Two hours previous:
"I know you said not to bother Sinead, Saoirse. But I can't help feeling worried about her!", complained Amanda.
"I know. I am worried about her too. But we can't disturb her…"
"But this is all so out of character for her! Do you really think she is okay? In all the years I've known her, she has never slept in for so long. What if she is sick or something?"
"But Amanda…"
"Not to mention, she's never missed her morning run! I thought she told me something once about something bad happening if she didn't stick to her routine…" Amanda's voice trailed off as she tried in vain to remember exactly what Sinead told her.
Saoirse took that moment to take back the conversation.
"Really, Amanda! You have such a wild imagination. Sinead's simply had added stress in her life recently. Think about it. We just found out werewolves exist, Sinead is leaving us sometime soon; not even she knows when, and she doesn't have a job currently- not to mention she is having a heck of a time finding a new one. Don't you think that is a lot to adjust to within the period of a week?"
Amanda looked thoughtful.
"While all that you say is true, I still feel worried about her."
"I know you do, Amanda.", Saoirse grabbed Amanda's hand and then pulled her into a hug. "We're both worried about her."
An hour later both Amanda and Saoirse left the house together to run some errands.
In the living room, at 11:15AM (Same day):
Instead of sitting the empty water glass back down, I decided to carry it, along with my now charge-less phone to the kitchen with me.
I refilled the glass and drank that as well. Then, I went upstairs and plugged in my cell and searched for Amanda and Saoirse.
But I couldn't find them. They weren't in the backyard either.
Not knowing when either of them would be back, I gave up my search and went to the kitchen to get something to eat.
After some food, a quick shower and getting dressed and ready for the day, I sat down in a comfortable chair to meditate. I hoped that it would help with the headache and the feeling of being hungover.
My brain fog lifted a little and the headache was a bit duller. Perhaps they would continue to lessen before I went out to do further job searching.
In the end, I had a few hours nap to help rid myself of the last of the headache. I made sure to leave the house significantly earlier than my intended arrival time.
The places I intended to go tonight were further away than the ones I went to the day before. Also, they would take longer to get to with public transit than the others.
Even though I tried my best to be cute, endearing and persuasive the results were the same as the previous job search; a few took my resume and everyone else outright rejected me.
Although I was determined not to give up and despite feeling pretty disheartened, I spent the next four days applying to places in the afternoon/ evening and my mornings completing my usual routine.
But in the end, I applied to every place, except for the ones ran by the Official Advisor for the Vampire King and the one recommended to me by Elizabeth and Alpha David. I hadn't received a call or email back from those that did accept my resume.
At first, I was very surprised that Alpha David joined me every day. The first morning I got back to my routine after having missed a day due to sleeping off the poppy mixture, I got to see the relief and happiness in his eyes.
There was something in his expression that melted away any of my unease and reservation of feeling I previously held towards him. Neither of us mentioned that previous unagreeable conversation where he acted so pig-headed.
"How is the job search going?", Alpha David asked me one morning, in a casual tone of voice.
I sighed. "Not so great. Not a single interview yet."
The corners of his lips slid downward into a frown. "But I already talked to the manager at…"
"I didn't go to the place you wanted me to.", I admitted.
"What? Why not?", he asked genuinely.
I paused and bit my bottom lip. I needed to choose my words before I spoke.
"Because I wanted to see what I could get on my own merit, not relying on your generosity."
I turned away from him with the pretence of fixing one of my shoelaces.
There was another pause, this time from him.
"You should go there though. I am not sure you will find anything anywhere else.", was what he said at last.
I suddenly whirled around to face him again.
"Why do you think I won't find anything anywhere else?"
Alpha David decided to tell her a half-truth.
"I heard rumours that the way you acted with the Vampire King's Official Advisor had far-reaching effects."
I paled. I knew I should not go anywhere near the clubs he ran, but I didn't think it would go any further than that.
"He has many associates in the same line of work who heard the tale and under his influence, were ordered to keep you out of their establishments as well."
What David didn't tell her is that he acted as a witness to the scene, spreading some of the story himself. Part of his motives were so the vampire wouldn't question his loyalty to his investment in The Red Goblet, the other was to force Sinead to go to the establishment of his choice the Lunar Eclipse Club.
I looked at my feet and muttered "Let's talk about something else for a while."
"Okay.", David said with a small smile. He took a step towards me, and I felt one of his hands on my mid-back. "Here. Stay hydrated." He handed me my water bottle with the other hand.
I took the water bottle from him thinking he would step back afterwards. But he didn't. After half a second of feeling slightly uncomfortable, I removed the lid, took a drink, and faced him.
"Here.", I said simply, holding both the lid and water bottle out to him. He took both and drank long. I walked away to give the fox a pat and do some stretching. He seemed to know enough not to follow me.
After that, David kept his distance from me the rest of the morning.
The entire journey back to the house, I thought again and again about inquiring at the Lunar Eclipse Club.
'Was I really so prideful that I couldn't accept help? I knew I wanted to make my own way, but at what cost? Shouldn't I just take the job so that I could save up enough money to pay off as much of my costs as I could before I left?'
By the time I walked through the front door, I made up my mind. I would go there today and see if they would take me, and if so, how early I could start. I owed it to these girls not to hand down to them any debt or bills when I left.