by Bea Biddle
Alyssa nodded in understanding, but she couldn't help the teasing in her voice. "And you found that to be her fault?" Cef merely grumbled, making Alyssa laugh loudly. “Well, I dare say she will get over it, and probably quickly. She'll find someone else.” Cef ground his teeth together at her words. Alyssa smirked and continued, “Someone else to comfort her between the sheets.”
Cef teeth scraped together loudly accompanied by a low growl. He spun around facing her, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Why did you hire a human?"
"I already told you-"
Cef shook his head, stopped her by waved his hand at her answer dismissively. He knew exactly what she was going to say, and it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "No, I mean, why her? Why did you hire her? Why not someone else? Someone I wouldn't- someone that wouldn't- Why did it have to be her?" he pressed. Alyssa sighed but didn't answer. With her head cocked to the side, she only gave him a consoling look. Cef grunted under his breath. "Did you hire her for me?"
Alyssa cackled. “For you? My dear Ceftion, as happy as I am that you two have such an explosive reaction to each other, that was not something I planned. How could I have? You have shown no interest in any other willing body in the last thirty years. I simply didn't expect you to have any urges of the sort. My, my, how you proved me wrong.” She shook her head, her cackling continued, grinning from ear to ear. “I'm glad, though. You, of all people, needed it. One shouldn't walk through life without living it. It's not fun. Besides, I am amused by the two of you, I'm glad you found each other."
"You've put her in danger," Cef bellowed, whipped around and continuing down the street, his boots hammered on angrily. "You knew she would end up in danger. You knew the diner was a dangerous place for a human.”
"Nonsense," Alyssa disagreed with a snort, hurrying after him. "You would have protected her. Like you've done. And you will continue to do so. Despite your gloomy disposition, deep down you are a good person, Ceftion."
Cef sneered at her. "It's no wonder that humans have stories of evil witches. So far my own experience with them only reinforces the idea. You're toying with lives, Alyssa, for your own amusement."
"Careful, Cef. One should think you deeply care about the girl," she replied sarcastically. With the grin gone from her face, the creases around her mouth and eyes deepened. "Need I remind you that I am the reason you are still alive. You would have been dead if I hadn't convinced The Witches to let me keep you."
"That doesn't make me your toy," Cef snapped at her. "Karen isn't either."
"I play by my rules, Cef, you play by yours." She left. Disappeared in the darkness leaving Cef alone on the street again. Furious. He slammed his fist into the nearby streetlamp, bending it. The light flickered and faded.
✽✽✽
Pressing her back up against the front door did nothing to stop her shaking. Her tears pressed on, but she refused to cry. She never wanted to cry again. Especially not over some Demon who didn't care about her at all as it turned out. She had been so dumb. He still didn't care about her and she had played right into his trap.
It had been too long since she had been home. She started to feel guilty and was overwhelmed by how much she had missed it. Home. Where everything was the way it was supposed to be, always. Her mother made sure of that. The off-white wallpaper with the daffodils, the big wooden dresser complete with a doily made by some distant relation, her father's old coat and hat hanging on the wall next to the umbrella stand that she somehow always managed to knock over. The walls adorned with stupid, oversized pictures of flowers, the polished wooden railing on the stairs, beige fuzzy carpet. Even the huge potted plants, that her mother insisted on putting everywhere, were the same. Everything was exactly as it had always been. And it was comforting.
"Oh, it's you!" Karen's mother breathed out in relief when she saw her daughter by the door. "Thank goodness you're here." Her mother ran to her and cast her arms around her shoulders in a massive hug. "I've been calling you for the past hour and I couldn't get through. Are you all right? We have been worried sick. We heard about what's going on downtown. It's just horrible, it's all over the news." Karen's mother, Constance, barely let her daughter catch her breath, her words spilling like a waterfall.
Karen hugged her back with all the strength she could muster, deeply regretting not checking in with her parents sooner, crushing the smaller woman to her. While Karen was considered somewhat short, her mother was shorter, she had always been thankful that she had inherited at least some of her father's average height. But that appeared to be all she had gotten from him. She was the spitting image of her mother, people often commented on it, much to Karen's annoyance. It wasn't always a compliment being told your mother could pass for your twin. Same gray eyes, same pointy nose, same head shape and same thick black, impossible to do anything with, coarse, hair. She loved her mother but always considered her sister to be the luckier one with her bouncy blonde hair, fuller lips and big blue eyes like her father. Not to mention the complete lack of pointy in her nose. That was the real kicker.
“Are you alright?” Constance continued when Karen said nothing. “Tell me, Kare-bear, are you alright?”
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Karen said, nodding as she reluctantly untangled herself from her mother's embrace.
Constance held her at arm's length and studied her up and down. Karen's torn, dirt-stained clothes was a stark contrast to her mother's neat, soft pink sweater and floral leggings paired with large fuzzy slippers. This was obviously her casual wear, she wouldn't be caught dead outside the house unless she was dressed up. Usually in some awful dress, floral or animal print. Even a trip to the supermarket had her in the closet for at least half an hour picking out her outfit, just in case any of the neighbors saw her. Karen often shook her head at her mother but had come to terms with the fact that that was just the way she was. "Are you sure? You look horrible. Like you've been hit by a truck."
"Subway train, actually," Karen mumbled half-heartedly.
"Oh, Karen," Constance cooed over her daughter and brushed her hair from her forehead, Karen had forgotten about the gash there and winced. "You've been bleeding,” her mother scolded gently, ”And you're so dirty. What happened to you?”
”It's alright, mom,” Karen whispered, but a loud sob escaped her and suddenly she couldn't control it any longer. She burst out crying, wrapped her arms around her mother again as the tears began falling faster and faster. “I was in a little accident,” she lied, through hiccoughs and wails.
“An accident?” her mother shrieked, “An accident? Karen, are you alright? What kind of accident?”
“It's alright. It's alright," Karen quickly reassured her, holding her tightly, preventing her mother from peeling her from the embrace to look over her daughter. "I'm fine. It's over. It was just the shock of it all," she continued, tears still streaming, and she couldn't stop them. "But I'm alright. I'm alright." Damn that fucking Demon. Damn him for reducing her to a sobbing mess in her parents' hallway.
“You don't sound alright," her mother said but stroked her hair lovingly anyway. "You're so pale. I mean, more than usual. We should go to the emergency room." Karen shook her head furiously, tears snot and drool soaked her mother's shoulder. "Alright, alright. There, there, darling," Constance soothed her, still stroking her daughter's messed up hair. "An accident certainly doesn't help when you go through a rough patch in a relationship."
Karen stiffened at her words. "What?"
"It's alright, baby," Constance whispered, "Colin called and he explained everything."
Karen untangled herself from the embrace once more. "He did what now?"
Constance took Karen's hands in hers. "Tell me honestly," she said in her most authoritative voice, "What is this talk of a gang? Are you in a gang? Is it that same gang that's making a mess of downtown? Colin seems to think you-"
"I'm not in a gang!" Karen exasperated and tore her hands out of her mother's grasp. "What exactly has Colin told you? And for the recor
d, we are not going through a rough patch, we've broken up. And why did Colin call you?" Karen had to bite her tongue. She knew very well that her parents had seen Colin as their son-in-law for six years, there was definitely a friendship, a connection there she couldn't expect to evaporate instantly. He had practically grown up in this house as well and they had loved him like a son. "Mom, I'm sorry, but I'd rather not talk about Colin right now. It's- It's over."
Constance eyed over her bedraggled daughter, gently tugging the black mess that made up her hair, behind her ears. She nodded in understanding, having the good sense not to press the matter further. "Go tell your father you're alright, he's in the garage working on something or the other. Then why don't you go have a hot shower upstairs? You know where the towels are. We'll talk afterward." Karen nodded slowly. It suddenly dawned on her just how sore and achy she was all over. Yes, a hot shower in a proper house was just what she needed. Constance took a step towards the kitchen, then thought better of it and turned to Karen again. “Just so you know, I never believed you joined a gang.” Constance sighed with a smile, stroking her daughter's hair one more time. “I am so glad you're safe. I'll put out some clothes for you on the bed in your old room. Do you want a cup of hot chocolate?"
Karen nodded again. Fuck, it was good to be home. With a deeply content sigh, she stepped forward. Her foot collided with the umbrella stand, knocking it over. A couple of umbrellas slid over her feet. Her mother raised her eyebrow at Karen, saying nothing, shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen. Karen almost laughed. She was definitely home.
Following her mother, she waddled through the kitchen to the garage door, sticking her head through, "Hey, dad," she called.
Her father, David, emerged from under the wreck he called a car. It was his hobby, his special project, building a car from scratch. He had been working on it since Karen was six though, the progress slow and sometimes even backward, but he enjoyed it. Her mother never sat a foot in the garage, she always said the smell of metal made her sick. This place was her father's domain entirely. “Kare-bear!” he greeted her, rushing to his daughter while frantically wiping oil and grease from his hands. “Where have you been? We haven't been able to get in contact with you. I've been so worried I had to- I had to do something.” He sighed apologetically, motioning to the pile of metal that didn't resemble a car any more than it had a year ago. She smiled, nothing ever changed in this house. Good. That was good.
“I know, dad, I'm so sorry.” She pulled him into a tight hug, not caring that he was dirty, she was even more so.
Hugging her back, he asked, “Are you alright? I'm so glad you're safe. Have you seen what's been going on in the city?”
Karen groaned against his shirt. “Yeah, I've- I've seen it.”
✽✽✽
She wiped the steamed-up mirror clear and grumbled at her reflection. Her mother was right, the cut on her forehead, the dark circles under her eyes, the pale skin, she did look a bit worse for wear. Karen ached still but the hot water had carried away most of her tense muscles. She never imagined she would be doing anything dumb like jumping off a subway train or fighting with Demons in the street. She had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she actually had. It was so alien a thought, it all felt so unreal. Her life had become so unreal. It was supposed to be normal and straightforward like everyone else got to have. Not a life filled with vampires and werewolves and fights to the death in the middle of the night. No, it was supposed to be- it was supposed to be... boring?
The realization hit her and almost startled her into stumbling backward. Boring. Her life before had been boring. And now? Well, whatever it was it certainly wasn't boring. She was hurting, both emotionally and physically, that she could have lived without. But without the diner? Without Sylvester? Alyssa and Zac? Even Pete? And what if she had never met Cef? She wouldn't have had that amazing experience in his apartment. She would never have known that something that mind-blowing could ever happen to her. But she also wouldn't have had her heart ripped out of her chest either. With a growl, she wiped the foggy mirror with her towel and stepped away.
In a moment of weakness, she stepped onto the bathroom scales. And she wasn't pleased at all. She had always been normal, a little bit extra weight to carry around, a couple of pounds or three, nothing major. Enough to be called curvy by magazines because she wasn't model thin. But in the last month, she had eaten too well. It was all Pete's fault for making actual food for her, she decided quickly. He was an amazing chef, his talents were wasted chopping and grinding meat. Especially the tower of blueberry pancakes he served her for breakfast on occasion. She had a sneaky suspicion that he really enjoyed having someone to cook real food for, that's why he spoiled her so much.
Maybe Colin had a point, maybe her ass was a bit bigger than usual, and it wasn't as if it had been tiny to begin with. Cef didn't seem to mind, didn't mind at all, a little voice piped up in her head, In fact, he seemed to like grabbing hold of it. "Oh, you shut your mouth, traitor!" she spat at her reflection. "That man doesn't give a shit. He just wanted to get his dick wet and didn't care who with. Damn fucking Demon."
She wrapped the large fluffy towel around her and walked down the hall to her old room. Turning on the light, she couldn't help but smile at the sight that met her. This was perfect, it was exactly the way she had left it. Her old bed, the shelves full of old stuffed toys, her collection of books and films, her old posters and pictures. Even old trophies she had won, mostly just for participating but still, there they were. She was instantly thirteen again. Perfect. At thirteen nothing had happened yet, no Colin, no vampires, no werewolves, no ghosts, and most importantly no Cef.
Pajama pants and a black, long-sleeved t-shirt had been laid out neatly on the bed, her mother's, and like most of her clothes flowers covered every inch of the fabric on the pants. That didn't matter, it was warm and snug. The cup of hot chocolate steaming away on the bedside table comforted her. But catching sight of old photos of her and Colin adorning the walls, glittery hearts stamped onto them, made her frown and now she just wanted to cry again. Oddly, not because of Colin, but because he symbolized everything that had happened. Every little bit. And Cef most of all.
A shiny glimmer from the dirty clothes she had kicked across the hallway and into the room caught her attention, she rummaged through the pile with her foot. The Skarram dagger that Cef had given her fell out of her jacket. "Shit," she mumbled. It was strange to be holding such a weapon in her old bedroom, even if it was small it looked deadly and sharp to the touch, and it shone in a plethora of red shades that played on the black blade as she twisted and turned it.
"So, running home with your tail between your legs, eh?"
Karen could have screamed at the shock. She hadn't heard her sister in the doorway. "What are you doing here?" She hadn't meant to spit it out in accusation, but she was still trying to calm her pounding heart. She slid the dagger into the pajama pants on the bed as she sat down.
"Good to see you, too," her sister mocked with a warm smile. She batted away a large leaf from a potted plant in the hallway, rolling her eyes at it. “I swear mom is trying to turn this house into a jungle with all her plants. It gets worse every year.”
Karen shook her head. “She does love her plants.”
“Our mom, the hippie freak." Dani snorted in a laugh. "Anyway, she called me. Said you looked run over and was in a terrible state of distress because of this whole Colin mess. Oh yeah, and you were in an accident. But mostly she was worried about the Colin thing." She walked in casually and sat down on the old, creaky pink office chair by the desk. Sliding her leather jacket off her shoulders, she kicked off her boots. "I told Steven I'd sleep here tonight, comfort my dear, distressed sister," she announced.
"I'm not in distress," Karen stated with a sigh, picking up the steamy cup, warming her hands. She should probably put the pajamas on.
Dani cocked her head to the side and studied her. "You do actually look like you'
ve been better. What the hell happened to you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at bruises and cuts that showed clearly on Karen's naked skin. "You better spill, I want to know everything.”
✽✽✽
Dani swallowed a large gulp of her own hot chocolate before hissing angrily, "That fucking bastard! I would have chopped off his dick. One clean swipe with a kitchen knife." She made the chopping motion with her hand and Karen giggled like a maniac.
Karen sat cross-legged on the floor, in her mother's hideous pajama pants and her huge, old bunny slippers, drinking the drink that was the very epitome of her childhood. It was good to be home. "I mean, showing up at my work? What was he thinking?" She wiggled her feet in the fuzzy carpet. Her parents had gone to bed long ago, thankfully. Talking with her parents had been a more controlled conversation, now she was able to let loose. "He's a fucking cunt."
"Damn straight," Dani agreed readily. She jumped up and quickly tore a picture off the wall. "You should burn these, all of them. I can't imagine how you feel having to look at this ass any longer."
"He was a fucking douche anyway. With a small fucking dick." Karen said a little too loudly, then covered her mouth. Had she just said that in her parent's house?
But truthfully, she didn't care about Colin anymore. She was angry at his behavior, she was furious with his actions, but she hadn't cared about him for a long time. Their break up had been a clean one, at least on her behalf. She couldn't expect her sister to understand that after having tolerated six years with the man. Because she realized that was all she had been doing, tolerating her time with him. It wasn't the way a relationship should work. She would only have tolerated her own life for the rest of her existence, not truly living, or being happy. She had told her sister everything, embellished her own feelings of betrayal and heartbreak. But no, she wasn't upset about Colin anymore. She wasn't sitting there mouthing off because of him.
