Gods and Monsters

Ch. 18 A little strange

Pacing the distance of the kitchen, Sage ended the call when it went to voicemail before redialing the number.

Voicemail. Again.

Throwing the phone onto the counter and cursing lowly in annoyance, Sage paused in his pacing and tried to think.

The kids sat at the table silently watching him. They didn't know what happened last night and Sage didn't plan on telling them that their brother turned into some cat eating monster.

Opening the fridge, Sage pulled out three yogurts and gave them to his siblings before returning to his pacing.

He'd bitten his nails down until they bled and now they hurt but Sage couldn't care less. He hadn't slept at all and he was trying to block out what happened last night. Because of that, all his worry and fear was now diverted to Elias who was supposedly still at Sam's. Although no one would answer and now Sage was just growing angrier by the minute. He trusted Elias and he trusted him to be safe at the Baxter's but after this there was no way Sage would allow him to return.

"Um...Sage?" Aurora spoke up hesitantly. They had caught on to Sage's bad mood and had sat looking at him for twenty minutes. "We need spoons." She admitted.

"Right." Sage grabbed the spoons and shut the drawer a little too forcefully, making the silverware rattle.

Marlo was the only one who hadn't waited for a spoon and was using his fingers to scoop out strawberry yogurt. Sage dropped the spoons on the table and fell into one of the chairs.

Once the sky has lightened this morning and Sage had built up the nerve after looking out every window, he found himself trying not to puke as he picked up the dead cat and put it in a plastic bag. The neighbors were in for a nasty surprise when they took out their trash.

Hopefully the kids will just think the stray ran off.

Sage didn't know what to do. But he knew something needed to be done. First things first, he needed to get Elias. Dealing with Maverick can come later, he didn't even know where to start there. He could buy garlic or maybe take some holy water from a church? Then again he couldn't be what Sage was thinking. For one, Vampires aren't real. And two, Maverick was outside in the sun.

Maybe it was some kind of disease outbreak or something. Then again they all would have contracted it and surely it would be on news by now.

Whatever, he's not thinking about that. He's thinking out getting Elias and bringing him home.

Looking at his siblings though, he knew they would complain the whole time, especially with all the walking they had to do to get to the suburbs.

And work!

Sage jumped up and rushed upstairs to take a quick shower before putting on his uniform. He picked up outfits for everyone and filled Marlo's Spider-Man backpack with small toys.

Downstairs, everyone had moved to the couch and was watching cartoons. They didn't complain when Sage had them dress quickly. He couldn't get away with missing another day of work at the Pizzeria like he could at the store.

                                        ***

After having a heated conversation with Bob, Sage directed his siblings into the empty room reserved for parties or large tables.

Marlo and Aurora looked around excitedly as Mia huffed and crawled into the booth. "Be good, okay?" Sage asked, helping Marlo into the booth and sitting his Spider-Man backpack beside him. "What's the rules?"

"No running around, inside voices and if we need anything ask you or that lady upfront." Aurora answered with a proud smile.

Sage bit his lip nervously, not wanting to leave them back here alone but he had no other options. "Okay, don't leave this table  and I'll bring you something to drink." Sage kissed their cheeks before leaving and silently pleading for them to be good.

"Couldn't find a babysitter?" Gina asked, looking over her now green nails.

"Oh, um...no." Sage sighed, typing in his four digit passcode to clock in.

"Where's the older one?"

"A friends." He hoped. Elias was so grounded. He won't be seeing that laptop of his for a long time after pulling something like this.

Sage remembered to get the kids their preference drinks before returning to work.

It being Sunday, they were busy and it was basically adrenaline keeping Sage from falling asleep while standing. He had to keep moving or his eyes would become heavy. He accidentally messed up on someone's order and instead of accepting his apology, the bastard demanded to speak with the manager. For the first time ever, Sage almost found himself snapping at a customer.

Luckily he didn't and let Bob handle it. In truth they just wanted a free meal but got away with a discount.

By his lunch break he had a headache from exhaustion. Dropping a basket of fries on the table, his siblings dug in but he laid his head on the sticky table and rested his eyes. Meaning he took a thirty minute nap.

Gina had poked him awake and offered to take the girls to the bathroom while he took Marlo.

Marlo always used a stall, saying he's a boy that deserved privacy and not a dog that peed in the open. Sage could see his point.

After holding Marlo up to wash his hands and then washing his own, they returned to the table before the girls.

"Why doesn't Eli want to come home?" Marlo asked. "Does he not like us anymore?" Marlo didn't look up, focused on messing with the cup of crayons. "Is he going to leave too?"

"Eli's just having fun with his friend, He'll be home soon." Sage tried to reassure, brushing Marlo's black curls back.

Gina brought the twins back and after making sure they had everything they needed, they returned to work. The other waiters had arrived in preparation to take over when their shifts were over. At the moment, there was too many of them on the floor so Sage just hung back, taking small tables.

While going over his tickets and counting his tips, Gina came up to him with a odd look.

"What's up?" Sage asked when she started tapping her nails on the counter.

"While we were in the bathroom, the mean one-"

"Mia." Sage filled in.

"Yeah, Mia, she said something that was fucking creepy."

Sage paused what he was doing and looked over at the girl. Her brows were furrowed and she was staring at the checkered floor as if remembering.

"Well, What was it? If it's about seeing dead people, she does that all the time." Sage shrugged. Mia was always a little strange.

"She was glaring at me through the mirror and then said 'The shadows watch you too.'" Sage wanted to laugh but Gina looked genuinely spooked. "And then the sassy one just laughed and patted my arm."

"They watch too much tv, really, it's nothing."

Gina still looked unsure but she nodded along, accepting Sage's answer. Sage just added it to the ever growing list of weird shit that's been happening recently.

Whatever Maverick had turned into was on the top of that list.
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