The Devil's Game Read Free

She immediately crawled into bed, where she mostly tossed and turned long after Ginny stumbled home. Would Damien really go through with it? And if he did, would she be able to keep up her end of the bargain?
    She cursed her alarm when it went off at five the next morning, but at least she would be able to sneak out for work before Ginny woke. She had no idea what to say to her and dreaded what Ginny might think of her for agreeing—even if it was only because Karina never imagined he could’ve been serious.
    As Karina mulled it over at work that day, she realized the solution was simple. When she got home, she would figure out some way to get a hold of Damien and let him know that she had changed her mind. Yes, her parents would lose their house (a heartbreaking thought), but Karina knew they would never want her to sell her self-respect for it. They would’ve been appalled that she had even considered it.
    When she got off work, she pulled her phone from her bag to see that she had missed a call from her mom. She listened to the voicemail asking her to call back as she walked out of the shop and toward home.
    “Hey Mom, what’s up?” Karina asked as soon as her mom answered.
    “The strangest thing happened! Well, I just don’t know what to make of it. I mean, I know your father and I have been praying about it every night, but I never imagined….”
    “Mom,” Karina said. “Slow down. What have you been praying about?”
    “A courier just stopped by an hour ago, which was so odd. I mean, I didn’t know those still existed, I just thought everybody used FedEx or whatever.”
    Karina sighed. It always took her mother forever to explain anything. “What did the courier drop off?”
    “Papers saying that the house has been paid off.” Karina stopped dead in her tracks. “I’m holding the deed to the house in my hands right now. Or at least a copy of it. Apparently it’s been filed somewhere for safekeeping.”
    “Oh god,” Karina whispered.
    “I know, right!” her mother exclaimed. “And that’s not all. There’s even statements in here showing that all the hospital bills have been paid in full.”
    Karina stumbled over to some nearby steps and fell down onto them.
    “You know what this mean, sweetie, don’t you?” her mom asked.
    “Yes,” Karina managed to say.
    “It means we aren’t losing the house! You could move back home if you wanted to. You could finally afford to go back to school.”
    Her mother was so happy, so relieved , and Karina didn’t want to be the one to take that away from her, no matter the cost.
    “That’s great news, Mom. I’ll, uh, I’ll have to get back to you about moving back in or not.”
    “Okay sweetie. Your dad wants to go celebrate. Talk to you soon. Oh, honey, our prayers have been answered!”
    “Yes, Mom, they have.”
    Karina hung up the phone knowing that those prayers had been answered because she’d made a deal with the devil.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The Devil Collects
     
     
    Karina slowly made her way back home, wondering how long it would be before she heard from Damien. (Probably not long, judging by how quickly he took care of the house and bills.) She walked in to find Ginny sprawled out on the couch, a water bottle and bag of chips nearby. Karina saw this as a good sign, as Ginny was never very talkative when she was hungover.
    “Someone dropped a package off for you,” Ginny said without even looking up from the TV. “It’s over on the counter.”
    The manila envelope stood out ominously against the blue linoleum. Karina imagined it looked just like the one that had been delivered to her parents today. She tore it open and slid out copies of the same documents her mother had received, but this pack had a handwritten note paper-clipped to it.
    Karina,
    As per your request, here is confirmation that your parents’ debt has been taken care of. I am sending a car at 11 a.m. tomorrow to pick you up; please be ready by then.