The Demon King's Sweetheart

Anna’s heart was racing, her body was covered with sweat, and her chest rose up and down deeply as she tried to fill her lungs with the air that they were crying for.

She had just come from soccer practice, and again, the coach had made them work their butts off. Her legs were sore, and she had a small scrape on her knee from when she fell when she tried to score a goal, which she had missed.

“Just like Ms. Summers to make us practice for an hour more,” her best friend, Gill, complained as she ran her hand through her sweat-drenched hair.

Both of them were heading toward the school locker room so they could shower. They had a head start because as soon as practice ended, they were out of there.

“We don’t even have a game this month!” Anna replied, agreeing that they were being overworked.

Gill chuckled in response and watched the basketball team as they walked past them, especially their captain, Josh Hanson.

He was to die for, drop-dead handsome, and Anna didn’t know how long she had had a crush on him, but she did know it must have been longer than forever!

“Hey,” Josh said to her as he nodded in a flirty way.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed. The guy had just freaking talked to her!

“Hi,” her voice came out weird and squeaky, and she mentally smacked her head.

Josh smiled as he continued walking with his teammates. He then turned his attention away from her, and she was finally able to breathe normally.

“I can’t believe that the first time that Josh talks to me is when I’m all sweaty, dirty, and look like a wreck,” Anna complained to Gill as she rolled her eyes playfully.

“He talks to you all the time,” Gill reminded her, earning a shrug.

“Yeah, but not in that sexy tone he just used,” she argued back, causing her best friend to laugh.

As soon as they reached the locker room, she heard someone call her name, and she looked toward the source. It was her gym teacher, Mr. Litt. He had a very serious expression on his face as he approached them.

“Anna, the principal wants to see you right now,” he informed the girl.

She wagged her head as to say no. “It can’t be right now. I smell like I just went for a swim in a toilet. Let me take a shower, and I will be much more presentable,” she told him, but he did not look pleased by her reply.

“Right now,” he said in a very serious tone.

Anna’s heart dropped. Shit, Mr. Litt was never this serious. This had to be very important.

She turned to Gill and said, “You can go ahead. I will be back in a minute.”

Anna hoped this meeting with the principal was not going to take more than thirty minutes; she had things to do. Her mom was supposed to pick her up in an hour so they could go shopping.

Her birthday was in two days, and they were going to be celebrating it in grand style!

They did not get to celebrate her birthday last year because it was the same day that her dad lost his job. It was one of the worst days of their lives as a family. Thinking about that day made a shiver run down her spine.

Gill nodded in response as she smiled.

Anna watched her best friend walk away as she entered the locker room. She then began to walk in the opposite direction as she followed her gym teacher. His strides were long and purposeful.

He led her through the hallway, where students chattered amongst themselves because it was a free period.

“In here,” Mr. Litt opened one of the classroom doors and gestured for Anna to enter.

“Um…this isn’t the principal’s office,” she told him what she already felt like he knew.

“Please,” he begged her to enter.

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion and nervousness as she reluctantly agreed and finally entered the empty classroom.

He walked in after her and closed the door once he was inside.

“Is everything okay?” she asked her gym teacher.

The guy rubbed his clean-shaven face with his hand in one swift motion and breathed out a heavy sigh.

Anna could tell that something was disturbing him, and that nagged at her anxiety.

He lived next door to her family, and they had known him for years. He and his wife even ate at their house on holidays.

He walked toward the front row of chairs in the classroom and pulled one of them until he put it behind the door.

Now Anna was beyond worried. What the hell was going on?

“Please sit,” Mr. Litt gestured toward the multiple empty chairs while he sat in the one he had dragged behind the door to keep it shut.

“I don’t want to sit. I need to know what is going on. This is certainly not the principal’s office, and you look like you have seen a ghost,” she said to him firmly.

The man chuckled dryly as a tear escaped his eye. “Please sit…please,” he begged her.

Anna finally gave in to him. Her heart was beating so fast, and her emotions were out of control.

She walked toward one of the empty chairs and sat down. She watched Mr. Litt, waiting for him to tell her what was going on.

“I-I…” he stuttered as his voice broke. His eyes were red, and he sniffled every five seconds.

It was clear to Anna that something was seriously wrong, and Mr. Litt was finding it hard to tell her. “You’re scaring me,” she said to him honestly.

“I’m so sorry, I am so, so sorry,” he cried softly, not able to reign his emotions.

Anna stood to her feet and walked toward him so she could comfort him. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.” She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. Seeing him this vulnerable made her heart hurt.

“It’s your mom,” Mr. Litt sniffled loudly as he broke the hug.

“What about her?” Anna asked him. Her breath was shaky, and she felt like her heart was going to escape her chest because of how hard it had started to beat.

Her gym teacher stood to his feet and exhaled deeply.

“What about my mom?!” Anna raised her voice, causing the guy to flinch.

“She was just involved in a car accident and lost her life.”

His words hit her like a train moving at full speed.

She watched his mouth move as he said more, but she could not hear a single thing. All her senses were now on full alert, and it felt like she could feel everything at once. For a moment, it felt like she was the only person in the world as so many emotions hit her at once.

“No,” Anna laughed without humor, and when he tried to reach out to her, she pulled away. All the sounds returned to her world, and she waited for him to say something.

She waited for him to tell her that it was a prank. But no, it was not.

“Anna…” he said her name in a soft tone as he tried to reach for her again.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” she yelled, and that was all it took to break the dam. Tears began to flow from her eyes freely, and her heart felt like it had been stabbed deeply with a kitchen knife.