Chapter 2
2634 Words
Chapter 2
The next morning, when Margot returned home, she was surprised to find that Ethan wasn’t waiting for her. But in his place on the bed was a note that only hurt her more than she was already hurting.
Why bother coming home if you’re going to spend the night elsewhere without telling me? Are you that much of a wh*re? I’m meeting with the Wiccan council about the wedding. It’s up to you whether or not this wedding still happens.
Tears flooded Margot’s eyes. Maxine swore up and down that she had told Ethan why Margot couldn’t make it home, without divulging all the details, but Ethan couldn't care less.
“Typical,” Margot sputtered. Everyone around her kept telling her she was making a mistake marrying Ethan, and that he would only treat her worse than he already had been once they were married; unfortunately, Margot was too stubborn to listen, and her love for Ethan overshadowed her logic.
Margot sighed in resignation, went to her bathroom to shower, and get ready for her day. Although she was a powerful witch, it didn’t mean she didn’t have to work to make ends meet. Margot worked as a cocktail waitress in one of the many high-end casinos in Sin City, and she worked the mid-shift, catering to patrons who spent all their time and money on slot machines. As soon as she turned 21, she applied for a waitress job like Maxine had. Margot saw how much money Maxine made and felt that it was a good gig to start. When she graduated from college, Margot wanted to become a Psychologist.
When she arrived at work, she parked in the designated employee parking garage and made her way to the employee lounge to store her belongings in her locker. After she clocked in, she went straight to the casino floor and hit the ground running. Her wedding was only a week away, and she still had last-minute payments to make.
“You know, one would think that if you have a wedding in less than seven days, your ass would be at home finalizing everything,” her co-worker and fellow drink waitress and coven sister, Leticia, better known as Letty, said to her while holding a tray fully of drinks.
“Yeah, well, weddings in Las Vegas aren’t cheap,” Margot replied as she got her notepad and pen.
“And tell me why it is that you’re paying for the entire thing again?”
“Because that was the agreement that Ethan and I had,” Margot answered without even thinking about the words that came out of her mouth.
“See, that still doesn’t make sense. The math ain’t mathin girlfriend. What man makes his fiancée pay for the entire wedding on her dime?”
“He bought our house,” Margot defended.
“Uh, correction, bestie, he bought his house. You just live there,” Letty countered.
“Would you please talking crap about, Ethan? He’s a good man.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Letty spat and walked away to deliver the drinks to her area before they got watered down. Margot sighed in frustration. No one in her inner circle approved of Ethan, and it irritated her greatly.
She put Letty's words to the back of her mind and got to work. Thankfully, it was the weekend, and everyone who lived in Sin City knew that the weekends were always the busiest. And with her shift covering 3 PM to 11 PM, she would then likely leave work with at least a few hundred dollars in tips, if she got lucky and played her cards right.
With her empathic ability, Margot was able to build rapport with patrons left and right, and it came in handy. She had to be careful how she used her abilities. With the rules governing personal gain in mind, she ensured that she never used her powers to someone else's detriment.
“Hello, how are you guys doing this afternoon?” she asked a group of players in a bubbly tone.
“Hi!” one of the women greeted in return, smiling cheerfully as well.
“Have you guys gotten lucky yet?” Margot sincerely asked.
“We just got here.”
“Celebrating anything this weekend?”
“My divorce!” the same woman replied, and her girlfriends all cheered her on. Margot was shocked to see a woman happy to be getting divorced.
“I’m sorry?”
“Oh, don’t be! He was a pig-headed cheating son-of-a-b***h!”
“And he treated her like sh*t,” one of the other women added.
“He’s my brother, and even I’m glad she divorced him. Do you know how embarrassing it is to learn that your own brother is a narcissist who emotionally ab*ses women!?” the woman asked. Still, more toward her group rather than Margot, but Margot couldn’t help but feel their genuine disgust.
“Well, I’m glad you were able to get away from that. I couldn’t even imagine being married to someone like that,” Margot replied.
“Don’t ever get married, sweetie!” the divorcée told Margot.
“Oh, c’mon. It couldn’t have been that bad? I mean, there had to be good times, right?”
“No, not even when it came to the bed!” she replied, laughing. “Every night with him was prom night!”
“How long were you married for?”
“Honey, we were married for almost twenty years, and it was the biggest waste of my life!”
“Check this, they were high school sweethearts, too!” the sister of the ex-husband said and gagged.
“Whoever said marrying your high school sweetheart would end in happily ever after was full of it!” one of the friends chimed in. Their comments hit Margot harder than she cared to admit. She had to shake it off and decided to cut their conversation short.
“Well, here’s to new beginnings, right?
“F*ck yeah!”
“WHOOOO!!!” They all cheered. Margot gave a curt smile and took their drink orders. They were first patrons, and her area on the casino floor was relatively slow, so she was able to take their order quickly and efficiently and deliver it as well. The women like Margot’s cheerful disposition, and tipped her well throughout the day. They didn’t even bother moving to another area because they enjoyed Margot’s services so much.
Margot’s area eventually got busier as the day went on, and her day went by faster than she had anticipated. She was on her lunch break in the employee breakroom when she felt a sudden ache in her chest. She wasn’t sure what it was, and thought that it could have been residual pain from the rejection the night before.
She shook it off and called Ethan, “Hello?”
“Hi, love,” Margot said with a megawatt smile. Completely forgetting the disgusting note Ethan had left for her on his pillow.
“I’m busy, Margot. What do you want?”
“I just wanted to know how your meeting went.”
“Why do you care?”
“You said it was about the wedding, so of course, I care.” Usually, Ethan’s cold demeanor never bothered her, but for some reason, it did now.
“Would have been nice if you cared last night.”
“Honey, Max should have called you and told you what—”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what your stupid sister had to say, Margot! You should have come home! Unless you were in a ditch somewhere bleeding to death, then you have no right spending the night outside of the house!”
“I’m sorry,” Margot immediately apologized.
“You better be. Where the f*ck are you right now?”
“What do you mean? I’m at work,” Margot replied defensively.
“Did you just use that tone with me?”
“What? No, I didn’t—”
“Watch your f*cking attitude, Margot. I have no problem canceling the wedding and kicking your ass out of the house if you keep disrespecting me!”
“Ethan, that’s not—” before she could defend herself, Ethan cut the call. Margot’s jaw dropped in shock. It wasn’t the first time Ethan had been harsh toward her, but for some unknown reason, Margot started to sense something was amiss. Ethan had her location, so he should have known where she was at the time.
Margot shook it off and put the rest of her food away because she had lost her appetite. She was getting ready to put her phone in her bag when she felt it vibrate. She looked to see that a text from Ethan had come through. Disregarding his disgusting attitude a few minutes prior, she happily opened the text, only to be rendered speechless by its contents.
Love of my Life: You better count your days at the job, Margot. I won’t have my wife parading around like a sl*t. You’re quitting as soon as the wedding is over.
Margot’s face fell, and she put the phone in her bag without responding. She would usually respond to all of his messages, but something told her to ignore him this time around.
“What’s wrong with you?” Letty asked when she saw Margot ashen.
“N-n-nothing,” Margot answered.
“Don’t lie. You know you can’t,” Letty said.
“Ethan’s upset with me. I’m just feeling it, that’s all,” Margot copped out.
“Lying again for him. When are you going to learn that he’s no good for you?”
“Can you stop, please?! Ethan loves me, and I love him!”
“Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?” Letty questioned and walked away. Margot huffed and went back to work.
When her shift ended, Margot would usually count her tips and go straight to the ATM to deposit the funds. She would then go home and get ready for the next day while Ethan was already in bed. But she forwent the bank and went straight home so she could placate Ethan. However, when she got there, she saw that the lights were off and Ethan’s car wasn’t in the driveway.
“That’s weird,” she muttered to herself. She took out her phone to see if he had texted or called her to inform her that he would be late, but there was nothing. “Hm.” Margot shook it off, not thinking too much about it, and went inside.
She ate a light snack and got ready for bed when she saw headlights flashing from outside. Margot was excited, thinking Ethan had come home, but when she peeked out of the window, she noticed that it wasn’t Ethan’s car, but Ethan was getting out of the passenger seat. She couldn’t see the driver because the windows were heavily tinted, and the headlights were blinding her, but she could tell by the silhouette that it was a woman driving.
Margot didn’t feel comfortable, but she had no reason to believe that Ethan would ever cheat on her. At least, that’s what she constantly told herself whenever Ethan came home late from work, which started to occur more often than not.
When Ethan entered the house, Margot went downstairs to greet him, but Ethan was anything but happy to see her.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” he asked her aggressively.
“I was getting ready for bed when I saw the headlights. Honey, who is that?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“Are you interrogating me now?” Ethan spat.
“What? No. It wasn’t your car, so I was just curious as to—”
“Know your f*cking place, Margot. After the sh*t you pulled last night, you have no right to be asking me anything!”
“Ethan!”
“Don’t talk back to me, Margot!” Ethan thundered, making Margot shake. Ethan would often raise his voice to her, and Margot would usually take it, apologizing, but something inside her told her to stand up for herself. Unfortunately, Margot never listened to that voice in her head.
“I’m sorry, E.”
“How many f*cking times have I told you to stop calling me that!?”
“I’m sorry, Ethan. I forgot. It won’t happen again,” Margot sobbed. She could feel his annoyance toward her, and it hurt, but she kept her pain to herself.
“Now, how about you be a good little wife, and take off your clothes,” Ethan glared.
“What?”
“Did I stutter?”
“But, I’m on my—”
“Good, then I can f*ck that asshole of yours.”
“Ethan! You promised!”
“And you promised to stop being a lying, deceitful wh*re, but you haven’t kept your promise, have you?”
“I’m not cheating on you!”
“Prove it, then.”
“How?!” Ethan threw a box at her face. Margot gasped and looked down to see a box for an at-home STD test. “ETHAN!?”
“You’re going to take it, and I’m going to send the results to the clinic. You better f*cking hope you’re clean, Margot.” Ethan didn’t wait for a response and stomped upstairs. Instead of waiting for Margot, he locked the door, forcing her to sleep in the guest room.
That night, Margot didn’t get a single ounce of sleep, and since she was off the next day, she decided to visit Maxine at home, as she was also off from work.
“He’s making you do what?” Maxine questioned, furious at how Ethan could be so disgruntled and unhinged.
“Take an STD test.”
“You’re a virgin! Any witch or wizard would know that just by sensing your pure aura! What is the matter with him?!”
“It’s not his fault, Max. I’m one that—”
“Stop, Margot! I will not allow you to shift the blame to yourself when he’s creating sh*t out of nothing!”
“Max, I didn’t come here so you could talk sh*t about him,” Margot said, once again, defending Ethan.
“Why can’t you see that he’s ab*sing you!?”
“He’s never laid a hand on me!”
“Ab*se isn’t just physical, Margot!” Margot huffed in frustration, as did Maxine. “I love you, Margot, I wish you could see what Ethan is doing to you.”
“He’s not doing anything, Max,” Margot responded, but this time, there was absolutely no confidence in her tone.
“That, in lies the problem. He doesn’t do anything for you. Period. While you do everything and anything under the sun for him. That’s not love, Margot.”
“Can we stop talking about how much you dislike him? Please?”
“Fine, if you won’t listen to me, then maybe you’ll listen to our Wiccan Goddess of Light.”
“Huh?”
“Guess who I heard from earlier today?”
“Who?”
“My friend, Allie. The Luna of Desert Moon. She had something quite interesting to tell me.”
“What?”
“She has a working relationship with their Moon Goddess.”
“Okay? And?”
“She asked her if she would mate a werewolf to you when you’re already engaged to be married, and guess what the Moon Goddess, Selene, told her.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t her doing. It was Miranda’s.” Margot’s jaw dropped in shock. “OUR Wiccan Goddess paired you with the werewolf.”
- Writer
