Olympus Drive Book 1: Everything is Fine

Chapter 19

Basil—Storm

"Yeah mom we are absolutely fine," she is working late and Sir doesn't get off till ten, "It's not the first time I've put two little children to bed, I promise." She's having concerns about working late.

"It's mandatory, I'm really sorry--- dinner is in the fridge—"

"They already ate and are in bed. We are completely fine, I'll be up when you get home, don't worry," I say, leaning against the wall by the phone. Marshall and Sydney are ridiculously compliant compared to my siblings, and took their baths without much fuss and are now in bed. They quite like me paying attention to them and went off after only one episode of a tv-show.

"Okay, thanks, I appreciate it, did you do your homework?"

"Yep," nope.

"All right, I'll be home in about an hour and a half—you don't have to wait up."

"I will not be asleep, just be safe," I don't like her out at night.

"Okay, I love you."

"Love you too," I hang up, then contemplate calling Della. It's kind of late. I called her once already. Also I could use the quiet.

Sir has a liquor cabinet, really a safe installed for my benefit. Thankfully Sir is not what we would call intelligent. I spent an hour of my life cleverly picking the lock when in fact the combination is my mother's birthday. Really? That uncreative? It's like he WANTS to share his--- ooo he got Smirnoff----with me.

I pour myself a shot of that, and top the bottle off with water. He hasn't noticed yet.

"I can't sleep, I miss mommy," Sydney wanders out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes.

"She'll be home soon," I say, before doing the shot.

"Daddy winces when he does that," she says.

"Daddy is a lightweight," I inform her, picking her up and setting her on the counter, "Now, you need your rest. Do you want me to read to you? Or do you want to listen to music while you try to sleep?"

"I guess," she says, sadly.

"What are you thinking about? Just wishing mom was here?" I ask.

She nods.

"She's going to be home soon. How about we sit in the living room and watch something quiet and wait for her? Yeah?" I offer, leaning against the counter.

"Can we watch PBS?"

"Sure," I go to get an onion to chew on to disguise my breath. Detective Stamos, in fit of humanitarianism, informed me that if I was going to steal liquor and didn't want to worry my mother I needed to cover up the smell of it. But that I really should quit stealing booze. He also gave me gum because he's a realist.

"What was that?" Sydney asks.

"What—oh fuck," I heard it too. The all too familiar scraping at the window. To be clear SOMEONE put out very competent salt lines and mowed anti-possession symbols into the grass. Then SOMEONE who wants me to DIE and never meet my child mowed 'properly' and swept up the salt because it's 'weird'.

 I said it's weirder to be dead but go off I guess. And that's why Sir is not speaking to me today. I think. Maybe it's because he destroyed my second salt line. I should have put out a third after he left for work. We were out of salt, and I was not allowed to go buy more and my mother got really upset at my insisting we do this today so I dropped it.

"What is it?" Sydney asks, hugging herself in her little tiny blue night dress.

"It's a monster. They come up from the Underworld to hunt me," I tell her, walking back over to her, calmly as I can. "But, they won't attack you. Not unless you're afraid. They smell fear, and they feed on it. So you absolutely, cannot be, afraid."