The Trouble with Evie

Chapter 16

Sitting in front of what was now a tomb, I began weaving the daisies that I'd collected along the way.

"So, Audrey bailed me up this morning. Apparently, her father lost his job because of what happened. I'm guessing that Drakkus is threatening him rather than actually taking his job away. I can't believe he actually thought that Audrey would be able to convince me to hand things over to them. Were they always a bunch of morons?"

Niko didn't answer, not that I expected him to.

"And don't go freaking out and go all overprotective dad on me, but I met a guy today. I haven't told Brad. I know he'll freak out. Jeez, he might try and have the birds and bees conversation again. I reckon I could give him a better education about it. Anyway, the guy is a vampire. He only told me his first name, Kannon, but I did a little digging. He said that I have allies in this town, and his family is not a part of Drakkus's coven. Have you heard of the Lothaire family? Any insight that you have would be really great."

Tears slid down my cheeks as I continued to tie the flowers together. One little bunch of flowers for a friend that I'd lost. I'd hoped that he would be a father figure to me, to complete the family that I had with Brad. All that I had was a few days with him. They were pretty good ones. I wanted to cling to them for as long as possible. I knew that with time, the memories would fade. Soon, I'd forget what he sounded like, and eventually, I'd forget what he looked like. I'd be left with a vague memory that I could not focus on without a struggle.

That was a depressing thought.

Tying the ribbon around the bunch, I formed a bow and placed it next to the flowers I'd left for him yesterday.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Standing, I flicked the leaves and dirt away and began the trek back through the forest.

When I emerged, I stopped and tried not to giggle. Brad had decided that because we were staying in Hades, he'd buy a lawnmower. He was struggling to make it start. The neighbor was leaning on the fence, giving Brad his useful but probably incredibly annoying advice.

Brad tipped his head at me as I passed, the neighbor waved. I smiled, waving back at him, and delved into the house before he offered me help with something.

Grabbing my bag, I wandered through the house and to my room. I was yet to fully unpack, more interested in fighting off vampires that, despite having no real issue with the people who lived in this house, decided that it was necessary to attack.

I'd spent three years with Brad, and in that time, I had not gained many possessions. Life before that didn't allow for it, my mother was always broke, and I was lucky to have a few items of clothes and food in the cupboard.

Brad, however, was a lot more giving.

If I wanted, I could ask him to take me to the mall to buy things. In the past, we'd done that a couple of times. As for now, that was never going to happen. Hades was a small town that did not have a mall. It shut early on weekdays, and there were barely any shops open on Sundays. This place was dull as dishwater.