From Writer's Block: According to a Gallup poll, 10% of Americans say they have communicated with the devil. Write a story about one of these accounters.
Hallie says it's the booze. But it wasn't. I swear. I had been sober for years. For at least a year before this happened. Hallie doesn't believe me. Because that's sisters for you. She didn't believe me because she said I was always telling stories. She called me the fisherman. She would said, "What'd the fisherman tell you now." That wasn't very nice. She also wasn't entirely wrong. I did like to tell stories. I think it was my need to get attention. Drinking was my need to get attention. No one paid attention to us kids. There were seven of us. And our parents were always working. It was always the older kid to look after the younger. Hallie was number three. She looked after me Dwayne, who was number 4 but Dwayne and I were really close together so she had to look after both of us. She didn't hate that. She liked me and Dwayne. We were really close. The three of us in the middle. Mitch, the oldest, resented all of us. And Betsy, the youngest, almost drown many times because no one really looked after her. She doesn't talk to us anymore. Any of us. She has her own life in LA. She's kind of famous. But she'll never talk to any of us or send us any money. She goes by Rita now.
But just because Hallie doesn't believe me doesn't mean it's not true.
It was a rainy Tuesday night and I was at Karl's house. He has a small house with his wife and two kids in Boone. I was staying there for a while. I was sober but I was having a hard time getting back on my feel. It's funny, when I was drinking or drunk I was so much more successful in this life. I could pass. I was meeting clients every day. I was killing my numbers at my marketing firm - a job I got without a college degree. I mean they didn't know that but I only had completed two years. I had money. I had a nice condo. I was passing. But eventually, those demons catch up with you and I hit rock bottom again and this time I couldn't hide it.
So after I got sober I stayed with Karl. He had room for me. He trusted me. I loved his kids. I did stuff. I applied for jobs. I went to AA meetings. I wasn't lazy but I just wasn't getting anywhere. And that was Ok. As long as I was sober. That's all that mattered.
So they went out of town to see her family. I love Karl's wife. Beth is really great. She also loved me but in a little brother kind of way. They were going for four days.
On the first day, I applied for some jobs. Got a few groceries at the local Walmart. I thought of applying there but that felt desperate. I wanted to save that job for when I actually was desperate. I played some video games and went to bed at midnight.
The second day, it rained. I was going to mow the lawn but it pretty much rained the whole day. So I didn't do much of anything. I took a few naps. I ate a frozen pot pie for dinner. The peas were great. I talked to Karl on the phone later that evening. I told him about the rain and the lawn. I told him about the peas.
I woke up at 2 in the morning. A chill woke me. I was suddenly very afraid. I instinctively grabbed my cellphone. My heart was racing. I was staring at the ceiling. I don't remember opening my eyes but I was somehow awake. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to run and simultaneously stay perfectly still. Was someone in the house? Was there a noise that woke me up? I slowly sat up and put my feet on the floor which made me more scared. I couldn't describe the pure panic. It's similar to the feeling when I'm not going to get another drink.
I walked down the hallway towards the living room that flowed into the kitchen. And there he was. Sitting in Karl's chair. The chair you'd find him in when he wasn't running after the kids or doing chores. His dog would sleep in that chair when Karl was at work. But it wasn't Karl. It was the devil or a devil. He was massive., barely fitting in the chair. His whole body was muscular with giant rams horns that wrapped around his head. His skin was deep red almost purple. He had large hands with claws for hands. It wore no clothes but i also wasn't naked. There were no soft edges to him. He turned and looked at me. I stopped breathing. I stopped thinking. I thought for sure that I was going to die right here.
"Andrew. How have you been?" His voice was startlingly familiar. I thought for a minute that it was Dwayne. I couldn't speak.
"You shouldn't be so surprised to see me here Andrew."
"No?" was I could muster.
"You owe me. I've come to collect on that debt."
"I do?" I was genuinely surprised. This was not an IOU that you'd forget. Even in the most drunken stupor, I had to remember this.
"You don't remember?"
"That's something Hallie would say."
The devil laughed.
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