Chapter 10- Audrey

Ughh…vodka, I grimace after taking a swig. Then another and another until I drop the bottle and lie back on the bed. The bottle is still more than half full; this is the last bottle of booze that I swiped from Astaroth's collection and I don't even care. I haven't had a proper meal in days, I should have died of alcohol poisoning and hunger by now.

I don't normally like the taste of alcohol, no scratch that.. I hate it, but I don't know how to get rid of this pain. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't breathe, everything hurts. How do I go out in the world when I'm feeling so sick inside out? Why is it so painful?

I spent the last five days cooped up in my bedroom, except for that one time when I went toe raid Astaroth's wine cellar. I don't even go up to the roof eary morning again. Hope is dead.

I haven't seen anyone except for Mona the maid who comes in to feed the anole lizards everyday and the snakes once or twice a week. Sometimes she leaves food by my bedside table. I never touched them and she silently took them away the next day.

The door burst open and I assume it's Mona coming in to feed the reptiles again. But the blanket is being yanked off my bed and suddenly Audrey's face is staring jauntily down at me. "You stink!" She says. Her pert nose scrunched up in disgust.

"No, I don't," I argue.. trying to hide my face and curl myself into a ball. Sure my hair is a bit greasy but I don't smell bad. I can't smell me… therefore I don't stink.

"Get the hell up Danica,I'm tired of this." She's now wrenching the curtains open, the sunlight that bursts into the room hurts my eyes.

"Nobody asked you! Just get out and close the door behind you," I slur, covering my eyes with my arms. At least that's what I meant to say.. not sure if it came out that way. "Don't let your ass hit the door…" no, that doesn't sound right. "Don't let your ass let the door hit your ass out…"

"I said get up!"

"Leave me alone! I'm sick, see?" I burrow my head under the pillow but that is snatched away. Darn it Audee! I'm not drunk enough for this.

"What I see is a stupid girl who's wasting away her short life pinning for a man who doesn't give a darn!" Audee's eyes are blazing red. She looks viciously angry and I'm starting to sober up. I'm not sure why she's so angry.

"Now, stand up!" She yells.

When a demon or a half-demon eyes are glowing red, it means they're almost out of control, pissed or stalking a victim or when they're in the throes of passion sometimes, Which i think is not the case right now. It's not wise to argue with them when they're in this state except you're ready to go head to head with them. I scramble to stand, but I'm dizzy and lightheaded do my butt falls back on the bed. 

She leans in until her eerily glowing eyes are all I see. " I want you to take a shower," she whispers. Every word is dripping with menace.. "if by the time I get back in here and you still haven't showered, I will smash your stupid head against the wall and drag you into the shower myself," she adds before marching out as though she couldn't stand to look at me a second longer.

I run my hands over my face, I know Audee doesn't dole out empty threats.. she will beat me and drag my body either dead or alive into the shower. I haven't eaten in a while and I'm half drunk, too weak to fight her.

I close my eye, fighting another wave of dizziness and nausea. Why won't she just let me die in peace? 

A while later, I get up to take a shower. One glance at the mirror makes me wince and turn away. My looks and my brains are my biggest vanity. I've never neglected the way I looked before, never.

Now I can't stand to look at myself, my white blond hair hangs limply around my face, my big blue eyes are dull and my face is gaunt. I've lost weight and I don't like the way I look.

How could one main wreck me like this? I'm in so much pain. When I look down at my chest, I'm surprised there's no gaping wound around with blood dripping out of it.

I brush my teeth, shampoo and condition my hair, and scrub myself clean. When I'm done, I'm still feeling sick and empty inside but at least I'm clean. I put on a pair of black leggings and cream cable knit sweater, and a pair of sneakers.

When I step out of my walk in closet,Audee is already standing at the foot of my bed, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. 

Mona is on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. She's taken away all my empty bottles and stripped the bed. She has also brought in another plate of food and a glass of orange juice.

"Sit down and eat," Audee commands. I'm glad to see her eyes are no longer scorching red even though she's still fuming.

The smell of the food doesn't do anything for me, but I sit down at the edge of the bed and force myself to eat anyway. I couldn't finish everything on mg plate, but after a few mouthful and drinking all the juice, I do feel better and a lot stronger.

"Why're you doing this?" I ask her after I push the plate away. Audrey doesn't do anything that doesn't benefit her in any way.

Her face remains icy cold, but she says "let's get out of here."

That's the signal between us siblings when we want to talk but don't want Astaroth to hear. He has ears everywhere.

Audee could be taking me somewhere to beat me up or kill me but I nod and follow her out of the room anyway.

The soberer I got, the more painful it is. My chest feels heavy like something is sitting on it. Every breath hurts, I need more oxygen; No, I need more booze. My eyes flicker to the door leading towards Astaroth's lair. He has a well stocked bar in his office and his wine cellar is impressive.

"You're turning into an alcoholic at 16; that's just sad.." Audee jeers.

"Shut up Audee, just because you can see auras doesn't mean you know how I'm feeling."

That's Audee's talent- reading auras and sometimes your intent. I suspect she has other talents but she hides that from everyone.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," she snaps as she opens the exit door. The last thing I want to do is go outside. I pause, staring at the bright sunlight but Audee shoves me out.

The property is beautiful, the grass is properly cut and the garden perfectly tended to. There's a pond in front of the house - a bronze statue of a naked maiden bearing a large cauldron on her dainty shoulders. Water is pouring out from the cauldron into the pond. 

The air is cool and crisp but the heat from the sunshine makes it a pleasant morning to the outside.

I follow Audee along the pond.

Four children are sitting outside with their nannies. One little boy, a tween girl and two younger girls. They're gorgeous looking children. So gorgeous any of them could be in a tv commercial or a fashion magazine.

The older girl is reading quietly, while the other three little ones are running around wildly despite their nannie's attempt to keep them in line.

That reminds me of Audee, Adrianna, Archie and myself when we were their age. 

The tween girl looks up from her book and gives us a hostile glare but we ignore her as we keep going.

"One day, they're taking our place." Audee says. There's no emotion behind her words, she's just stating the inevitable. 

I nod, giving the beautiful half demon children another glance before I look away. They're our siblings and I know they're replacing us one day just as we had replaced our siblings before us. We are all disposable.

We keep walking until we reach a green harbor. It's far enough that we can't be heard, it's hidden from sight by tall, perfectly trimmed cypress hedges.

Audee doesn't waste any time, she turns and faces me and says "Astaroth is watching you, you look weak and pathetic; stop feeling sorry for yourself."

I'm not feeling sorry for myself. It's just that I'm drowning in pain and I don't know what to do. "Why do you care"? What does she know about my pain?

"Just wake up Danica! No one is coming to take you from here. Not your Nephilim prince, not anybody. Nobody is coming to save you from your fate. You only have yourself!" She continues "Women like us were not meant to be loved and to be anyone's wife. Men don't marry women like us, we're good for a good time and that's it."

That is the sad truth. I've always known this but I dared to hope. I don't know why Alexander Gunther bid on me, but I deluded myself into thinking that he felt something other than contempt for me. I forgot that I sm the enemy. 

I sigh, we don't live long but at least we live to the fullest- that's what Audee said to me a long time ago. "Again, why're you doing this Audee? You sound like you care, but I know you don't. What's in it for you?"

"I want you to do something for me," she says. Of course she does. "Men are scum, I want you to raise a little hell."