The Witch & The Hybrid

3 - Isa

The last time that I had ever been this sober... Well I was trying to keep my children from deciding to murder one another. That was the first thing that came to mind when I sat myself down at the bar. A thirty two hour long shift with very little rest during it because Alexion had kept the bar running through out the day and people were well... not fun. Booze right now tasted like absolute dirt and my desire for much of anything else seemed to be waning away into nothing. I chalked it up to stress and lack of sleep.

That alone was the downside to wanting to drink as desperately as I did when I was off the clock but it was after all what helped to keep the memories at bay so here I was... Begging for the bartenders to help me drown out my very own misery. I wanted the memories of the compound that I had spent my childhood in to be taken away. The times I tried to kill myself repeatedly to stop flashing in the back of my mind. The countless people who said they'd care for me but instead left me to suffer.

Every single memory that flashed its way through my mind right then were the ones that always hurt me the most. Mia. Her slender body, long white hair, her arm wrapped around my neck, fingers tangled in my hair, lips on my own. The way she always felt perfect against my body, almost as if she were made for me and me alone. The happiness she made me feel for the short time she was there. It was like something snapped right then as a memory flashed and I slammed my fist into the wall near me as hard as I could, growling loudly as the pain flared in my skin first and radiated to my bones.

Shoving that memory away I was bombarded with yet another. My father. Biological father that was, making me annoyed at the thought. What the f*ck even was I? Clearly, I was related to my twin brother Jerzyr, we were identical after all but I was also related to Jude. No matter what I could feel those ties and on top of that there was too much that made sense about all of it to ignore it or pretend like I wasn't. I was a wolf and I was a vampire just like Jude was but yet... Under the surface of it all? I was something more. I could feel it sitting there, calling to me practically.

F*ck. I hated this. Here I was, unsure of who the f*ck or what the f*ck I was with four grown kids and nothing going for me. Father of the f*cking year, am I right?

Jude probably would've thought I was nothing more than a piece of sh*t at this point if he ever saw me. If we ever ran into one another again. Even if he just gave me a dose of the medicine I truly needed, I almost would've killed to see my older brother. Just to hear him tell me how f*cking stupid I was being.

“Not like that’s going to happen Isa, everyone’s abandoned you at this rate.” I muttered to myself sarcastically.

Because after all, every single person was gone. Jerzyr. My father. Ella. Jeremy. Jude. Ashlyn. Mia. Jon. Lewis. Every single f*cking one of them, they were gone and not a damn one of them ever showed up or even tried to reach out to me and sure maybe it was somewhat my fault for having ghosted like I did when I lost Mia but f*ck. It didn't make me hurt any less.

“Man the f*ck up already.” I growled at myself under my breath.

“Dad?”

I stood there absolutely still for a moment. Everything in my mind seemed to shut up all at once as I turned and saw Ashe staring straight at me. Her long white hair lay in a braid on her shoulder as she tugged her black jacket on and walked up towards me immediately.

“You doing ok?” She frowned.

“I’m fine, Ashy.” I gave her a sad smile, moving closer, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. “How was training?”

“Interesting, Dahlia gave me some stuff to learn and Pyro said he’d help us back at home.” She beamed.

“Nice!” I smiled back at her.

“I’m heading home though; do you need anything? I know you’re working all night.”

“Nah.” I chuckled. “Just make sure you and your siblings are good and call me if you need anything.”

“Ok!” She kissed my cheek and pulled away. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Be safe.” I cleared my throat as she walked away.

Staring straight at the empty space where she'd just been standing minutes before, I sighed loudly. I really needed to get my sh*t together, if not for myself then for them. I needed to make sure they'd be safe. I knew Alexion would take care of them, but I didn't want to ever come off as a sh*t father regardless. Trying to pretend like I was ok when I knew I wasn't quite as easy as I thought it would be.

“Lex!” I shouted loudly, grinding my teeth together for a second. This wasn't going to work tonight. I couldn't work sober. “I can’t do this sh*t sober f*cker; I’m going to the bar!”

It wasn't like I was too far from it to begin with. I was maybe a few inches away but the difference between being near it and sitting at it were completely different things. Throwing myself down into a seat I watched as the bartenders milled around until a familiar face walked up to me, frowning at me. Despite how sad I felt, I couldn't help but genuinely smile when I saw her. Dahlia. She was one of my best friends and my ex-partner from ISOA when we were there.

Her colorful hair was curled all around her face, each strand seeming to be a new color of the rainbow but the expression she wore when she saw me was a stark contrast from the colorful and bright colors she had in her hair. She looked worried. I knew exactly what that worry was for too.

“I need shots.” I said bluntly.

“You need to be drunk while working?” She frowned. “Isn’t that you know, not good?”

“I’m pretty sure I need to be able to think.”

She stared at me and then sighed, stepping away and making me a handful of shots before bringing them all over and setting them down in front of me. Silence passed between the two of us but she refused to walk away as I started to take the shots one at a time.

“You gotta talk to someone, Isa.”

“Nah.” I shook my head and tapped the top of the bar. “I just need more booze.”

Giving me what seemed to almost be a pitiful glance she turned away and made more shots, grabbing a bottle and setting all of it down in front of me. All I could do was stare at the bottle for a long moment before raising an eyebrow and looking towards her. She gestured for me to take it.

“You’re going to end up drinking that much so just get a head start.” She leaned against the bar. “But be careful will you?”

“I’m not human, I'll survive.” I smiled slowly before taking the shots that sat in front of me once more. Getting up, I grasped a hold of the bottle and nodded my head towards her. “I’ll be back later on, time to patrol a bit. No one's going to suspect a drunk to be security after all.”

Lifting the bottle into the air as a salute to her, I stepped away slowly and started walking the place. Greedy humans who snuck in cramped themselves around various stages seeming to not even realize what type of a place they'd just gotten into. Outside of all of that, I found the random couples making out at bars or booths. People chatting and drunken idiots walking around. Nothing that was too far out of the normal for a place like this.

Here was to the next nine hours of my life, doing this bullsh*t work while I tried to keep a clear mind. I hated it already.