Hell.
“Welcome home, Avery.”
“No,” My mind whirled, and I felt panic rising in my chest. But I still refused to open my eyes. I was terrified of what I would see, especially from all the screaming that sounded off in the distance, yet still fully audible to my ears. It sounded like thousands of people - and they were screams of terror and pain, all mixed together. I’ve never heard a sound that, alone, was so terrifying.
“No, please let me go - Harry, I take back the deal! I take back the deal!” I protested, writhing in his arms. However, his arms only tightened around me, pressing me further against his chest, and I heard him chuckle darkly into my ear.
“Struggling will only make this worse,” He warned softly, amused by my fear. “And honestly, it’s only going to turn me on.”
Oh my God.
I could now see that what I did was foolish and non-changeable. I was in Hell, the worst place in the entire universe. Hell was reserved for demons and the people who were sent there to be tortured forever; I didn’t know just how long forever was, but it sounded like a long time. And when people spoke about Hell on earth, they never quite elaborated.
But now I could definitely tell that they were right about it being terrifying and daunting.
“Please make it stop,” I whimpered, pulling my hands up to cover my ears. The screaming felt like it was going right through me. And it was so cold right now...freezing, actually.
Wasn’t Hell supposed to be hot?
“No, not everywhere in Hell is hot.” Harry replied to my thought calmly. “The deepest part of Hell is, but we’re on the outer rings. The temperature increases as you get closer to the very core, where the most rotten people reside.”
I was trembling in his arms, and I could feel him moving under me.
Yet I still refused to open my eyes.
“Please let me go back home,” I whispered faintly, wanting to cry, except no tears were coming. This was the end. I was done. My life - all of it, was over. “Please...I’ll do anything. I’m so scared.” I was reduced to pleading with Harry. I never thought it would come to this, but I was not lying when I said I would do anything to go back home.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Harry cooed almost mockingly as he nipped on my earlobe, chuckling under his breath when he noticed me trembling in his arms. “I’ll take good care of you, Avery.”
No you won’t. He’s lying. Of course he’s lying - he’s a demon!
I knew I was doomed. I was having to return my end of the deal; I literally belonged to Harry. My entire being - my soul, was his.
And I couldn’t do anything about it.
So I bit my lower lip and reigned in the begging I so wanted to do. I knew it would be futile to try and reason with Harry. His mind was made up, we made a contract, and there was no going back.
It was too late.
This living nightmare was my new home.
“You’re welcome to open your eyes any time you want,” Harry suggested as he kept moving. I heard a door suddenly slam, and I flinched in his grasp, instinctively grasping tightly around his neck and burying my face in his chest.
“What was that?” I asked, alarmed.
“Ignore it,” Harry replied calmly. “You may want to get used to that, though.”
