text: ***In a deal gone wrong, you become impregnated with the devil’s daughter. The devil forgets about his young daughter until on her 13th birthday, he attends her party and wants her back.*** &#x200B; There's a knocking on the door, and I yell "Coming!" as I sprint through the house, dodging teenagers. The house is currently full of them, lounging around drinking or eating snacks. Some crowd the TV, some crowd the pool outside, but over it all is a thumping bass beat coming from the home sound system. I finally make it to the door and open it to find *him*. Suddenly I can feel the bass beat thrumming in my chest and I'm not sure it's the music anymore. I stand with my mouth hanging slightly open, before recovering and narrowing my eyes. "What do you want?" I demand. He smirks, knowing full well what's running through my mind. "I want....my daughter." "What? No," I breathe. "Yes," he says, and I almost feel the word creep up my throat and roll off my tongue but I catch it in time. "I said, no. You don't get to forget about her, forget about me, for THIRTEEN years, then just decide you want to take her away." We're still standing in the doorway and the couple of kids around us are gaping at the man in the frame. Reluctantly, I take a small step back and tilt my head, silently asking him to come in. He glides into the house and the sea of teenagers parts for him. He makes his way into the kitchen. *Of course he knows the layout of the house,* as I roll my eyes internally. I follow this man, the devil, my devil, into my kitchen. "Coffee?" I offer. "Sure," he smiles, and there is that grin. That smile that took me in so many years ago. My hands tremble as I hold the coffee mug out to him, and as he grabs it from me he looks up at me with his bottomless eyes. I let my own eyes roam, drinking in the one man who ever owned me. His beard, his hair, kept perfectly trimmed, brushed, and oiled. The rolled sleeves of his dark blue business shirt that put the star tattooed on his forearm on display. He knows my memories are flooding back, the dam I built in my mind buckling under the weight of his presence. The deal I tried to make, and how utterly wrong it went. How much fun we had, how much love we made, until one day, he disappeared. The crushing blow. Then later, finding out I was pregnant, with the devil's progeny no less. The baby grew healthy but I was alone. I couldn't tell my friends how it came to be, or where I had been, or who the father was. Thus I alienated myself, and the most difficult parts of the pregnancy came and went. A nameless doctor held my hand as I gave birth, and when I heard "It's a girl!" from one of the nurses, I blacked out. I thought he would come find us. I thought he would know. He *is* the Devil after all, who knows and sees all much like his heavenly counterpart. Fast forward thirteen years and all the pain, the sadness, the melancholy, gives way to a simmering rage. Who knows how long we sat in silence, me wallowing in my thoughts, him looking out the window, contemplating... something. I feel his eyes rest upon me, feel their weight at the top of my head. "My daughter is my pride and joy," I say, finding words. "She's so sweet, so calm, such a great kid who as you can see has made a fair amount of friends. You can't just take her from me." He smiles a soft, slow smile that spreads across his tanned face. "Babygirl, you knew the deal." My eyes start to brim over with tears. "She's all I have, all I have had, since you left," I manage, voice cracking. He tucks my hair behind my ear as one traitorous tear falls into my coffee. "I got very busy. I have a life of my own, you know. Had one for thousands of years before you came along and bewitched me." The last part makes me look up. *What a pathetic sight I must be. Not just crying, but allowing my heart to flutter in hope at his words.* He knows he has me now. "Can we work out another deal?" I say. At this his eyebrows arch. I barrel on, not wanting to give up whatever head start I have. "I don't want you to take her, and you're set on taking her, so how about this. We play a game of chess, just like old times. You win, you can have her and I won't fight you. You lose, she stays with me, but you can visit as you please." He laughs. Tilts his head back, opens his mouth wide and chortles at me. "You do realize you've only won one game against me?" I smile a small smile, and look up at my demon.