Free My Demon by Lisa Hinsley

the tears. Alex prayed for the lady to turn away, begged whomever might be listening—her God, any god—that she wouldn’t be dragged into a conversation. Alex hung her head, and examined the cracks in the pavement as she shuffled towards the doors.
    Alex flashed her bus pass, and pushed through the standing passengers. She took the steep stairs up to the top floor two at a time, and sighed in relief at all the unfilled seats. The front row on the left side of the bus was unoccupied. Alex hurried there, and sat down. She pressed her body against the wall, her bag hugged to her chest.
    “You look so sad, Alex. Cheer up, it’s not all bad.” Clive snuggled up next to her, and placed one of his extra warm hands on her knee.
    She ignored the demon, feeling depressed, confused and angry all rolled into one.
    He studied her for a while. She caught glimpses of him in the corner of her eye. His seemingly permanent smile faded until his expression mirrored her emotions. Maybe some of her sadness passed through to him, as he pulled back his hand and joined her in watching the streets as they rushed past.
    When they neared the stop Alex needed, she finally broke her silence, not caring who might be listening in the seats around her. “All those lives.” Alex indicated to the people milling about on the pavement as the bus drove by. “People living decent normal lives, like her, the one with the kid in a pram.” Demon and human watched a young Mum as she waited by a pedestrian crossing. The bus moved on, and they passed from view. “I see normality slipping away. It’s like sand escaping between my fingers. I don’t know what’s real anymore,” she whispered, her voice almost soundless. Clive followed the movement of her lips, not answering.
    Alex’s stop came into view, and she got up to leave. The man sat on the seat behind her gawked, his expression vaguely repulsed. She guessed he’d heard some of her one-sided conversation. She gazed wide-eyed, at him, until he turned towards the window. “This is my life now, stare management,” she told Clive as she descended the stairs and jumped out of the bus. The doors closed with a wheezy gush, and Alex made her way to town.

Chapter Five
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
    B ecky was waiting outside the post office. “Where the hell did you spring from? And what time do you call this?” Becky tapped abjectly on her watch for effect.
    “I’m so sorry.” Alex stared down at her feet. “It’s been a horrible day.” Alex leaned against the wall alongside Becky. “Can I bum a butt?”
    Bec retrieved a crumpled pack of Silk Cut from her handbag, and tapped out a couple of fags. “Here.” Becky offered one to Alex before flipping hers deftly into her mouth, producing a lighter almost in the same instance. Seconds later they both stood there puffing away. “Since when do you smoke without a pint in your hand and a pub seat attached to your bum?”
    “Since my world shifted ten degrees to the left.” Alex dragged deeply on the cigarette. The nicotine flooded her system, numbing the end of her nose and her cheeks.
    “What happened to the jolly, I fucked my man in the cinema, Alex I heard on the phone earlier?”
    Alex turned to Becky. She didn’t say anything at first, her face screwed up in a frown. The nicotine headed for her stomach, causing a mild attack of nausea. She held the half-smoked butt out, rolling the filter between her fingers, watching the red glow disappear under a growing head of ash. “Do I seem different lately?”
    Becky glanced back over, fag hanging between her lips. Smoke flooded out of her nostrils and hid her face for a brief moment. “You’ve been a bit down in the mouth. Who can blame you? You’ve been looking after your drunken mother since you were, what? Nine years old?”
    A bus lurched around the corner and past them. Alex exhaled. The smoke wafted through the air and faded into nothingness.
    “Oi, I’m the one who’s supposed to need