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Every step I took felt like it took too long. Even as I slammed my finger into the button and looked back behind me searching, it felt like I was stuck in a moment of terror that wouldn’t pass.
The familiar ding was my salvation as the elevator doors slowly slid open and I leapt inside. My back pressed into the mirrored corner as I reached into my bag and pulled out a metal pen, gripping it tightly in my fist as I raised it above my shoulder and waited for the doors to slowly close.
“Eden?”
A rush of breath left me as the door closed and the elevator started its ascent.
I was most definitely losing my fucking mind.
Laughter came next, a sure sign that was likely true. I chuckled as I remembered my phone and held it to my ear.
“What’s wrong with you? Are you okay?” Abuela spoke in rushed Spanish.
“What? What’s happening, Cat?” Gran urged.
“Nothing.” I breathed a humourous sigh as I shook my head at my immaturity. “Sorry, there was…” What? I tried to think of what would rattle them the least. “A bee.” More like a demonic moth but… running from a moth seemed a little silly.
“A bee?” Abuela sighed. “Really? All of that because of a bee? I thought you were being attacked.”
“Well… technically I was,” I tried to reason lightly as I laughed again.
“You’re working too hard, Edie,” Gran spoke over Abuela into the phone. “You should come over. We can have a sleepover like old times. A big dinner. I can make oxtail and rice and peas. Fry up some plantain.”
The thought of Gran’s cooking made my saliva thicken and my stomach rumble. “That sounds so good. I’ll call you after work and we can set something up.”
“I can make arepas,” Abuela added.
“That all sounds amazing.” The elevator dinged again and I got off at my floor. “I’ll call you guys later. I’m at the office now.”
“OK. Don’t forget,” Abuela said.
“Love you, Edie!” Gran added.
Disconnecting the call, I shoved my phone into the front pouch of my bag and adjusted the strap higher on my shoulder. I pushed my thick hair back behind my ears as I sighed again and forced a smile.
Unease still ate away at me.
I wasn’t the type to create monsters in the dark. There had been something down there in the parking garage with me. I was almost sure of it.
I was already married to a demon, something told me there were so many things that went bump in the night. So many monsters waiting in the dark. I just hoped marrying a demon didn’t mean that world filled with monsters was mine now too.
12
EDEN
The creepy feeling that hit me in the parking garage still hadn’t left me by lunchtime. I decided to call it a day, running back through the parking garage and peeling out of there like I was in a high-speed chase. I didn’t feel better until I walked into the little bistro on Queen West. I looked over the shop with its dark woods and dim Edison lighting as the sun poured through the massive windows, giving it a modern industrial look.
Alicia and Vi were thick in conversation. Genuine smiles were on their faces, as though they hadn’t spent the weekend at my hell house.
Vi looked up and waved.
I waved back as I made my way toward the counter, only to stop when Alicia held up a cup indicating they’d already ordered for me. Of course they had, they were awesome like that.
My feet practically gave out as I sank into my seat, hung my bag on the back of my chair, and wrapped my hands around the black mug that was more the size of a small bowl. I inhaled the aroma of my drink, a weak grin on my lips at the slight hint of cinnamon before I took the first slow sip.
“You look like you need more than coffee. Girl, what the hell is wrong with you?” Alicia asked, voice low and deep. Alicia had the kind of voice a lot of women wished they had. Sultry. It was the sound of seduction wrapped in warmth and it soothed my soul to hear it now — normal without the chaos of a summoning plaguing her — as she folded an arm over the back of her chair and kept her other on the table, her hand wrapped around the handle of her mug.
“I’m losing my damn mind,” I told them. We’d been friends so long, there wasn’t the pretense of smiles or the pulling of teeth to get to the bottom of things. We were honest all the time, and I wasn’t about to start changing that now that my life was falling apart. “I feel like I’m in a horror movie and counting down the scenes until I get taken out.”
