34: It's All Smoke & Mirrors

I wake up in an empty bed, disheveled more than usual. The night before comes rushing back to me and I’m giddy and embarrassed at the same time. It doesn’t take much to sense that Gabriel is gone, which is probably for the best.

Dressed and ready for the day, I enter the kitchen to find a note on the table. ‘Breakfast’ it reads. The corner of the paper is tucked under a takeout container still warm to the touch. He must’ve had it delivered not too long ago. With a growl of my stomach I flick the lid off. A small puff of steam floats out and the aroma unwillingly makes my mouth water.

An egg scramble from the diner at the end of the block. For months I had to have breakfast from Lola’s Diner, but after working nights so much, breakfast has been replaced with lunch. But not today. There’s not much time before I have to dash to work, so I put the cover back on and bring it with me.

I had been expecting to take a seat behind the counter and enjoy my somewhat warm food when I got to work, but the second I walk into the shop Gretchen bombards me. “Ah, there she is.” She chimes extra happily.

“What’s up?”

“Did you stop for breakfast?” Monty sneaks in. Her eyes go up to my face, stopping on my eyes. She squints, eyeballing me. “Did you get the rest of us anything? You’ve been off for how many days and you’ve totally neglected us.” She whines not bringing notice to my almost healed eye.

“No.” I say back suddenly nervous. Is it still that noticeable? This morning it just looked like any other under eye dark circle, but Monty has always been a stickler for details...and gossip.

“Girls.” Gretchen says stopping the groan in Monty’s throat before it has a chance to become verbal. “I just got some exciting news.” She flashes me a glance, but she overlooks me as her mind is somewhere else. “I wanted to tell both of you at the same time.”

Monty and I look to each other and then back to Gretchen. Both of us completely dumbfounded on what this news could be.

“The Demizen Annual Gala will be held in honor of witches this year.” She beams at us expecting equal excitement, but it must fall short, because she shouts. “Isn’t that exciting.”

“Is it?” I say unamused by the news.

The Demizen Annual Gala is a hoax. It’s just some fancy party where denizens, mostly those with extreme power and money flaunt that power and money in other’s faces. A perfect place for Marcus and Phillip to gloat. I’m not even sure who created such a thing or who picks who’s year it is. It’s all smoke and mirrors, lies and bribes from imaginary people patting the back of those that demand recognition.

“Yes.” She barks into the shop. The volume of her voice startles several customers. In a quieter tone she continues, “A few covens are being acknowledged. Mine is one of them.”

Ah, and it all makes sense. Gretchen is a guest of honor. I didn’t take her for one to gloat in glory like Marcus and Phillip. I guess praise does that to people.
Monty’s eyeballs go wide with excitement. “Us too? Are we lumped in there since we serve you and your friends?”

There’s no stopping the puff of laughter that bursts from Gretchen’s mouth as she eyeballs of us. “If you would show up to the actual coven meeting then yes, but just working on coven nights doesn’t count.” She replies strictly to Monty, because she knows that I don’t have interest in her coven or any coven in general, not to mention wanting anything to do with the gala or drawing attention to myself at said gala.

“Worth a shot.” Monty says as she shrugs her shoulders, not hurt or pleased with the verdict.

“So, next Sunday the shop will be closed so we all can attend.” Gretchen is overly happy about the whole thing. It makes my stomach turn.

I remember last year’s gala, when vampires were honored. I didn’t go, because Gretchen didn’t make us. I spent the night with Caleb, Avery and Avalos watching spooky movies and eating junk food. I’m slightly grateful I didn’t show up last year to see Phillip relish all that unearned glory. What is there for him to be honored for? Killing the most people?

The year before was the year of the wolf. I, of course, was dragged to that one at Caleb’s side. Marcus wasn’t too pleased that one of his most loyal wolves had brought a witch for a date, but he didn’t dare draw attention to it. No, he took all the attention upon himself.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Marcus will try to steal the spotlight again or that Phillip will demand everyone to kiss his feet. Maybe he’s hoping to tell everyone his news of the rise of the vampires. I’ll just have to hold telling him until afterwards, that is as long as Gabriel doesn’t spill the beans before then.

They both hate witches, so they both would rather not see us witches in the spotlight, but for Gretchen’s sake I’ll keep at least one of them quiet.

“Or the shop can be open and I’ll work.” I offer as I finally take that seat I wanted before I even entered the shop.

“Nice try, but you will be going this year.” There’s a smug smile on her face that I’m not used to seeing.

I take slow bites keeping my mouth chewing so I don’t have to respond. It was a nice try and try I had to.

Thankfully, Monty takes the attention off of me and expresses a little inkling of interest. “Who are the other covens?”

“I’m not sure. But we’ll find out.” Gretchen chimes as she finally starts walking off. She clearly cares less who the other covens are. Before she can get too far, she hollers, “because we’re all going.”

“Yay.” I say in a monotone, bored voice.

I expect Monty to say something equally as sarcastic, but as I look at her she pulls out a rock from a shipment we got in days ago. “This one’s pretty.” She says completely over the conversation about the gala.

“Are you finally going to put those away today?”

“Maybe. I have to clean the old ones out first and I really don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“Fine, I’ll do it.” She huffs as she walks off in the direction of the glass cabinets that the crystals for sale are located pretending to be annoyed that I didn’t offer.
I relax a bit on my stool, glad that I didn’t offer. Instead I can finish the last few bites of my now cold breakfast and think about-

The chime of the door interrupts my thoughts. And I don’t get that thought back because a delivery man walks straight up to the counter, a small bouquet of deep red poppies in hand.

“I have a delivery for…” the man looks down at some piece of paper before meeting my eyes again, “Hazel.”

“That’s her.” Monty chimes as she comes from out of nowhere.

He sets the flowers down on the counter, because I’m too frozen to reach out for them. He bids us a good day before leaving. Monty doesn’t waste a second digging into the flowers in search of a card.

I immediately think that Gabriel sent the flowers. A part of me wants them to be from him, but as Monty reads off the card time seems to stand still.

“Caleb.” I mutter between my numb lips.

“Who else would it be?” Monty says knowing full well that there was a fifty-fifty chance of being from someone else. "The hopeless romantic or the bad boy who got you a bruised eye?"

“Shut up.” I say as I finally get some feeling back.

She struts away with a smug smile on her face leaving me with a growing sense of guilt and the flowers. The flowers that are my favorite, the same flowers he would give me every time we thought we were breaking up for good. The thought that these were from Gabriel is just a part of me that’s in denial. The part that could never forgive Caleb. But there’s a bigger part of me that always does.

Oh boy.