Page 176 of Devil Inside

“Where... where did she go?”

“It was fun, really,” we say. “We owe you so much. But we’ve... found someone else.”

“What are you saying? Where is she?”

“It’s not you,” we say, “it’s us.”

What does that absence feel like? To have been embraced, fulfilled for so long, only to be cast out? The loss of Lilith, who made every decision, who took control, who gave Cara the grace of uninhibition, of freedom from herself... only to be abandoned.

Alone now. She must feel so alone. So cold and empty.

“Wait,” she says, horrified. Repulsed? “You’re inside... him? You’re leaving me for him?”

“You brought us together,” we say, already bored with her. “If it weren’t for you, we would’ve never met. We’ve simply come to realize we are... a better fit.”

“You... you can’t just ditch me!”

“Why not?” We are trying not to be cruel about this, but sometimes it’s better to simply rip the Band-Aid right off. A momentary sting is preferable over an endless ache.

“Youneededme.”

For a while, yes. Then we found each other. A home in each other.

“Let’s not draw this out any—”

Cara’s fist finds us. She strikes our chest. Just a clumsy pummel, but it’s followed by another. And another. Soon, Cara is hammering her fists against us.

“I gave you everything!” She can’t control the tremor in her voice, rising. “All of me—”

She won’t stop hitting us. Buffeting Jordan’s body, a drum to bang on. Our body.

“You need me!”

The emptiness of exorcism. The coldness it leaves behind. That feeling of having shared something with another, only to be abandoned. Alone all over. Left with nothing but yourself. The same insecurities. The nagging self-doubt. The self-loathing. We understand how lonely that must feel for her, but come on... Cara was never our forever flesh.

“You can’t have her!” She keeps striking us. Our chest. Our face. The dependency of her, her neediness, her emptiness, is too much for us.

What should we do?We ask ourselves.

Our simple answer,Break it off.

No—not break. A clean cut. A split. What do you do with a loose end, but sever it?

It’s not just your darkness anymore, Jordan. It’s ours now. Ours, together.

Our hands find their way around Cara’s throat as we press our lips against hers. Skin. Just skin. The warmth of her struggle. Feel our hands. Feel their strength. The prowess. Insurmountable majesty. We are unstoppable. We love our hands.

How they squeeze.

All I’ve wanted was to feel complete,Jordan says.All I’ve ever wanted was an accomplice,Lilith answers back.A body to experience everything this world has to offer.

Look at us now. A lighthouse needs a bulb. The bulb that burns eternal.

I am the lighthouse, Jordan says. Lilith replies,I am the light.

Look how bright we are together, we say.

Our grip tightens around Cara’s neck. There are no boundaries between us now. There is only us. We need to shed this extra layer of skin, like a serpent, discard this unnecessary flesh, until there is only one. Only us. Together at last. Forever.