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“This is the thing you wanted to do for me? You … wanted to show me a room with more junk?” Ambrosius questioned, eyeing the odd arrangement. “I suppose I can’t complain too much, given that they're quiet.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “This isn’t any junk room, Ro.”
She crossed the short expanse of the room, gesturing to the lineup of tools. There was a crowbar, sledgehammer, and a lump hammer. The latter of which Gwen took into her hands as she made her way to the table. She plucked one of the ceramic bowls and placed it onto the wine barrel.
“This is a rage room,” Gwen said before slamming the hammer down.
The ceramic bowl shattered, sending shards in multiple directions. The sound of it breaking echoed in the lightly conditioned room. If it weren’t for the ear plugs, the sound would have irritated her senses. Instead, Gwen let out a little laugh, adrenaline igniting in her veins as she excitedly sidled back up to Ambrosius.
“I know you hate the Antiquarium, and this isn’t exactly the same, but I thought it would be a nice way to take the edge off. Break things that won’t come back. Plus, we don’t have to worry about dumping a body after.”
The demon stared at her and for a moment, Gwen worried that she had misjudged the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time. But her anxiety was short-lived as Ambrosius wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close.
“I’d kiss you if these fucking helmets weren’t in the way,” Ambrosius swore with a sly grin.
Gwen chuckled. “How about you kiss me when our twenty minutes are up? Let’s break some stuff first.”
“As you wish, my bittersweet.”
In a rush of excitement, they parted with one goal in mind. Gwen snagged another ceramic bowl and chucked it against the wall. It broke with a sharp clatter seconds before she heard a loud crack. Spinning on her heels, she saw Ambrosius standing over the keyboard with the sledgehammer. He raised the tool above his head and it came down hard on the keyboard, sending plastic and metal across the concrete floor.
Gwen had never been able to afford therapy. That was for people with money. However, Gwen couldn’t deny there was a rush of release with every shattered glass bottle, every resounding crack as hammers met objects. There was glee in the destruction, a playfulness as they cheered theother on whenever something would break. And as the precious time went on, Gwen realized she had let something go. Something she hadn’t even been aware of holding until then.
Shame.
The feeling that stuck to Gwen like bubblegum in her hair. It was an emotion that had lived so close to Gwen that she hadn’t realized it wasn’t there anymore. That she didn’t feel the weight of it as Ambrosius sent the sound speaker flying across the room. Drawing attention to herself, being too loud, beingtoo much,there was no reason to be ashamed of any of it anymore. Or maybe, it had just taken Gwen this long to realize she hadn’t needed to feel that way.
After all, even a demon thought she was worth being around just the way she was.
When the last bottle broke, and the room fell silent, Ambrosius pulled the helmet off his head. He had a light sheen of sweat on his skin, hair a wavy damp mess as he huffed. Ambrosius helped pull her own helmet off and frowned at the sight of ichor in the corner of her eyelashes.
“Were you injured at all?” Ambrosius asked, searching her body.
Gwen shook her head, pressing her lips together as she tried to fight back tears.
“I’m okay,” she said after a moment. “I just … I think I’m ready to finish the doll now.”
Ambrosius dropped their helmets, letting them fall to the ground. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. He didn’t kiss her as she expected. Ambrosius closed his eyes and breathed until the rhythm matched hers. It made Gwen feel dizzy and warm.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
By the time they reached the apartment, Gwen’s hands were hurting again.
She supposed she went a little too hard on breaking things. Ambrosius mostly appeared normal, but Gwen did clock the way he leaned a little more heavily on his cane. It was a subtle thing she had begun to notice about him throughout their date. Gwen wasn’t sure if it worked on demons, but she definitely needed to down some painkillers before she started working on the doll.
They entered the apartment, Gwen turning on the lights while Ambrosius locked the door behind them. A trail of spiders had infiltrated her living space. Like ants, they traveled from the bathroom to the bloodstain, and back again.
“What…”
“Insatiable, I imagine,” Ambrosius said. “They devoured the body while you were sleeping.”
“They did that?”
He nodded. “It was probably their first meal since they appeared. They’ll have the carpet cleaned by breakfast, no doubt.”
Gwen frowned. “What are they, by the way? The spiders?”
“A manifestation of your haunting. They won’t really go away until the Soul Covenant is complete,” Ambrosius explained.