6:00 a.m. Monday morning, Lirio was already up. She started the kids' breakfast and tried her hardest to stay awake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"You look tired," Prei's face leaned in so close to her, his head might as well have been resting on her shoulder. Lirio's heart nearly popped out of her chest.
"Oh- Mr. Cara- Prei," She breathed out slowly, "You startled me."
"You doing alright?" he stepped closer
"Yeah- yeah, I'm fine" She took a step back, "... just a little tired,"
"So I've noticed." he smiled, "How about taking the day off? Go out, have fun, or sleep- whatever you want."
Before she could protest, Prei handed her a hundred dollars and teleported out. Lirio sighed and finished making breakfast. Every walked in behind her and smiled. It wasn't a normal smile- this was a I-have-a-surprise-for-you smile.
"SO, me and my sisters' will be taking Any and Stey today! I also called a few of your friends and they should be here by noon!"
"You did what?" Lirio started to panic, " Oh no. No no no no no"
"Well don't you like your friends? What's wrong?"
"Of course! I love my friends-" She stopped. The last time she was with her group of friends they tried to set her up twice with a convicted felon, started a fire in a wax museum, and she had to bail them out of jail four times within the span of a week, "My friends are a little unstable and I don't think that'll help me relax-"
Every was gone, She had poofed herself out, her mind elsewhere. The house grew quiet, Lirio already knew she was the only one there. She knew the sound of silence. She knew what it felt like to be all alone in an empty house- Lirio shook her head and sighed.
"Maybe this time will be different. I mean- I do miss them a lot."
Lirio got dressed up and called her friend Maddie. She wasn't exactly sure what they were planning and that worried her. It had been a little over a year since she had seen Maddie- or anyone for that matter. Lirio could tell she was nervous as they spoke over the phone. She invited Maddie over to have a one-on-one catch up session.
Maddie had seemed a little bit different. It was hard to put her finger on, but Lirio could tell Maddie had aged quite a bit. She looked twenty four-ish, but at the same time she looked well over a hundred. Her layered hair was a dyed honey, and her lips were stained bright red. She tried to hide it, but Lirio could still make out the remains of an intense hickey on Maddie's neck.
"Liri, you're looking good," Maddie hugged her like she was the only thing real in the room,
"Thanks, I'm really diggin' the hair." Lirio invited her in and gave her a tour of the house. They played catch up- or more of Maddie filling her in where they had left off. Lirio listened quietly as she went through the list of trouble she had gotten in and the even longer list of men involved. Lirio could never wrap her head around how Maddie could move from one guy to the next. She always needed a man there with her, even if he was a maniacal jerk. Then again, Lirio had never really been in love so she didn't have the experience to know.
"So how 'bout you, Liri" She smiled as they sat in the living room, "is there a Mr. Right in your life?"
"Me?" Lirio was caught off guard by Maddie's sudden interest, "No- no, I don't think romance is for me." Maddie laughed and told her to keep her chin up. Soon her other friends had arrived and they were out the door.They all had that subtle aged look to them. What had they done in the last year that would age them so harshly? Even the youngest of the group, Lizzie looked way older than nineteen. She was a curvy little thing. Long brown hair, light brown eyes, and a set of lips that belonged to a Bratz doll. Her caramel skin was caked with make up in an attempt to feel older. Compared to Lizzie, Jess looked real young. Jess was twenty two and by far the most changed. There was something in her ocean blue eyes that seemed more matured. For the first time in years, her hair was a natural blonde.
They drove in Maddie's beat up, old Jetta. They talked over each other and laughed and sang off key to the songs on the radio. Lirio felt time stop as they drove.
“So where are we going?” Lirio asked.
“Nowhere in particular,” Maddie smiled.
“Yeah,” Jess sighed happily, “Doesn’t it feel good to just drive?”
"Hey you guys," Maddie's face formed a mischievous grin. She veered into the oncoming lane.
"Jesus! Mads!" Lizzie gripped at the backseat, "What are you doing!?"
"We're playing chicken!" she pressed down on the gas, "Here we GO!"
"Maddie, we aren't kids anymore!" Jess beat the side of Maddie's seat, "Oh god!"
"What do you say, Liri?" Maddie looked at her as they drove head first into a blue Mercedes, "Are you a chicken?"
"The biggest one there is!" Lirio took the wheel and they swerved into a ditch barely escaping a collision. The blue Mercedes horn blared as it drove off. Maddie laughed as soon as she realized no one was hurt. Lirio couldn't even be mad. She was laughing so hard; she was in tears. The whole car erupted into laughter. It wasn't a joyous laughter, but rather the scared, stressed kind. It was almost as if each one of them were slowly losing grip with reality. Maddie backed the car out of the ditch and they rode off in silence.
"I'm hungry," Jess broke the silence as they drove back into town.
"Me too, let's get food," Lizzie reached into the front seat and turned on the radio. They stopped at the nearest diner and parked.
Lirio could feel the exhaustion coming back once they ate. She tried her hardest not to pass out.
"Geez, Liri," Maddie snapped her fingers in Lirio's face, "That boss of yours is wearing you out, huh?"
"No- I love my job. The kids are great, my boss is- he's nice..."
"Nice?" Lizzie smiled, "What do you mean, nice?"
"He's nice." Lirio blushed as the events of the last two weeks flooded her mind, "I mean, it's a good job."
Maddie and Jess hollered in delight while Lizzie hounded questions at a mile a minute. Now they were interested. Lirio didn't get the chance to defend herself through the commotion. She was blushing loudly and still exhausted. She opened her mouth to speak when Prei was thrown through the window of the booth in front of them.
"Mr. Caraway!" Lirio stood up.
"Who is that?!" Maddie jumped to her feet as Lizzie and Jess stumbled from their seats.
"That's my boss!" Lirio ran over to Prei without thinking.
"Well, hello!" Maddie smiled, "He got any other positions open? He can put me on full time-"
"Maddie, shut up!" Lirio blushed harder, "Prei, Prei- oh god he's really hurt." Lirio shook Prei a couple of times before he woke up.
"Lirio-" He groaned as he attempted to sit up, "Sorry looks like you have to come back to work... I really need your help."
Lirio nodded and proceeded to help her boss to his feet. Maddie ran out of the diner to pull the car around as Lizzie helped Lirio with Prei. Jess stuffed her face with the last of her meal and left cash on the table before running out after them.
"It's not safe... for them" Prei coughed out blueish purplish blood from his mouth, "I was able to lose him but not for long..."
At that moment a little red Beetle came flying at them. Maddie was able to dodge it as it blew up only a few feet from where they were.
"Holy fudge cakes!" Jess fastened her seat belt, "I think he found us!"
They looked out the back windshield to see a man with silver hair flying behind them. He was wearing all black and had electricity radiating from his eyes. Lizzie screamed as he picked up another car with his power and hurled it at them.
"Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!" Jess held onto her seat belt harder and shut her eyes, "I don't want to die!"
"Shut up, Jess!" Maddie's knuckles turned white as she held on tightly to the wheel, "No one's dying in my car!" 70, 80, 90, 100 miles per hour. Maddie drove faster and faster. The man only came closer and closer. She cursed under her breath as he was only ten feet behind them now.
"Maddie, hit the brakes!" Lirio held onto Prei, the man was nearly on the back windshield. Maddie slammed her foot on the brakes and the man crashed into the back of her car. He tumbled to the floor and twitched a little.
“Fast thinking!” Maddie smiled, “Let’s see him get up after this!” She geared her car in reverse, the tired screamed as she pressed hard on the gas. “Maddie don’t!” Jess shut her eyes as they drove over the man. It almost sounded as if they hit a speed bump when she drove over him.
“Haha ha!” Maddie laughed as she put the car back in drive and ran him over a second time.
“He’s not dead,” Prei lifted his head from Lirio’s shoulder, “It’ll take more than a car to kill him.”
“Well he’s off our tail for now,” Maddie cracked her neck, “And that’ll give us enough time to get you out of here.”
“Yeah, should we get you to the hospital?” Lizzie tried to sound brave, “You look like crap.”
“No Just take me back to my house,” Prei winced as he moved his leg. Lirio hadn’t noticed it before, but it was bleeding. There was a small dagger sticking out of his upper thigh and that blueish purplish blood stained his dark blue jeans.
“If you say so, boss.” Maddie made a sharp left turn and headed for the house. They drove in silence once again. Lirio could feel the awkwardness surrounding her. Here she was in the back seat of the car with Prei sleeping on her shoulder.
They reached the house not too long after. It was only about 4:30 but the sun was already gone. Lirio helped Prei to the door as she turned to wish her friends goodbye.
“It was good seeing you guys again.” her smile was tainted with melancholy, “I had fun.”
“Yeah,” Maddie hopped out of the car and leaned in for a hug, “You take care of yourself.”
“You too,”
“Call us every now and again,” Jess unrolled the back window and did her best to hug her, “We miss you, ya know?”
“I know,” Lirio hugged her back.
“If not we’ll just call you at like 2 a.m.”Lizzie waved her phone from the passenger’s seat.
“Noted.” Lirio laughed. She knew this was probably the last time she would see her friends for a long while. She waved them goodbye and tended to her wounded boss.
“Okay, um, you’re bleeding-” She pulled out the dagger and tossed it across the floor, “It’s pretty deep. I’m gonna have to stitch you up.”
“You know how?” He panted
“My friends were a little reckless,” She smiled. Lirio stumbled to her feet and scrambled around the dark house. Too paranoid to turn on any lights, she groped the bathroom shelf in search of a needle and thread. As soon as she found what she needed, she was back at his side. She tried to rip the jeans but the wound extended farther up than where she would’ve liked.
“I’m- I’m gonna have to take off your pants. I can’t work around them. It’s not like I want to- but it’s just- *sigh* I mean- you’re like 30 years old why are you even wearing jeans this tight?”
Prei laughed as he started to unbuckle his belt, “I understand,” Lirio turned another shade brighter. She peeled the jeans off of him and started stitching. Prei didn’t so much as wince as she weaved the needle in and out of his skin.
“So, is getting hurt part of your work?” She felt too awkward to let the silence go on any longer.
“Yeah, you could say that,” He smiled, “but it’s not usually this… eventfully.”
“Don’t you usually hide it better?” she tied a knot to secure the stitches then bit off the excess, “I mean I didn’t even know magic was real until a few weeks ago-”
“Don’t worry,” Prei smiled as he examined her work, “My coworkers take care of the mess. That’s their job.”
“Okay- but my friends-”
“Will have a bit of an altered memory.” He stood up and rubbed his hand down his thigh.
“Hey don’t-” Lirio stopped as she watched the wound disappear, “Hey! If you could do that why did you let me- what?!” She was sure that her face was glowing in the dimly lit kitchen.
“I was going to, but when you brought up your ability to stitch and I got curious.” He shrugged and helped her to her feet.
“Whatever, I’m going to bed.” She headed towards the stairs
“Lirio,”
“Yeah?”
“Any and Stey don’t have to know about this, please.”
“Of course not.”
“And Lirio, thank you”
She nodded her head and went upstairs to her room. She was out the moment her head hit the pillow. Strange thing was, she didn’t feel so worn out anymore. No, she was just tired.
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