It was only a minute until I was supposed to get off work, yet Ares was nowhere to be seen. He had yet to miss the nine o'clock mark and although it hadn't hit nine yet, he was always early. Always. I anxiously waited from behind the bar, my fingers in a steady rhythm of panic on the countertop. My eyes never left the door, while the world continued to move on around me. The panic that I had forgotten returned to me, in fear of what could've happened to him.
Suddenly, the bell chimed as a new customer walked in and my heart dropped to the bottom of my feet. It was her. The fear bubbled up in my stomach and rose to my throat at the very sight of her and I dropped down behind the bar, careful not to attract her attention. On my way down, I grabbed my tip jar that had my name on it and held it close to my chest. I didn't dare move and was hesitant to even dare breathe at the sound of approaching footsteps. I tucked my knees under my chin and began to hyperventilate unintentionally.
The woman temporarily at the cashier, Marilia, glanced down at me briefly before she looked at the customer, "How can I help you, ma'am?"
"Have you seen a young woman around here by the name of Cashlin? She's fairly tall and has caramel hair and darker skin," the devil responded with a sickly sweet tone.
"Cashlin?" Marilia said, "no, I don't believe I've heard that name before. Check out Port's across town, I heard they've been hiring, maybe not legally though, very young girls."
"Oh, thank you!" The Queen of Hell replied, "My daughter went missing and I just want to find her, thank you again."
Marilia looked down at me after a minute, her eyes squinted in confusion and concern, "Did you runaway from home or something? That woman seemed pretty worried about you."
I couldn't speak due to the lack of air and Marilia sighed before she crouched down next to me and fell silent. She gently rubbed my shoulder as I struggled to regain my breath. When I was finally able to calm down, she looked me straight in the eye.
"Are you an orphan or something?" Marilia asked.
"Something like that," I laughed bitterly and looked down at my lap.
She looked at me and then at my tip jar. Marilia, with her beautiful blue eyes and dark hair, shook her head as she stood up briefly and grabbed her tip jar. She looked a few years older then me, but she managed to have the same amount of tips, if not more. Marilia smiled sadly before she pried my tip jar from my hands and poured the contents of her jar into my own. I watched on in shock before she pulled out her wallet, flipped through a few tabs, and grabbed the only remaining bills she had.
"Here," Marilia said, "I know it's not that much, but it's all I got. Don't worry about me, my rent's not due for a while and I'm good on tips. Just take the money, I'm going to have to fire you."
"Wha-" I stared but she shook her head.
"I have no idea what's going on but it's not safe for you here, get the hell out," Marilia said, "take the jar, but leave the apron, I'll handle the paperwork."
"Thank you," I blubbered through my tears.
"Just get out," Marilia said quietly, but nicely and stood up again.
And then I took off my apron and I left, Marilia's eyes on my back the entire time.
