Chapter 20
553 Words
20
After an hour of fruitless searching, Samantha stepped into the Drunken Turnip. She sent another text but just like the other ten, no reply followed. A brief flicker of contentment passed through her as she found her usual seat at the bar empty. There was something comforting about routine and consistency, but that joy didn’t last long. Not while she knew Lilith was mad at her.
“Everything alright?” Brendan’s question snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered quickly.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to disturb you but you seemed frustrated.”
“I am.”
“What can I get you? The usual?”
“Yes, thanks.”
The bartender smiled at her and tapped her a Wisp Hopper. He placed the beer in front of Sam and disappeared before she could pay. She stared at the pearling beer, her thoughts filled with Lilith.
She sat and drank, waiting for a reply to her messages. A couple of hours passed rather eventlessly except for the refilling of her glass.
Brendan placed a fresh beer on the coaster and shot her a concerned look. “Everything alright, Miss Samantha?”
“Pff… Not really. I got into a fight with Lilith.”
“Ooh… That doesn’t sound like a desirable situation to be in.”
Sam chuckled humourlessly. “It’s not.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, thank you. Unless you can magically conjure Lilith?”
Brendan smiled as he wiped the bar. “That might not be necessary.”
A purse thudded on the chair next to Sam and she turned to find the woman she’d been agonising over.
She sucked in a tight breath. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
“You got my text?”
Lilith waved her phone. “All six of them.”
“Sorry. I really wanted to apologise for before.”
“It’s fine.” She climbed on the high chair next to Sam and cracked her neck. “I need a drink.”
Brendan appeared, already holding a bottle of pink wine. “The usual, Miss Lilith?”
Lilith smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes.”
The young guy dove poured her a generous glass and left the two women to it. Lilith grabbed her glass, brought it to her lips, and glugged it down in one go.
She wiped her lips and held up the empty glass. “Another. And leave the bottle.”
Sam studied the woman next to her, unsure what was happening. She could’ve sworn that fight had a massive tail but Lilith didn’t seem bothered anymore. Or at least, not by that. There was definitely something going on, but she couldn’t pinpoint what. She seemed frazzled, spooked. Nothing like the fuming, steaming Nox she saw earlier that day.
“You okay?” she asked carefully.
“Hmm.” Lilith looked like she didn’t know how to reply and instead, downed another glass of wine.
That was never a good sign.
“You seem upset… Do you want to talk?” She reached out to touch Lilith’s arm but changed her mind at the last second.
The other woman thought for a second, the ambient noise of the bar creating a comfortable but slightly suffocating atmosphere. Sam felt compelled to bridge the silence between them but remained quiet to give Lilith the thinking space.
After a while, Lilith shook her head. “No, I don’t want to talk.”
“Okay.” Sam gave a supporting squeeze and quickly withdrew her hand. “I’m here when you’re ready.”
Lilith raised her glass to her lips. “I just want to drink and forget.”
“I know that feeling,” Sam admitted. She gestured to Brendan and waved him over. “I think we need something stronger. Bust out the Flying Deer.”
- Writer
