Chapter 2— Artemis

Why do I work there again? Stupid university life that needs a ton of money. I folded my arms and braced the biting cold. My cheeks felt like ice cubes. The trailer park was a few blocks away. I worked at a local bar. It was my third month working there. Well, it was a strip club slash bar. Things were calm until a couple weeks ago, now everyone wants to touch me. 

I literally jumped into the house when I reached the trailer. 

‘What the heck Arti!’ Raquel gasped. 

I kicked my boots off. ‘Sorry. It’s freezing outside.‘ 

‘Tell me about it.’ My sister said.

I scurried to our room to ditch my tights and leather skirt. I slipped into grey sweatpants and a pink hoodie. I exhaled when I reappeared in the kitchen slash living room slash everything else. Rocky had a mountain of sandwiches ready. We only had one chair in the living room so we ate in the bedroom. 

‘How was work?’ Rocky asked.

We sat on the bottom bunk bed which was Rocky‘s.

‘Sucked.’ I take a bit out of my ham sandwich. A thankful change from tuna. 

‘Again?’

‘Some douche tried to drag me to the toilet. I knead him in the crotch. He didn’t like that much.‘

A piece of bread fell out of Rocky‘s mouth. ‘Did he…’ 

I offered her a small smile. 

‘That pig! He hit you?’ She shouted.

‘Shh… at least he left me alone.’ I picked up a cheese sandwich. 

‘You didn’t just let him go did you?‘ 

I shook my head, ‘Of course not.’

‘Great what’d you do? That son of a gun, why I ought…‘

‘I made a string of leaves run up his pants!’ 

Rocky‘s face fell. She smacked her forehead. ‘Oh Artemis! You’re such a disappointment!‘ 

I gasped. She should have seen the guy‘s face when he felt a bunch of leaves run up his skinny legs. Well, it made me laugh.

‘I’m sorry I don‘t send demons to torment men who yell at me!’ I laughed.

‘Ugh! And those demons will not leave him until he apologizes.’ She picked up our plates and took them to the kitchen. ‘You don’t have to keep working there, you know?‘

I sighed. ‘No, I really do.’

Our Dad was killed a couple months ago. The police told us it was a robbery gone wrong. They never caught the guys. Anyways, Dad left us thousands of dollars in gambling debts and without a cent to even pay a portion of it back. We lost our house to the bank and we‘ve got mountains of men breathing down our necks. 

‘It’ll be okay Arti.‘ She smiled. I nodded. One day it would. I didn’t want Raquel to drop out of university, but on the other hand I couldn‘t keep going and I would sooner be kicked out. 

Raquel had a manageable weekend job most of what we made went to paying back debts. I went the entire month without deodorant once that‘s just how tight money was. 

Rocky sighed and pulled out her plant. The little tree had shrivelled. She traced the outline of the plant and it filled back to life. She beamed. 

‘You’ve been practicing.‘ I smirked. 

‘Unfortunately, it’ll be dead by morning.‘ She bumped the plates in the sink.

My sister and I were a little special. Our Dad knew but always denied, saying it was all in our heads. We can manipulate objects, blast things into orbit or order demons to torment nasty men. I think Dad was just afraid so he pretended nothing was wrong. Rocky and I promised to keep our powers to ourselves. Only my best friend and her mom know. They were completely trustworthy. I‘d known Stella since I was six and Rocky was four. 

We said goodnight and turned in. I lay in bed thinking about what the next sunrise would hold. I rolled over and fell into darkness.

‘Really Arti, the cupcakes were dry last time you’ve got to fix your recipe.‘ Mrs. Parker rambled. 

I fought the urge to groan. I handed her a fresh box of cookies.

‘I hope these are moist. If you it’s not working sweetie, I‘m more than happy to give you a few pointers. I used to be an executive baker, ya know?’ 

I chuckled and stared at the ground. ‘Sure Mrs. Parker, I’ll take you up on that.‘

She handed me three dollars for the cookies. I smiled and dashed into the street. Stella waved at a lady by her door. She was helping make deliveries. Baking was my other passion and profession. I baked at Stella‘s house; our microwave couldn’t handle it. 

We walked to the park to kick back on the benches. I only ever got a few deliveries in a day. 

‘Rocky told me what happened, I swear Artemis you’re too nice!‘ Stella blasted.

I rubbed my face. ‘Oh Stella, can we drop. It was just a bad night.’ 

‘Another one?’ She frowned. 

Stella was a witch, yeah, I freaked out when she told me when we were sixteen. Then I calmed down enough to realize I wasn‘t alone. There were other special people like me. She didn’t freak out the way I did when I told her my secret. She thought I was a witch too, but no. Stella‘s Mom, Sera said I was something more and to never tell a soul what I could do. Sera was a fortune teller. 

‘Fine we’ll drop it.‘ She folded her arms and leaned back.

``Great, when do I meet your boyfriend?’ I grinned. 

‘Ugh, he isn’t my boyfriend, he's just special to me.’ 

I rolled my eyes. Please I‘d never seen Stella blush so much, she even started wearing dresses and going to the salon. Stella never did that!

‘At least tell me his name or what he’s like. I want to know who‘s got my best friend being girly.’

‘You’ll meet him… eventually.‘

‘Is he a witch too?’

She threw her head back and laughed. ‘Oh no, far from it. He’s just special, I think you might like him. You like everyone.‘ 

‘I do not.’ I frowned. She laughed. 

She checked her phone and stood. ‘I have to get ready for work. Can I borrow your pink dress?’ 

I gaped. ‘You’re wearing pink now?‘ 

‘Ugh! Artemis.’ 

I laughed. ‘I’m kidding, of course you can.‘ 

We walked to the trailer park when my phone buzzed in my palm. It was a text from Alfie. How did he get my number? My heart thundered in my chest and heat ran to my face. Thank goodness the blush wasn‘t as visible as on Stella’s face.

‘Who’s that?‘ She grabs my phone from me.

‘Stella!’ 

‘Who’s Alfie? And why‘s he asking you out?’ Her face lit up. I jumped to get my phone back.

‘No one! He’s someone from the university we met in the cafeteria.‘ 

She narrowed her eyes at me before I snatched my phone away. He was a gorgeous demi-god. I hadn‘t done anything with him, not yet. I smiled to myself.

Thanks to Stella‘s phone ringing I wasn’t bombed with questions 

‘Calm down Mom!’ She looked left to right. She gripped my hand. 

‘What’s going on?‘ She whispered. 

‘Don’t you take Artemis to that house!‘ I heard Sera yelled. 

‘Fine, fine we’re coming over.‘ 

‘What’s going on?‘ 

Stella stared at her phone. ‘Mom says you're in danger. You can’t go home. Something‘s waiting for you.