Sloth

by L-J Baker

  "Next girl?" Luc looked from Harley to Az, wondering if they'd been in on something together. Az seemed just as clueless as Luc, so he waited for her to elaborate.

  "Yes, you know, Ms. Sloth?" Harley rolled her eyes. "Seriously, it's like you were abducted by aliens, and they sent someone else back in your body."

  "Do they really do that?" Az perked up and his eyes widened. "Because this show I was watching said that—"

  "Stop watching Ancient Aliens, Az." Harley tossed one of the couch pillows at his head and continued. "Anyway, this one was tough, but I think I have it narrowed down."

  "Harley, the game is over. I'm not going to meet another girl."

  "What are you talking about?" She pulled her legs off Az and sat up. "Even if you think Valerie is the one, you have to finish the game. You promised."

  "Valerie isn't my soul mate."

  "Then what the hell are you talking about?"

  Angry Harley was back. Luc liked that version much better than broken and bruised Harley.

  "I need to focus on the shit that's going on around here. This game was a fun idea, but the time for fun is over. I need to stop my nut job brother and put my attention back on the things that matter."

  "And finding your true love doesn't matter anymore?" Harley put her glass on the table and leaned forward. "This is because of what happened to me, isn't it?"

  "No. And no, finding true love doesn't matter anymore. It never should have. I have responsibilities and they need to come first." Luc pushed up from the chair and went over to the window. The city didn't hold the same excitement that it used to. Maybe he'd just fooled himself into thinking it ever did.

  Harley dragged herself to her feet, pushing off Az as he tried to help, and hobbled over to the window.

  "Quit feeling sorry for yourself, Lucifer. You make everything about you, and this time, it's not all about you." Harley punched Luc in the arm. Her strength really was returning.

  "Oww." Luc rubbed his arm and turned to look at her. "You're right. It's not about me. That's why I need to stop focusing on my own selfish needs and take care of my responsibilities. All of this mess," Luc waved his hands in the air. "Is what you were worried about from the beginning. You didn't think I could handle it all and you were right."

  "No. I was wrong." Harley sighed and looked down at her feet. "I might have been a little jealous."

  "Of what?" Luc snuck one finger under Harley's chin and lifted her face up to look at him.

  "Of losing my best friend."

  "That will never happen."

  They looked at each other for a long moment, then Harley punched Luc again.

  "What was that for?"

  "Never mind that. We are continuing this game. Michael doesn't get to determine your fate ever again. You can handle that asshole, rule over Hell, and still find your soul mate."

  "Harley, I—"

  "No. Do you know why you can do all of that and don't have to worry about anything?"

  "Why? Luc humored her, mostly because he didn't want to be punched again. He might be able to take it, but it still hurt- mostly his pride.

  "Because you have us."

  "Us?"

  "Yeah, me and your idiot brother." She tightened her fist, likely contemplating punching him again for making her actually say the words.

  Luc smiled. "I love you too, Harley Saxon."

  "Now quit your ridiculous pity party and let's make a plan to take Michael's ass out and get this next month started."

  "I think we're going to need a few more security people, too," Az said, walking over to join them at the window. "And if we're going to do a group hug, I want in on it."

  "There will be no hugging." Luc took a step back.

  "If you even think of touching me, Az," Harley said and glared. "I will hurt you."

  Luc almost wanted to see that.

  "You two are no fun at all." Az dropped his arms to his sides and sighed. "Well can we at least see who you've narrowed the sloth choices down to?"

  As much as Luc had thought that Valerie would be it for the game, he had to admit, he was a bit curious. There was a part of him that fully believed that he needed to drop the thought of finding true love and get back to being the devil. But there was also a part that felt the emptiness that being alone caused and he wanted that part filled.

  If Harley was right, he could have both. If she was wrong, and he pursued it anyway, the repercussions could be greater than even he might realize. Could he actually risk all of humankind just to find love? Did he even have a choice anymore?

  "I guess I can show you two idiots the choices, but just remember, I get to pick the one we go with."

  "Why do I feel like you already know which one you will pick?" Luc followed Harley and Az over to the mirror, still not one hundred percent sure this was the best idea. It couldn't hurt to look though, could it?

  ***

  Luc stood in front of the mirror with a strange calmness in his stomach. The other times they'd stood in that very same place, about to pick the girl he would spend the month with, had been different. He'd been excited, anticipating what the girl would be like, whether she might be his soul mate, and all the other unknowns that went into it.

  This time was different.

  He'd wanted to quit the game, focus on his responsibilities. Even as he stood there, he wasn't sure it was a good idea. Harley wasn't one to be told no, and after what she'd gone through, because of him, he couldn't exactly argue with her over it. It wasn't likely to help if he tried. She would find a way to put whatever girl she picked into his life and make sure he got to know her.

  To be honest, Luc couldn't say he didn't still want to find the right woman to share his life with. It all just felt tainted. Not just the mess Michael had caused, or the constant drama and crises he had to deal with in Hell. Now Luc had something bigger on his mind. His father's price for helping save Harley was almost enough to make him give up altogether.

  Getting his father to help was never going to be easy, or free. Luc knew that going in. He just never expected the cost to be so vindictive. Not that he shouldn't have expected as much from dear old dad. It was just like him to play around with his children like that. Luc had hoped that after all the time away, his father would have shown him a little compassion.

  He should have known better.

  "Are you even paying attention?" Harley snapped her fingers in front of Luc's face and brought his attention back to the mirror. It was empty, nothing more than fog, and the faint, burnt-out remnants of a bedroom.

  "To what?" Luc leaned against the back of the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.

  "You need to take this seriously." Harley slipped one hand up her hip and tilted the side of her chin up. "We are finishing this game and finding your god damned soul mate, even if it kills us all."

  That was the whole problem, wasn't it?

  It just might.

  "I think we need drinks." Az hopped over the back of the couch and headed for the bar.

  While he fixed three tequilas, Harley and Luc stayed locked in a glaring match. Luc wasn't thrilled with continuing the game, especially not so soon, but Harley wasn't about to let it go. He wanted to be able to give each girl his full attention, but how could he do that with everything that was going on? How could he even guarantee that the girls he spent time with would be safe?

  Then what happened if he did find his soul mate?

  Luc cringed inwardly, trying not to think about the price he would pay for asking for his father's help. Or more importantly, the price he would expect her to pay.

  When Az returned, he handed a glass to each of them, waited for both to down the contents, and flopped down on a small table that had held a fancy vase before the break-in.

  "Let's just get on with this." Luc put his glass down and waited for Harley to show him her picks. He was fairly certain he wouldn't be seeing the face of his true love, but he would do his best to give Harley the benefit of the doubt.

/>   After a moment longer of glaring, Harley turned back to the mirror and waved her hand to wake it back up. "This is Mira. She's twenty-three, makes a decent living, and works in her underwear."

  Luc rolled his eyes at the description. This was clearly the decoy.

  "Give her a chance, Lucifer," Az said, standing to get a better look. "Gamer girls are hot."

  "That's a terrible stereotype, Az." Harley slapped him in the side of the head.

  The girl was in a tight, low-cut t-shirt, and knee socks, sitting on the floor, playing some video game while the nameless masses watched her online. An ever constant dinging in the background signaled donations, paired with requests such as, show us your boobs, lean forward so we can see better, and spread your legs. She read them aloud and giggled at each one, occasionally complying, and thanking them for the generous tips.

  Luc closed his eyes for a long moment. He couldn't imagine spending a month with this girl. She might be fun in bed, but there was no way they had anything in common. He thought about Valerie and her fierce red hair, as it fell over her pale skin while she rode him. When he'd first seen her, he didn't think there would be anything between them. He'd been wrong, of course. She hadn't been his true love, but she was someone he could care about, so he would do his best not to judge too quickly.

  "Is there another pick?" Luc silently pleaded for it to be true.

  "There is." Harley smiled. It was that half-smirk thing, where she was clearly holding something in that was bursting to get out, but she was too cool to allow it before she was ready.

  She waved her hand over the mirror once more and the fog faded into another bedroom. Another girl sitting on the floor playing video games.

  "This is Talia."

  She said nothing more. No details, no vague half-jokes, no ridiculous side remarks. She stepped back a foot and allowed Luc to take the girl in. She wasn't half naked like the other girl. Instead, she wore a hoodie and pajama pants. Her hair looked like she'd just crawled out of bed, all wild black curls, held down by her headset. She was serious, focused on the task at hand.

  Luc stepped closer to get a better look just as the girl yelled a curse and threw the controller down. She had a temper. He smiled. It reminded him of Ronnie Falcon. But this girl was no Ronnie. Despite the dark hair and similar temper, this girl was supposed to represent sloth, and one thing Ronnie could never be, was lazy. She'd been driven, angry, a real fighter.

  Talia played video games.

  "Another hot gamer girl." Az whistled. "Either one is a winner in my book."

  "Just because a female plays video games does not mean you can call her that." Harley turned her pent up aggression toward Az, thankfully for Luc. "When a guy games, no one calls him a gamer boy."

  Az backed up. "Of course not, it's just that—"

  "Just shut up." Harley waved her hand at him and turned back to the mirror. "Mira might be milking the stereotype a bit, but we aren't here to judge her."

  "Isn't that exactly what we're doing?" Az realized his mistake as soon as Harley spun around to glare into him. "I just mean that, we're supposed to be choosing one of them, right? So we do have to judge them a little, don't we?"

  Harley stared at Az a moment longer, then turned back to the mirror once again. "Coincidentally, the girls both have the same career goals, but they are quite different. Well, expect for the whole sloth personality thing."

  "I'm not doubting you, or anything, but I have to say, the other girls, they weren't too far along on the sin spectrum." Luc stepped back and resumed his folded-arm stance against the back of the chair.

  "Ronnie was about as angry as I could find without risking being a sociopath. Amanda was the most gluttonous pick I could find that wasn't a competitive eater and still a possible soul mate. And Valerie, well she was a bit over the greed curve. If you met her even six months earlier, you might have felt different."

  "Look, I get it. I'm not looking for a nut job. And I can't say I'll be disappointed if this next girl isn't a complete bum, but just for the future, like when we get to lust, maybe look a little harder for top of class kind of girls."

  Harley punched Luc in the arm for the tenth time that day and curled one side of her mouth at him. "Don't be a pig. You get who I pick."

  "Okay, so who do you pick?" Luc tried not to laugh at her. Only Harley could boss him around and still provoke amusement in him.

  "Mira."

  Luc narrowed his eyes. She had to be joking. Didn't she? He wasn't judging the girl for using her body to make money. Hell it was one of the oldest professions in one form or another. But imagining himself with her just wasn't happening in his mind. It wasn't that he looked at Talia and thought they were made for each other. It was more that when he looked at Mira, he knew they weren't.

  "Okay, that's not funny." Az hopped off the table and stepped between Harley and Luc. "We all know that's the decoy girl. You can say you don't throw those in, but we know you do."

  "Make yourself useful and refill these drinks, Az." Harley thrust her glass at Az and waved her hand over the mirror once again. The image split into two, showing both girls. Mira was still playing, giggling her appreciation to the incessant dinging in the background. Talia was laying on her bed with her legs propped up on the wall, singing along to some song that was constantly on the radio. "Thoughts?" She looked at Luc with a raised brow.

  "I'll trust your judgment." Luc took the drink Az handed him and swirled the liquid around. Az knew he preferred bourbon, but he wasn't going to complain. Tequila was Harley's drink of choice, and for the past few days, everything had been about her. Luc was so grateful to have her back, something as minor as a drink, or what girl he would spend the next month with, just seemed trivial.

  "Why?" Harley scrunched her forehead down and waited for him to answer. He didn't. "So you're saying that whichever girl I pick, you're not going to complain, or try to change my mind, or tell me I'm messing with you?"

  "No. I trust you completely."

  There were exactly two people Luc could say that about and they were both in the room with him. Maybe one day he would add another to that list, but for now, two was enough.

  "Fine." Harley sighed and waved one of the girls off the mirror. "You take all the fun out of things, Lucifer. Welcome to the month of sloth. Have fun with Talia."

  CHAPTER THREE

  The knocking was a little more than Talia could handle just waking up from a dead sleep. The last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed, but the noise wasn't going away, and if she didn't get it to stop soon, she just might hurt someone.

  "What?" She swung open the door to find her roommate, who was also her brother, standing in front of her with a paper crumbled in his hand.

  "Did you seriously not pay the water bill again? This says we are three months behind. They're shutting it off in two days. What the hell did you do with the money I gave you to pay it with?" Ethan fumed in her doorway, while she tried not to yawn. Yawning would only piss him off further and he already looked like he was going to implode. She wasn't in the mood to clean up that mess.

  "I don't know. I guess I forgot." Talia wandered over to the chair in the corner, covered in clothes, and flopped down into it. "There's still two days. Calm down."

  "Are you kidding me?" Ethan took a few steps into the room, stopped to look around, and shook his head. "You live like a pig. You don't work. You can't even go mail a bill that I'm paying for."

  "I do so work."

  "Playing video games, while people watch you, only when you feel like it, isn't working Talia. If you want to be a gamer, fine, then get serious about it. Put in some effort and make it work. But this," he waved his hand over the room, then specifically over Talia. "Isn't working."

  "You act like I just sit around and do nothing. How would you know how much effort I put into anything? You work constantly. You're never around to see what I'm doing." Talia shifted in the seat and slipped her legs over the side. Ethan was being ridiculous. She put plenty
of effort into gaming. Maybe she didn't take off her top and play in her underwear for donations, but she was practically unbeatable most of the time. That had to count for something, even if she didn't play as much as she used to.

  "I work all the time, to pay our bills. If I counted on you to pull your weight, we'd be on the street begging for change to buy scraps. I can't carry you forever. It's time to grow up and take responsibility for your own life." With that, Ethan stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

  "I can go down and pay that tomorrow," she called out loud enough for him to hear.

  "Don't bother," he yelled back, slamming yet another door.

  Whatever. He could do it then. It wasn't like she hadn't paid anything since they'd moved in together three years ago. For a whole year, she'd paid all the bills for their apartment. Ethan was just getting started in school and every dime he made went to pay for books and supplies. They shared a father, who thankfully footed the tuition bills for them both, but they had to both have jobs and pay for whatever else they needed.

  It was a good gig for a while. Talia didn't mind working in the repair shop. She'd always been handy like that. As a child, she took any electronics she could find apart, and only pieced them back together, after she figured out how they worked. It was constantly irritating her mother, but it taught her more than she could have learned in school.

  Not that she didn't learn plenty in school. She would have graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, but she'd lost interest after her mother left. Gaming was always her first love anyway. She was good at it, too. She used to love to kick the boys asses and watch them talk smack about her being a girl. It didn't matter what they said about her. She had skills, like professional gamer skills.

  Now, if only she had motivation.

  Talia gathered her mess of hair into a bunch and slipped a hair tie around it, twisting it into a poof of curls at the top of her head. She had her mother's unruly black curls and brown skin, with her father's upturned nose and dark, round eyes. If only she'd gotten her father's height, with her mother's slim frame, she could have been a model. Instead, she was barely tall enough to reach a glass on the top shelf of their kitchen cabinets, which was of course, where her inconsiderate brother insisted on keeping them.