Personal Demons 2 - Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers Page B

she giggles and pushes me aside. “Hey, Lili! Come on up!” she hollers out the window.
    The demon sidles over to the window and looks me up and down. “You’re nervous.”
    â€œNo, I’m not,” I say, suddenly sure that, stomach or not, I’m going to puke.
    He scowls at me. “You’re glowing. Either you’re nervous or you swallowed a compact fluorescent. Either way, you need to turn it off.”
    I realize he’s right. My self-awareness isn’t what it should be. I tone it down and try to keep a brain cell trained on the glow factor.
    I stand by the door, waiting for Lili’s knock, determined not to leave here today without officially meeting her.
    So, of course, when the knock on the door comes, I totally freak and fade out.
    Frannie bursts out laughing. “So much for the debut.”
    Luc pulls the door open with a smirk, and Lili steps through with a six-pack of beer.
    â€œHey, Frannie,” she says through the stringy brown hair dangling in her face.
    â€œWhat’s the occasion?” Frannie asks, pointing at the beer.
    She pulls a beer out of the holder and hands it to Frannie. “Got a job at the KwikMart. Just started today. Pay’s not great, but it should be enough for rent and food, which is all I need.” A devilish smile turns up the corners of her mouth. “I actually swiped a six-pack of beer.” Her smile shifting to a frown, she adds, “Which is highly illegal, considering I’m only eighteen, so I’ll probably get fired and then arrested.”
    She drops the six-pack on the table as if it’s suddenly poison. “Should have thought this whole celebration thing through a little better, I guess.” She purses her lips thoughtfully as she pulls a beer out and hands it to Luc before opening one for herself. “I don’t hear any sirens, so hopefully I’m in the clear. I’ll need to erase the security camera tapes when I get to work tomorrow.”
    Frannie laughs and I can’t stop the smile. This is a side of Lili I wouldn’t have expected.
    â€œSounds like a plan,” Luc says.
    Lili throws herself into one of Luc’s kitchen chairs, tips her head back, and takes a long swig of beer. “Ahh…refreshing,” she says.
    I’m not surprised she needs to be refreshed. She’s wearing the same loose warm-up pants and baggy gray sweatshirt she was when she moved in last weekend, even though it’s got to be almost ninety degrees outside.
    Frannie lowers herself into the other kitchen chair. “So, how’re you liking Haden?”
    â€œIt’s okay, I guess. And it’s not too far from the subway, so I won’t have to drive into Boston for school.”
    â€œThe T,” Frannie says.
    â€œWhat?”
    Frannie picks at the label of her beer. “The subway. It’s called the T here.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œAre you going to keep working after school starts?” Luc asks.
    â€œI have to. I need the money.”
    â€œMmm. That’s rough,” he says.
    She shifts uncomfortably in her chair. “Yeah. And I’m on scholarship, so I have to take a full course load.”
    Concern creases Frannie’s brow. “Isn’t there anyone who can help you out?”
    â€œNo. I don’t have any family,” Lili says. A shadow passes over her face.
    â€œNone?” Frannie says, surprised.
    Lili just shakes her head, and her eyes darken and lower to the floor. Frannie drops her gaze as well.
    I can’t stand the pain in Lili’s eyes. Someone has really hurt her. I ease over to where she slumps in the kitchen chair, face half-hidden behind her hair, and kneel in front of her. I want to touch her so badly. I can’t even explain the feeling, except it pulls at something in my core—like some deep aching need. I catch myself before the hand I didn’t know I’d raised actually touches her face, and force