Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 53

It was the end of his third day at The Grubbery, and Seth was feeling pretty good. Since tomorrow was Sunday, the diner was closed and he had a day off. But even better than that was the small roll of cash in his pocket.

Tripp liked to pay his employees every week in cash. Seth wasn't sure if that was normal or not, but he decided it didn't matter. The money was desperately needed.

It was only a couple hundred, but it seemed like so much more. He couldn't remember the last time he carried more than a twenty on him. It was a surreal feeling, one that had him smiling faintly because the best part of it was that he'd earned it himself.

"Take it easy, Seth!" Tripp called out from the far end of the dining room, where he'd been wiping down tables with a damp rag. "Don't spend it all at once, all right?"

"Thanks." Rolling his eyes inwardly, Seth lifted a hand in a little wave. That's exactly what I'm going to do with it.

He pushed open the kitchen door and quietly walked through. Jake had already left for the night, and his absence had the kitchen feeling empty and expansive. Seth took a final glance around, making sure the sinks were empty and that all the dishes were stacked neatly in their place. The countertops were clean and the floor swept. Even the dirty dishrags had been thrown in the laundry bin.

Satisfied that everything was done, Seth went to the back door and slipped through. His bike—another hand-me-down from Fenn—leaned against the wall just outside the door. Scratching the side of his jaw, he went over and began to wheel it out of the alley.

The stench of stale grease and sweat followed him out, causing him to wrinkle his nose in disgust. No matter how long he ended up working here, he was pretty sure he'd never get used to that smell. It was almost as bad as what he'd experienced from the Chosen Dungeon. Which was bad.

He focused on getting back to his apartment as quickly as possible, riding close to the curb. Even though the streetlights were plentiful, it was still after dark and he couldn't help the paranoia of being watched. He found himself pedaling faster, quickly growing out of breath, yet he didn't slow down. An intersection arrived and he leaned into the corner as he took a hard left, following the curb.

Heat still hovered in the air, a lingering remnant of a hot day. It didn't take long before sweat plastered his shirt to his skin. Seth huffed and puffed, legs and chest heaving in tandem. Yet despite the exertion, he didn't slow down.

He didn't care if he was going to be sore tomorrow. Despite his own paranoia, the feeling of flying down the street at breakneck speed had his heart racing.

Of course, that only lasted until he careened around a corner, and a dark car pulled in front of him. He slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel, tires skidding across pavement before he hit the curb. All forward movement stopped dead. The bike frame jolted beneath his grasp before toppling over, taking him with it.

Seth winced as pain jolted across his body. "Ow."

The driver of the car honked once in admonishment before accelerating away.

Jerk. Seth grumbled under his breath.

He pushed the bike off himself and clambered to his feet. Pain shot down his left arm and leg, but it wasn't bad enough to stop him from getting back on his bike. There'd be bruises for sure, but nothing major.

The rest of the ride home was much more sedate. Seth arrived at his apartment building just after ten pm. That left plenty of opportunity to get in his four hours of Eliona, although he really hoped Awesome Dude wasn't still swamped with homework. He didn't want to venture into a new area of the game without his friend.