After a few minutes of walking, we turned the corner and entered a lovely plaza with cobblestone walkways and lights hanging above the streets. The lights weren't on yet, but I had a feeling we would get to see them once the movie ended. I became curious about the theater he was taking me to and whether it would be as fancy as the other places we went to today. "So. What movie are we seeing?" I asked. Levy continued to look ahead as he answered. "Whichever one you like. I reserved the theater just for us tonight." I gasped. "Holy crap!" This time I couldn't hold in my surprise. "Aren't you worried about finances?!"
He shrugged as he looked down at me. "Tonight hasn't even made a dent in my wallet yet. You don't have to worry about it. I want to spoil you." This kind of flattery was becoming all too much. "I have to know. How much do these rich people pay you to eliminate their foes?" I asked with a little more desperation in my voice than I would've liked. Levy thought for a moment. "At least a few million per execution." That sounded about right. It made sense why they'd have to pay so much since Levy was putting his life on the line for someone else's dirty work.
"I'm still having some trouble understanding. I get why you would need to lay low with the job you have, but I don't get why you chose to live downtown. There's still plenty of crime going on in the middle-class parts of the city. I don't see why you would choose to live in the darkest depths of a hellhole when you could've afforded to live somewhere else. Perhaps a mansion in the woods? The law doesn't care what rich people do anyway, so I don't know why you're so worried." Levy seemed hesitant to answer me. "When I said I lived downtown to hide, that was only a plus. Not the actual reason. The main reason I live in the place we do is that I like being surrounded by filthy souls. I feel at peace when sin is nearby. Not to mention, it makes my rituals run twice as smoothly."
Okay, now would be a good time to run. Why wasn't I running? Even after every creepy thing he told me, I still felt safe with him. How could I feel safe around a man who killed people and enjoyed living among the cockroaches of the city? I guess I just had a thing for toxic men. This was it. My first abusive relationship was just as my mother predicted. The only difference was there hadn't been any abuse yet. Just some brutal honesty. "O-okay." I couldn't help stuttering. I thought about how if he rejected me by the end of today then that would be a whole new low point for me. Rejected by a murderer? There's no coming back from that. I was doomed either way.
Levy noticed my stutter and stopped us from walking further. He turned me to face him and placed a hand on my cheek gently. "I want to remind you that I am your protector. No harm will ever come to you as long as you're with me. I promise." I blushed at how easily he was able to read my mind. The corner of his mouth lifted a little after I became too embarrassed to look directly at him. "I just have a few problems. One of them is telling you too much. I can't help it, I'm curious as to where you draw the line." I laughed a little. "You and me both."
Once we arrived at the theater, I was once again amazed at how beautiful it was. It looked old-fashioned but it was clean enough to look brand new. the color scheme was red and gold, and there were pillars and doors on either side of the ticket office. Levy left the decision of what movie we saw entirely up to me, so I chose a horror movie. I didn't want to make him sit through a rom-com so I did my best picking something that a man would like to see. He made no visible sign of objection to my choice, so I stuck with my decision.
Levy bought the tickets at the ticket office and we went inside. I was surprised to find that we were the only ones here. I thought he had reserved one theater room, but now I knew he had reserved the whole building. He really did go all out for me. I just wished he would tell me why. Not knowing was eating at me, but I tried my best to ignore it despite the difficulty. The lobby's tiled floors shined as we walked through the large room. Levy led me to the concession stand and got us a large bucket of popcorn and some drinks before heading into our movie. I still couldn't believe he was still hungry after our dinner.
It had been years since I last saw a horror movie. I had expected the movie I picked to be a silly one with bad acting and blood that looked like ketchup so the audience wouldn't feel as bad when the characters die. That was not the case. For a moment I had forgotten that a movie could be terrifying. This one had everything from possession to psycho killers and was filled with suspense and jump scares. The blood looked very real and the acting was phenomenal. I often found myself huddled against Levy since he had raised the armrest when we first sat down. It was as if he anticipated my fear and wanted nothing in between us when the jump scares hit.
It was a clever move since I was too afraid to let go of him. It baffled me how he didn't even flinch when the boom of the speakers crashed through the theater and a disgusting face appeared on-screen. Did nothing scare him? I was curious until another jump scare came and made me gasp with fright. When the movie ended and the lights came back on, I was frozen for a few seconds with aftershocks from what I'd just witnessed. Levy laughed as he turned to me. "Have fun? I sure did." I remembered that I was clinging to his shoulder like a spider monkey and quickly removed myself from him. "Sorry," I said, quietly.
Levy then took my hand to help me stand up. "For what? I wish you would be all over me like that all the time." I did make it easy for him to satisfy his need for physical touch. "So... What did you think of the movie?" I asked as we made our way toward the exit. Levy threw out the empty popcorn bucket and our cups in the trash can at the end of the hallway before answering. "It was enjoyable. Something I could watch on a gloomy evening to relax." I raised an eyebrow. "Relax?! How can you relax after watching that?! It was horrifying!" We continued to banter back and forth as we passed the lobby and left the building. "It's just a movie, Lavender," Levy said as he grabbed my hand. "A scary one!" I argued even though everything I said just seemed to amuse him further.