Her Witch, Her Demon [WxW]
8. The Breakup

The bright colors of the oil paint dripped over the canvas. Meredith sighed heavily, then took a few steps back to admire her newest piece. It had taken her about forty hours to finish this painting. Nyx stared right back at her with lovely hazel eyes. A small smirk at the corner of her lips revealed that small dimple on her cheek.

Meredith hoped that painting Nyx would banish the demon from her thoughts. But it only made things worse. She was all she could think about ever since that disastrous dinner.

Her phone rang for the sixth time today. Again, she refused to pick up Nyx’s call. The same had happened yesterday, and the day before. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to the woman.

It rang a seventh time, and Meredith just stared at the phone, at war with herself. Should she talk to Nyx? Nyx must be so worried about her. No. She had to stay away from the demon.

That would certainly hurt Nyx. But it was for the best. She wanted to block the number, however, each time she was this close to doing it, she lost her nerve.

She didn’t want to lose Nyx. She didn’t want to lose her family either.

God, what was she doing? Was she being selfish? Was she…

“You’ve been ignoring me.”

What the fuck. She almost yelped in shock as she spun around. Nyx stared right back at her, with a blank expression Meredith couldn’t decipher.

“Nyx,” she gasped. She almost threw herself into the arms of the demon, but then suddenly recalled that she was supposed to be staying away from her. She forced a scowl and folded her arms. “You can’t just teleport into my house. What if someone saw you?”

“I would have called to ask first.” Nyx shrugged. “But you aren’t picking up my calls.”

Meredith bit her lips, a pang of guilt pricking her conscience. The breakup speech she’d rehearsed over and over eluded her. Now that the woman herself was in her room, Meredith just froze.

Nyx came closer. Meredith wanted to move. But she was so transfixed by the goddess before her that she couldn’t move an inch. And now she was absolutely certain that she couldn’t possibly stay away from Nyx. It was too hard, too painful. Her heart ached from the mere thought of it.

Nyx completely bridged the gap between them and now they were merely inches away from each other. “What’s going on, Meredith?”

Meredith took a deep breath, willing herself to get her act together. The words weighed on her tongue, yet she had no choice but to spill them. “We can’t see each other anymore, Nyx.”

Of all the things she expected Nyx to do or say, being absolutely calm and silent wasn’t what Meredith had in mind. Yet, such a reaction was so Nyx.

Meredith whispered, “Please say something.”

“Is this what you want? Or is it what your parents want?” Nyx finally broke the silence.

“It doesn’t matter. You and I… we can’t be together, Nyx. You’re a demon.”

“You already knew I was a demon.”

“Well, I didn’t know you were a homicidal maniac.” The words just flew out of Meredith’s mouth before she could stop herself.

A mixture of hurt and pain flashed in Nyx’s hazel eyes. Shit. Meredith hardened her heart to keep herself from taking back her words. This was the only way to end things. Maybe if she got the demon to hate her, it would be painless for both of them.

“I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Meredith scoffed. “I can’t believe I was ready to look past your evil nature.”

“If your aim is to push me away with your words, Meredith, know that you’re failing.”

Meredith’s body tensed, her face flushed with heat as Nyx grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into her strong arms. Then Nyx took her lips hungrily and in that instant, every single thought Meredith had flew right out of her head. She lost herself in the kiss. Meredith moaned into Nyx’s mouth, running her hands over Nyx’s face.

Oh shit. Things were running out of hand. This wasn’t what she had in mind. She needed to stop this. But her body had a mind of its own and completely ignored her warning. Thankfully, Nyx broke the kiss. She felt empty without the warmth of Nyx’s lips on hers.

“I know you still want me, Meredith. I can hear your heartbeat.”

Then Nyx froze for a moment, suddenly interested in something behind Meredith. Oh, no. It was the painting.

Nyx’s eyes lit up, revealing her adorable little dimple that made Meredith’s heart do backflips.

“Wow, this is amazing,” she said, getting closer to the painting. After a moment of admiring the art, she looked at Meredith with a smirk. “Is this your breakup gift?”

Meredith’s ears burned in embarrassment. “Are you going to take this seriously?”

“I am serious, Meredith.”

Meredith paused. How the hell should she make this less awkward? “Look, I was bored okay.”

“Sure.” Nyx smiled, then turned to the painting. “You’re so talented, Meredith. You got all my features right.”

Meredith blushed despite herself.

“You know,” said Nyx, “I have something to show you too. Do you want to come with me?” The demon stretched her hand, but Meredith refused to take it. Instead, she walked to a short cabinet huddled in the corner of the studio and took out the first and only gift Nyx had given her. She shoved the platinum bracelet into Nyx’s palm.

That wiped the smile off Nyx’s face. “It’s yours.”

“Not anymore,” said Meredith. “I already told you. We can no longer be together.”

Nyx took Meredith’s hand. “Do you really mean that?”

No, she did not. “Yes.” Meredith nodded, hoping that her words didn’t betray her feelings. “If you care about me, you’ll stay away from me before I get hurt.”

“I’ll never hurt you.”

“I know,” Meredith whispered. “But the Durug-”

“I won’t let them hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Meredith.”

“This isn’t just about me, Nyx. My family… you can’t protect us all. They don’t want your protection.” It came out harsher than she had intended. Then in a softer tone, she added in resignation, “Just forget about me. Okay?”

“You know I can’t just do that. The fated bond-”

“Wow… are you trying to use that shit to manipulate my feelings for you?” She pulled her hand out of Nyx’s grip.

Nyx narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“Just leave, Nyx. I don’t want to see you again.”

Nyx stood there speechless for a long time. Meredith thought the demon would say something. But instead, she disappeared into thin air leaving Meredith all alone in her large lonely studio.

Meredith’s shoulders shook as the tears overwhelmed her. At least, she had made her choice.

“Ix sor lin ah do-”

“Stop, stop, M. You got it wrong again.”

Alicia raised a brow, giving Meredith one of those questioning looks that often made Meredith want to spill her innermost secrets. Meredith sighed heavily and shut the fat book of spells.

They’d been practicing a transmutation spell for the past two hours but as much as Meredith tried, the water wasn’t turning into wine. Well, it did change into a rock, one time. But that was because she had messed up the spell. But Alicia had been patient with her all this time.

Ever since her last encounter with the vampire at the Union, Alicia had taken it upon herself to get Meredith up to speed with magic. Of course, Meredith’s parents had taught her some spells as a child. But at fifteen years old, she completely lost interest in magic and got more intrigued by art. As far as magic went, the only spell Meredith was most adept with was a transformation spell that could make her drawings real, although for only a short period. Then there was that attack spell her dad had taught her. Ironically, it was the same spell that she had used to fight off the Jet at the Union.

She tried casting the spell again. But her vital energy suddenly lost its vitality and the water in the silver chalice spurted forth like a fountain, spilling all over her face.

“Shit, M…” Alicia took a napkin and handed it to Meredith before sitting by her side. “Hey, what’s wrong? You haven’t been yourself lately. Did something happen?”

A long pause ensued. “I broke up with Nyx.”

“What?” Alicia gaped. “Oh, M, are you okay? What happened?”

Meredith clenched her jaws, trying her best not to break down in tears right there and then. She’d been dreading to tell Alicia about the breakup for the past week. Alicia really liked Meredith and Nyx together and she hadn’t badmouthed Nyx once, unlike how she used to talk shit about Meredith’s last boyfriend. In Alicia’s defense, Jeffrey was a jerk and didn’t deserve Meredith.

“Wait…” Alicia raised her hand. “The dinner… did it not go well with your parents?”

Meredith nodded. She had only told her best friend that her parents wanted to meet Nyx, however, after that disaster, she didn’t tell Alicia what happened. She’d been too busy crying for a week.

“Fuck. Do they know she’s a demon?”

Meredith nodded. “And it gets worse.”

Then Meredith told Alicia everything.

“All those things she did,” her voice cracked a little, “I can’t believe I was ready to trust that Nyx was an innocent demon who won’t hurt anyone.” Meredith laughed without mirth. “There’s no such as an innocent demon.”

“Come on, M. Are you seriously mad at Nyx for destroying the Durug? They’re fucking evil.”

“But they’re demons, just like Nyx. If she’s killing her fellow demons, what do you think she’ll do to witches? To me?”

“Are you fucking serious?” Alicia raised her brows, her eyes getting even bluer. Okay, why was she getting angry at her? Alicia was her best friend. She was supposed to be on her side. Why was she taking Nyx’s side? “Nyx would never hurt you.”

“You don’t know that,” Meredith said. “She almost killed everyone during the meeting with the Demon Circle.”

“Look, your parents already don’t like her. Maybe they made that story about her.”

“No, they didn’t. Nyx was there when they said it. I asked her about it and she didn’t deny it.”

Alicia sighed. “We both know Nyx doesn’t give a shit about people’s opinions. But okay… maybe your parents are right. Maybe Nyx got bloodthirsty and almost killed everyone. But she didn’t. Right?”

“Ali, why are you defending her? She’s a terrible person.”

“Do you even believe that?” The silence was deafening. When Meredith couldn’t answer such a simple question, Alicia added, “Sure, I’m not naive to think that Nyx is a poor blameless soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly. I know what she is. She’s vicious and I saw it…” Alicia stopped herself suddenly.

“What?” Meredith narrowed her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter,” Alicia said quickly, rubbing her forehead. Her friend was hiding something. What did she see? “My point is that Nyx is powerful and she knows it,” Alicia changed the subject smoothly. “She’s not afraid of anything, and with her power, she can easily destroy Green Front. But what has she done instead? She built a safe space for all supernaturals. She wants everyone to get along. And she only retaliates when she’s provoked. Didn’t she save you from that asshole vampire?”

Of course, Meredith knew all that. But if she thought rationally, how could she bring herself to hate Nyx?

“None of that matters,” said Meredith.

“You sure about that? Do you really want to break up with her?”

This was a question she had been asking herself all week. Ever since their breakup, Nyx hadn’t called her once. It took everything in Meredith to not call her back. She thought this would be easier. They’d only been dating for about two months. She thought it would be easier to forget about her but she couldn’t have been more wrong. She just couldn’t get the demon out of her heart.

This was by far her most serious relationship, even if it was the shortest one yet. Nyx was also by far the best person she had dated. But being a demon made her the worst person in the eyes of her parents.

So no, she didn’t want to break up with Nyx. “I love Nyx,” said Meredith, finally admitting out loud her true feelings for the demon. “But I don’t want to lose my parents.”

“I get it.” Alicia nodded slowly. “But you’re a grown woman and you get to decide who to be with. Not your parents. I know they’re trying to look out for you. But in the end, you make your own choices. If Nyx is who you want, then don’t let her go.”

“Ali, I broke up with her. I don’t think she wants anything to do with me anymore.”

Alicia chuckled. “Do you have no idea how smitten that woman is by you?”

Meredith paused for a moment. The fated bond. Well, now that they’d broken up, the bond will break, right? Nyx would be fine. She would find someone else, someone who could make her happy. Someone who wouldn’t judge her because she was a demon.

Meredith’s heart ached at the mere thought of someone else getting Nyx’s attention and love. What the hell was wrong with her? Why was she the one moping? She was the one who broke up with Nyx.

Meredith sighed. “It’s best we forget about each other.” Even she didn’t believe herself. Alicia looked like she wanted to say something, but she shut her mouth and nodded. “I’m starving. I’m going to heat up the pizza. Do you want some?”

“Sure.” Alicia nodded.

Just as Meredith stood up, an earth-shattering migraine threatened to explode her brain. She screamed in terror, the world spinning under her feet.

“Meredith.” Alicia caught her before she could fall. “M, what’s wrong?”

But Meredith was in too much agony to form a coherent sentence. She caved to her knees, trembling in fervor. Her head throbbed, but thankfully, the migraine subsided when she instantly found herself no longer in Alicia’s room, but in a massive bedroom. She recognized the room; it was Nyx’s bedroom. And in that massive king-sized bed was Nyx, curled up like a ball, groaning in agony. Her whole body was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“Nyx?” Meredith called out loud. But Nyx didn’t seem to hear her. Even when Nyx turned around, her midnight eyes boring into Meredith’s, it seemed she didn’t see the witch in her room either.

Meredith tried to run to her but found herself zapped out of the room, and back into her own body. Alicia was frantically calling out her name, her eyes dark with concern.

“Ali,” she whispered.

“M,” Alicia sighed in relief. “What happened? You passed out.”

“I did?”

“God, I was so worried. What happened to you?”

“I…I don’t know.” This had never happened before. It seemed only her mind had traveled to Nyx’s room. Or was it a vision? She had no idea. But she was absolutely certain that it had everything to do with the fated bond.

Was it really over between her and Nyx?

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