The Equinox (12 page)

I wait for Rose to regain
her energy before asking another question. “What does that mean for me?”

A defeated expression
clouds her face. “It means that you have Equinox blood. You have a
vulnerability that Erebus will possess if we don’t find that pendant.”

The thought of an evil murderer
possessing my body creates a wave of emotions that I don’t want to deal with—
ever
. “You both talk about an engraving
on the pendant, but I never saw one.”

Rose sighs. “I cloaked it, a long time
ago. I instructed your mom to wear it at all times to keep her safe. She was
stubborn so I eventually had to brand it to her. The only reason she could
remove the pendant was to give it to you. I made sure that you received the
same protection when you were old enough to need it.”

So it was Rose. Rose is the reason I have
the pendant now—or rather,
had
the
pendant. Strange that Isaac didn’t know that detail.

“Did my dad—Paul—know about
her?”

Rose flinches. “That’s something I’d
really not like to get into right now.”

“Oh no you don’t, Rose.” Charlotte is on
her feet. “You tell Kat exactly what happened. She knows enough now and you
can’t keep on with these secrets—and I want to know too.” Charlotte sits back
down and I give her a grateful look.

Rose glares at Charlotte. “Fine. After
your parents married, your father was excited to reveal himself but I
encouraged him not to. I wasn’t sure how your mom would take it, being what we
were. I didn’t know if it would trigger her memory and I never wanted
him
to know what
she
was. Paul takes his role as Enchanter very seriously.”

Takes
. The present tense of the word takes on
much more meaning than I think Rose realizes, but I keep this thought to
myself.

“Once you were born he was no longer able
to hold back. Your date of birth held so much significance. He wanted your mom
to share in the same excitement as he did. He revealed his true identity to
your mom, and like my premonitions told me, she didn’t take it well. She feared
that we were witches and took you far away, to Spring Lake, North Carolina,
threatening to expose our family if we went near you.”

This is the first time I allow sad
thoughts of my father to consume me. There is so much love, loss, and heartbreak
in that story.

“But he still isn’t around.” Tears come
to my eyes and I stand up. “Even after she died—even after I came to live
with you—he still hasn’t come around.”

Angry now, I walk toward the stairs. This
whole night has been too much, but our final conversation leaves me frustrated
and angry. I’ve never felt such anger toward my father, but now it’s coming on
strong. There’s anger for my mother in my thoughts too but I feel guilty for
letting myself think them. She’s dead. She can’t defend herself, but how could
she keep me away from my family for all of these years?

And maybe I can understand why she pushed
my father away long ago, but that gives him no excuse now. Where is he now that
the Equinox threat is here? Why wouldn’t he be here for his family? For his
community?

I lay in bed tonight and sob for my mom,
the Equinox—and for the first time in my life—my father.

The morning after is no better. My eyes
are swollen, my body aches, and I’m groggy from lack of sleep. Of all days to
have an audition at the Island Grille, it had to be the day after a snake
attack, an Elder’s death, a run in with the king of all mermaids, and the
discovery of my mother being an Equinox. Oh yeah, and now I’m part Equinox too.
Great.

I literally roll out of bed and throw on
a pair of jean shorts and a tank top, pull my hair up in a ponytail, and brush
my teeth.

I don’t wear much makeup usually but
today I feel it’s needed. Magic will help my puffy eyes, and my skin is already
glowing from the previous day spent outside, but I add a touch of mascara and
some lip gloss before heading out the door.

The Island Grille is still closed when I
get there. The main doors are locked so I walk around the porch, checking out
the view. Massive trees covered top to root in the climbing kudzu vines, seal
off the world behind it.

“What are you doing?” A voice interrupts
my thoughts and I jump.

I turn and see Johnny peering at me from
around the corner. “Come on. I need to count the till.
You
need to fold napkins.”

“Fun,” I say under my breath but he
doesn’t hear me. At least I don’t think he does. I follow him through the door
and watch him lock them back up behind us.

“There was a murder on the Island last
night,” Johnny explains, as if I don’t already know. He hesitates a bit before
continuing. “So Roy wants me to keep an eye on you today. We’ll just keep this
locked until we open.”

I agree quickly, not wanting to hear the
awful story again, and I’m glad he doesn’t choose to elaborate.

We enter the bar area of the restaurant
and I see a basket filled with blue cloth napkins.

“You can fold these, and then wrap the
silverware, like this.” He takes a fork, knife, and spoon, places them in a
folded napkin and rolls it until they are snug inside. I notice how strong and
rough his hands are. They are different—bigger than Alec’s hands.

“Okay,” I say and watch him walk off. At
least he hasn’t glared at me yet. Maybe things are looking up.

In seconds, I fold the first few napkins
and frown at them. How boring. I glance up to see Johnny facing the other
direction and just then an idea strikes me. With a smile, and a quick swoop of
my hands I’ve folded the napkin into a sun. Then I take the silverware and
place them into each of the slots. Much better. I smile, impressed with my
creativity.

It takes just a minute to complete the entire
pile of napkins and I stand with a grin. Johnny is in front of me now. My head only
reaches his collarbone so I have to lift my chin to look back at him. He stares
down at me with an intensity that could fry an egg. I gasp and back up, hitting
my back on the edge of the booth. “Ouch.”

His eyes flicker down to the table; to my
masterpiece. “What are you doing?” He lifts up one of the cloth suns, dangling
it in front of his face, as if it’s dirt. “What is this?”

My words are lost at first, then I
swallow my nerves and stand up straighter. “Anyone can roll a napkin. These,” I
wave one at him optimistically, “are fun.”

With a shake of his wrist the napkin is
undone and tossed on the table. “Fix them.”

I drop into my seat, mouth agape. Johnny
walks toward the kitchen and I am utterly speechless. I knew he was rude, but this
crosses the line. Frustration and anger consume me, but as soon as he’s out of
sight I wave my hands over the napkins, unwrapping them all and then rolling
them the way Johnny wants.

Not enough time has passed and I’m still
fuming when I lift myself from the seat and march into the back to confront
Johnny. He has no right to talk to me like that.

As I push my way into the break room,
ready to let him have it, I immediately freeze. He’s sliding a shirt over his
head and I catch a quick glimpse of his bare stomach muscles. Before he’s
covered I’ve already noticed the scar that starts at his side and moves toward
his back—that’s where my eye line stops. I should have turned away, or
ran, anything else but stand here.

He looks up with a jerk, seeing me stand
there, staring at him with heat in my cheeks. “I—I’m sorry.”

I imagine steam coming from his nose as
he puffs out a breath of air and then tosses me something from across the room.
When I open the balled up material I see a black tank top with the words Summer
Island Grille.

“Thank you.” The words are barely a whisper
as they leave my mouth.

Johnny just slides by me and walks out
the door, allowing me to change in private.

If he’s trying to deter me from choosing
to work here, it’s working. Along with his lack of social skills, the Equinox
killing people, and the newfound information about my mom being an Equinox, my
emotions are high; I might shatter at any second.

Moments pass and I debate whether or not
a job here is worth it. I don’t want to quit but I definitely don’t want to
work with Johnny.

“Kat,” he says as I walk out of the break
room. I say nothing, but walk toward him. He hands me a white stained cloth that
smells of chlorine. “You can start wiping down the tables and setting the
chairs out. We wipe them down at night and then again when we open.”

I can’t help but notice his tone has
lightened considerably but he’s a long way off from friendly. I reach for the
towel, avoiding his eyes, and push through the kitchen doors. Happy to be away
from him, I wipe down each table and place the chairs in their respective
positions, right side up.

He shows me how to enter a ticket into
the system and charge a customer’s card when closing out a table. Meanwhile, I
just listen and take it in, doing everything in my power to avoid eye contact
or speaking to him. If I open my mouth to say anything, I know it won’t be
nice.

Roy walks in just as Johnny opens the
doors. He grins happily. “Hey Kat. Don’t mess up.” Then he walks straight to
the back, most likely to his office.

Johnny is smirking, and I quickly look
away, focusing my eyes on the first couple that enters.

I find the job to be distracting, in a
good way, as things pick up and more customers enter. At some point Johnny
disappears and I’m helping both his customers and mine. I’m sure the move was
purposeful, to push me to my breaking point, but I don’t mind the work. In
fact, I find myself thriving from the chaos.

When I pick up an order from the kitchen,
I find Johnny and Roy near the break room chuckling at something the other
said. I find it hard to imagine Johnny laughing with anyone but here he is,
plain as day. He was friendly like this to the cook too. So why such the cold
shoulder to me?

Roy looks at me and waves. “Hey Kat.
You’re doing good?”

I nod my head and grab the hot plates
that have just arrived for my table.

Johnny approaches me with a weary look.
“Those plates aren’t too hot for your hands? Most people wait a few minutes
before touching them.”

I shrug. “My hands are tough.”

My heart flutters wildly in my chest,
partially because of our proximity, and partially because I know that I might
smack him if he says another rude thing to me.

“You’re doing good. Thanks for covering
for me. Roy needed to talk, and he says you’re hired, by the way.”

I look up, daring myself and catch a
partial smile from Johnny. My flutters catch in my throat. If he wasn’t such a
jerk, he would be extremely attractive.

“I’m hired?”

Johnny shrugs nonchalantly. “Guess so.
When you get a chance, fill out the schedule in the break room. You can put in
your suggested schedule. You won’t always get it, so the sooner you fill it,
out the better your chances.”

As I follow Johnny out of the kitchen,
there’s a smile on my face. I have a job!

Just then a group of sulky Enchanters walk
through the door. I know they are here to discuss recent events so I leave them
alone as much as possible, but when I leave the restaurant they are unreservedly
complimentary about my services. They make sure to pull Roy aside to tell him
how wonderful I’ve been.

Just an hour later things pick up
significantly. A few more waiters have come in but since the restaurant is
full, my load has not slowed much.

I grab a set of napkins from the bar when
I feel a pinch on either side of my waist. I jump and turn quickly, ready to
slam my fist into whoever grabbed me, but right before I swivel around to face
the culprit, I catch Johnny’s mixed reaction from across the bar.

When I turn around, it’s Alec that greets
me with a giant grin on his gorgeous face. He pulls me in and surprises me with
a kiss on the lips. I’m not sure why it bothers me, but it does. Maybe because
I’m at work, but he completely takes me by surprise.

I smile at him anyway. Something about
him looks different, but I can’t place my finger on exactly what it is. “What
are you doing here?”

I look over his shoulder and see that
he’s with Brent, Matt, and Ava. Ava has a fury in her eyes that I simply do not
understand. Isn’t it obvious to her by now that Alec likes me? Even I can see
that.

“We wanted to cheer you on.” He waves at the
table.

“Hey guys,” I say with a smile. I ignore
Ava’s narrowed eyes and pursed lips. “Where’s Trisha?” I ask.

Alec shrugs but Matt speaks up. “She isn’t
feeling well. Said she was having headaches so she’s home.”

I frown, knowing all too well what the
headaches are from.

My friends take a seat at the table and
Alec grins at me. “We’ll have cokes.”

I guess I’m flattered to see them all
here, and Alec does look good in khaki shorts and sleeveless top. The whole
situation leaves me with knots as I walk to the kitchen and grab their drinks.

“Tell the boyfriend it’s hands off at
work.” Johnny is standing there with his arms crossed.

Was he waiting for me here? My movements
become robotic now as I stare back at him, too embarrassed to speak, and fill
their glasses.

When I return to their table to set down
the drinks, Alec smiles up at me with shining eyes and my stomach does an
instant backflip. I almost forgot that our date is tonight. I wish I could be
more excited about it. If last night’s events hadn’t happened, I
would
be more excited about it.