When did time decide

To take my childhood away

I wanted it to stay

When did society decide

Adolescence was a time for stress

I don't want to be depressed

I want to go back

I need to go back

If I don't, I might just crack

Please, I'm begging

Just give me some drugs

I no longer have my momma's hugs

I'm an adult now you see

And they decided that when we get older

It's okay to put the world on our shoulder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You shouldn't drink so much." Randall walked out with a slow beat to his steps and leaned against the door frame.

Skye shrugged her shoulders and continued to swirl the red liquid in her favorite antique wine glass she had gotten from a regrettable trip to Paris quite a few years back. Staring at the cup had her mind wondering to that terrible time. She was too naive back then. When Dalmellington had become overwhelming to the newly turned dealer, she ran away and had planned to stay in the city of love for months. Her trip only lasted two days.

She thought she could beat the system....held on to the belief that freedom was attainable. She thought that a place as lovely as the Paris she saw on TV could not possibly be an atmosphere of great attraction to demons.

And for a brief moment, her dreams came true in Paris. With her beauty, countless of gorgeous French men flirted with her and showered her with gifts--it made her forget all about the shadows that came with her given light. After a delightful date with a dashing man, she walked happily on the beautiful Paris streets to a lavish hotel she could finally afford--content and convinced that her decision to become a dealer was the best one she had ever made.

That was until she almost died that night. Skye remembered it so clearly. When it pops up in her nightmares, she relives the moment fully.

The taste of death on the tip of her tongue as she stared at the Eiffel Tower, wanting to see something beautiful one last time. Her bloody body--accompanied with torn red roses-- sprawled out on the cold pavement. The fire of the demons' eyes as they looked down at her hungrily, waiting to make the last fatal attack. She remembered it all.

On that night, Skye finally excepted her reality. As much as she did not want to admit it, surviving meant staying with the academy students...it meant remaining by Dixon's unpredictable side.

But that did not apply anymore. Survival was no longer in the grasp of her hands.

Skye laughed forcefully, making Randall's frown deepen.

He watched as she took another large gulp, laid her head back on the balcony rail, extended her legs onto the table, and closed her eyes. The wind slightly swayed her golden hair and the silky robe that hung loosely on her skinny shoulders.

When Skye finally opened her eyes, she stared at the stars above. "You know, when I was a child, I always thought wine looked so delicious and I got so upset when my mom didn't let me drink any. I would stare at adults often and feel great envy. I desired it terribly bad. Every time they swallowed, I would imagine the flavor tasting sweet and delicious like juicy candy apples." The rest of the wine slithered onto her tongue. Skye licked her lips, unbothered by the taste of lipstick. "Oh how I was wrong. It's so fu**ing bitter but for some odd reason, I can't stop myself from drinking it."

Randall sighed and unbuttoned his collar. He quickly snatched the half empty wine bottle from the floor. There were three empty bottles beside it.

"Hey, I know you're scared. Something strange is going on in Dalmellington and everyone can sense it. We are going to figure it out, but everyone needs to be in the right mind to do so. Okay?"

Skye drew a long dramatic sigh, "Dixon doesn't make empty threats. You of all people should know that." Her dilated eyes glanced over at the white sling around his arm where his hand remained absent.

Randall grit his teeth. Skye was trying to get under his skin. She turns ruthless whenever she is in one of her moods.

"I don't doubt his threats Skye. I know he wouldn't think twice about letting the demons slaughter us. On the other hand, are you doubting his abilities? Because last time I checked, Dixon has never failed to hunt down his prey."

Skye rolled her eyes.

"She's different and you know that. She isn't like us. You saw it yourself; the water remained clear when we tested her. Randall, she even tried to save us tonight for fu**ing sake. She helped us even after all the things we did to her. You really think a person like that will give in to sin so easily? We're doomed. We might as well try enjoying the rest of the time we have left in his hell hole because it's going to be lights out for us next week."

Skye tried to snatch the bottle of wine back but Randall pulled away just in time.

"This is why I didn't want you drinking too much. This isn't the Skye I know. The one I know would never even think about whispering a word of helplessness. We were supposed to die years ago in Satan's agenda. But guess what, we are still alive because we fought back."

"No, we are still alive because Dixon fought back with us. You are being too prideful Randall. Face it, we are not strong enough to save ourselves."

Randall had to take a few deep breaths to withhold his anger. At moments like these, he understood why Alec would frequently punch people in the face.

"Actually, that further proves my point. Dixon is much more capable than any of us. His power is incomparable. If anyone is going to sway Jules Moore to the dark side, it's going to be him."

"You don't understand Randall. I was there with them when they were talking. Dixon is not planning to do anything to her. He is just going to watch silently to see if she chooses to let us die or sacrifice herself. This is just entertainment to him. But for us, it's a predictable demise. If you ask a little girl who grew up with a Jesus freak mom if she would rather put the bad guys in jail or burn to death, it doesn't take a genius to guess what she might choose."

Randall nodded his head in agreement.

"I assure you, that was the first thing that came to mind when you told us about their conversation. But then something just didn't feel right about the whole thing. After thinking about it for a while, I finally realized that Dixon only said that to give her the false sense of freedom. He's going to pull more tricks than he is letting on."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You forgot one important detail Skye."

Skye raised one of her sharp cut eyebrows. "What? Just get to the point."

Randall let out a sigh and walked towards the rail, leaning over on his left arm to look at the quiet garden below. He had been deep in thought about the fate of the academy ever since Jules left, trying to find a solution that could tame the rising fear before panic exploded within the academy's walls. "Jules is his mate. Dixon never makes official deals with people, but he did with her. We are not the only ones that know she is special. He knew long before us and he claimed her. That means he most definitely plans to take her down."

Skye widened her eyes. She had been so set on the idea of dying that she had completely forgotten about such an important factor. Her rising panic was finally able to subside and a smile found its way creeping across her flushed cheeks.

"Hmmm. I guess you're right. Then, we shall take a drink as a toast to our survival!"

Before Skye could try snatching it from his hand, Randall threw the half-filled bottle of wine over the rail and was satisfied with the sound of broken glass.

"No more drinking for you. You're too mean when intoxicated. Take that as punishment for all your unpleasant comments about me."

If Skye wasn't holding her favorite wine cup, she would have used it to gauge out his eyes since his stupid swimming goggles were no longer in the way.

"Fine, I'll do something else to distract me from the boredom of the night." She got up from the chair and Randall followed as she stumbled inside.

Skye untied her robe, letting it fall onto the floor before jumping on the soft fur covers of her bed and letting it rub softly against her naked body.

She picked up her phone from the counter to call the academy's private staff.

"Hello? Yes, this is Skye. I would like a foursome tonight. Um, hold on a moment." Skye placed her phone on her shoulder before turning towards Randall. "You want to join me tonight?"

Randall shook his head. He was too tired and never understood how the dealers of lust were always awake in the night.

"Fine. Suit yourself, " Skye placed the phone back to her ear, "Send me my Peccator and two others then."

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Doors: locked.

Balcony: locked.

Windows: locked.

Jules had gone over it in her head countless of times to ensure that everything in the house was sealed. Now she sat restlessly on her bed going over the same list until she felt content. But no matter how many times she checked that everything was locked, she still felt as if some monster would burst in at any moment. The fear was making it hard to breath. The air thickened as each second passed.

Jules quickly grabbed a small blanket off her bed and ran to the closet. She squished against her hanging clothes before wrapping the blanket tightly around her body and closing the door. It was a comfort technique Dr. Johnson had taught her for when she needed a sense of safety.

She was sheltered back in Reville Oaks for so long that she did not know how to cope with the extreme amounts of stress she had been going through. She had expected that there would be some struggles as she experienced new things in the urban city of Dalmellington, but nothing could have prepared her for this. It had been taking a toll on her body and tonight may have just been the breaking point.

She rubbed her arms roughly, trying to catch her breath.

"You're okay. You're safe. God is watching over you."

No matter what she did or what she whispered into the darkness, Jules could not stop thinking of the hideous demons.

She could still feel the heat radiating off their fiery eyes and the sharp teeth that almost pierced her flesh mercilessly. And before she could recover from those horrid images, the flashbacks from her illusions hit all at once: the eerie sound of old women chanting, the white gowns, the knife above the baby's head, the maggots from the mother's dead body, the little boy that cried besides it.

It was getting harder and harder to breath. She raked her shaking hands through her sweaty hair--the terrible hot flashes making her feel like she was choking.

But before Jules passed out, the horrendous images swirling recklessly in her thoughts were interrupted with the sound of squawking followed by small thumps on the window.

She slightly pushed the closet door open, just enough to see a crow perched on the balcony. It continued to call out and hit its beak on the glass. She didn't know why, but unlike the last few times, Jules was not afraid of the crow.

She slowly got up from the closet floor and walked towards the window, holding her hands tightly together to stop the trembling.

Once the crow saw her approaching figure, it stoped hitting the window and flew to the center of the balcony's rail. It no longer looked at her but at the outside area in front of her room.

She stared at it cautiously. The crow's neck would frequently turn left and then right. Jules watched to see if the crow was going to fly away or do anything strange. Minutes passed and it remained on the same spot, vigilantly watching as if it was guarding her room.

Unexpectedly, Jules felt a great comfort with the crow's presence. She remembered how the crows quickly got rid of the demons during Dixon's arrival.

Did Dixon send a crow to watch over her?

Although Jules was getting a better understanding of Satan's labyrinth system of Dealers and Peccators, Dixon was a whole different puzzle. She barely knew his intentions or why he would let his own people die just to make her sin.

Your presence has left the dark world unbalanced. The moment you stepped foot in this city was the moment you put the Dealers and Peccators' lives in danger.

That was what he told her, but it made no sense. Why would she have such influence on demons? How could she be the one attracting them? Was he making up lies to try to convince her? Was she convinced?

No.

Jules shook her head. She shouldn't be stressing herself out right now. She needed to prioritize resting for the sake of her health. However, as she started at the ceiling ready to let sleep take over, one more question slipped her mind:

Why does turning into an adult feel so terrible?

On top of all the things she had to worry about, Jules had a math test that week and she was most definitely not prepared for it.