Page 50 of Devil Inside

“So we’ve met,” I say, trying to play it cool.

“Once.” If she’s offended, she doesn’t let on.

“Freshen my memory.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

So she’s fucking with me. Toying with me. “You want me to guess?”

“It’ll come back to you. Eventually. I always do.”

“Okay. Sure. You want to play? Let’s play.”

“Play. I like that.”

“Do I at least get a hint?” I ask.

“Do you need one?”

I’m not enjoying this. At all. I’m starting to get the sneaking suspicion that I’m being punked. That this is all some kind of weird practical joke and I’m the butt of it.

“I’m coming up blank, sorry. I’m pretty bad with faces.”

“Fine, then,” she says with a smile, closing in on me. “We’ll give you a hint.” Her face oscillates. Just the tiniest pebble tossed into the pond of her face, rippling across her skin.

The fuck?

This woman—this stranger—is so close now. One second, there’s a gulf of people between us, the next, she’s standing directly in front of me. I can’t help but hold my breath, my lungs grabbing at the oxygen, as if I need to keep my grip for fear she might take it away.

“Helland back. That’s what you told us. Where you’ve been.”

Wait. Hold up. I only told that to...

To...

“There it is,” she says. “You’re catching on now.”

“Who are you?”

“It’s me.”

“Who?”

“Lilith.”

What is going on here? Who is this woman? She must be one of Lilith’s friends. That’s it. Totally makes sense. Was she at Sticky Rice? Maybe. I can’t remember.

“Did Lilith put you up to this?” There’s enough force in my voice to push her back.

“Put me up to...this?” Her sunglasses make it difficult for me to gauge her reaction.

“Look, I get that she doesn’t want to talk to me. Message received, loud and clear... but I don’t get this, whatever the hell this is. She wants to fuck with me now?”

The smile that had been on her lips diminishes, her mouth flatlining.

“You don’t recognize me.” It’s not a question. More a statement. An acknowledgment of fact for herself. An epiphany is hitting her, hard, and it hurts. Stings.

“I don’t know you,” I say, my voice rising more than I want it to. I catch sight of passing glances from those around us, trying hard not to stare. There are eyes on us now.