Camille scratched her head, trying to make sense of her day.
The cage which Lyris had been trapped in, had disappeared from Neil's office.
Considering how dusty his office was, she expected there would at least be tracks left on the floor from where the cage rolled out of, but nothing.
There was no trace of it at all, and even funnier, Neil seemed to have no recollection of having captured Lyris at all.
Camille had gone to work earlier that morning, hesitant, and ready to face Neil's wrath, or possibly even his concern.
Of course, who in their right mind would be pleased to find that the wild animal they'd spent so long trying to capture, had disappeared?
What about, the fact that when he went in that morning, both the lion and his fiancé were gone without a trace?
Wouldn't that be cause for worry?
Yet, Neil seemed completely unphased, acting as he always did, as if nothing had ever happened.
When he scolded her, as he did every other day, she expected him to push or shove her, perhaps strike her again, but he didn't.
In fact, he even questioned why she cowered at his yelling.
"Why are you acting like I'm about to hit you? What's wrong with you today?" he had said.
Throughout the day, she had begun to feel like it had all been a crazy dream.
'Maybe it's my subconscious telling me that I really shouldn't marry Neil. Maybe my gut feeling is that he's dangerous and I'm better off with someone else, that my person is out there somewhere waiting.'
She stuck her key in her door and opened it up with a sigh, ready to toss her purse over on the couch, but what she was met with was a shock.
Laying on the couch, shoveling ice cream into his mouth, was Lyris.
Camille scanned her apartment, her mouth agape as she took in the complete disarray.
On her couch, lay crumbs of various snacks, their wrappers littered across the floor and atop her coffee table.
Cans of sodas, teas and coffees, were crushed and thrown at the trash can against the wall behind the couch, most of them not making it in.
Cups of mystery drinks laid around the coffee table, some knocked over and spilt onto the surface and the rug below.
Books were strewn about, some open, others tossed aside.
Horrified, she walked into the kitchen to see an even bigger mess.
It was as if he had taken all of the food out from her fridge and smudged it all over the counter tops.
Dirty pots and pans filled the sink and the stove-top with food dripping down their sides.
Flour, egg, and an amalgamation of other ingredients covered the floor and handles of her fridge and cabinets.
"Lyris! What did you do?! This place is a complete mess! Did you have a party in here or something?!"
She placed her purse on one of the kitchen stools – which had been spared from the turmoil the rest of her apartment faced.
Camille turned her attention to the cans that were in the trash can and began picking them up, "These go in the recycle bin, not the trash!"
She tossed them in the correct bin and sifted through the trash to relocate them to their proper place. In doing so, her hands were met with multiple, unidentified, sticky liquids.
"Yuck!" She stifled a gag and ran to the bathroom, the kitchen sink piled too high for her to wash her hands there.
Upon opening the bathroom, she let out an anxious scream.
It was just as awful as the kitchen!
Soap containers were left open and laid on their sides, their contents leaking out into her bathtub and onto the carpet below, thousands of tissues were jumbled across the floor and overflowing from the dustbin.
Wet towels had been thrown all over the place, but at least there was room in the sink.
She promptly washed her hands as Lyris appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a spoon in his mouth, and a sheet tied around his waist.
"What's all the fuss about? It's fine, you don't have to worry about it. All of this stuff with just biodegrade anyways."
He sounded so calm and matter of fact.
Camille whipped her head around at him and motioned to her bathroom.
"Water damage and gunk is not okay! Look at this place! It's a complete mess! Not to mention the kitchen! Oh! Don't get me started on the kitchen!"
Camille pushed past him and waved her finger in the air, making her way to the kitchen.
Lyris followed after her like a puppy, although confusion filled his face.
"Look at this kitchen," she pointed to the sink and all of the food everywhere, "This is disgusting! The food will rot and bring ants! These containers aren't going to biodegrade because they aren't of that kind of material. Besides, I have to use them again and I can't use them if they're dirty! Bacteria is going to flourish on these and it'll get us sick!"
Lyris rolled his eyes, 'I thought she said not to get her started on the kitchen, but she just started on her own anyways.'
Taking the spoon of his mouth, he took a deep breath, his confusion only growing.
"Bacteria is good for you. Why are you mortals so weak? It's like the lightest breeze could completely destroy you. Build up an immunity."
Camille stared at him with a disgusted look on her face.
'King of the animals? More like the King of the Pigs if you ask me.'
"What about you? Aren't angels supposed to be pure and virtuous? Yet you can't even clean up on your own and just toss everything around without putting it away?"
Lyris shrugged, "Out in nature, whatever I ate, I just left, then other animals would come pick at it and dispose of what was left. No problem. That's how your world works. It's good if the ants come. They'll clean it up for you. Why do you say it won't biodegrade? Isn't it all natural? Even buildings will come to ruin if you leave them for long enough. Nature will take it back eventually."
Camille got to work throwing the trash on the counters away into the bin, and piling up the food containers, plates, as well as the pots and pans to create room to begin cleaning.
She then grabbed a rag from one of the drawers and managed to squeeze her hand into the mess to wet it and put soap on it.
Shaking her head, she began to scrub the counters, "That's great for being out in nature, but we aren't in nature here. This is my apartment, in the city! I don't want ants in my apartment, crawling all over everything. They'll get in my food and everything! They're such an annoyance and a hassle to get rid of."
Lyris stared at her with a disappointed look, "My father didn't create you humans to live like this, inside of a box, killing what else he created for no reason."
Camille snapped her head around and glared at him, "Well, then, he should've made us so we couldn't create boxes like this, and so we couldn't be irritated by things like ants. Instead, he made us so we could create and grow, so that we would be intelligent. I don't want to live out in nature without a roof over my head!"
Lyris scoffed, "No, he made you with equal opportunity to everyone else. You developed these habits on...your own….."
His eyes widened as he spoke, surprising even himself. He turned around, away from Camille, and rubbed his chin.
It was the same thing his father had said to him.
'I sound just like him. Is this what he meant?'
"Whatever! The point is, this is how we live now! If you want to keep living here, you're going to have to keep this place clean. I don't want you here if I'm going to come home to my apartment looking like a warzone. Well? What are you waiting for? Come help!"
Lyris scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Now having heard his father's words coming out of his mouth, he felt torn.
He was beginning to understand how his father felt, but, he also now related more to Camille.
She couldn't help it if this was how she was as a person, right? That's how he felt about his own situation anyways.
Without any more complaints, Lyris joined Camille in cleaning the apartment.
Having never had to clean before, Camille ended up having to show him how to do the work and teach him the ins and outs of cleaning.
Before long, they were working in harmony with each other, luckily Lyris was a fast learner.
Camille and Lyris flopped onto the couch, exhausted and starved, with most of the apartment clean.
"We'll have to finish tomorrow, but you did a good job helping. Thank you."
"You're thanking me after you forced me to help?"
Camille laughed and nodded, "Yeah, because in the end you did. Since you cleaned out the fridge, though…..how about we order a pizza?"
Hello dear readers!
Have you ever left your home a big mess? I clean up while I cook, so I put the ingredients away as soon as I'm done using them. I also clean the counter off right before I eat. Although, I will throw the dishes in the sink until later. How about you? Do you clean it all up right away? Do some now, some later? Or do you avoid it all together? Let me know your habits!
- Thalia
Camille sighed as she walked up the stairs to her apartment.
It had been yet another long day at work with Neil.
Thanks to Lyris' dirty habits, she felt even more sensitive to the filth of Neil's office.
Having to work with all of that dust floating around, tickling her nose and scratching at her throat, the smell of old coffee and the sticky floor around his desk, had put her in an even worse mood.
Not to mention, Neil had been in a worse mood than ever after returning from one of his meetings.
Part of her wanted to be sympathetic that perhaps there was some turmoil occurring within the company, but the rest of her couldn't care less about Neil.
Knowing he was in a bad mood already, she knew she probably shouldn't have said anything, but she couldn't help herself, and so they exploded into an argument.
As she placed her hand on the doorknob to her apartment, she thought back to the fight they'd had earlier that day.
"What's the issue? Tell me what the problem is! I'm getting tired of having this same fight with you over and over again!" Camille yelled as she waved a dust-rag around in the air.
"I'm tired of it too! Why don't you listen to me? As someone who keeps complaining I don't listen to her, you sure don't listen yourself! I've said multiple times I don't want you touching a damn thing!" Neil screamed from behind his desk.
"Why is it such a problem? It's really disgusting in here! I feel like I'm suffocating from all this dust! At least let me clean something! I'll do it in front of you. Just tell me what areas to avoid!"
Neil stood up and slammed his hands against his desk, "I don't want you touching any of it, I said!"
"At least let me do the windows and floors! It looks like there's a tint on your windows and it's not! It's just a layer of dust!" Camille motioned towards the windows, a ray of sunlight barely pushing through.
"NONE OF IT!"
Camille threw the rag down on the ground and marched to the window angrily.
"I can't possibly marry a man who is so filthy!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Camille shook her head, shoving the memory out of her mind.
Now that she lived with Lyris, and experienced having filth at work and at home, the idea of marrying Neil felt even more impossible.
She entered her apartment and was met with another surprising scene.
On her couch sat a group of young women who seemed to be around her age.
They were all exceptionally gorgeous, their hair and makeup done without a strand of line out of place, and their short mini dresses perfectly highlighting their amazing figures and complimenting their out of this world proportions.
The women stared at her with disgusted looks on their faces and she found herself feeling a little self-conscious.
Her white button-up blouse had frills on the sleeves and pearl buttons; paired with it was a black miniskirt.
She'd worn her hair down today and donned a pearl headband along with it to match the buttons on her blouse.
While beautiful and also complimenting her figure, the dust that covered her made her outfit look old and frumpy.
In contrast to their floral, sweet perfume, she probably smelled musty with a hint of old coffee.
She found herself awkwardly dusting herself off and picking at her outfit as she closed the door behind her.
'Is this going to be a common thing? Coming home to less than joyous surprises? Why are these women here anyways?'
Camille walked to her kitchen with her head held high, placing her purse on the countertop.
'I'm not very fond of a bunch of strangers in my house. I want these girls gone!'
She cleared her throat and turned towards the girls, who had turned their heads as they followed her movements.
"Ladies, I am not sure why you're here, but it's time for you to go."
Two of the girls scoffed, while another snickered in response.
The fourth stood up and gently tugged at the hem of her dress, pulling it down gracefully.
"Listen, whoever you are, we're not here for you. We're Lyra's guests. I don't know who YOU are, but he invited US here personally to have some fun. You're free to leave though." She said with a smirk and a joyous tone.
Camille placed her hand on her hip and slapped her hand against her countertop, leaning against it as she stared at the group with annoyance.
"I am the person whose apartment this is. Now, get out!"
She pointed towards the door as Lyris came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
"Hey, what's the commotion about?"
Camille placed her hand at her temple, creating a shield for her eyes, "Did I not buy you clothes to wear?!"
Lyris scratched his head, "You did, but they're uncomfortable."
"Lyra! This girl is being so rude to us! Who is she? Your ex?"
The girl playfully jogged up to Lyris, grabbing onto his arm and hugging it tight.
Camille instantly put her hand down and stared at the girl with her mouth agape.
'Is she serious?!' She could feel her blood boiling.
"Well, she-"
Just as Lyris began, one of the other girls on the couch spoke up, "I bet she's his girlfriend and she's just jealous that he wants to hang out with us instead!"
"Or, she's in love with him and she's jealous that he doesn't want her. I mean, just look at her…" one of the others said, causing all of them to laugh.
"Lyris! Get them out of here now, or you're going to go too!"
"Lyris? I thought your name was Lyra…." The girl holding onto his shoulder said, staring up at him confused.
"Ah well. I think it's time for you ladies to go. We'll continue this some other time, don't you worry!"
He escorted them out, as Camille tore her headband off, marching into her room with a huff.
As Lyris entered back into the apartment, he was met with Camille slamming her bedroom door shut.
Lyris slowly opened the door, peeking inside through the small crack to check on her.
For some reason, he felt extra cowardly.
"Are you alright?" he asked nervously.
Camille was sitting at her vanity, staring into the mirror, her arms crossed as she chewed on her bottom lip.
"Look at the company you keep. Is that the kind of girl you're interested in?"
Lyris smirked and slowly entered the room, shutting the door behind them.
"Oh? Is that you were jealous?"
Camille stood up and turned away from him, "I'm not jealous! It's just the company you keep says a lot about you!"
Lyris approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him, "You keep myself and Neil around. What does that say about you?"
Camille turned around to face him and pushed him away, "Do you see Neil around me outside of work hours? No! With you, I'm just paying a debt!"
A devilish smile appeared on Lyris' face, "Is that the only reason? I think you ARE jealous. Would you rather be one of my beauties? Could it be….you want to be the only one?"
He lifted her chin with his finger and leaned in for a kiss.
"Knock it off!" Camille shouted as she shoved him away.
He stared at her confounded.
"You're sick! You just have these random women around that you don't even know, doing God knows what! You're messy too! You should live well instead of living recklessly!"
Camille flopped onto her bed and pulled her black pumps off and began to rub her feet, the shoes making her ache from the long workday.
"I can do whatever I want! I don't answer to you! You're just a mortal! Yes, my father DOES know what I'm up to, that's the whole reason I was sent here. Not even God himself could stop me from doing what I want, what makes you think you can?! I've already been cleaning up after myself, what more do you want from me?!"
She was shocked, it was the first time she'd really seen him angry, however, that didn't calm hers down any at all.
Camille stood up and marched up to him, standing on her tippy toes to match his height the best she could as she got in his face.
Lyris leaned back, his eyes wide, surprised at the aggression.
"Listen you crazy lion! Maybe you've been out in the jungle too long, but you're in civilization now! Stop acting so animalistic! Find something productive to do, and I'm not referring to another person!"
He then smirked and leaned in closer to her, causing her to back off a little.
"Ah. Lions don't live in the jungle though."
Camille glared at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"Whatever. You know what I meant! I'm going to go make dinner."
She pushed past him and opened the door.
With a pause, she turned back and yelled, "AND GET A HAIRCUT!"
Hello dear readers!
Have you ever done something that others have scolded you for, but you kept doing it anyways because you liked it? What was it? I want to know!
- Thalia
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