Delilah is on vacation with her family so she won't be in school for the next two weeks. She's been texting me every day, sending me pictures, and keeping me company. However, it's not the same as her being by my side.
"Some time apart will be good for us," she said.
"Yeah," I agreed, even though I didn't.
I see Delilah in five days. Is it bad that I'm counting down when I get to see her again? I barely know her, but I want to spend all my time with her. I just hope I haven't come off as clingy. Maybe that's why she wanted to spend some time apart.
I've done it before. Clung onto someone once I felt we were getting close. It mostly happened in middle school and a few times during freshman year. I've been a loner until Delilah.
It's going to be a few more days until I can drive, so I'm going to walk to school today. This is fine by me because the rising sun displays a beautiful orangish red hue in the sky. It bounces off the clouds and skates across the horizon; it's like the world is ending.
I start down the street when I hear someone walking behind me.
"Judas, the betrayer," An alluring voice of a woman says from behind me. I turn to see the most unique-looking woman I've ever seen.
Her eyes are red like blood. Maybe their contacts but they look like they're naturally that dark and crimson. Her hair, which drapes down past her waist, matches her eyes. She has high cheekbones and a slender physique; that of a model. There's a mole below her lower left lip; a tiny black thing that adds so much to her face. A red choker runs tight around the center of her neck. Her studded black jacket has patches and DIY pins. Her legs have thigh-high fishnet stockings and her skin is pale white.
She takes her red wireless earbuds out of her ears and puts them away in their case.
"It really is you," she says, "The betrayer."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Lucy."
There is some distance between us but she wastes no time clearing it with her long legs. When she face to face with me, I realize we're about the same height.
She extends her hand and I shake it.
"Can I walk with you?" she asks not letting go of my hand, "I would love to pick your brain."
"Sure. Can I ask what about?" I ask, ripping my hand away from her surprisingly strong grip.
"Well for starters..." She begins to walk. I catch up to her and we walk side by side. I guess she's new to my school, "Why did your parents name you after the betrayer?"
"How did you know my name, anyway?"
"It wasn't hard to figure out. Are you gonna answer my question?"
"To be honest I'm still trying to figure that out. I don't know why I couldn't have been literally anything else. My name constantly brings judgment and ridicule among people in my religion. I've tried using fake names but they find out somehow."
"Well, it's better than Lucy."
"What's wrong with Lucy?"
"C'mon, Judy, think about it."
I think about it, to no avail.
"Lucy. Lucifer. The fucking Devil!" She says, making horns with her pinkie and index finger and putting them up to her forehead.
"You're named after the Devil?" I ask.
"I changed it legally. My dad let me and everything."
We cross the street and begin walking the trail that winds through a large park. Pine trees tower over us as the sun dawns and peers through them.
"So the Devil and Judas take a walk—"
"You're not the Devil," I interject.
"Oh, come on! It's poetic in a way. It does seem like our paths were meant to cross."
She's talking like I do. Another believer?
"I'm Christian by the way," she says, "The Devil wears a cross too! I assume you are too, with that kind of name?"
"You're correct."
"And I'm guessing you're taken with all those rings on your hand there."
She points to the four plastic black rings I always wear on my left hand—one on each finger except my thumb.
"No, I'm not married," I tell her, "I am dating someone though. These rings are from my biological mother. They each represent conquering a gospel of Jesus."
"Sounds like you had a very devout life growing up."
"I did."
"I did as well. I always felt connected to something out there. I wasn't sure what to call it until recently."
"Some of us don't realize how much God has influenced our lives until we truly believe in him."
"He's got a way with plans, that's for sure. He's clever. And I aspire to be like that."
"Sometimes I wish he could just take the wheel. Control me and my life. But I know that's not how he works. He wants to do life with me. Not for me."
"Right. He wants us to make the decisions. The one thing that we don't truly know is what God is controlling around us. The only thing we can do is make decisions in the present moment. That's our control."
"Yet that comes at a price."
"What do you mean?"
We come across a bridge that crosses over a river. The gentle noise of water passing rocks can be heard under our sneakers clattering on the wooden base of the bridge.
"There are things that break God's heart," I start, "Two of them being chance and choice. Chance is things that just happen randomly. Random car accidents. Disseases. Things that have no feasible reason for happening."
"And the choices we make. Like the choices we make against him. These things break his heart."
"But he keeps trying. He keeps giving. He keeps hoping."
"But what about the Devil?"
"What about him?"
"I think you mean her."
She turns to her left and begins to climb the railing. Before I know it, she's standing on the very top of the rail, towering over me. The sun shines on her face reflecting her crimson eyes.
"As the Devil, I wouldn't want to engulf the whole world in darkness. No, I want to seek and save the lost. And I wouldn't be happy without you by my side."
I take a step back. I don't know what to say. What to think. She then points at me with her left index finger.
"You, Judas, The Betrayer. You will join me," her voice is an order. A command.
Before I could respond, Lucy starts to lean back. I dash forward to try to catch her but I'm too late, she falls head-first into the river below. It's only a five-foot drop and it's deep enough for her not to get hurt, but after what she just said I'm questioning her sanity.
Her head pokes up out of the water and she slowly starts to drift under the bridge.
"Consider my offer, Judas!" She yells at me.
I go to the other side of the bridge and watch as she leans back with her hands behind her head, flowing with the water.
First God brings Delilah into my life, then Squid, and now Lucy. But Lucy isn't like anyone I've ever met before. The way she spoke about being the Devil. It was so passionate. So real. Like she really believed she was the Devil. Like how I believe I can see and hear Jesus.
Maybe Lucy is like me. But instead of God, it's the Devil. I can't imagine what someone's life would be like with the Devil as their companion.
Regardless if the Devil is in her or not, I do know what she said was true. Our paths were meant to cross. I don't believe in coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.
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