Page 10 of The Devil's Heir

Liliana

"What do you mean, it's only worth three hundred dollars? I can tell you right now that this bracelet was probably at least four figures!" I tell the third and last pawn shop owner.

"I'll give you four hundred tops for it," the slimy owner states, looking bored.

There isn't much I can do about it; this shop is willing to pay the most, but I try again, "How about six hundred?"

Looking annoyed now because he's trying to watch a horse race on the old static television that sits in the corner of the counter, he gives me his last offer: "Five hundred. Now, either take it or get the hell out of here!"

"Okay, I'll take it." I hand him the bracelet and the box, and he gives me five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills.

I can't leave the foul-smelling shop any faster than I already am.

The whole place has a haze of smoke from the owner's cigar; he must chain smoke daily.

..sheesh. Tucking the money away in my duffel bag, along with the rest of my savings, I head for the bus station.

Even if I can only afford to move a few towns over, I'd still be better off than staying here.

Rushwood is a large city, and I know someone could probably get lost in it, but I can't take the chance. Something is telling me to run far away from this place, so that's exactly what I will do.

Not wanting to waste any money on cab fare has me walking through the seedier parts of town.

Nobody dares come here because this is where the homeless live, and of course, everyone is scared of the homeless.

They fear that whatever these people have that makes them poor will rub off on them, so they stay far away.

This would be the perfect place to hide, but it's good that I'm getting out of here altogether.

I'm only about a block from the bus station when something or someone bumps into me, "Hey, watch where you're going!" An angry male voice growls at me.

I swing around, about to give him a piece of my mind, but stop immediately. I can't believe it. "Heath?"

"Liliana, is that really you?"

"Oh, my God!" I throw myself at my old foster brother from three years ago.

Heath Richards would have aged out two years ago but ran away from our abusive foster home. It's why I was removed from it and put with the Mallards, but Heath got the brunt of it because he was the oldest. He was also the only one I would ever consider a friend.

"What are you doing in these parts, Lily?" he asks, looking concerned for me.

I miss hearing his nickname for me, which makes me smile now. "I'm heading for the bus station. I need to get out of town."

He chuckles. "Why? Are you wanted by the law?"

I scoff. "I wish! No, I'm wanted by someone worse—Jarek Falcon."

"What the fuck does that prick want with you?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to stay and find out."

"How about you come back to my place and crash there for the night? We can catch up, and then you can tell me all about the Falcon dick."

"I don't know, Heath." I don't want to chance being caught by Jarek, but on the other hand, I've missed Heath.

"Aw, come on, Lily girl. You're eighteen now, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

He shrugs, "I don't know. I kind of remember having a little crush on you, but you were too young. I was hoping we could talk, and who knows, maybe I will come with you."

I stare disbelievingly at him. "You had a crush on me?"

His smile is a shy one as he says, "Maybe just a little."

I can't believe it because Heath was someone that I looked up to; I thought he hung the moon, and I was devastated when he ran away. Maybe I had a little crush on him as well. Biting my bottom lip, I mull over his offer, "Will you personally take me to the train station when I'm ready to leave?"

He grins from ear to ear. "I will take you wherever you want to go, Lily girl."

"Alright then, lead the way." I smile.

He grabs my duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder before taking my suitcase.

What a gentleman, and he's also easy on the eye.

At the age of twenty, Heath Richards is definitely all man now.

Not that I would know what a real man is because I'm still a virgin, but if I were to picture one, it would definitely be him.

I smile as I follow him back to his place.

Heath has talked me into staying with him for a few days, and I took him up on his offer only because I haven't had a real friend to talk to since the day he left the foster home. He works from home as a freelance writer, so at least I'm not disrupting his life.

Catching up with Heath has been great; it's just like old times; except I keep hearing his words running through my head about having a crush on me.

I've never had a boyfriend and up until Jarek started showing me attention, no other boy has, and I'm not counting Falcon as someone who is a love interest.

"How about some Chinese food and a movie? I'll buy it." Heath smiles as he walks into the living room, where I'm reading a book.

"I don't know, Heath. I'm afraid to show my face anywhere just yet." I look at him apologetically.

"I don't mean go out, silly. I want to order in and find something on Netflix." He lets himself fall beside where I'm sitting, jarring me into him.

I giggle. "Well, if that's the case, then I'm in."

He stares at me for a moment and then pulls out his phone, "What would you like?"

I'm a bit embarrassed because I've only had Chinese once, and that was when my social worker took me out to eat right before dropping me off at the Mallards. She was moving to a different state and would no longer be my case worker, so she wanted to do something nice for me.

"Surprise me, I'm not picky." I smile, hoping that he doesn't see through me.

"Okay, but don't get mad if you don't like what I get." He teases.

Growing up as a ward of the state, you don't have the luxury of turning down a meal like this because you really don't know when you will have the chance to eat it again. In my case, I'm an adult now, but I'm a broke adult and need to save every penny I can get my hands on.

"Food is ordered; I'm going to jump in the shower. Flip through Netflix and find a movie, preferably not a romance." He grins.

"Aw, you're no fun!" I joke.

"If you want me to fall asleep on you, then by all means, pick a romance," he says as he walks out of the room.

Laughing, I shake my head and then begin my search.

As I scroll through all the movies, I think about my plans to leave.

I know I need to go, but I've missed Heath, and we have picked up right where we left off, back in our old foster home.

If I stay, how long will it take before Jarek forgets about me?

I can always just get my GED and then take college classes online, but first, I need to see what Heath thinks about me staying.

"Really? You want to watch a documentary about serial killers?" Heath chuckles as he walks back into the room after his shower.

I notice that I am, indeed, on a documentary channel, and I laugh. "No, I just got to thinking about things, that is all."

I can't help but notice how he's only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and no shirt. He's definitely got decent abs for his age, and I can't stop gawking, which he catches me doing because he flexes his biceps for me.

"You want to look? Look at these babies, too."

I feel myself blush and quickly turn back to the television, but then my view is blocked by Heath's body as he comes to stand in front of me. I have to turn my head once again because by him moving, he's now situated to where his privates are right in front of my face.

"Are you still a virgin, Lily?" he asks softly.

I nod without looking at him .

"Look at me, pretty girl." His voice is gentle as he reaches out to take my chin and make me look at him.

I don't mean his face either. He only turns my head; he doesn't tilt it up. His bulge is very prominent, and I can tell that he's not wearing any underwear underneath his sweatpants.

"Look at it, Lily. Don't be shy."

My eyes move upwards to look into his, but he shakes his head, "Not up here," he looks down at himself. "Look at him."

My body quivers, and my core starts to throb as I stare at his slowly growing hard-on. I lick my lips, not realizing what I'm doing, and he chuckles.

"Would you like a lesson on how to give a blow job, Lily?" Heath's voice is still low, but it now has a raspy tone to it.

Do I? Do I really want to learn how to pleasure a man with my mouth?