The Struggles of Marrying a Demon {Completed}

Wrong Plan

"And then she told me that—Mabel, are you even listening?" Mabel looked up at Lucy blankly.

"No," she confessed honestly, a now-familiar rush of tears stinging the back of her eyes.

Lucy was obviously completely baffled, and she rested a hand on Mabel's cheek, forcing eye contact. "What happened, Mabs?" her voice was soft, gentle, and completely un-Lucy like.

The weight of carrying around Aleron's disappearance balanced precariously on Mabel's shoulders, even if it had only been two days, and she burst into tears when it finally crumbled. "It-it's Aleron," she choked through her sobs. "He's go-gone m-missing."

"Oh, Mabs," Lucy breathed, shaking her head sadly and pulling Mabel into her arms.

The gesture only made Mabel cry harder.

Not because it wasn't comforting, but because she was encased by a pair of arms that were too thin. Too feminine. Too soft. All wrong.

She wanted Aleron.

***

Mabel tried not to tap her foot too incessantly against the herb store's wooden floor, her eyes flicking to the clock for the twentieth time in the last three minutes. Rebecca was supposed to be there any minute, and, once she was, Mabel could work on calling for Zephyrine and Thora.

The serpent sisters had promised Mabel they would update her within five days, even if they hadn't heard anything important. Today was the fifth day since she'd found out about Aleron's disappearance, and she could barely focus on anything other than those two words.

Aleron's disappearance.

God, where was Rebecca?

As if she'd heard Mabel, Rebecca came through the front door, the bell jingling as she did, her backpack slung over her shoulder and her dirty blonde hair a mess. "Sorry, Mabel," she apologized sincerely, "traffic was bad."

Mabel managed a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "No worries, Rebecca. I'm going to head out, if you've got everything covered?"

Rebecca nodded, her smile full of sympathy. Resisting the urge to scowl, Mabel exited before she could call the girl out on it. While the news stations had no idea Aleron was missing, once Lucy had found out, almost everyone else who knew Mabel seemed to be sending her those damn pitying smiles. Even the clerk at her favorite grocery store had grabbed her hand, said, "I'm so sorry for your loss, Mabel," and then given her a discount.

While she appreciated their kindness, their stupidly sorrowful smiles weren't helping; the appearance of those smiles only made Mabel want to cry even more. She didn't need to be reminded that Aleron was missing.

She knew.

Once in the safety of her car, Mabel tried summoning Zephyrine, and then Thora.

Nothing.

So, she waited until she'd pulled into her apartment's parking lot, and then tried again.

Nothing.

Growing frustrated, Mabel threw open the door to her apartment, marching inside and trying once more. "Zephyrine! Thora!" And still, absolutely nothing.

A bubble of panic formed in Mabel's chest, tightening until she found it hard to breathe.

Oh, God, what if something had happened to them, too?

She wasn't sure what she would do.

Trying to push all the terrible thoughts out of her mind, Mabel decided to focus on cleaning her apartment. She'd wait until the night, and hopefully by then she would get a response.