Dirty Work

 

It was never supposed to get this complicated.

The goal was pretty clear, with a plan that left no room for mistakes or last minute changes. She would summon a demon, he would help her get rid of her bully, and her high school life would finally be less of a nightmare. She got her ritual down to the tiniest of details, bought everything she would need, and started the meticulously crafted event. For someone that came from a lineage of witches, this was easy for her, almost natural. The low-grade demon was eager to serve her, and he did a perfect job, killing the jock and disposing of his body so that nobody would be able to find him, or pin the incident on her.

The thing is, she forgot how clingy these creatures can get once they’ve done you a favour. 

The demon refused to leave her side, waking up with her and following her to school, back home, out with friends and back in the confines of her own bed. He sat on her shoulder, his weight light yet insistent, whispering in her ear like the most intrusive of thoughts.

 

He would talk and talk, evil seeping into every word, worming its way into her brain and nesting there, growing into a fully fleshed idea that she couldn’t get rid of. 

“Your teacher is playing favourites, maybe you should rid the world of her, I bet everyone in your class would be thankful for that.”

“Your coffee order is messed up again, maybe the barista doesn’t need all his fingers since he doesn’t seem to know how to use them.”

“I know that she’s your friend, but that coat is an eyesore. It would be so much better if you never saw her again.”

Everything and everyone that caused her a minor inconvenience was seen as disposable to him, and he enjoyed finding all the flaws that could convince her to let him do it again, let him murder someone else. It was too much power to put in the hands of a teenager, and she enjoyed it immensely, but she never planned to go through with anything. It was just a fun, twisted little game.

But games had a fun way of getting real if you let them go on for long enough, and this game was no exception. 

It all started to go downhill when she started to have a crush on her classmate. Despite the demon telling her that he was no good, because he left his shirt untucked or had a loose shoelace, she had heart eyes for the boy, and spent the majority of her day staring dreamily at him. 

She thought of ways to ask him out, lost sleep over it and let her imagination run wild. She went as far as googling wedding venues and naming their children. With the encouragement of her shoulder demon, she planned a grand gesture to confess her feelings and take him on a date, complete with flowers and a banner. Considering her record, you’d think she’ll give up on planning things, but alas.

When the bell rang and all the students got into the cafeteria for lunch, she got her props from the locker and stood in front of the guy. Everyone’s eyes were on her, as she told him that she was in love with him, and couldn’t wait to make her dream come true and date him. 

Like any normal person would feel if approached by a stranger that so happens to be obsessed with them, the boy was disturbed and uncomfortable by the scene unfolding. He rejected her and went back to the conversation he was having with his friends.

She couldn’t let that slide. The public humiliation, the audacity he had to crumple her dream like a paper and toss it in her face, was unforgivable.

He had to pay.

 

The demon rejoiced at her thoughts, finally getting some sort of reaction to his months-long attempts to push her. She spent the night dreaming of ways she could torture the boy instead of love him. 

All she had to do was ask, and the demon would gladly take care of the dirty work for her. But she wanted to do it herself, or she wouldn’t get the satisfaction she craves.

So, for the final time, she planned and planned.

By the next night, she had the boy securely tied to a chair in her room, eyes bulging and pleading, as pathetic as she needed him to be. He should’ve known that rejecting her wouldn’t end well for him, she made it pretty clear that it wasn’t an option. They would be together no matter what he thought, that was the only way this could end. 

Together, with the demon’s help, they took a matching pair of knives, and sunk them into each other’s hearts.

Such a beautiful gesture, a proof of eternal love, one that transcends the physical plane all the way to the afterlife. 

And while they bled out, the demon left to haunt another soul, satisfied with the outcome of this one.

Marwa Damaan