Chapter 5
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
— EDGAR ALLAN POE
I woke up in a cold sweat. Thankfully, I was alone. My demon was no longer lurking in the corner of my room. I wondered for a moment if I had just imagined it, but I knew I hadn’t. He was real. He had touched me. That was the first time he had ever touched me. He must be pissed.
Fuck.
I hugged Sam.
I had hugged Sam, and my demon reappeared for the first time in four years. I tried to tell myself I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made a horrible mistake. Leaping out of bed, I snatched up my phone. The sight of my empty to-go box and dirty shot glass from the night before made me feel sick to my stomach.
How dare I think I deserved to celebrate or be happy? I should have known better.
Scrolling through my contacts, I found Sam’s number. I had never actually texted him before, but I fired one off now.
Lilith:
I’m super excited for our shift tonight!
Staring at the screen, I chewed on my thumbnail and prayed for the three dots to appear in the chat window.
Nothing.
I glanced at the clock. It was almost four. He was opening, which meant he would need to be there for five. Maybe he was on the subway already and had no service? I toyed with the idea of calling him but worried that it would come off as strange if I really was overreacting and everything was fine.
I hopped in the shower and started getting ready. I pulled on a fresh Voodoo tank and slipped into my skirt. All of a sudden, my phone buzzed. I ran for it, my heart leaping to my throat.
Rafael:
Can you come in early?
My heart was pounding. Why did he need me to come in early? I chewed on my thumbnail again as I tried to think of how I was going to reply.
Lilith:
Of course… why?
Rafael:
Sam never showed up for his open. I can’t get a hold of him.
The breath flew from my lungs. I collapsed on the couch, suddenly feeling dizzy. I wished Chaos was here. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. With shaking fingers, I slipped my hand up under the hem of my skirt and rubbed the pad of my thumb over one of my scars. It had been a long time since I had needed to carve myself a new one, and I suddenly had the itch to add one to my collection.
I had to act normal, though. I needed this job. If I acted suspicious, people would start asking questions again. I had to work this shift, and I needed to do it with a damn smile on my face.
Lilith:
Weird. I hope everything is okay! I’m on my way now.
Rafael:
Great, I’ll try to see if I can get someone to cover for him.
It’s going to be tough on short notice.
Getting a shift covered this late on a Friday was going to be nearly impossible. I hoped he would be able to pull it off. Running the bar alone during primetime would be unthinkable for even an experienced bartender. There was no way I would be able to handle the wood and service solo. I bit my lip in an attempt to distract myself.
Today was already a disaster. Sighing, I stood and threw on my coat.
Breathe, Lilith.
Everything was going to be fine.
Sure, keep telling yourself that. When has it ever been fine? A mean little voice said in my head. I ran a hand down my face and forced back a frustrated scream. That fucking demon was not going to ruin this for me. Even if he did kill Sam, I was going to push through this shift and keep my place on weekends. I would just need to be much more careful moving forward and make sure not to give out any more damn hugs.
I got to the bar and threw myself into my opening duties. I was already behind, but Shem offered to help me cut garnishes, which freed me up to change out a few kegs and make sure that my register was balanced.
Rafael was stalking through the dining room on his phone, frantically making call after call, trying to find someone to cover for Sam.
“What do you think happened to him?” Shem asked from where he sat at the bar, slicing lemon wheels. His eyes were wide, and he looked like a reporter who had just stumbled on the juiciest story of the year. I shrugged, trying to act normal.
“Who knows? I’m sure he’s just sick or something,” I said, bending down to check I had enough bins for empties.
“He would have called in if he was sick ,” Shem said, giving me a conspiratorial smile. “I bet it’s something way more fucked up. Maybe he died.”
“Shem! For fuck’s sake!” I snapped at him, but he just smirked at me,
“Lighten up, Lil. I’m only joking.”
“It’s not funny,” I grumbled.
Suddenly, Rafael appeared and slid onto the barstool next to Shem.
“Okay. I got someone to cover, but he’s a friend of mine. He doesn’t have any Voodoo experience. He’ll have to essentially act as a glorified barback until we can get him trained up.”
I frowned at that. “No one who works here could take the shift?”
Rafael shook his head and picked up one of Shem’s lemon wheels, eyeing it critically. “No, and we needed to hire someone to replace Jezebel anyway, so I suppose now is as good a time as ever to try out someone new. If the two of you pull tonight off, I’ll offer him a full-time job, and you can train him. ”
This was highly unusual for Voodoo. Rafael rarely hired bartenders without previous Voodoo experience, even if they had worked at other bars. You had to start as a server and work your way up. Considering we were now down two bartenders, I supposed it made sense that he needed to make an exception.
Beggars couldn’t be choosers, after all.