Ms. Devilla

Chapter 4

sorry for any errorsss!

#

"The reservation is under Ms. Devila's name. It's two separate bedrooms but joint." I stand behind Rex as he spoke to the receptionist. The flight was peaceful, there's nothing like sleeping in a warm bed, almost 40,000 feet in the air.

I had switched the heels for some comfy sneakers that Rex brought along, and struggled to stay awake in my cotton hoodie.

The hotel was quiet and I expected nothing less at 2 am.

"Let's go." I jolt as he takes my hand in his, as if I was a child. He shakes his head at me, and leads me to my room. "Get some rest, tomorrow we have a busy day."

"I thought I just had the conference thingy." I mutter and he tilts his head at me.

"Do you know what you're going to tell these people?"

"N-No."

"Exactly. Tomorrow we're going to head to a nice café, and spend the day there, figuring out your speech." I groan and he pats my head before unlocking my door.

"Goodnight, Ms Devila."

"Night Rex."

I stumble into the suite, and flip on the lights.

The bed looked so comfy. I sigh happily as I plop onto it, the soft pillows and vanilla scented sheets welcoming me as I fought not to fall asleep with my sneakers on.

"Damn it." I sit up groggily, peeling off my shoes and socks, and removing my phone from my pockets. I noticed a strange number and my heart skipped a beat at the possibility that it was Trevor.

However, all I wanted to do was submerge myself in the bed that was awaiting me, and disappear into dreamland. So stripping down to my bra and panties, that's exactly what I did.

#

I wish I could wake up here everyday.

Maybe it was the Vanilla, but I felt like I was floating. The A/C was on full blast, even as I cowered under the covers. This was what you call heaven.

Rex hadn't even woken up yet, that's how great these beds we-

"Ms. Devila," I lift my head to find Rex fully dressed and ready. "It's time to get up."

"Seriously Rex?" I groan loudly, slamming my head into the pillow.

"Can I just sleep a little longer?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Can we at least stay here for the day? It's nice and I don't want to go outside."

He's quiet for a moment.

"Okay, I will go get the food. Please be up and ready by the time I get back."

I smile into the pillows, raising my hand to show him a thumbs up. The door shuts and I sigh contently, snuggling into the feather filled cushions, that carried me in my sleep.

I was almsot to dreamland, I could already see the chocolate river, and the singing unicorns on the other side of my mind, but ice cold water comes pouring down my back.

I scream, rolling off the bed. Rex stands above me with a bucket and a neutral expression. He stares at me, then at the bucket, then at me again, before dumping the rest of the water on me.

"Rex!"

"Don't worry, room service will take care of it. I will see you in a bit, Ms. Devila." He nods at me, before leaving with his ugly red bucket.

Well, I was surely up now.

I stand, grumpily stomping to the shower, and least he tried to avoid my hair.

I tap the option for hot water, and peel off the wet undergarments from my body. I step into the shower and turn the tap.

The steam fogged up the glass, and I smile, writing my name in the mist.

In the distance, I hear my phone ringing so I quickly grab my towel, running back into the room.

It was the strange number again.

I hold my breath before picking up.

"This is Ms. Devila."

"Ocean."

"Mom?"

"Hi sweetie," I was speechless, as I sit slowly on the dry part of the bed.

"Uh, Hi."

"How are you?"

"I-I I'm . . . I'm great actually, how are you?"

"I'm good . . . you know when I saw you at the event I was so surprised, you've grown so much."

"Yeah, that's what happens when time passes Mom, people grow."

"Do you hate me?" She blurts out and I look down at my feet.

"I don't hate you." I reply, shaking my head as if she could see me. "But dad hates me."

"He doesn't hate you, Ocean, he's just bitter right now but he'll come around. You're his daughter."

"I don't think so. None of you reached out to me within those eight years, it was merely a coincidence that we met. "

"I wanted to call you." She whispers.

"So why didn't you?"

"I . . . I . . " She sigh, "I don't know."

"Well, I can't know for you Mom."

"I'd like to see you again, I'd like to fix things."

Fix things?

"I'm actually out of the country right now. Business related."

"Oh . . . well when will you be back?" Squeezing my eyes shut, I find myself shaking my head again.

"Truth is, I've recently came out of a really bad space . . . and I've just started to live my life happily and move on. Rekindling things with you, will reopen old wounds that I'm just not ready to yet."

"I understand." She says softly. "I love you."

"Goodbye Mom." I hang up the phone and stare at it for a moment before my shoulders slumped.

"I've got the food." Rex returns right on time, and I sigh at the fresh smell of pancakes.

"Chocolate chip?"

"And nothing less." I grin at him as he hands me the bag. He had one for him also, but his consisted of French toast and some bacon, that was it.

I however, had bacon, scrambled eggs, chocolate chip pancakes, a honey glazed croissant, and of course some fruits. No matter the meal, Rex always ensured that he includes fruits somewhere in it.

"Orange juice or Apple?"

"Orange."

He hands me a bottle and we sat by the window on the cute table.

"What's it like out there?"

Rex shrugs.

"Snowy."

I give him a flat look and he flips open his newspaper.

How cliche.

"Can you call me something other than Ms. Devila?"

"I don't like Ocean." He says and I nod.

"I know. But an you at least call me something else? Best friends don't usually call each other so formerly."

He stays quiet, flipping through he pages and I thought he was ignoring me.

"Bug."

"Huh?"

"I will call you bug."

I scrunch up my face at him.

"Bug? Why?"

"Because you're annoying, like a bug."

I throw a piece of bacon at him, and the corner of his lips lift.

"Whatever, I like it." I say matter-of-factly.

"Great, because you're stuck with it."

#

"How hard could this possibly be? You're a therapist!"

I let out a loud constipated noise as Rex continued to hassle me.

"I just don't know what to write! Like what do they want from me?!"

"All they want to know, is how you made it this far."

"Well great, I'll just tell them that me ex-boyfriend bought me a business building and practically handed me all my clients."

Rex lets out a frustrated noise before rubbing his face.

"Yes, Trevor had a part to play in it, but don't forget that you have over 12 awards and you've only been doing this for a year."

"Trevor probably threatened them."

"Write something ladybug." He says blandly.

"Ladybug?" I perch up. "I like it."

"Write!"

"Okay okay, I'm writing, Jeez."

Hi, my name is Ocean Devila and I'm the owner of my very own psychological practice. I stared a year ago after I graduated from University, and thankfully it was pretty much up from there . . ."

#

"-But you don't want to hear about my successes, do you?" I ask the crowd, "I wanted to become a therapist because I knew what it felt like to feel trapped in your own mind. I knew what it felt like to feel . . . misunderstood, and alone. I knew what it felt like to have no one around to help you. I was an abuse victim for years, and nobody really knew. I didn't know where to find help. Family had failed me . . .the justice system had failed me, and I was failing myself. In those years of abuse I had endured so much I couldn't possibly be okay . . . and I guess it was somewhere between those lines that I realized that If there was something I could do for others, so they wouldn't feel imprisoned in their own minds."

"So who helped you?" Someone yelled from the crowd, and I tilt my head.

"Excuse me?"

"You said, Family failed you, the justice system failed you, and you were failing yourself. So who saved you?"

"Oh . . . " I felt hot at the question, my eyes desperately trying to find Rex. When I did, he was imitating deep breaths. " A friend . . . A friend did."

"Okay . . " The host returned from the shadows, and all I heard were a few dry, scattered claps from around the room. "Let's give a round of applause for Ms. Ocean Devila everyone."

And the dry, scattered claps return. As soon as I arrive at the descending steps, Rex was at my side to help me down.

"That was a terrible speech." I sigh.

"No it wasn't, these people are just assholes."

I frown, staring at my shoes as we walk back to our seats, and Rex stops the both of us.

"Hey, do not do that," I resist the urge to cry from embarrassment, "Stop it right now," he grabs the handkerchief from his pocket, and dapped it lightly under my eyes.

I felt pathetic.

Thankfully everyone's attention was focused on the other person who now had the spotlight.

"You're going to let them see you cry? And for what? You are Ocean Devila, the best therapist I've ever know, and literally the best human ever. Suck it up, because you don't need approval or validation from anyone, you delivered a great speech, and if those asshats didn't see that, then that's on them. What did they expect you to say anyway, their dumbasses gave each speaker five minutes!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his facial expressions.

"Thank you." I say quietly and he nods.

"Sadly, since you are the main guest of honor, we have to stay the remainder of the night." I nod understandingly, and sit as he pulls out my chair for me.

When we got here, we had to go through a bunch of people wanting to get my picture taken. It wasn't that I was really popular or anything, but some people still saw me as Trevor's ex, even all the way in Canada.

The venue was a bit bland and boring for my taste, with basic colors like black and blue. I could see the tap hanging from the spotlight light.

"Next up," the host was a beautiful woman around my complexion. She had box braids in, and wore a long black dress.

I loved dress with slits, which was why I had on a goldish long evening off the shoulder dress, with a high front slit.

I felt beautiful.

I took a glance around the room, and noticed that everyone her was quite young, I was probably the oldest.

Well, except for the man sitting across my room, staring at me.

I squint my eyes at him, he looked familiar but the lights were too dim.

"Please welcome to the stage,"

I watched as his lips lift into a little smirk, and I furrow my eyebrows confused.

I wasn't until I made out his eyes that everything inside me froze.

Trevor?

"Ms. Carina Delaruso!"