Counter Lotus

Chapter 24

I didn't expect her offer, but I didn't mind it. Anything to prolong going home. Anything to keep the distractions going. I didn't want to be reminded of the demon that broke-in, the craziness I had to deal with, and I didn't want to be alone. The past two days, I avoided those things, but my shift would end early today. A movie should be worth it.

"That sounds great actually," I decided.

***

I was 100% wrong, everybody. Going to the movies after work was not worth it. 'Anything to prolong going home' I thought. 'Why not' I thought. No, fuck that and fuck this movie.

The young girl on the big screen was sitting in her bed, possessed by a demon, and it showed in her contorted face. The priest was trying to perform an exorcism. If anything, I should be jealous. At least the priest and her mom knew the truth and were addressing the problem. The priest wasn't a moody stalker either. Ugh, why did I have to agree to come to this? Hell, why didn't I ask what we were seeing first? I'm so stupid.

"Want some?" Katie whispered from my right, tilting her tub of popcorn towards me.

"Sure," I smiled tightly, shoving a handful in my mouth.

Obviously, all this movie did was remind me of my reality. I've seen 'The Exorcist' before. Loved it, thought it was great, but now it was ruined. I couldn't focus on the fictional story, especially when little Reagan turned into a demonic monster. According to Peter, some people that enter a contract give up their body whenever a demon needs to use it. What about against their will like this? Can people who aren't fucked up enough to make deals with the devil able to get possessed? Was this what it looked like?

"Are you okay?" Katie whispered after a while.

"Yeah Jos, you good?" Zack added from her other side.

For being in a dark theater, I didn't realize how tense and fidgety I was becoming. I forced my hands to stop mindlessly rubbing my legs. "Oh, yeah, I'm good."

"I thought you said you liked scary movies?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I-I do. I just forgot how scary this movie specifically is. It's okay though," I leaned in and whispered back.

"We could leave and wait for the next one to start. They always play two in a row."

"Really? What is after this one?"

"Nightmare on Elm Street."

Dear fucking lord.

Forcing my smile, I persistently shook my head. "No, no, it's okay. Don't worry, I'm completely fine watching this one. I'm totally fine," I said before mumbling to myself, "Didn't realize Halloween came early this year."

Katie was so nice and so sweet to invite me. I had to suck it up, so I put on a happy face and let my mind silently drown. Apparently, coincidences don't exist... so whoever's in charge up there has an awesome but fucked sense of humor.

The movie triggered made me flash back to the other night. The demon that broke into my house didn't look like a monster. It looked human, but that made it more threatening. When would the next close call be? Were any of these people in the theatre a demon? Call me silly, but I nonchalantly checked my dim surroundings. Aside from a handful of people, there was barely anyone in here. But behind me... one face stood out.

Peter was a few rows back and diagonal to me. Yeah, that's right. Did this guy not understand boundaries? Though he was able to protect me, I honestly wasn't sure if my anxiety being replaced by annoyance was worth it.

Though he was facing forward, his waist was angled so he could prop his feet up on the row in front of him. He was snacking on something when, without any shame, his bored eyes caught mine.