“Besides,” she adds, hand reaching for the handle on the front door, “I’m not going to spend the whole day looking over my shoulder. I’m not afraid of him. And Iknowyou’re not.”
I narrow my eyes and give her an unamused expression. “I’m not saying you have to be afraid. Just…be aware.”
She nods once, then leans in to kiss my cheek. “I will.”
Then she’s out the door, and I’m left to deal with my anxious thoughts alone.
I’ve just flippedthe CLOSED sign to OPEN when I see my friend Aidan strolling down the sidewalk. I head behind the counter to start preparing his usual order: a matcha latte with oat milk and chai syrup. I’ve teased him endlessly over it, making sure he’s aware he orders like a basic bitch, but if there’sone thing about Aidan I know for sure, he doesn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks.
I hear the belldingjust as I’m closing the lid on his to-go cup and look up to see his slow self-assured grin. “I see you were ready and waiting for me as always,” Aidan jokes. “Good dog.”
Only from Aidan would I accept a jab like that. Maybe Raegan, but she doesn’t know what I am. Aidan strolls up to the counter and grabs the cup with his long, pale fingers then lifts it slowly to his lips to take a long drink. As a cold-blooded vampire, I know he doesn’t feel the same sensations that us warm-blooded mammals do, but damn, he gulps the steaming hot latte as if it were a glass of sweet iced tea.
He lets out a low hum and lifts the cup in a salute. “Warms the soul, doesn’t it?”
“As if you have one,” I jab back.
He smirks and walks to the bar top to the right of the counter and sits. Aidan Ward has been coming to Double Double every morning for three years. The coffee shop receives plenty of patrons throughout the day, but Aidan is always the first. He claimed once that he prefers the peace and quiet first thing in the morning, but the more I get to know him, I get the feeling he just enjoys my company.
Vampires are some of the more secluded paranormals in Shadow Hills. Even more than the werewolves. Unlike werewolves and witches who choose to live amongst a group, vampires live alone. Witches tend to live with their covens, stuffing themselves into houses like clown cars. Raegan’s mother lives with six other witches in a green house at the end of Main Street. Every time I pass the property, I hear a mixture of yelling and laughter, along with the crashing of whatever knickknacks they’ve accidentally broken that day.
Werewolves are a bit less open, even in a town that welcomes paranormals. When Shadow Hills was first built, it was meant toserve as a place to house the “monsters” from the bigger cities. Creatures like werewolves and vampires became known to the public a little over one hundred years ago, and in the beginning it had been pure chaos. It took years of violence to finally come to a truce with humans agreeing to let all paranormals live in peace, but separate. Thus, Shadow Hills was established. I think despite there being a truce between paranormals and humans, the werewolves still didn’t trust in the promises that had been made to protect them. So they created their own territory: a camp within the forest of Shadow Hills.
I had a choice to live with the pack when I first moved to Shadow Hills, but I’d stayed with my parents. After that, the decision just stuck, and I preferred the normalcy of coming home to a house after shifting than being surrounded by wild heathens always causing a ruckus. But there have been times in the lunar cycle when I’ve preferred to spend my full shift with the pack, needing to expend my pent up energy on another wolf instead of running through the trees alone.
Vampires are completely solitary creatures. I’ve never seen more than one at a time. Actually, I believe Aidan is the only vampire I know in Shadow Hills. There are more, including a century old teenager I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting, but they aren’t as friendly as Aidan. They are a rare and ancient species, and the act of creating a new vampire is a very tedious process. This makes them all the more interesting to others. It’s because of this that I can understand why Aidan prefers to visit before the morning rush, and why I always welcome him.
“Want anything to eat this morning?” I ask as I unlock the displays beneath the register and begin filling them with fresh bagels and various pastries from Bone Appetit Bakery.
Aidan thinks for a moment, his face resembling a smolder more than a thoughtful expression. “Do you still have those delicious mini quiches?”
People are always surprised that vampires eat and drink just like them. Though they need blood to survive, it’s far less often than it’s made to appear in the movies, and they most definitely hold on to the same cravings they had in their human life, especially Aidan.
“That was a one time special, I’m afraid,” I tell him. “You’ll have to ask Claudia about those.” Claudia is the owner of the bakery, and she provides all our breakfast options.
“Ah yes,” Aidan muses, nodding slowly. “The blonde with all the questions.”
I smirk. “She’s no more curious than anyone else about having a conversation with a vampire. She just has no filter.”
“She was very persistent.” Aidan pulls his face into a pinched expression and looks to the ceiling as if reliving the experience, then says, “I’ll take a scone.”
“Coming right up.”
I give him the best from the case, golden brown and buttery, then I continue busying myself around the shop. It’s quiet for several minutes while Aidan eats his fresh scone, but I hear him hum in curiosity.
Thinking there’s something wrong with the food, I turn to face him, but he’s merely taking in the area around him. “You haven’t decorated the shop yet.”
“Raegan pitched a mad scientist theme to me this year, but she knows better.”
“As long as I’ve been coming here,” Aidan drawls, “and nary a simple jack-o-lantern.”
“You’re damn right,” I jest, scowling at my empty windows, imagining a cluster of pumpkins and a scarecrow crowding the space. Aidan smirks.
All of the businesses in town are gearing up for the Founding Day Festival. Booths line the main road for each local business to feature their signature wares amongst music and games. Thelocals are even more dedicated to the tradition than the tourists, especially the paranormals.
Everyone leans into the outside stereotypes that are thrust upon us. The ghosts wear chains and bedsheets with cut outs for eyes and a mouth, the witches wear pointy hats and carry around broomsticks, and a few of the pack members attend donning wolf masks from a party supply store. It’s a way for us to poke fun at ourselves while also calling attention to the absurd stories humans tell.
I’ve never truly attended the festival before, having been responsible for manning the Double Double booth and serving everyone hot chocolate, chai lattes, and spiced cider. I refuse to serve such fru-fru drinks at the shop, but the festival is the one time I allow it. It always goes over well, and I’malwaystold I need to add them to the menu, but I refuse. My coffee shop is not cutesy. It’s refined, maintaining a certain sophisticated aesthetic. The walls are painted a deep burgundy and accented with dark mahogany trim, strings of warm lights are strategically hung across the ceiling, illuminating the front counter and various other displays around the shop, and the walls are accented with gold and bronze antique knick knacks and a handful of vintage mirrors I found at garage sales. Raegan says it givesmediumacademia vibes, whatever that means.
