5: A Deal With The Devil

I closed my eyes as the headlight of the car converged on my face. It instantly took me back to three years and three months ago.

FLASHBACK

My alarm blaring woke me up. As I opened my eyes, my reality hit me like a wrecking ball. Life was such a fickle journey. One second, I was traveling continents with my best friends, but now, I couldn't afford two meals a day. As I laid on my bed, my mind wandered. I thought of the really good times.

After all, my imagination was the only thing keeping me together right now. If I didn't have my thoughts, I would have lost my mind already. No one deserved this kind of pain. I wouldn't even wish it on my worst enemy.

Who ever thought Avery Livingston would move from her mansion to this dilapidated one bedroom apartment? The IT girl everyone wanted to associate with. The biggest retail therapist in the City.

The only one who could comfortably walk into a store, and splurge millions on impulse. In a twinkle of an eye, it was all gone. My family had lost our wealth, and we were now officially considered poor. I couldn't help the bitter chuckle that escaped my throat. If that was all, I wouldn't be this sad, and bitter.

They say when you're down and think there's no way things can possibly get worse, life has a way of showing you it absolutely could get worse. The follow-up alarm rang, signaling it was time to get up. As I rose to my feet, a single tear fell down my face. My throat was thick, and full. My head felt like it could explode at any minute.

"God please, I can't fall sick." I mumbled a prayer as I dragged myself into the bathroom.

If I did, who would take care of my sick mum? Yeah, that was how life showed me things could get even worse. My once healthy mum was rotting away in the hospital. I couldn't afford to pay all the bills. I never knew waiting tables didn't pay that much. Not even the other menial side jobs I managed to find, paid enough to sort out the hospital bills, and every other bill.

Considering we also had to feed. I didn't waste any time in the bathroom that looked more like a gravesite. Running out, I found the cleanest clothes I had, and put them on. In no time, I had brushed, and tied my hair into a messy bun.

Slipping my legs into a worn out pair of slides, I hurried out of the room. Yet another day of not eating breakfast. But if it meant I got to save extra money for mum's bills, I didn't mind. I got to the hospital just in time to see some doctors and nurses rushing into my mother's room.

My heart began to thump loudly against my chest. I tried to go in too, but they wouldn't let me. I began to sweat all over my body. Turning around, I begged, pleaded with someone, anyone to help me. Everyone ignored me. I burst into tears, and fell to the ground.

"Please don't leave my mummy." I cried on the floor. She was the only thing I had left. If she died, I was going to kill myself and be right behind her.

I was still in that position when a doctor found me. He called in assistance, and soon, they were able to calm me down enough to give me the heart wrenching news. My mum was in critical condition. The hospital wasn't equipped to handle her, and they needed to transfer her to a better hospital soon. Better meant more expensive. Even if I sold a kidney, I wasn't sure I could afford it.

Again, I burst into another round of inconsolable tears. Life had dealt me the most terrible hand, and death was just lurking by the corner. It wasn't until late in the night my mum was stabilized. She was unconscious, but I was able to briefly see her. My beautiful mother looked so weak.

"Please fight for me mum. I'll do anything I have to do to get you the best care you need, but all I need you to do for me is fight." I said.

This time, I was too weak, too distraught and hungry to cry. Grabbing my purse, I walked out of the hospital in a determined strut. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I had to leave.

To find something, anything. As I was walking down the dark, lonely road, lost deep in my head, a car stopped beside me. My heart jumped to my mouth when I heard a honk. Raising my head to the side, with my hands clutched on my chest, I saw the windows of the tinted glass rolling down. My heart beat surged.

This looked exactly like the kind of scenes we read about. Kidnapping scenes. I couldn't save my mother if I was kidnapped. Instincts kicked in, and I was about to break into a run, when the most stunning face I had ever seen peeked out. He instantly stole my breath away. When he smiled, for that brief second, I felt ease.

"Hey," He waved.

"I'm Liam. I've been following you from the hospital, but you didn't notice." He said with such sincerity in his voice, I was compelled to listen. I felt my shoulder visibly relax.

"Avery. Sorry for ignoring you. It wasn't intentional."

"Oh I know. I overheard your conversation with the doctors." My face instantly fell.

"No please. I didn't mean it that way. Do you want to come in for a few seconds? I may have a way to help you take care of your mother." I did a double take, from him to the car, and back. He was definitely rich judging by the car he used.

Also oddly familiar. I couldn't place where I had seen him before, but I definitely had. Perhaps it was on one of my many trips that seemed like forever ago now.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He raised his hands up in surrender. I guess I had nothing else to lose. If I died, well it was over.

Slowly, I walked to the other side, and stepped into the passenger seat he had opened for me.

"Hey." He said once again.

"Hey." I tried to force a smile, but I couldn't.

"I know you're still not comfortable, but that's okay. Like I said, I overheard your conversation. I just recently purchased that hospital, and will be upgrading it soon. But before that, we have to find a better place for your mother right?" Yeah, he was definitely rich-rich. I couldn't care less what the catch was, my interest had been piqued.

"Right." I nodded enthusiastically.

"Good. Here's my offer. I'll take care of not just your mother, but you too. I'll provide whatever you both need. Food, shelter, money, security, whatever." He said.

"In exchange for?" I raised a cool brow, waiting for the catch.

"I'm a busy man, so I barely have time to form relationships. I need something quick, and don't worry, it's just for three years. Three years in which you'll be mine in truth. You'll serve, and obey my every word without complaints or arguments. Does that sound like a good deal to you?" In a state of sanity, it was an atrocious deal. But I was desperate.

Not even for myself, but to save my mother. I couldn't think of the future right now. Nothing else mattered to me than the now. This wasn't an opportunity I could let slip.

"I'll obey every word you say without questioning you." I said, stretching out my hands.

If I knew my life would become a living hell the moment he took my hands into his, I would never have agreed to his conditions. And with a kiss on the back of my hand, I made a deal with the devil.