Page 21 of Lucifer's Hounds

"Hey, did you drop your stuff off at the house today?" Mindy asks, shuffling around behind the bar.

"Yes ma'am. I sure did. Thank you again.”

"All right, your turn. I'm done with this place for the day," Mindy throws her hands up dramatically as she grabs her tip bucket from the counter.

"Fine, I'll take," I concede, grabbing the book to do paperwork before the start of my shift.

"Caine said he might be back tonight, but he is not sure yet,” Mindy tells me while she exchanges her tips and counts down her register.

"I thought he was supposed to be out of town for two weeks at least?"

"He was. His business venture ended sooner than expected and he was able to make it back late last night.”

"Oh. Well, okay then. How was business today?"

"It was good. Just as good as yesterday and you want to know the best part? Darren no longer works out there, so you won't have to see him," Mindy beams.

"Really? That just made my day!"

"I figured it would have. I didn't like him much either, especially after spending a few hours with him last night,"

"Yeah. You owe me,bigtime,” I say, elbowing her.

"I know, I know. Trust me I won't forget," Mindy hangs her head.

"How are things going with that, by the way?"

"With Kyle? They're great. He's a sweetheart and has a great personality. Not to mention he's got a killer body, even if he is slightly shorter than me,” Mindy giggles.

"Ew. Stop," I cringe, making a gagging sound.

"Okay. I'll stop. But only because I'm getting out of here. You will have to listen to me go on and on about Kyle soon, though, Lilly Amber. Very soon," she says, in the best witchy voice she can imitate. It’s my turn to laugh as Mindy walks backward out the door, waving her hands in a motion that looks like she’s casting some sort of spell. That’s why she’s my best friend.

As the night goes on, I think about my house and my finances. I decide to bite the bullet and call the landlord.

“Hey, Mark. It's Lilly. I know I'm beh-"

Mark’s voice abruptly stops me in my tracks.

"Hey Lilly. Look, I was just about to call you. I had an offer made on the house today that I couldn't refuse. I signed the paperwork this evening. I wanted to let you know that it's possible they won't let you stay there. The lady that’s running things seemed very direct and a little aggressive when I spoke with her earlier. She said she would be changing the locks soon and that she would discuss with the tenant on whether she would allow anyone to stay," Mark says, nervous and out of breath as if he were the one late on rent and working up the nerve to call his landlord. Oh wait, that was me.

All the air is sucked from my lungs. This is exactly what I didn’t need right now. Just fucking phenomenal.

“Oh. All right. Not a problem,” I say, with everything I can muster as tears sting the back of my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lilly. I really could not refuse their offer."

"It’s okay, Mark. I understand. Thank you.”

I glance around the empty bar. I know it’ll still be a few more minutes before the contractors start piling in at the end of their day. I walk into the storage room behind the bar and bury my face in my hands, allowing myself for an inkling of a moment to feel the things that I have so desperately pushed to the back of my mind, safely secured in a trunk and locked away to be dealt with never. My mother always told me that crying didn’t fix anything, but sometimes it isn’t about fixing anything. Sometimes, if I don’t cry and get it out of my system, it’ll come out of my fists.

I walk to the bathroom and stare at the grim reflection looking back at me. My make-up bag is on the counter, so I reapply my eyeliner in an effort to hide the fact that I cried off the first layerI had applied before I came in. I wipe my face one more time and flash a fake smile in the mirror, one that is so good I nearly even believe it myself. I walk back out front as my determination radiates through me. At least, I hope that’s what people see when they look at me. I’m good at hiding my feelings, but it’s taking extra work to appear confident. Appearance is everything, after all.

Just as I’m rummaging around behind the bar to occupy my mind, the front door swings in and the entire construction crew piles in fifteen to twenty people deep. They’re covered in asphalt, smell of sweat and tar, and all have smiles on their faces.

"Boss man isn't going to have a choice but to give us a bonus. We finished this job in two days flat and it looks damn good.” One of the guys says as he sits down. I stride over to take their order and hear a few cat calls from somewhere in the back of the crowd standing before me.

"Aren't you the one that Darren went to dinner with last night?" one of the guys asks.

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