Clause and Effect

I cried out in frustration as I plopped down on my bed. The measly 13 likes on my latest Instagram post glared at me from my smart phone.

“I don’t get it, Ally,” I stated in exasperation. “What am I doing wrong?”

The black feline’s only reply was a soft meow.

“How has ‘Gemstone & Allycat’ not gone viral yet? We’re both adorable!”

This time Ally replied with a more aggressive meow.

“Okay, okay,” I answered as I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, Ally on my heels.

Absentmindedly, I scooped a portion of the dry cat food into Ally’s paw print bowl and leaned against the sink, phone in hand. Scrolling through my favorite cat influencers, I couldn’t understand how they were so popular when my content was very similar.

That thought hit me like a Mack truck.

“Well, duh,” I said aloud. “No wonder I’m not getting anywhere. It’s all the same! Okay, so that means I need to do something… something different... but what?”

Just then, my phone dinged with a text message. My breath caught when I read it. It was Luke.

GM Gemma. You home? I’m downstairs at the café if you want to meet up :)

My heart began beating like a drum instantly.

“Be cool,” I told myself sternly, trying to steady my fingers to send my reply. I looked at Ally and she stared at me with her usual judgment. I waved a dismissive hand at her as I headed back to the bedroom and sent my nonchalant reply.

Sounds good. See ya in a few.

As I quickly freshened up, my mind ran amuck with thoughts of Luke and when we met. He was my biggest fan, liking and commenting on literally all my posts since I began my page 3 months prior. Of course, I followed him back, his page showcasing him and his Dobermann, Damon, his site aptly named ‘The Hound of the Lukeville,’ a play on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, as he had informed me upon our first time meeting. This meet-cute was 1 month ago at the café downstairs when we both grabbed the door handle at the same time and recognized one another right away. Online he was good-looking and all but seeing this gorgeous enigmatic man in person with his tanned skin, dark hair, and unbelievably deep onyx eyes, meant love at first sight for me. He was the quintessential tall, dark, and handsome. He was still mystifying but we were friends now, meeting up once a week for our favorite coffees. I secretly hoped he would make his move soon.

Back to the present, I was downstairs and sitting across from him within 15 minutes of his initial text. As we sipped on our usual order, an espresso for him and a cappuccino for me, I told him of my troubles trying to go viral. He thought for a few moments before a mischievous look came across his face.

“You know… I have an idea,” he said in that silky smooth voice, “there is something that you have that those other influencers don’t.”

I eyed him with playful suspicion. “Go on,” I encouraged.

“You have me,” he stated with a gleam in his eye.

I gasped. I have him? What does he mean? Does he feel the same way? Or should I not assume? I should just ask him… or should I already know? His laugh interrupted my thoughts, letting me know that he gauged my fervent expression caused by the whirlwind of emotions.

“How do you feel about me and Damon being a part of your content?” he asked. “Like, Mom and Dad and their fur-babies.”

“Oh!” I replied, surprised by this notion. This was actually a good idea. Only... his dog kind of freaked me out. Not sure what it was about him, he just seemed... scary. My hearts on Luke’s posts were more for him while I basically ignored Damon. But then again... I could feel my cheeks burning as I contemplated the idea. This meant Luke and I would be hanging out much more, getting to know each other, essentially ‘playing house.’ And having a beautiful man in my content would most definitely boost my posts.

“We’ll think of a name and decide how to split up revenues. What do you think?” he asked coolly.

“I think it sounds like a great idea!” I replied enthusiastically as I saw the possibilities of being Instagram famous.

“We’ll draw up a contract. Just as a formality. And maybe... talk about other partnerships. What do you say, beautiful?” he purred.

There was no way I could keep my wits about me after that. The next day at my apartment, I quickly skimmed the inscribed contract and eagerly signed just before we made love for the first time.

***

Luke’s magic was almost instantaneous. Within a week of adding him and Damon to my and Ally’s page, my followers had tripled, and we went viral countless times, with multiple companies asking us to advertise their brands. However, our refurbished page, now named ‘Ma Gem and Pa Luke’ was not the only thing that progressed in the last three months. Mine and Luke’s relationship was fiery and passionate, shrouded in mystery, and I was still as enchanted as I had been the first time we met. We did not talk much unless it was about the fur-babies or work. It was basically an endless cycle of filming content and then hitting the sheets. So, I was not too surprised when he brought up our contract one afternoon as we sat across from one another at my small dining table, enjoying our coffees.

“We're almost at the three-month mark. We should discuss the clause,” he stated in a matter-of-fact way.

“Oh!” I squeaked, startled. Did that mean this was coming to an end? I wasn’t finished with the newfound fame, nor with our tricky relationship. I cleared my throat. “Oh. Already?” I stated more calmly, trying to redeem myself.

“Yeah,” he replied breezily, “you remember when you signed it? It stated after three months, we’ll be leaving here and heading to my domain together.”

My domain? I thought as I giggled to myself. He was so strange, it was a good thing he had the appearance of a beautiful angel. However, realizing I did not in fact know what the contract said, I suddenly felt embarrassment flood my cheeks for having glanced through it so quickly.

“Oh, that's right,” I stuttered, clearing my throat, “I guess I need to refresh my memory. Can I see the contract again?”

He smiled at me just then and my heart began beating wildly, though not with desire this time. All at once, there was a shift in the air, and I felt an overwhelming sense of unease. It dawned on me how stupid I had been acting. I barely knew this man but signed a contract blindly, binding me to him for who knows how long. The thought made panic start to rise in me.

He handed me the papers over the table. Mustering a phony smile as I internally admonished myself, I took them with a shaking hand. As I read, confusion overcame me.

"What...? What is this?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light through my rising annoyance. He said nothing.

“Seriously, is this some kind of joke?” I asked as I looked at him.

He had me in a smoldering stare that frightened more than excited me.

“It’s not a joke, Gemma. You signed it. The deal is done,” his tone diabolical.

I knew he was serious. Dread came upon me like a flood; I looked back down at the deal we made and froze in fear.

“No,” I whispered as I let the papers fall, “no, this can’t be true.” I would have crumpled to the floor if I hadn’t already been sitting down.

“It’s all true” he suddenly whispered in my ear. I jumped as I realized he was standing behind me when he had just been across from me a moment before.

“You made a deal with the devil, darling. Behold” he purred as he pointed.

I gasped. Too scared to look into his eyes, I continued to stare at our agreement that his finger aimed toward. I watched as it began to blaze in fire, wishing I was hallucinating. Instead of burning and disintegrating, the papers withstood, and the writing began to shine as bright as a star as my sight faded to black. The last thing I saw was the signature line and written in elegant calligraphy was his full name: Lucifer.