I couldn’t sleep at all at night.
Whenever I closed my eyes, I would see the wolves again. I tried to fall asleep but I would wake up from various nightmares all with the same story. I dreamt that the black wolf never came and the other one killed me. In one of the dreams, the black wolf watched as the other wolf killed me and in the final dream, the black wolf joined the other wolf to kill me.
I was tired of waking up drenched in sweat and my voice hoarse from screaming so I pulled my legs up to my chest and refused to fall asleep. I sat in the middle of my bed staring out the window as the full moon shone brightly in the sky. I watched as the darkened sky turned bright orange and the sun rose up but still, I could not drag myself out of bed.
My entire body felt like it had been weighed down by a large rock and I had been dumped into the sea. I felt like I was struggling for breath and I couldn’t find the surface. The worst part of it all was that I knew how I felt did not matter because I had work. Despite the aching in my bones, I dragged my feet out of bed and made my way into the kitchen.
For the first time, I got to the kitchen before Grandma. I plugged in the coffee machine and began to make myself a cup. If I wanted to be awake for my entire shift then coffee was exactly what I needed. I drank it black and I cringed at the taste but I couldn’t stop. I was draining the last of the cup when Grandma wobbled into the kitchen.
She froze when she saw me and she blinked twice as if she wanted to be sure that she was not seeing a ghost. “Is there a reason you’re up right now and drinking coffee?”
“I woke up early.” I shrugged trying to play it off. “It isn’t a big deal. I just thought I could help you out.”
She walked over to me and analyzed my face. I tried to keep my expression neutral but I knew she could see past all my walls and defenses. After a second, she sighed pulled me over to the stools at the counter and practically forced me to sit. I knew better than to argue with her so I did as she asked.
“What you went through was traumatic,” she said slowly. “It is perfectly normal to have nightmares after being attacked by a wolf. I know I would and I am a hell of a lot stronger than you are.”
I laughed at her choice of words. “I am not having nightmares, Grandma.”
“The walls of this house might be thick but they are not soundproof and I am a very light sleeper.”
Translation: She heard me during the night.
I knew I couldn’t lie to her anymore so I allowed my shoulders to sag and I allowed her to see just how tired I was. She reached out to me and stroked my hair softly and affectionately and I allowed my head to fall forward so I was resting it on her chest.
“If you’re too tired then you can stay home,” she began and I immediately pulled back. “Don’t look at me like that Leindra, you looked exhausted. Do you have to work?”
I was saved from answering by Chris’ heavy footsteps. He walked into the kitchen rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes. When he saw Grandma and me, he seemed to sober up immediately and gave us a wary look.
“Is everything okay?”
Before she could respond, I got to my feet. “Everything is fine, I was just leaving.”
I made my way to my room and avoided coming out again until I was ready to leave for work. Grandma was still at home and she frowned at me when she saw me dressed up for work. I knew she was worried but I couldn’t be bothered with trying to alleviate those worries because I felt like I was one wrong move away from passing out from exhaustion. I was used to running on three hours of sleep but I had never tried to go an entire day without sleeping and I was worried about what would happen.
I made another cup of coffee and carried it in a flask so I could drink it while I was working. The drive to the bar took longer than it should have because I took the long way. I was not ready to take the same path I did yesterday when I was attacked. Just thinking about it made me break out in chills and I was worried about what would happen if I had to physically see it.
I got to the bar earlier than usual and I met Serena at the door. She had a huge coat over her shoulders and a scarf around her neck which I found weird considering that the weather was very warm. She waved eagerly at me and the sleeve of her coat shifted back long enough for me to see a flash of reddened and irritated skin.
“What is that?” I asked and she quickly pulled her sleeve back up. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s not what you think,” she assured me. “I have younger brothers and they like to play rough.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed her but I was certain that if she wanted me to know the truth then she would tell me so I decided not to push and settled for nodding. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her heave a sigh of relief when she realized I was not going to ask any more questions.
We moved to the bar and worked in silence although I could see her casting wary glances at me every second. She finally snapped when I tripped over my feet and almost took down an expensive bottle of whiskey with me. She helped me to my feet and I muttered a silent thanks.
“You look like shit,” she said after a beat of silence and I couldn’t stop the corner of my lips from quirking up. “Are you okay? Are you feeling a little sick?”
“I’m fine; I just had a rough night.”
“Do you want to go home? I could cover for you with Darius. I doubt he will come in today, he rarely does.”
“I am fine, Serena,” I assured her but it was obvious that she did not believe me. “I just need to be a little more careful where I step.”
She hummed and she reluctantly let me go but I heard her mutter something about mind and Darius but I couldn’t catch the words. I couldn’t dwell much on it because a customer came to the bar and I had to focus on serving him.
I had worked for barely thirty minutes when the door to the bar flew open. At first, I thought it was a disgruntled customer but then I saw him- Darius. His hair was a mess on his head as if he had just rolled out of bed and ran his hands through it one too many times. He was wearing black slacks and a button-up shirt that had the first two buttons undone. I could see the hint of a tattoo on his chest and I couldn’t help but be curious about what he had decided to ink on his skin.
He made his way to the bar but to my shock, he sat at Serena’s side. I was confused and a little disgruntled because he had never done that before but I decided to stay silent about it because it was not a big deal. While I worked, I could feel his eyes on me. He did not order anything or make a move until when I spilled beer. I had gotten a little dizzy and missed the glass so the beer had spilled onto the counter.
When Darius rose, my initial fear was that he was going to lose his cool and fire me but to my shock, he just stood in front of me and gestured for me to make my way over to him. I reluctantly did and I opened my mouth to apologize but he cut me off with a hand and gestured for me to follow him into the office.
As soon as the door shut behind me, I turned to him. “I am so sorry for spilling it. You can take it out of my salary.”
“I’m not firing you,” he cut me off as if it was the simplest thing in the world and I fell silent. “Sit down, Leindra.”
I took a seat slowly but never took my eyes off him. “If you’re not firing me, then what’s wrong?”
“I had some, complaints,” he hesitated on the last word and I knew it was not his initial choice of words. “Customers are talking about how you are more sluggish than usual. You have bags under your eyes and you have been taking a sip from the same flask since I saw you and you have bags under your eyes.”
I instantly realized what he thought was happening.
“I’m not drinking on the job,” he narrowed his eyes at me and I sighed because I knew I would have to explain to him. “I had a rough night last night and I couldn’t get any sleep. It is coffee that’s in my flask, I swear. I would never drink on the job.”
“What happened last night?” I stayed silent and he pinched his forehead between his fingers. “You have to give me an answer if you want me to believe your story.”
“I was attacked by a wolf.”
His entire face remained blank as I explained what had happened. I did not tell him how I felt they weren’t normal wolves because I did not want him to think I was crazy. When I was done explaining he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“You don’t believe me,” I deduced.
“Quite the contrary, I know you’re telling the truth.” I eyed him with suspicion and he laughed humorlessly. “I’ve come across my fair share of wolves in this town Leindra; wolves as big as people with paws as large as your head. There is nothing that goes on in this town that I am unaware of.”
He leaned in so he could drop his voice to a whisper.
“I saw the exact wolf you just described last night.”