Page 3 of Dreaming of Darkness

I stared at them dumbly, still not understanding, “The laws for what?”

Albtraum held up a hand to stop the words that were practically flowing from Antheia’s mouth. “The laws preventing human, demon relationships.”

Something yanked, deep in my chest and I curled my fists to keep from pressing at the pressure there.

“We can have human mates again; the Fates and Lords agree.” Oh.

Fuck.

*** Bailey

It was 4:56 in the afternoon. Or would that be evening? God, I never knew where the line was on those. Either way, I’ve been staring at the same email on my inbox for at least thirty minutes, and I was ready to go home. Immediately.

Or rather, in four minutes. Because that’s the thing with first weeks at work. Everyone’s eyes were on me, trying to decide what kind of worker the new girl was. And while I wasn’t exactly killing it on the efficiency side of things, I wasn’t about to be called out for leaving early. Even four minutes.

Sitting here in my little gray cubicle with its fuzzy walls and its company issued branded posters, I would wait. I had come here for a new job, a new start, a new life. I was already in love already with the Midwestern fall weather, but I wasn’t sure about any of the rest. For the most part, everyone had been extremely kind, sure, but I was still very, very alone. Not that that was any different from the previous chapter of my life, but something about moving here from Seattle meant that everything felt new. The loneliness felt new again, fresher and harsher in the cool sunshine of the Sunflower state.

And honestly, all I really wanted to do was to make it to 5:00 PM tonight so that I could go home and finish unboxing the last of my stuff. That would mean at least I could look around my house and be at peace with what I had done. Packing up my entire life on a whim and moving halfway across the country, may not have been the best idea but I couldn’t change it now. I was here, the lease on my own little house was signed, and I had a fresh new Bailey Emerson plaque on my desk, courtesy of Woodson and Company’s human resources department. It was time to buckle down and get comfortable.

I looked at the clock again at 4:58 PM. I was so close.

“So, how was your first day?”

I jerked looking up into the eyes of my cube neighbor Elena, who was fixing me with her

bright blue eyes as she leaned eagerly against our shared wall. I smiled, she was making a big effort, so I should too. It would be nice to have friends here.

“Well, I didn’t break anything,” I ticked off on my fingers as I spoke, “I was able to find my way in and out of all of the files I needed. And so far, I haven’t gotten any fires started in the break room. So, I’ll consider that a win.”

Elena laughed loudly, surprising me. I wasn’t really that funny usually but grinned back at her. She had been overly kind to me this week, telling me all the best places to get food, even where to get my groceries and all of my little extras from my new house. And again, I really wanted to make new friends. Friends meant roots. A place that felt like home. I really wanted this place to work out. As her chuckles faded, I swiveled my chair towards her.

“How was your week? Anything exciting going on this weekend?”

Elena flushed a little and looked down. “I have a date tomorrow; I’m really looking forward to it to be honest.”

I clucked my tongue leaning in to hear more. “Is this a first date?”

“No, it’s actually our fourth,” Elena looked back up, her eyes suddenly wide. “Wait! Oh my God, I have a great idea, Bailey. You should come with me. With us.”

I laughed out loud at that, “Why would I come on your date?”

“Because” Elena drug the word out, her hands fluttering in the air between us, “He has a younger brother. Tall, blonde, blue-eyed and absolutely hilarious. I bet you two would get along so well.”

“Oh,” I flushed. “I-uh-I don’t really date very much.”

Or ever, I said to myself.

Elena’s eye quickly swept over me taking in the gray pencil skirt and the new white blouse I had tucked into it to comply with our company dress policy. My simple black heels were tall, just like I was, my shoulder length blonde hair pulled from my face, and I knew I had done a pretty good job on my make up this morning. All in all, I was put together, well-dressed and I mean, I could hold a decent conversation. Her lips pursed as she kept looking, obviously trying to suss out what might be preventing me from the pursuit of a partner.

“Why, I mean–”

My cheeks felt red hot as I fiddled with my fingers on my lap. “I appreciate it, really Elena, but I am actually just getting out of a long-term relationship, and I’m just not really ready for that.”

Elena immediately fluttered a hand in my direction, “Oh, I totally understand that Bailey, I don’t blame you at all. If you ever change your mind, the offer will be there because I think this guy, my guy, his name is Alec, I think he’s going to stick around. You just say when and I would love to set it up.” Elena sighed, sagging into the cube wall. “I love love, what can I say?”

“I know, of course,” smiling widely as she wished me a happy Friday and slipped back to her side of the wall. Then, my face relaxed, heart thudding as I looked at the clock with near desperate urgency now.

5:02. Thank the lord. It was time to go home.

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