blood moon, marc spector

thirteen.

WHEN YOU WERE AS BAD OF AN ALCOHOLIC AS LILITH JAMES, IT WAS SOMETIMES HARD TO GET A HANGOVER THAT REALLY STUCK. this was not one of those times. she had built a high tolerance over the years, but clearly she'd overdone it. she woke up and immediately winced, putting a hand to her head.

the night before came rushing back to her when she sat up, noticing a cup of (now lukewarm) water sitting out for her on her coffee table. marc spector.

lilith's dad had been nothing but a villain in her eyes for her entire life. she would imagine the imperial march from star wars playing when he entered a room. there were even times she fantasized about him dying, in a morbid way, wondering if she'd kill him before he beat her to it. she didn't have to worry about that anymore.

the call that she'd received was blunt, to the point.

"lilith james." she had answered, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.

"this is lilith?" the voice on the other end asked.

"uh huh." she confirmed.

there had been a bit of a pause. "lilith, your father has passed away. in his sleep. a few days ago. no one knew who his family was or how to reach him. we don't think he experienced a lot of pain."

lilith hadn't known what to say. "okay. yeah. thanks for letting me know."

and that was it.

somehow knowing that he was dead, that there was a world without him, made her feel sick. as if she hadn't been hoping, for her whole childhood, that he would die.

she'd always held onto a naive hope that her father would get better. get sober. that was probably how he'd died, she figured. all those damn complications with his liver.

she wanted him to show up, for once. but event after event, he was a no show. he wasn't at her graduation, which had seemed like a much bigger deal at the time than it was in hindsight. all she did was walk across a stage and shake some hands.

lilith hadn't even spoken to him in years, which may have been part of the reason that she felt somehow guilty. if he'd tried to reach out, she wouldn't have even known. wouldn't have even replied.

she had always thought that her father's imminent death would make her feel free. would make her shoulders lift, maybe even add a pep to her step. so why did she feel like complete shit?

she was still wearing her jeans, which were not comfortable to sleep in, she'd gathered. she sat up a little more, reaching for the glass of room temperature water, which she downed in seconds.

marc spector had been in her apartment. had dragged her drunk ass down the street and up the elevator, then had poured her a glass of water for the morning.

a groan escaped her lips at the thought. marc spector, of all people, had seen her at what may have been her lowest point. drunk out of her mind, losing it over her dumbass dad. and, despite being rude in the beginning, he really had been quite nice about it at the end.

what the hell had happened? her father's death was making her sad, and marc spector was the only person she'd trusted with something. the world was turning upside down, or some shit.

lilith threw up into the bucket that was sitting at her feet. she'd have to thank marc. she collected herself and went to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and taking a shower.

she was supposed to meet with jabez to discuss her next mission, which seemed like an impossible task at that moment. she got down some aspirin (with a bottle of gatorade that miraculously sat in the back of her pantry), and eventually managed to feel somewhat normal.