The back office was quiet except for Mary's soft, even breathing.
She had cried herself empty and fallen asleep against his chest twenty minutes ago, curled small beneath the thin blanket he had tucked around her naked body.
Her head rested on the pillow he had found in a locker, one arm flung over the edge of the couch, her fingers still loosely curled as though she had been holding his hand even in sleep.
The couch, her bed for the last couple of years, was completely clean now, the succubus's magic having wiped away every trace of sweat, tears, and the thick rivers of cum that had leaked from her for hours.
Mary looked peaceful, younger, the lines of exhaustion around her eyes softened for the first time in forever. Only the faint, lingering scent of sex and the soft ache between her thighs would remind her tomorrow that it had all been real.
Alex stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching her chest rise and fall.
Then he pulled on his jeans and hoodie, slipped barefoot into the main store, and checked the clock above the register.
22:51.
Four hours since he had first walked in at 19:07 with a fake "I forgot my wallet" and a pounding heart.
His two bags of groceries were still on the counter.
He opened the register, slid in a $20 bill, exactly what he had on him in total, and closed it quietly.
The front lights were on low security mode.
The door was locked, Liza's doing. It was impressive that she could use telekinesis even through his body.
She had managed to lock all the doors using nothing but her mind.
The second he turned the key and pushed it open, cold night air slapped him in the face.
But he didn't have time to enjoy the breeze.
"Huh?"
Someone was sitting on the cold concrete step just outside, knees drawn to her chest, an oversized black hoodie pulled up so far that only the lower half of a pale face showed.
A girl.
Oversized black hoodie, hood up, sleeves swallowing her hands.
Tiny denim shorts riding so high that the bottom curve of a plump, perfectly rounded ass cheek peeked out every time she shifted.
Long, smooth legs folded up to her chest, pale thighs marked with fading yellow bruises and fresh purple fingerprints that looked suspiciously like someone had squeezed too hard.
She didn't look up when the door opened.
Perhaps she was too lost in her thoughts.
Alex paused, his hand still on the handle. At first, he thought she was just a runaway girl.
"Hey," he said softly. "Store's closing soon, but are you okay out here? It's cold."
The figure tensed.
Then a low, rough, furious voice snapped back at him. From the sound of it, it was obviously a girl.
"Fuck off."
Alex didn't move.
"I'm serious. It's almost eleven. You shouldn't be sitting on wet concrete in shorts."
The hood shifted.
Golden eyes glared out from the shadows, sharper and angrier than they should have been, rimmed red as though she had been crying or hadn't slept in days.
She shot back to her feet, slapping dust off her shorts and making her big buttocks jiggle.
"I said fuck off, creep. What are you even doing in there? The door's been locked for hours..."
Alex kept his voice calm.
"I was talking to the owner. She fell asleep. I didn't want to wake her."
The girl barked out a humorless laugh.
"Talking. Right."
She sniffed the air, and her face twisted.
"You reek of sex. You think I'm stupid? She's turning into a prostitute now, huh?"
Alex's brows furrowed.
A random person insulting his woman and calling her a whore wouldn't normally just slide off him.
But his senses told him to back off.
She shifted her feet, her hoodie falling back a little and revealing messy honey-brown hair and a face that looked like Mary twenty years younger.
The same cheeks.
The same full mouth.
The same golden eyes, now burning with dullness and exhaustion.
A bunch of bruises and marks covered that beautiful face.
"Get the hell away from me," she hissed, backing up a step. "I'm the owner's daughter, Ash. I'm sure she ran her mouth talking about me. That useless woman always brought misery whenever she puts her hand..."
Her voice cracked on the last word.
Alex's stomach dropped.
Ash.
The name Mary had whispered through tears an hour ago.
Ash, who hated her.
Ash, who still lived here because there was nowhere else to go.
Ash, who had turned the staff room into her bedroom, living in the store she hated.
"Hey, don't talk about her like that."
Alex placed a hand on Ash's shoulder.
She was tense as a coiled spring, vibrating beneath his palm like a stray cat deciding whether to bite or bolt.
"It's none of your business, creep... You wouldn't understand shit. You hit the jackpot fucking that whore. Go ahead, steal all her money now. She deserves it."
She tried to shove his arm away, but couldn't move it an inch. He was too strong.
"What's going on with you? Do you need help?"
Although she was acting like a bratty kid, Alex couldn't help becoming tense. He could see the bruises covering her face.
Fresh bruises bloomed across her collarbone where the hoodie had slipped.
Cigarette burns marked her thigh.
Someone had hurt her badly, and only recently.
'She's getting heavily bullied. I mean... I don't usually care about human emotions, but even I can see this one is drowning. Poor thing has been alone for a long time.'
The succubus commented.
As a hell creature, she usually stayed silent whenever a strong human emotional interaction happened. But anyone using common sense could see that Ash, Mary's daughter, needed saving.
"I don't need your fucking help! Just keep yourself away from our life."
She couldn't push his arm away. He was too strong, and she was too weak.
So she twisted, slid her body down and away like a feral animal, and bolted inside.
Past him.
Her shoulder slammed the door open, her hoodie flapping as she sprinted through the store.
If she stayed one more second, either she would have cried in his arms or punched him in the face.
He caught one last glimpse of her perfect ass bouncing in those tiny shorts before she disappeared behind the counter and opened the door next to the manager's desk, the one leading to Mary's room.
The flimsy plywood door to the staff room slammed shut.
Silence.
Then came the unmistakable sound of something heavy hitting the wall.
Once.
Twice.
Followed by a single, gut-wrenching sob that was quickly muffled, probably into a pillow.
He could hear all those small noises now that the succubus had enhanced his senses.
"Huh..."
Alex stood frozen in front of the store, his heart hammering.
A memory hit him.
The hoodie.
The height.
The gaze in her eyes.
"The rooftop of the humanities building... It's her, right?"
Alex had his suspicion confirmed by Liza.
'Yeah, seems like her. Same figure.'
The rooftop, a couple of days ago.
A person in that exact oversized black hoodie had been standing on the ledge, toes hanging over the edge.
He didn't say it.
He didn't dare.
Instead, he looked down at both hands, his palms open.
He had to do something to change everything.
Silence roamed through the empty street.
Mary asleep on the couch, finally at peace.
Ash sleepless as she curled up in her bed, her body aching from bruises.
And him in the middle, the accidental bridge between a mother who had never been allowed to heal and a daughter who had never been allowed to be a child.
He closed the door softly, turned the sign back to CLOSED, and leaned his forehead against the cool glass.
Liza's voice drifted through his mind, quiet and almost gentle.
'You just inherited a family~. Two broken pieces that don't know how to fit together yet. Seems fun to get into. Good luck!'
Alex exhaled, watching his breath fog the glass.
"Yeah," he whispered to the empty store. "Good luck."