Incubus

5

© A. H. 2018

Chapter Five

Celia gazed into the inky depths of the coffee mug, watching the dark liquid swirl around. It spun like the thoughts in her head, endlessly circling in no direction. Her mind kept flashing to the events of earlier.

Sleep paralysis. Red eyes. Bicycle crash. Demon.

Before she could entertain those thoughts further, the feeling of a hand on her shoulder made her jolt. The hot coffee splashed out of the mug, burning her fingers. Ignoring the sting, her head whipped to the side only to be confronted by Valerie's concerned gaze.

"It's your shift at the counter, but I can do it if you want to--" the older girl began, but Celia was already standing up.

Her redheaded friend had been giving her concerned looks since she found her on the road that morning. Celia couldn't blame her, but she didn't want to be walked on eggshells around.

"I've got it." the brunette reassured all too convincingly, "Will you take this to that table?" she held up the coffee and pointed in the direction of a customer sitting at a table across the diner.

Valerie obliged, taking the coffee from her grasp. She went to serve the young man his coffee, smiling flirtatiously at him. The woman knew all too well how to get good tips.

The rest of the diner wasn't so busy. Only one other customer in a corner. Through the front windows of the diner, she saw the sun setting over the tall coniferous trees, casting a warm orange glow upon the blue painted walls of the diner.

She once found the dark forests of Maine beautiful, but now they only gave her chills.

Shaking her head to herself, Celia walked back to the counter, where a regular customer was already waiting. Right now she needed to focus.

"Let me guess-- you'd like your regular coconut pastry?" she smiled warmly at the old woman.

"Yes, thank you dear."

"That'll be five dollars."

Leah fumbled in her purse and slid several dollar bills on the counter with arthiritic fingers.

Celia put the money in the cash register before glancing around the diner, expecting Valerie's assistance. Only, she appeared to be having a phone call.

Valerie abruptly got off the phone and walked in her direction, grinning widely.

"What did you do?" Celia asked suspiciously, eyeing her friend.

"I called Aiden."

The statement alone brought a blush to her cheeks. Aiden was Valerie's older brother-- and also Celia's crush for the past two years.

"He said he'd come fix your bike for you-- He's visiting town tomorrow."

"You didn't have to call him!" Celia protested, crossing her arms.

"Don't think I don't know about your little crush on my brother," Valerie continued regardless, her green eyes glinting mischievously.

Celia only shrugged, heading to the kitchen to get the pies from the freezer. Ignoring Valerie, she walked back to the counter where Leah was patiently waiting.

"Here you go, ma'am," she smiled as she handed over the pastries.

As soon as the old lady had left, Valerie was back to the topic of Aiden.

"Oh come on, you know you want to see him!"

Sighing, Celia gazed away at the dark evening sky through the glass windows. She was about to argue back, when a shadow suddenly passed over the window. Her entire body froze up, and a familiar trepidation washed over her.

"Hey- what's wrong?" Valerie asked softly, seeming to notice her alarm.

Before Celia could reply, the door-chime rang and the front door of the diner swung open. Only, it sounded like a warning bell in her head.

A cool gust of wind entered the room, and her entire body erupted in shivers. But it wasn't the cold that rose the goosebumps on her skin... it was tall, dark silhouette of a man standing just outside the doorframe.