Part 1
Smile for the Camera
The sound of pants being zipped up broke her temporary trance. She lay there basking in the paraphernalia of lust and self-degradation.
“Boast not thyself in tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
The voice of some lunatic earlier on in the day who was shouting in the street with a Bible in his hand jostled her memory. She rifled through her cigarette pack to pull out one last cigarette. After taking a pull, she glanced over at the door closing. Rude. Couldn’t even say bye?
"Was that the last one? Anyone else in here?” After receiving no response, she got up and walked through the field of two-dozen empty condom wrappers. The room resembled a battlefield of debauchery with land mines of used condoms and cigarette butts.
“Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Again, the voice rang in her ears.
“I know what my tomorrow brings forth – pain, pleasure, and profits.” She grabbed her cell phone from the tripod and combed her bangs. “Hey guys, you’ll never guess what I just did.” Her phone screen revealed a faint smile on a face covered in a fake spray tan and running mascara. The camera deliberately only captured her from the neck up, to conceal her naked body. “Hold on you, guys.”
She put the phone back on the tripod and turned the camera towards the empty condom wrappers on the floor. “Okay, I’m back.” She held the camera to reveal her crucifix that she just put on around her neck. “I just want to thank God for loving me, because no matter how many men I sleep with, nobody takes care of me like God does.” She kissed her crucifix. “Remember the name, Lilly Ladyson. Follow me lovelies, as there are many more of my adventures to come. This is only the beginning.” Lily blew an air kiss toward the camera.
Immediately after placing her phone down, a loud clanking noise came from the kitchen. Startled, she rushed to put on her silk pajamas. “Hello? If anyone is still left, then I’m going to ask you kindly to leave. You know the arrangements.” Lily inched closer toward the kitchen with a baseball bat in hand. “After you were finished, you were expected to immediately leave. You signed the contract.”
A voice called out from the kitchen, “So did you.”
She turned the light on in the kitchen and saw a man smoking a cigarette, sitting at the kitchen table. His smile was a mixture between sarcastic and sadistic.
“Who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me? I was one of the men that you were just with.”
Flustered and embarrassed, she clung to her crucifix. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you. It was kind of dark in there.” The man grinned as he looked onward toward her holding the cross.
“Do you think he really cares for you?” Lilly rushed toward the drawer and grabbed a knife.
“Staying and talking to you was not part of the deal. You had your fun, now leave.” She waved the knife around at the man.
“Oh, dear Lily, what you don’t know is, this is just the beginning. I am not going anywhere.”
“I will call the police.” The man snickered.
"They can’t do anything to me Lily. You see, I am not bound by the laws of the land. My laws pertain to another realm. And me staying around you isn’t me breaking a law, it’s me abiding by one.”
Lily laughed and lowered the knife. "Another realm? What are you? An angel? Devil?"
“Angels protect. Devils destroy. I do neither. I’m just here to have fun with you, Lily.”
“Clearly, our idea of fun is different. I want you to leave.”
“Actually, on the contrary, our idea of fun is the same. You want people to watch you. I want people to watch me too. They can watch us.”
“I don’t do one-on-one partnerships. Besides I tried to have a guy partner before, and he got jealous.” The man stood up and walked towards her. Frightened, she raised the knife again. He got closer until the tip touched his throat.
“Jealousy comes from people who feel like they lost control. I’ll always have control over you.” Lily lowered her arm while still holding the knife and laughed.
“I admire your confidence, but no man can ever control me.” The man grabbed her face and pulled her closer.
“Good thing, I’m not just a man.” He leaned in to kiss her and transformed into a shadowy black apparition that violently entered into her mouth. Her body started gyrating and her eyes rolled back as her chin thrusted upwards. The knife clattered against the kitchen floor. Her body stopped moving and the man was no longer in sight. Lily regained her composure and wiped her mouth. She walked back to her bedroom area and picked up the empty pack of cigarettes.
“First order of business. Get more smokes.” After throwing the empty pack to the floor, Lily spotted the cell phone and grabbed it. She raised the phone to capture her smiling face with the empty condom wrappers in the background. She began typing a caption for her post…
I know what my tomorrow brings forth – pain, pleasure, and profits. XOXO
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