บท 4: So... birthdays are a thing
The 18th of November finally arrived. One of the days I dreaded the most was here, and I was terribly unprepared. My face settled on the hardest expression I could wear as I mentally got ready for what was about to come.
At my side stood my dad, tall and proud. A shame I would need to use him as a human shield today… but rather one of us goes down than two.
From the halls came the dreaded sound of footsteps, approaching with clear determination. I… wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready to go through this again.
The door opened, and in came the current source of my mental anguish.
"Happy birthday!" screamed mom with a huge smile.
Yes, today is my birthday. And no, I don't enjoy it, because the woman in front of me, the one who gave birth to me, is… not entirely sane up there.
I hid behind my dad's legs, however mom remained undeterred.
"Come on little one, let's celebrate!" she said loudly.
I was about to run when I felt my dad's hands holding me as he lifted me from the floor and gave me to mom, which made my eyes go wide. He… he was betraying me!
Sure, I was planning on betraying him and running in hopes that mom would decide to make him taste the cake as she was making it, but he completely and utterly betrayed me first! Damn that cunning man…
Mom carried me to the kitchen and placed me on a stool right next to were she was standing.
We had a small tradition of sorts, we would each help mom bake our cake for our birthday, and during mom's birthday the three of us would work together on it. Since we didn't have money to buy one, this was the next best option.
The problem?
Mom's cooking was… well, it was just about every bad adjective you can imagine, and during the baking process she would have us taste it raw. Yeah, whatever horrible creation became the final product, the things she forced us to taste during the procedure were countless times worse.
"Alright!" she said with an enthusiasm she shouldn't have, one that I definitely didn't share. At that I felt a pang of guilt. She was trying, really trying, to make the best cake ever, she always did.
With a sigh, I felt a small smile grow on my face. She might not be the best chef ever, or even a remotely decent one at that, but she definitely was a great mother.
"What do you think about a cucumber with squid and pineapple cake? I know you like pineapple, and since I like cucumber and your father likes squid, this will be perfect!"
And I take everything back. Someone please kill me.
From behind the door of the kitchen I heard a laugh, which was quickly quieted down. My eyebrows twitched as I realized the traitor of my father was totally watching me suffer, and not only that, but he was also laughing at it.
Unfortunately for me, dad's laugh was all the distraction mom needed to get the ingredients out and opening them, which meant that now I couldn't reject the fact that we would be making a... well, a Lovecraftian cake would probably be the best definition.
And so, nearly two hours later, I found myself in the kitchen, staring at dad with a pout. I was trying to convey how angry I was, but clearly that doesn't work for two year old well. Dad kept calling me cute while punching my cheeks, and I was too tired from the sheer aberration I had to eat - because squid with milk, eggs, cucumber, pineapple and sugar is nothing other than an aberration - to protect my face from his attacks.
Mom ignored my pout in favor of serving the cake we made, which looked all to much like a Lovecraftian monster, and that proved enough to make a drop of sweat form on my fathers face. "H-Honey… are you sure I should eat? I mean, you saw how much little Heiko liked it, so maybe I should just give him my part…"
This bastard is trying to not only get free, but also have me eat more! The sheer gall of this man…
"Nonsense my dear," said mom, cutting him off. "I am sure he would be sad if you didn't try it, and no matter how much he likes something he needs to learn how to share."
God I love this woman. May she receive a thousand blessings and all of that.
With a smile I turned around to my dad and nodded.
I could see the moment blood left his face and he realised he wouldn't be able to wiggle his way out of this one. Undoubtedly, one of the best things to see.
After the exhausting effort that was eating the cake, I threw myself into their bed and wiggled my way between them. I felt mom's hand move through my hair and dad let out a chuckle. I never quite acted like a normal baby, so perhaps they were happy to see me do something as childish as showing up in their room and throwing myself into their bed?
Eventually my eyes closed, and a small smile formed on my lips. I was pretty sure I was forgetting something, something important, but right now that didn't matter, nothing did. I was between mom and dad, and there was nowhere in the world safer than here.
As soon as I fell asleep, I felt something stir me awake.
"Wake up, darling!" said someone, but I was too tired to properly think. "You didn't think I would forget your birthday, did you?"
It took me perhaps five seconds to recognize the voice, and as soon as I did I got up immediately. Looking around, I found myself in my small room, much to my confusion. I was pretty sure I was sleeping in my parents room… my parents!
Turning around, I was about to run to the door and head to see if they were fine when I came face to face with her. The smile on her face grew as I felt myself pale.
"You are up, darling!" she said with an excited, yet low tone. It was clear she was whispering, which meant she didn't want someone to know she was here.
I felt something lift of my shoulders. If she was being quiet then that meant she didn't want to wake mom and dad up, and that must mean they are alive…
"Did you miss me?" she asked, getting way too close. Her face was so close I could smell her, and her eyes were wide enough that I could tell exactly what shade of blue they were.
I nodded to her words. No need to have a potential devil kill me because I didn't miss her as much as she wanted me to.
"Ahhh, I missed you soooo much too!" she said, launching herself forward and making us fall, her body landing above my own as she pressed me down. "Did you have fun while I was away?" she asked, and I tried to ignore how every cell of my body wanted to push her away because I knew I would fail. Even if she was a normal human, which at this point I doubted, she would still be to heavy for me.
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't have fun, and that answer seemed to both please her and displease her. "Tsch, I knew you wouldn't have fun… I thought birthdays were important for humans or something, but they clearly didn't think so, did they? Ahh don't worry darling, I came here so now everything is fine! I even brought you a present!" she ranted, and I was forced to simply stare as her face went from one filled with hatred to one filled with excitement, and it worried me. Whenever she got excited, which unfortunately was almost every time we were tightened, she did something that ended up scaring the shit out of me.
I raised my eyebrow and she understood the silent question. Was I curious about what type of present an insane person gave to the people they 'love'? Not gonna lie… a bit, yeah. Did I want to find out what type of present an insane person gave to the people they 'love' by receiving a present from an insane person that says she loves me? Not particularly, no. Did I get an opinion on the matter? One that didn't end up with the risk of my parents dying at the hands of this psycho, and me kidnapped by her? Most certainly not.
"Ahhh, I knew you would be excited!" she said happily while a blush formed on her cheeks, which made me wonder just what exactly was a devils physiology supposed to be., because Parallel was definitely not human-like, at least until he made a contract with me… does that mean she made a contract with someone? Or maybe she is a human that made a contract with a devil…
A rather odd train of thought I was following, but the human mind thinks rather fast when the body is filled with adrenaline, and I am terrified enough to be filled with adrenaline.
"Here you go darling!" she said, and before I could think of anything else I felt her tongue down my throat. The feeling of being unable to breath, just as when I had a heart-attack, returned, and the only thing that probably kept me from passing out crying was the fact that I could feel my heart pounding in my chest so hard it would probably burst right out of it.
Eventually, I felt her tongue come out of my mouth and I was finally able to breath. I was so scared by what just happened, bu how little control I had over the situation, that I didn't even scream at her for basically beginning to rape me. "Ahh, you should hurry up and grow up already, darling!" she said with a furious blush on her face. "We'll form a contract, just you and I, and we will be together forever!"
Her words made me freeze. According to Parallel, it was devils who formed contracts, which means…
"Come on, darling," she said, grabbing me and dragging me to where my BED was before placing me down and laying herself next to me. "I know you humans are all weak and need lots of sleep, so I will stay with you today!"
I couldn't say anything as she wrapped her arms around me, I couldn't say anything as I felt her hands trailing through my hair like mom's did. I couldn't say anything as I felt her sniffing me. I couldn't say anything as her legs wrapped around me as well. I couldn't say anything at all, and had nothing to do but hope that I would quickly wake up from this nightmare.
Because I really wanted some control over my life.
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