't see many people or cars.

Saint pulled his car into a parking of a small diner. | looked out the window to see the name Patsy s Diner" written in white and red LED lights.

The diner looked small but cosy and only three cars filled the entire lot.

Saint parked the car and looked through my window to get a better look at the diner.

"Doesn't look too bad," he said.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and quickly got out of the car. | did the same and closed the door swiftly behind me.

His long legs made his stride faster than mine. | speed walked behind him to keep us at the same pace.

We reached the entrance when Saint stopped and turned around to face me.

It was quite dark and the light from the sign shone throughout the parking lot.

He gripped my chin and leaned in closer to my face. "What are you doing?" I warned.

He rolled his eyes and stared deeply into my eyes. "Relax. I'm just checking to see how red your eyes are."

"Oh," I replied.

He continued to look into my eyes for another second before pulling the glasses that hung from his shirt collar.

He opened them up and placed the expensive frames on my face. He pushed some of my hair back, covered my ears and situated the glasses properly.

"Good," he said. He turned back around and headed inside.

I stood still for a second before mirroring his movement and headed into the diner.

Right off the bat, the scent of warm pancakes infiltrated my nostrils.

The diner has a cyan and yellow theme with checkerboard flooring. Some many seats and booths were vacant and an elderly couple was seated at the far end of the diner.

Saint walked ahead of me and led me to a short booth. He sat down on one end and I on the other.

A tall woman with long brown hair approached us as we sat down. She held a notepad in her hand and wore a bright cyan apron. She gave me a weird look as | had the black sunglasses on but shrugged it off.

"Welcome to Patsy's Diner! Tonight we have a Breakfast-Dinner special! It includes a stack of buttermilk pancakes as well as bacon and eggs. What can | get started for you tonight?"

I quickly skimmed the menu and | did not find anything of interest.

"What would you recommend?" I asked. "Well, the hamburger meal is pretty decent. But it can be a bit too much," she informed me. "But we also have meals for couples to share! They're a perfect size and are great for dates."

I turned my head and faced Saint and his eyes widened. "No, we are not a couple," he stated. "Oh! I'm sorry about that, I just assumed." she apologized.

Saint rolled his eyes and set down his menu. He cracked his knuckles and folded his hands together.

'I'll have the breakfast-dinner special and she'll have the special as well but no eggs, please substitute it with another side."

I gave Saint a questioning look, but it failed since the frames covered my expression.

The waitress nodded and wrote down our orders quickly. "Will that be all?"

"No can we also get two glasses of orange juice? Thanks." "Alright. Coming right up!"

She left and I sunk slowly into my booth. | didn't like how Saint decided to order for me. It wasn't as if I couldn't do it myself.

"Why did you order for me?" I asked. "I could've done it myself."

"Because, when we got here | could tell you liked the smell of the pancakes so it's clear that you wanted some," he replied curtly.

"How did you know | didn't want any eggs?" I asked.

"Is this 21 questions? You don't like eggs. You never eat them."

"But how do you know-"

He raised his hand in front of my face to cut me off. "No more questions."

I groaned and slumped back into the booth seat.

The diner had a calming atmosphere. I looked behind Saint to see the little elderly couple. The man was feeding his wife a muffin and she ate small bites. The woman offered a sip of coffee to her husband and he took a sip. She kissed him on the cheek in response while they both held hands.

My heart swelled at the sight. I wanted nothing more than to be like that couple in the future.

Saint noticed my gaze and turned his head around to see what | had been staring at. His eyes made contact with the elderly couple, and he scoffed in response.

"Don't tell me you're swooning over that."

I rolled my eyes when! saw the waitress come over with our food and drinks. She placed the glasses of orange juice in front of us as well as our plate of pancakes. Just as requested my plate had no eggs. Instead, it was adorned with hash browns and bacon.

I grabbed a straw and unwrapped it before placing it in my drink. I swirled it around and took a small sip of the bright orange juice.

"I'm not swooning," I replied. "I'm simply admiring true love."

Saint took a deep swig of his orange juice and shook his head. "You believe in true love?"

I grabbed a fork and started to cut into my pancake stack. "Don't you?"

"Not really."

I took a bite from the pancake stack and chewed slowly. It tasted sweet and fluffy.

"So you don't believe in love?" I asked. "Kind of weird for an angel."

"l believe in love," he said. "I just don't believe that love lasts as long as we want it to."

"How so?"

He chomped on his pancake stack and almost half of it was gone already.

"Anyone can fall in love. It's human nature. We think we'll live for them and die for them because that's what "love" is right?"

He drank his orange juice once more before clearing his throat. "But it's not permanent nor consistent. One way or another someone will get bored and find someone else to love. It's not as infinite as we think."

"| think you're wrong." | said. "I think if two people loved each other they truly loved one another they could get through anything. Hence making their love infinite. Love holds no bounds. It is selfless, kind, and all good things wrapped in a big bundle of emotion. Love is the very reason for our existence."

He eyed me carefully and finished the remainder of his juice. "So, I guess you'll want to fall in love one day?"

I chewed slowly and thought about the sentence for a second. "Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe? Who doesn't want to be loved?" he questioned.

"| think I'd rather someone be obsessed with me than to love me," | concluded.

He took a sharp bite of bacon and reached over the table to my face. He slowly pulled the glasses off my face and stared into my eyes.

"Obsession? That could become twisted very fast don't you think?"

I shook my head and smiled to myself discreetly.

"If someone loved me, they could hurt me in the name of love. Love is too fussy and complicated. There are many ways to show it both good and bad."

Saint's arms were crossed on the table and it seemed like he was observing the words spilling out of my mouth very seriously.

"But obsession is simple. That person's every-consuming thought is you. You preoccupy and fill their mind continually, intrusively, and dominantly."

"They praise you and worship you," | continued.

"That may be true but obsession also leads to insanity. You want that from your future partner?"

I shrugged and continued to eat my food. "I don't care. I just want to feel both at the same time. Obsession and love. Simultaneously and infinitely for the rest of my life."

He stared at me for what seemed like forever. His green eyes bored into mine. It made me uncomfortable.

"What?"

He smiled to himself and shook his head. "You don't want that. You just think you do."

"Oh?" I replied. "Didn't know you knew so much about me.'

He threw me a fake smile and rolled his eyes. "You just want to be wanted that's all. The obsession and the love thing is just a bonus. In the end, you just want to be desired in any way, shape, or form."

I sat there shocked as his words seeped into my head. I didn't know if he was right but his words made me feel uneasy.

"And because of your track record, you've never had experience with anyone. You're so naive to want such a frivolous thing like an obsession, that you fail to realize how desperate you will become when someone even shows you an ounce of desire."

I stopped my movements on my plate when the words hit me. He couldn't be right. | was not desperate, I was careful. Wasn't I?

I didn't like that he made me question myself. I huffed out a breath and felt the fire sweep through my body. My eyes flared holes into his and my nostrils flared.

"Aw," he cooed. "Is my little Luci angry?"

He grabbed the shades off the table and carefully placed them back onto my face. He tucked the stray ends of my hair behind my ear and cocked his head to the side.

"Darling, your eyes were starting to glow red again," he whispered. "You can't be mad at me. I was only being truthful. Just like an angel would be."

Suddenly | was full. ] pushed my face away from his and crossed my arms into my seat.

"Are you done? It's getting dark, we should leave now."

He sighed and pulled out his wallet from his jacket pocket. I saw him take out a few bills and placed them on the table.

He got out of the booth and began to walk out of the diner. I quickly followed behind him before turning around to glance at the elderly couple once more.