A Slave to Broken Hearts (A Slave to Love Sequel)

Chapter 36: Free Vampire

"Hey, newbie! Back in action!" Mike greeted me, all smiles as he gave me a tight hug and lifted me clean off my feet within the first two seconds of me walking in the door. He literally dumped his coffee pot at an empty table just to tackle me in a hug.

I was so surprised, and so stuck in his tight hold with my arms pinned to my sides, I couldn't even hug him back till he set me back down on the ground.

"Hey?" I said, more than a little flustered by this reaction.

"You feeling better?" He asked, stepping back to look me up and down and I fidgeted under his gaze. I had no idea how badly I had reacted to the hallucinations or what he had seen or heard, but whatever he had witnessed, he didn't seem bothered or think I was crazy. Either that, or he was an exceptional actor. 

"Yeah. Loads," I said, grabbing my pendant. "Hey, I'm sorry about..." I trailed off. "Look, about what you saw..."

He put a hand up to cut me off. "You don't apologize for what happened and you do not have to explain a thing; your health is your private business. All I care about is that you're alright. Are you?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you," I said, my shoulders relaxing a bit. Thank God. I was terrified I'd have to lie or come up with an excuse to explain what had happened to me and I had yet to think of a story. I still hadn't even explained anything to Katie yet, just vague things about being stuck in bed, how boring it was, how glad I was to be better. 

"And you're sure you're ready to be at work again?"

"Yes," I said, nodding. Being at work, getting back to a regular schedule and being busy and distracted was exactly what I needed right now. "Promise. I'm back to my old self and ready to pick back up where I left off."

He studied me for so long I fidgeted under his gaze, wondering if he was remembering my meltdown and debating the validity of my words.

"Okay. Once you put your stuff away, hit those tables," he said, pointing them out to me, and I could breathe again. Mike was a goddamn national treasure.

"Got it," I said, heading to the back to exchange my stuff for my apron and notepad. It was all going to be okay. Getting back to work and a normal schedule, doing normal things, that's exactly what I needed to be doing to get on with my life and forget about the past few weeks.

When I emerged, the purple haired girl was sitting by the window and some of my nerves eased. A super nice client for my first day back? It had to be a good sign.

"Hi there, how are you doing today?" I asked once I got to her, shooting her a smile once I'd checked on the other tables Mike had pointed out to me.

"I'm doing good, you?" she said, her polite smile relaxing into something more familiar.

"I'm doing great, thanks. Would you like your usual latte or something new today?" I asked. Usually, after someone has been here a few times and ordered the same thing I'd start to remember them. But with her rather bright purple hair, generous tips, and polite demeanor, she was one of the most memorable clients I'd had even though she'd only been here a handful of times and it had been a while since I'd been at work. She always had a bright smile for me too, lips pretty and pink, and it never failed to put a smile on my face in return.

"You remembered?" she asked, blinking up at me, cheeks pinking slightly.

"Of course. You're very memorable," I said, so relieved to see a friendly face and excited to be back to my regular life, I added "I probably shouldn't say this, but you're probably one of my favorite clients."

I was in a good mood damn it and maybe putting out some positivity in the world would bring me some back. I could use it.

She was full on red now, but smiling nonetheless. "Oh wow, um thank you! It's been a while since I've seen you working, I was beginning to wonder if you quit. "