The Devil's Possession

Angelina was working in late at night as usual, making some activities for her students for the next day. She glanced at her phone and found it was 12 am. She quickly tidied up her thing and left the café that she usually sat at, which was beside the school she teaches at. “Dear god! I should set an alarm next time,” she muttered as she grabbed her things. She walked out and looked around the dark alleyways. She took a deep breath before walking to the bus stop. She looked at her watched and cursed because she thought there wasn’t any buses around as it was now 12:30. The last bus would’ve left about 30 minutes. By luck, she found a bus that was about to leave. “Hey! Wait up!” she shouted as she tried to get to it by running as fast as she could. She glanced at her heels and made a mental note not to wear them ever again as they hindered her from running to the last bus of the day. Just as she was about to reach the bus, she heard a scream. Angel bit her lip as she debated whether to catch the bus or see where the scream coming from. The girl sighed as she went to check out the scream. It was coming from another dim lighted alleyway.

She held her things tightly as she went to help whoever screamed. Her mind was screaming for her to run, but her heart refused to leave someone who might need her help. Just as she rounded the corner, she found a little boy getting kicked by some older kids. “Hey hey!” she shouted as she ran to the little boy’s side. The bullies ran away as soon as they was Angel. Angel slowly reached down to the boy and took a good look at him. “Are you okay?” she asked softly as she checked his now bruised face. The kid shivered, and it broke her heart just by looking at him. She sighed and shifted her things to one arm and picked the kid up. She smiled at him and started walking away after asking him where he lives. As they walked to his house, Angelina joked with the kid and made sure, he was okay. Just as they reached the house, it started raining. Another sigh left her mouth as she rushed to the house. Angel looked at his house and gasped slightly. Questions started roaming in her head when she saw the house. She knocked on the door and shouted, “Anybody home? I have your kid!” She patted the little boy’s back and tried to stop him from shivering. She placed her things on the ground and held the boy close to her chest. She stood there, hoping someone would open the door for her and the little kid. Angel started shivering too from the rain, but tried not to show it.

“Don’t worry dear. I’m sure your dad or your mum will be here any second,” she assured as she tucked his hair behind his ear. She smiled hopeful when she heard someone yelling behind the door. At the other side of the door, Khaos just came home from work that day, all he wanted was to pop open a bottle of liquor and drown in it. Sometimes, work was a little bitch to him, or clients, were. Either way, what he wasn’t hoping to encounter, however, were the tense, guilt stricken faces of the housekeepers and the guards. Almost immediately, he knew what was wrong, but he hated having to acknowledge it. His jaw ticked as he growled at the nearest guard, “What is it?” the guard bowed his head so low, Khaos could reach forward and snap his neck if he wanted to. “We- we can’t find him. I don’t know how it happened or where he went. He’s not in the house and we’ve searched around the house. We thought we’d find him before you got home but-” Khaos had never seen this man ramble as he did. But there wasn’t much time to notice that.

He had already whipped out his phone and he dialed his right hand’s number, glaring at the staff in a ‘this isn’t over yet. I won’t be merciful’ look. They had one job, and that was to keep Matteo safe in the house. That was it. That was all they had to do and they failed. His muscles worked up as he tore open his tie and he spoke to his right hand on the phone, almost yelling at him to get everyone on the search right that second. He walked to the front door, wanting to go out himself to search for him, while still on the phone, “I swear to god if you don’t find him, I will personally drill a bullet through your–” He threw open the door mid-sentence and stopped short, eyes landing on a short woman and then Matteo clinging to her hand. He slowly brought the phone away from his ear and to his mouth. “Never mind. I’ve found Matteo.” Khaos hung up and held his hands out to his son. Matteo let go of the woman and ran up to Khaos, wrapping his arms around his leg. Khaos bent down and studied him quickly, noticing the bruising and the traces of blood from his cut lip. His eyes darkened further and shot up to look at the woman. “Who are you?” he ordered, but it sounded more like an accusing, ‘did you fucking hurt my child?’ he tried to contain himself. “Where did you find him? And why is he hurt?”

Angel sighed relieved when she saw the man and smiled softly when the little kid jumped from her arms and went to the man. She held her things again and sighed in relief when she saw some resemblance on the kid and what seemed to be the father. The man was a little buff around his shoulders and his eyes were cold as they roamed over her. The almost black orbs warmed when he felt his son hug him. “I’m Angelina- I’m a teacher at your local school,” she beamed innocently, not noticing how the man looked at her. “Some bullies were kicking and punching him in a corner- when I came to his help, he was already hurt-” She stopped talking then sneezed. “I’ve got to go-” She smiled at the man then looked back at the kid and ruffled his hair. Khaos stared at her as she spoke, listening to her words and trying to determine if he wanted to believe her. The expression on her face was just too pure. Much like a child’s, much like Matteo’s. So he decided to believe her. The sneeze made him realize she was probably just as cold as his son that was shivering in his arms. Someone who had helped Matteo was not an enemy. She was important now both to him and Matteo, whether he liked to admit it or not. The mafia might commit a lot of crimes but if they were anything, they were loyal to those who were good to them and they paid people back. The least he could do was let her get warm inside. So he scooped Matteo up in his arms and stepped back. “Stop,” he ordered. “It’s getting dark. The streets here are dangerous at this time and you seem cold. Get inside,” he muttered, waiting for her to walk past him to he could close the door behind her.

Angel turned and looked around as she tried walking in the rain again. She sneezed a few more times before hearing the man speak again. Somehow his voice seemed less harsh than when he had asked her who she was. She looked back at him and tried to raise an argument, but when she looked at the little kid, she sighed and got in. Maybe the kid was all alone in that mansion while his father went to work. She quickly thanked the man and flashed him a soft smile. “Um- can I have the first aid kit? I can tend his wounds and probably clean them?” she asked as she walked with him. She didn’t turn around and gawk at his mansion because simply it wasn’t the time even though everything around her screamed to be stared at. From the sculptures that looked a few centuries old to the oil painted portrait and fur rugs that looked too real to the animal they represented. Khaos closed the door behind them and began leading her to the living room. Matteo shook his head, spraying Khaos’s face with rain water and giggling until Khaos set him down in the living room and tsked at him. When they finally reached the living room, Angel kept standing by the door not wanting to wet his couch or carpet. Instead her attention went to Khaos as he seemed to talk to his son. “You can play around all you want but it doesn’t mean I’m any less upset with what you’ve done today,” he mumbled, not in a scolding manner really, it was soft, even softer when he talked to Angelina. Angelina watched the kid and his father, smiling at them. She looked up at the father and said, “He loves you so much. He talked about you all the way here.” Khaos tilted his head a little, a ghost of a smile tugging his lips. “Did he now?” He shook his head a little, glancing at his son. Khaos always believed his son thought a little too highly of him. More so than he deserved at least.

A butler came rushing into the living room wiping whatever good emotion Khaos had, “young master! Where did you go?” he let out breathy and worried. She stood there confused as the butler came rushing in. Maybe they were important people. She didn’t know who was standing in front of her. “Not the time,” Khaos gritted and glanced at Angel. Her blood rushed to her cheeks, leaving a rosy colour on her cheeks when the man looked at her. The butler glanced at the woman too and gulped before looking at his boss. She cleared her throat and looked away. As she heard him continue on with conversation with his butler. “Get me the first aid kit and...” he paused to look at the girl again standing by the door before adding, “bring two towels.” The butler nodded and hurried away, while Khaos turned to her. Angel crouched down when she saw the little boy look at his father as he talked and smiled at the boy. “Come here. Now I want you to tell me if there’s any pain here,” she asked softly as she touched his arm and made sure he didn’t have any bruises around his body that was covered by his clothes. “You can sit,” he pointed to one of the plush couches before seating himself across from it. She looked up at the father and nodded as she sat down slowly. She brought Matteo on her lap and smiled at him as she continued to make sure the little kid was alright. He remained quiet, watching the girl interact with his child in a way he hadn’t seen many people do before. Mostly because they were too scared of him to really ever approach his son. He felt ashamed of that, of having his son ostracized by association. He could bet bullying today was for a similar reason. It was either that, or his mother. The made all sorts of rumours about who she was and what happened to her. Khaos wished he could shut them down but he couldn’t beat up a bunch of kids. Even for him that was morally wrong. His head tilted in that curious way it often did. Angel smiled at the father and nodded. “Yeah he did. You seem like a good father,” she praised, pulling him out of his thoughts.

She smiled and worked around his son so kindly. He could almost see her doing this for a long time. The butler came rushing in with the first aid kit and warm towels brought Khaos out of his thoughts. She smiled at the butler and thanked him as he seemed frightened from Khaos. He took the things before ushering the butler out. He brought the first aid over to the girl, setting it down beside her, then he took one warm towel and draped it over her shoulders. She was about to take the towel when he draped it on her shoulders. The sudden contact of his finger along her shoulder, sent jolts of electricity through her body “Thanks-” she muttered, trying to stop the blush that threatened to cover both her cheeks. He then turned to Matteo and used the towel to dry up his hair a bit and tried to ignore the female as she talked. Her voice was causing his heart to beat a tad bit faster. He left the towel on Matteo’s shoulders and stepped back, letting her do her thing. She would probably be much gentler than he could ever be. She took the kit and sat the kid on her lap. “Okay. I need you to tell me what the last thing you did today is?” she distracted as she started cleaning his wounds. Matteo giggled as Angelina lightly brushed the wet cotton over his dried blood. It was if being tickled and he even turned to look at Khaos once. Finally, she placed a Band-Aid on his cheek and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “She’s so funny, papa! She joked all the way to the house,” he giggled, bright eyes turning into crescents from smiling. “Matteo? I need you to be good and don’t get in trouble and bring trouble to daddy, okay?” she muttered as she placed her hands on his tiny shoulder. “She’s so nice too! Can she stay please please please? Can she please stay with us?” he pleaded as he turned to his father. Angel smiled and chuckled when she heard the kid talking about her. She sighed heartbroken because she couldn’t stay with him that much. Khaos watched her tell Matteo to be good and smiled. Maybe the kid will finally listen to her if he wasn’t listening to anyone else. Not that Khaos minded spoiling him. He wanted Matteo’s life to be nothing like how his own had been, and if spoiling is what he had to do to make sure of that then that’s what he would do.

She picked him up and said, “How about this? Tomorrow’s off, we can stay up late if daddy approves and we can play whatever you want.” Matteo’s request echoed in his mind. Somehow, the child had spoken what Khaos had been thinking. If she stayed... somehow, he felt things would get better. He came out of his thoughts when she picked him up, watching as Matteo’s face lit up. “Can we stay past the bed time, papa? Please please please! Just a little bit!” Khaos had to sigh, there was no saying no to that face. “Only for an hour. Then off to sleep.” Khaos led the two to Matteo’s room and let the girl settle in with him inside. Angelina smiled at the kid as she heard his giggles. It filled her with warmth. She looked up at the father as she waited for his answer. She was risking too much in this state. She smiled and chuckled as she heard Matteo squeal. “Yay! Come on. I’ve got a lot of games I’d like to play with you,” she chimed as she followed Khaos. She was about to sit on the ground and play with Matteo when his father pulled her to the side to whisper, “Read him a book. He sleeps in a second through story time. You can come out once he’s slept.” Then with a slightly serious more tone as he stepped back. She blushed deeply and looked at him when she heard him get more serious. “We need to talk, so you better wrap this quickly.” She nodded and smiled softly at him. “Okay- I’ll see what I can do,” she assured as she went back to Matteo. For a little while, Khaos lingered outside the little boy’s room, partly to make sure nothing bad took place because he still couldn’t completely trust the stranger and partly just because he wished to see his son play with someone who actually liked him and his little games. Angel played with him for the most part then tucked him in bed and read him a bed story.

By the time she had stepped out, Khaos had managed to find his guards and give them a few more notes. The guards had expected scolding but at this point Khaos was a little too tired to care for that. He ordered for a bottle of wine and let himself rest onto the couch in the living room again as he waited for her. Angel now gawked over the mansion. She knew his father was loaded and it showed. She smiled as she looked around like a little kid in a candy store. “You wanted to talk to me?” she asked as she stood in front of him with a soft smile. He motioned for her to sit and asked if she wanted a glass. “Wine?” he raised an eyebrow. She seemed comfortable enough, and he wanted to know more about her before he offered her anything else. She smiled and shook her head to his question. “My alcohol tolerance is really low, so two glasses and I’d drunk,” she smiled as she sat down across from him. “What’s your name? And how old are you?” he questioned. She took the towel off her shoulders and dried her hair. This was the second time he had asked her name. He had totally forgot her name because he was too angry to even hear what she was saying. “Angelina Maxwell and I’m 27 sir,” she chimed as she looked at him. Khaos noticed her little childish awe at the mansion and its interior and he wondered how such a person ended up in this house, on these streets, in his part of town. But then, she did mention teaching at the local school so she mustn’t be completely oblivious to the dangers around her, right? Again, if she did know, she wouldn’t be walking around on her own that late. As she spoke, Khaos made little mental notes. No alcohol tolerance. School teacher. Angelina, nicknamed Angel perhaps? Befitting, it would be. 27, Young then and barely out of college.

“By the way, nice house! I really love the painting you’ve put at the end of the stairs. It looks exactly like the real one,” she beamed and ranted on her love for paintings. Her face practically lit up as she went on, before finally noticing what she was doing. “Sorry- I get excited easily- you were saying,” she muttered and blushed softly. She pulled him out of his thoughts as she went on a ramble about the paintings in his house. It was impressive that she figured out it wasn’t the original, most couldn’t. He shook his head. “It’s fine. That portrait isn’t original but the one behind you is. An original Caravaggio.” He nodded to the dark oil painting behind her. Watching her get excited wasn’t all that bad. She had a soothing voice and Khaos was tired. Gunshots weren’t easy on the ears for even the most experienced Mafioso. She gasped softly and looked at it as if inspecting it. “Oh my lord! This was bided off at millions and millions of dollars. I thought it was lost,” she muttered. Angel touched it softly and smiled as she looked at the portrait. She looked back at the father and gave him a few facts about the painting. He sighed, leaned back and twirled his glass between his fingers. “I want to offer you a job,” he finally stated. “As a nanny. Matteo’s nanny.” The smile slowly faded from Angel’s face. ”What?!” she muttered a little too loud.