Page 15

“Alright…I’m going.” Leaving the door ajar, I check for any neighbors who happen to be out at 2am, then walk toward the stairwell. As I go, I feel a tugging sensation behind my breastbone. It gets stronger and stronger, then when I’m about halfway down the first flight of stairs, there’s a whooshing sound in my ears and I feel like I’ve been blasted by hot air.

Do you believe me now?says Annoth in my head.If we are too far from one another, I will be pulled back into your body.

“Yeah, alright, fine,” I grumble. “I believe you. Just…stay in there until we’re back in the apartment. I don’t need anyone seeing you.”

Why is that?

“Because…a lot of my neighbors know Ros and I don’t want them to tell her I have a strange woman in my apartment.”

She is no longer your lover. What concern is it of hers if you are seen with another female now?

“It’s just…it’s complicated, ok? Emotional shit. Human stuff.”

Hmmm. Very well.Back in the apartment, she waits until I’ve closed the door to come back out into her physical form. She’s wearing sweatpants and a tank top now, with her hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. If it weren’t for the pointed canine teeth, slightly ridged ears, and creepy blackness of her eyes, she could easily pass for human. Seizing the game controller, she flops back down on the couch and pulls a blanket over her long legs.

“Ok, well…goodnight then, I guess.” I back slowly out of the living room, keeping my eyes on her. She’s got her chin propped on her knee again, and is so intently focused on the game I think she might have forgotten about both me and her mission. Did I just find a hack for distracting my demon?

I go to the bedroom, where I find Dante and Virgil pacing and meowing. I bring their food dishes in from the laundry room and give them each an extra handful, then look around for something semi-clean to sleep in the rest of the night. How long have I been wearing these same clothes? Shame starts to swirl in my chest, but I shut it down, remembering what Annoth said about using those emotions to get control over me.

As I search for clothes, I try not to look at the bed. What if it still smells like her? Rosewater perfume and cucumber lotion. Soft, gentle, quiet. After she left, I washed the sheets four times, but her scent still clung to everything. I ordered new sheets, but even the mattress smells like her. The pillows too. By the time I thought about buying a new mattress, I’d lost my job. After that, I could barely function, and I was already sleeping on the couch every night anyway.

“Theodore,” says a voice nearby. I’m not used to having other people around, and I’m so startled I nearly fall over while I’m changing into a different pair of sweatpants. Annoth stands in the bedroom doorway, her eyes sweeping over my completely naked body. I hold the sweatpants in front of myself.

“Can you go away, please? For God’s sake!”

“Oh, yes, I forgot.” She turns around with a huff. “You humans and your ridiculous modesty. I wish to watch more films while you sleep.”

I quickly pull the sweatpants on and grab the first T-shirt I can find.

“Yeah, ok, let me show you how the remote works.” I follow her back to the living room and see that she’s made herself some kind of little nest out of my throw blankets and a pillow. If she were a human woman, I’d think it was adorable, but all I can really imagine is a vulture sitting in a tree, waiting for a wounded animal to die so it can feast.

“Which film would you suggest I watch next?” she asks, reaching down to pick up a container of white rice she has apparently doused in hot sauce, judging by the way the smell burns my nose. The funny way she holds the fork catches my attention, and I have an idea that may or may not be a good one.

“There’s one in particular you might like,” I say with a smirk. “It’s about a mermaid with red hair who likes forks and wants to learn about human things.”

“What is a mermaid?”

I let out a loud sigh. “Uhhh…it’s like a half-fish, half-human creature. Fictional. Not real. Just for stories.”

“And what happens to the fish creature with red hair?”

“Uh-uh, no spoilers.” I press my finger to my lips as I click onThe Little Mermaid. “You’ll just have to watch and find out.”

Annoth pouts, but shovels rice into her mouth anyway as she watches the opening sequence. “I do not enjoy surprises,” she tellsme, wiping hot sauce from her chin with the back of her hand. Maybe I should teach her about table manners next. She eats like my 7-year-old nephew.

“Well,Ido not enjoy being possessed by a bitchy pyromaniac demon, but here we are.”

She just grins up at me. “Goodnight, Theodore.”

I go back to my room and swap my pillow to the opposite end of the bed from where I used to have it, then yank the comforter around me. Once I’m settled in, Dante and Virgil curl up in their usual positions on either side of my neck and I impulsively check my phone again.

Still nothing from Ros, but maybe I should be glad of that. If she came over right now, it would be a disaster–even if there’s a small, petty part of me that wants her to find a beautiful, insane woman sitting on my couch watching Disney movies and eating Thai food. But for Ros’s own safety, and mine, it’s better she stays away. Being around her again would bring up all kinds of feelings, and as long as Annoth is around, feeling anything is dangerous.

10

Annoth

I watch films allnight while Theodore sleeps. First, the story about the mermaid who wishes to be human. I cannot weep, but I feel some kind of strange flutter in my chest when the human prince does not balk during her horrifying transformation back into a sea creature.