Chapter 8
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“I can’t do this anymore.”
They’re the words no girl wants to hear from their boyfriend, and vice versa. They’re the painful words that come with the end of an intimate relationship. Unfortunately, they were also the words Edith was faced with shortly after Christmas.
“What do you mean Derek?”
“I mean . . . I just can’t do this anymore.”
“Can’t do what?”
“This! Date you! I can’t take it!”
And so follows the same questions that come with every tragic high school break-up. Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said? Do you not love me anymore? Is there someone else? Why now? Why did you wait until just now to break up with me?
Derek did not have a straightforward answer to all of these questions.
“I just can’t do this,” he said, “We need to see other people.”
That was all Derek ever told Edith before leaving her to wallow in her own sadness. They’d been dating for nearly a year and she had grown quite attached to him; so much so that she never considered the possibility of him breaking up with her. She had been so happy, and she assumed Derek had been happy, too.
It didn’t help the situation that the break-up had happened at school where several people could see. Embarrassed and distressed, Edith ran for the nearest ladies room and locked herself away in a stall. She cried through two class periods and remained in the stall through lunch. On several occasions a few of her friends came to check on her, but were sent away when Edith told them she didn’t want to see anyone. Not now. Not ever again.
Raum and Mable had watched this tragedy play out, and while the angel pitied the poor teenage girl, the demon was preoccupied with another thought.
Even when he had the ability to see into the future, Raum couldn’t have been more surprised after he returned to Edith’s house the day after Christmas and realized something . . . interesting.
Derek and Edith were sleeping in the same bed, and there was a peculiar smell in the air; a smell all demons were familiar with.
Sex.
Edith had lost her virginity.
Upon realizing that fact, Raum knew that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He’d still be partnered with Mable and he still might have a change at claiming Edith’s soul.
Of course, losing her virginity didn’t automatically disqualify Edith and forever label her as a lusting succubus. In fact, it was only a small stain on her otherwise-flawless record of religious faith. But with this small stain rose the opportunity for many more. And with this break-up, would Edith’s line of thinking change?
Naturally Mable was upset when she found out what had happened, and this time, rather than blaming Raum, she blamed herself. She would say that if she had been by her side, Edith wouldn’t have made the “wrong decision”. For once, Raum was holding her and trying to reassure her that that wasn’t the case. He knew teens had a tendency to make wrong decisions, especially ones that involved those of the opposite gender.
Now without her boyfriend and still weeping in a stall in the girl’s bathroom, the two beings could see that Edith was already heavily regretting her decision to have sex with him.
“I’ll never love anyone again,” she vowed, “Never again.”
All along she knew she was lying to herself. People were going to come and go from her life and there would be heartbreaks along the way. She’d develop crushes and those crushes would wind up crushing her as they walked in and out of her life. But there was something about that fact that Edith didn’t want to face. She didn’t want to go through the pain ever again. And that’s when the thought crossed her mind.
Suicide.
“No,” she told herself, “No, no, no, no, no, I will not let this get the best of me. I won’t! I can get through this . . . can’t I?”
Edith thought about it all day. Ultimately she knew that there were a lot of people in her life that cared about her and that those people would be hurt if she were to take her own life. But Derek wouldn’t, would he? He was the one that said they should see other people. Edith wanted to make him feel sorry for breaking up with her.
Mable held herself; shaking. Worrying.
“Don’t kill yourself over a boy, Edith,” she begged, “He’ll only bring another girl to your funeral.”
“I hate Derek! I hate him so much! I hate life! I hate everything!”
“Don’t. Forgive him and forget about him!”
“I . . . I . . .” Edith picked her schoolbag up off of the bathroom floor and stepped out of the stall, “I want to go home.”
For the rest of that day, Edith remained locked in her bedroom, curled up in her bed with her face buried in the pillows as she tried to calm down.
Mable and Raum watched her quietly; staying in their non-physical forms so they could remain close to her.
“I used to hate it when the boys would come and go,” Mable commented, “That’s all boys are about; breaking hearts.”
Raum shrugged, “I can’t exactly relate.”
“Odd. You invoke love, but you’ve never fallen in love, yourself?”
“That’s right. Succubae aren’t about love, they’re only about lust. I think that’s an automatic disqualification there.”
Mable chuckled, “That might have been a little bit more information than I needed to know. But how are we going to help Edith? She’s contemplating suicide and she’s convinces someone else isn’t going to come along.”
Raum let out a quiet hum. His eyes drifted over to a dresser. On top of that dresser sat the stuffed teddy bear with the silver and gold bow that Mable had given Edith when she was still only an infant. With a simple turn of his hand, he knocked the bear to the floor.
The noise the bear made as it hit the floor was enough to gain the distressed teen’s attention. She strode over to the pint-sized toy and looked it over before holding it close to her chest.
“You’re okay, kiddo,” Raum said, “Just remember, he's not too good for you, you’re too good for him.”
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