Julia Lelieveld and the battle with the underworld

What I was worried about now was how on earth was I supposed to get to the ball? Dad wasn’t there and Renzo only rode a motorbike and I didn’t quite like riding the bike with my beautiful expensive dress. But hey, what was I worried about? It probably wouldn’t get that far at all. For today was Saturday and I had reached my ultimatum of Evil. He would come today to persuade me to go to the underworld anyway and I was dead. I was so very scared. And the worst for the others. What if he hurt someone else? I didn’t think I’d say it, but I was glad Dad wasn’t there. At least he was safe on the other side of the country.

The shivers ran down my spine. I tried not to think about it too much, but it was very difficult. I kept thinking about Evil. Fortunately, Hannah was back to normal. I was shocked when he took her over. The father of Eva and Bas had assumed that it was exhaustion, that was the reason for her strange behavior. I still felt guilty thinking about it.

I looked in the mirror and saw my scar set white against my light skin. No matter how light my skin was, especially in winter, I could always see the scar. At that moment it suddenly hit me. I felt alone. Very alone in the big house. My father was back where it all happened. Rob was my kind of guardian, who also lived 2 miles away. And Renzo who also lived 10 minutes by bike in the middle of the center. I broke. Somehow I couldn’t stop it either. In my reflection I saw my beautiful dress hanging through my tears. I turned and leaned against the sink. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I felt the fifth element flow through my body and that made me feel a little better. I slowly gathered myself back together. I took a few deep breaths and looked at my beautiful dress. This night wasn’t going to ruin Evil for me, no, I was going to enjoy tonight. With all the lovely people around me that I’ve grown to care about over the past 2 months. And with that in mind, I went to get ready for the prom.

I heard a car stop in the driveway, surprised I looked out the window and saw Renzo get out of Rob’s old Saab. He leaned against the door and smiled at me. The muscles in my lower abdomen tightened for a moment. How very handsome he looked. His hair is neatly parted. A black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt topped off with a black bow tie. He nodded at the door and I nodded back. I walked down the stairs holding my dress up slightly so I wouldn’t trip. Suddenly I felt the nerves coursing through my body. Nice nerves. I could already see his silhouette through the front door window. I unlocked the door and opened it for him. He looked at me intently. His eyes went from my face to my body. He got a certain look in his eyes. I couldn’t describe exactly what it was, it seemed proud. I knew I looked like that anyway. I was so proud and grateful to be with Renzo.

“Hi,” I said with a big smile.

His gaze returned to my eyes and I saw gratitude.

“Hi,” he said hoarsely. “You look fantastic.”

“Thanks, you too.”

I stepped back and he came into the house, as soon as I closed the door behind him he was already in front of me and grabbed me tight.

“What did I do to deserve this? That I can be with such an incredibly beautiful person, beautiful inside and out.”

My muscles tensed again at these words. I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him and kissed him without hesitation. He immediately answers the kiss. Full of surrender I let him pick me up and while kissing he walked with me in his arms to the living room. He laid me gently on the couch and our kiss got even more intense. I felt myself going all week. Wanting to feel his bare skin, I unbuttoned his pants and slipped my hands under his shirt and stroked his hard stomach and chest. I felt his hands find their way under the skirt of my dress and he slowly stroked up to the inside of my thighs. A shiver ran through my body. I also lowered my hand further. We were completely absorbed in the moment that we only realized that someone was standing behind the window of the room when it knocked loudly, but amusingly.

Still numb from the feelings we had just felt, we looked at a smiling Eva standing behind the window. I looked at her in surprise, which only made her laugh even harder. I looked at Renzo and we both burst out laughing. He got off me and helped me up. I felt my hair but luckily it was still fine. He grabbed my hand and kissed me one more time before we opened the door.

Eva stepped in without an invitation and looked at us with amusement.

“Wow, that looked exciting, sorry to bother you.” She cried out at this point. I couldn’t help but laugh. Glad Eva took it so laconically.

“It’s a good thing you came by, otherwise we might have missed the ball.”

“I wasn’t sure if you had transportation and you didn’t answer your phone, so I thought I’d stop by.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Renzo borrowed a car.” And I pointed to Rob’s car.

“How sweet and romantic,” she said earnestly. And she looked approvingly at Renzo, whereupon it was his turn to shrug.

“You look fantastic, by the way,” she said approvingly.

Eva, who was wearing a short purple designer dress, looked like she just came back from the runway. She looked very beautiful with her black bob in a classic style.

“You look stunning.” I said, winking at her.

“I know,” she said with a laugh. I had to laugh again, I admired her confidence. I thought it would be wonderful to be so sure of yourself.

“I’m going to pick up Mia and Roos and we’ll see you there?”

I nodded. “Sure, see you soon.”

She turned around at the door. “Hey handsome, will you save me a dance?” And she winked at Renzo and walked to her car laughing.

Renzo watched her amused. “What a person that is.”

“I like her.”

“Me too,” he said.

He closed the door behind her and turned to me. If he kissed me now I wouldn’t be able to contain myself and I think he knew it too. With an intense look he looked at me and then put his arms around me and rested his head on mine. I let myself melt in his arms wholeheartedly. He kissed my hair very tenderly and brought his mouth to my ear and whispered softly, “I love you.”

At these words a lump formed in my throat. How grateful I was at this moment. My whole body reacted to these words, because he meant them with all his heart, I just felt it. I grabbed him tight.

“I love you too,” I said, full of surrender and certainty. Because I had never been so sure of anything in my life as I am right now. And he also felt that I meant it because at that moment our feelings and our reaction to each other seemed even more intense. We looked at each other and I saw a smile on his lips. I kissed him and he answered him right away. Fortunately Renzo still had the strength to interrupt this amazing kiss, otherwise we would never have reached the prom. “Wait a minute.” I said as I grabbed my phone. We stood in front of the large mirror in the hall and I took a picture of us. Sent this one, a bit proud, to dad.

Like a real gentleman, he held the door open for me and we drove to the ball, reminiscing about the past few minutes.

Once we arrived at the ball, the atmosphere was very contagious, everyone was in a great party mood. The hall was beautifully decorated and everyone looked beautiful. I even forgot for a moment all the misery that Evil brought with it. Despite being almost over the ultimatum, I decided to enjoy the moment for now. And that was here at the ball with Renzo and all our dear friends. And I hoped my selfish behavior wouldn’t cost me dearly.

We walked past the photographer and smiled not at him, but at each other. We couldn’t keep our eyes off each other.

Embracing, we walked to the main hall, the DJ was playing well and the dance floor was already full.

“Hi beauty,” I heard from behind me. I looked at a smiling Bas.

Bas looked very nice and handsome. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt with a black bow tie, but instead of a jacket, he had black braces on, which looked good on him. A little naughty.

“Hello beautiful man,” I replied. He beamed. “Soon we’ll be doing a little dance, won’t we?” I nodded. “Sure.” He looked pleased and walked over to his friends.

Renzo took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Tenderly he took my hand with one hand and placed his other hand on my lower back. Surprisingly, he could dance very well. I looked at him surprised. “Where did you learn that?”

He raised his shoulders. “A bit of education.” And he said nothing more about it. I decided not to go on about it and enjoy the moment.

When a slightly faster song came he led me off the dance floor and went to get us some drinks. I looked around and saw Eva laughing with her friends. The girls had so much fun. She saw me looking and beckoned me. I went to them without hesitation. I’ve always loved to dance, especially with the girls among each other, being a little crazy.

It was a great night. Fortunately, I was able to get rid of all the misery of the past period. And while Renzo danced his promised dance with Eva, I could dance with Bas. I had missed him, because I had barely spoken to him in the past few weeks. It was nice to be with him again.

When another number came, Bas said goodbye to me and walked to a beautiful girl with red hair who was standing on the side. I couldn’t recognize her, but Bas seems to be able to. He winked at me and I winked back. I laughed to myself. “May I interrupt?”

I turned and there was Lucas. I looked up at him and his dark hair still messed up like a real bad boy. His gaze fixed on mine. He didn’t seem at ease, he looked at me seriously. “What is it Lucas?” I asked him.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but answered quickly. “It’s my father.”

I looked at him uncomprehendingly. “Your father?”

My instincts were immediately on edge. I looked around for anything suspicious, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the beautiful party.

He nodded. “He’s heard rumors of Evil.”

I looked straight at him.

“Do you know more about this?” he asked. I nodded. “He wants me to go with him to the underworld.”

All Lucas did was nod and walk away from me with big strides. I looked at him uncomprehendingly. What was he going to do? But before I could think about it any further, Renzo came to me with Eva laughing and we all went dancing, so I could forget the bad feeling a bit.

We all walked out laughing, the evening had been lovely. We said goodbye to everyone and walked to Rob’s car. It had already become quiet in the side street, so we were the last to leave.

We walked along an alley and as if it were a change of scenery, the elements came to life. Something was wrong, something bad.

Renzo must have felt it because he stopped and looked at me. “Julia? What is going on?”

I looked at him uncomprehendingly. An ominous feeling took over me. I looked around, but nothing had changed. “Something is wrong. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen.”

He immediately looked at me seriously, not doubting my feelings. And suddenly the words that Evil had spoken to me resurfaced. I got a nauseous feeling that I tried to swallow. Now I was sure. Something really bad is going to happen. How stupid could I be. How selfish I was.

Renzo saw the panic on my face. “Let’s go.”

He took my hand and pulled me to the car.

And before I could even take a step, I heard something whizzing from the alley in my direction. Thanks to my instincts, I was able to duck just in time for an attack from Evil.