“Hi, sweetheart.” Selene grins, eyes crinkling the moment you come into view. She watches as you slide into a stool in front of her, continuing to wipe a glass cup with a rag.

You’ve been frequenting the bar more often. Not that she minds. No, not at all. Selene was used to you disappearing on her for weeks sometimes. Sometimes for months, even.

It’s just that she’s worried. Even as you request the strongest drinks they have available, the most Selene could do was concoct a drink that looked the part. She doesn’t want you wandering out alone in the middle of the night wasted.

What if something bad happened to you? She would never be able to forgive herself.

“Bad day?” now that she looks at it, you look worse for wear. From what, she doesn’t even want to think about. She’s just glad that you came here nonetheless. She’s been expecting you, waiting.

Selene leaned in forward, resting her forearms on the counter. Trying to figure out what is was this time that was bothering you.

She doesn’t like seeing you so down. Selene loved your smile, your laugh. Everything there was about you, she adored. You were the brightest star in her sky. To see you like this was enough for her mood to sour.

“It’s not someone, is it?” she places the cup down, unable to help grasping on it a little too tightly. Anymore, and it was sure to chip by the sides. “If it is, do you want me to poison them?”

It was a joke. Mostly.

An attempt to lighten the mood—even if there was some truth to it. She wants to add: who was it she needed to go out and kill?

It’s not her first time, and it certainly won’t be the last. Not until the you she knows is back.