The Devil Behind Me (2 page)

“But I don’t want to
,” she said defiantly.

“
Sofia, now!” I ordered.

“Yes
, what can I help you with?” I asked, once I heard Sofia barely making it up the stairs. I could feel my nerves unhinge as I waited for the officer to continue. 

“Is your mother name
d Nikoleta Sakis?” he said it slowly as he butchered her name.

“Yes
, why?” Fear began to set in.

“Well
, there’s been an accident,” he said rather carefully. 

“What kind of accident?” I asked, not realizing I was crying.

“I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother passed away this afternoon. It was a hit and run. I'm sorry,” the officer said sadly.

I could hear
Sofia gasp as she began to sob. I ran to her as she slowly made her way down the stairs. I took her in my arms as we both cried. 

That was the day
… the day that changed everything in my world.

“What are we going to do, Addie?” My dad’s beautiful hazel eyes were sunk in now. He used to be strong and could do anything, but after my mother’s death, my father’s health started to decline. The long hours at work didn’t help either. My heart broke the day we found out he had Crohn’s disease.

Yale w
as no longer an option for me. I gave up on everything I dreamt of and went to work at the restaurant. I needed to take care of my family. Sofia delved into her studies, wanting to forget everything that had happened. I couldn’t blame her. All her work did pay off when she received a partial scholarship to Yale. I was so proud of her. 

“How are we going to pay for it
, Addie?” My father said so sadly. “I want to send her. I want the best for my little girl. I don’t want to fail her like I did you.” He shook his head as small tears began to line his eyes.

“You didn’t fail me
, Daddy. This was my choice. I chose to not go to Yale. I was the one who said I’d stay and help.” I offered him a reassuring smile. I took his hand and held it. My parents didn’t have much money growing up and the insurance policy my father had for my mother, well, it didn’t pay out as it should have. 

Everything was a mess and I didn’t even have the heart to tell my father. How could I?  The man worked so hard all these years and had my mother not died, we would have been in a better place. 

The night my mother passed, was the night my family lost the one person who held us together. She was the one who was good with money and knew how to save.  It was harder for me; not that I didn’t know how to save, but I had my hard working father to deal with. In his mind, he was the head of the family, therefore, he had the last say and I wasn’t about to tell him how he should run his business. 

I did at least find the time to go to community coll
ege and earn a business degree. It wasn’t my dream, but at least I had something. Sofia excelled in school even though she worked the weekends with us at the restaurant. 

The first few years at the restaurant were good. We were busy and ma
de good money. It kept us from thinking about my mother and the void she had left behind. The breakfast and dinner rushes were fun and at times stressful, but as long as we were making money, both my father and I were happy. 

My dad’s cooking was exceptional and the whol
e neighborhood raved about it. He loved his customers, and how much pleasure they took in eating at the restaurant. He was the talk of the town, the place to go to have authentic Greek food. But as the years went on, his disease got the better of him and the restaurant started to suffer. I slowly began to lay off our employees, until only my father and I were left. Because of his disease, my father would often be forced to stay at home or worse, be confined to the bathroom leaving the diner mostly in my hands.

You see
, Crohn’s disease attacks the bowels. It’s an inflammatory bowel disease that caused my father to lose weight drastically. The severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain were at times too much for him, leaving him exhausted and malnourished. Anything he ate could and would affect him, triggering episodes of pain and exhaustion. 

Things became tougher with each passing year at the restaurant.
Customers started to decline and so did our profits. We were once known as the best Greek diner, but now hardly anyone ever stopped by.

There were many days I had to work triple shifts, only because I wouldn’t let
him out of the house. It hasn’t been easy the last ten years watching my father deteriorate. I cried a lot, but I made sure I cried when no one was around. I couldn’t show them how much I was suffering. My mother’s death hit both of them harder than it did me. I knew it was my fault she had died, had I not been so selfish, she would have been here with us today.   

The only routi
ne I held onto was my running. Nothing was going to stop me from running in Central Park. Every chance I had I would be there. Even early in the morning when most would be asleep. The only silver lining about our restaurant was it closed by nine at night.  At least we had our nights together.

***

“I'm not going!” Sofia yelled. 

“Ah
, let me think about it?” I said sarcastically, placing my finger to my chin. “Yes, you’re going! You applied for this scholarship,” I yelled back.

“Yeah, thinking I would get a f
ull scholarship, not a partial! We can’t afford it!” she cried out.

“Let me decide what we can and cannot afford, you’re not even eighteen yet
,” I barked at her. 

“
Ahh! You’re so bossy,” she cried back. 

“I don’t care what I am, you’re going to that school and I don’t want to hear otherwise
,” I screamed over my shoulder as she ran up the stairs. I knew my sister. I was the one who raised her. She was feeling guilty. I didn’t care what I had to do, but I was going to send her to that fucking school.

“What’s wrong with her?”
My father said with his broken English, as he carefully sat down on the couch, holding his belly. I sighed looking at my father, my heart breaking. 

“So
fia is being stubborn. Don’t worry about it, Dad.” I smiled at him and he smiled back.  God, he had lost a lot of weight and the steroid pills weren’t helping him. The doctor kept saying we would have to wait and see. So I waited.

“Where are you goi
ng?” my father asked the moment I got up.

“It’s eleven thirty
, Dad. If I'm going for a run, I’ll need to sleep. Night, Daddy.” I kissed him on his head and marched upstairs to my room.

I walked into a darken
ed bedroom. I guess Sofia had gone to sleep. I walked over to my bed and took my pjs. 

“Addie? Can I really go?” she asked while she was lying on her bed, her
body turned facing the window. 

“Yes, you will go. I
promise,” I said confidently. “Night, Sofia,” I said quietly as I left the room to go to the washroom.

I locked the door to the bathroom a
nd steadied myself on the sink. I looked up and glared at myself in the mirror, angry that I was in this position. Why was life so unfair? I needed to come up with the tuition money, but how?  My shitty car wasn’t worth anything. The house still had a mortgage and the store was bleeding money. Before I could cry, I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face. Who was this brown haired girl looking back at me? What had happened to me in the last ten years?

There was a gentle knock on the door.

“Addie. I need to use the washroom,” my father said meekly.

“Sure
, Dad.” I collected my things and opened the door. His condition had worsened once we found out Sofia was only receiving a partial scholarship. It was okay, tomorrow was another day. I’d figure it out tomorrow. 

***

I felt somewhat better after my morning jog. I took a little longer than normal. It was already five in the morning, so I had to gun it if I was going to open up the restaurant. I had already made sure my father wasn’t coming in. I had hidden his keys. It was my usual tactic; he hated it, but it always worked. Try as he might, this episode was bad. I had made him soup, hoping he would be able to regain some strength. 

The morning rush was ok
ay, better than before so I couldn’t complain. My father hadn’t been here in over three weeks, which was a good thing, had he seen that they were building a chain restaurant right across from us, he would have lost it completely.

“This isn’t good,”
said Silvia. She was one of our most loyal patrons. She was a bit eccentric. She wore too much rouge and cheap perfume. Her age was completely unknown, but she was old. Her hair was a light purple as it puffed up high over her head.  

“No
, it’s not,” I said quietly looking out through the storefront window. They were close to opening it up. 

I stood there, my arms crossed, just shaking my head. I was so engrossed that I failed to notice a customer had walked in. 

“So, what’s the deal here? Do you actually work or stare out the window?”

It couldn’t be.

Ten fucking years had gone by. There would be no way that boy would be here.

I turned my head slightly and there in my
diner’s entryway stood Daimon.

The old saying when it rains it pours, was seriously an understatement when it came to my life and me. It didn’t pour, a fucking typhoon happened the moment he walked in my restaurant and subsequently back into my life. I put my best poker face on, as I held my stance with my arms still crossed.

“You can sit wherever you like
.” I smiled, not meaning it. He nodded and proceeded to walk into my little restaurant and slid into one of our worn out booths. 

“Well… isn’t he, the cat’s meow,
” Silvia said nearly moaning. 

“God!
How old are you?” I asked her, looking at her like she had a few screws loose. 

“Old
. But my libido is still working,” she grinned, a little bit of red lipstick had stained her front teeth.

“Okay
, way too much info.” I shook my head at her. 

She wasn’t wrong about him.
The man was stunning, with his dark longish hair in a perfect hair cut with a faint beard and his intense blue, like the sky, eyes. His black perfectly trimmed suit only added to his effect, which by his grin, he knew. 

I smiled walking over to him. 

“What can I get you?” I asked. 

“Coffee and some company would be nice.” He continued to grin. 

His voice had gotten deeper over the years. I shook it off.  Fine, I can admit it. He turned out to be sexy, but it didn’t change the fact the he tormented me all throughout high school, like I was his personal plaything. I brought him the coffee. I was tempted to throw it on him, but I didn’t.

“Here’s your coffee
.” I placed it on the table.

“Sil
via?” I yelled over my shoulder still looking at him.

“And here’s your company
, sir,” I grinned.

Silvia nearly launched herself
into the booth. 

“Well hello
, dear.” She smiled from ear to ear, her dentures nearly falling out. Daimon’s face fell. I had to step away not to laugh. 

“Um…how about the boss lady?”
he asked, leaning away from Silvia and her dentures. 

“The
boss lady? Ah, forget her, sweet sugar. You have this beautiful dame right here in front of you. How’s about you and me go for some giggle water?” She wagged her eyebrows at him.

“Are you for real? Hey!”
he yelled over to me. “Is this lady for real? What the fuck is giggle water?” he asked me, seemingly uncomfortable. 

“Alcohol
,” Silvia said, shocked that he didn’t know. 

Well
, the truth was I didn’t know either, but that was Silvia. She was stuck back in a time I couldn’t relate to. 

“How about I take a rain check?”
Daimon said half smiling.

“Ah raspberries,”
Silvia pouted.

“Hey Addie?
Addie? Addie?” He called my name each time in a different tone. 

“I'm sorry
, sir. How is it that you know my name?” I grinned. God, if it wasn’t for customer service and the fact I didn’t want him to know I remembered him, I would have thrown his ass out so fast.

“You can’t be serious? Addie, it’s me
,” he said holding out his hands like ‘hey I’m unforgettable.’ I shook my head.

“You are
… who exactly?” I asked again, shrugging. 

“
Daimon, Daimon Evans,” he sighed. 

“Oh, I like the name,”
Silvia moaned again. 

“Well
, it’s nice to meet you Daimon, Daimon Evans.” I smiled and nodded. 

“You have to be fucking with me
,” he said not too pleased as he stood up and walked over to me. “I know you remember me,” he said low as he glared at me. 

“I'm not going to lie, it rings
a bell.” I shook my head again. “College?” I offered. 

“Fine, we’ll play your game, your way.” He
threw some money on the table; looked back at me as he fixed his coat and began to walkout. “For now.” He pulled the door open and left.

“You’re telling me you don’t remember a fine piece of ass like that?” Silvia pointed at the door. 

“No, I don’t. I remember a boy who made my life miserable.” I growled low into my chest. Silvia rose up from the booth and stood beside me.

“Ah shucks
, honey, if he looked like that, he could have made my life a living hell and I would have loved it,” she said as she started blowing kisses at him through the window.

I inched closer to the
storefront and watched as Daimon walked away. Why did I suddenly feel like my future had this ominous cloud over it?  

The rest of the day was slow.
I took my time cleaning my little restaurant of forty seats. It was small, but it was all my parents could afford. In its hay day, this store was known throughout the neighborhood, but now not one person passed by.

I made
the decision to apply at a bar. I needed the extra hours, plus it was Darren’s. Throughout the years, he became a great friend, someone I could lean on when I had rough patches. When my mother died, he was there for me, the only one I could depend on. I still to this day don’t know how he knew about her passing, but there he was at the funeral home, standing by me if I needed anything. He was the one I spoke to about Yale and my decision to stay. Darren was always and would always be my friend. One charity case to another.

Now the thing was how was I go
ing to say it to my father? The hours wouldn’t interfere with work. Darren said I could start at eleven and end my shift at two in the morning. I needed to think about our future and the reality was this store was going bankrupt. My father would have no means to find a job the way he was, plus his medication cost us a lot and then there was Sofia. I needed to think about her future. I wanted her to fly, to soar away from us and find her own happiness. I knew it was only a few hours, but Darren promised me it was worth the money. Plus, in case the restaurant failed, I at least had a job I could work at.

“Yeah
, Dad, I'm going to be late tonight. I'm going to see some friends, okay?” I called him the moment I locked up.

“
Okay, be safe
.
” He sounded so tired.

“Ok
ay Dad, bye.”

***

I finally made it to midtown. Darren’s bar was swanky and expensive. The man loved his liquor and used the place to earn him connections. He understood how our school worked and used it to make him more money. I looked down at my clothes and felt like shit. I watched as the people walking in were wearing clothes, which cost more than the mortgage on my house. I took a deep breath and called Darren to give him the heads up that I was there.

“Hey
, Darren? It’s me, Addie. I'm here.” 

“
Okay, tell the bouncer you’re here to see me and he’ll let you in,” Darren replied.

“
‘Kay.” I hung up and headed for the bouncer; the man was huge. A refrigerator was smaller than him. I tried to get his attention, but he didn’t even spare me a glance. 

“Um
, excuse me, but I'm here to see Darren Sparks,” I said politely waving at him. The big brawny bouncer continued to ignore me. 

“
Hey!” I yelled. I had a long day and made no money, I wasn’t about to be ignored by the likes of him. I was here for a fucking job. “I said I’m here to see Darren Sparks. He told me to tell you,” I seethed. The bouncer slowly looked my way and glared.

“Well
, he didn’t tell me,” he bit back.

“Well
, he told me.”

I knew
the voice that spoke over my shoulder. I closed my eyes, hoping it was all a nightmare that I was going to soon wake up from. Daimon walked up to me, pinched my coat, and dragged me inside. 

“
So do you remember me now?” he asked. I couldn’t help but scan him. The man looked good in jeans and a grey sweater.

“
No,” I said in a frosty tone. “But thanks for getting me in.” I nodded slightly and left. 

I walked through a corridor of thick red velvet
curtains that led me to a small door. I pushed the door open and was taken aback at how stunning Darren’s bar was. The lighting was low, setting the mood. Each sitting area had small art deco chandeliers that helped light up the area for the patrons. The walls had small compartments, each with locks for the various expensive drinks Darren’s bar had to offer. There was a long dark mahogany bar all the way at the end, with big red leather lining stools, which lined it.

“Addie?” I looked over and Darren stood with open arms
, waiting for his hug. 

“Darren, how are you?” I asked as I hugged him. 

“Good, now that you’re here.” He kissed both my cheeks and held my hand as he weaved me in and out of the crowd to take me to his bar.

“Sit here.”
He patted down on the last stool at the edge of the bar. “So, what do you think?” He held his hands up showing me his place. 

“I think
… it’s you,” I smiled. 

“Thanks,
” he smiled back. 

“What are you drinking?”
he asked, waving over his bartender.

“Whiskey, neat,
” I said while taking off my jacket.

“
Anything in particular?” he asked.

“
No, you choose.”

I couldn’t help but feel out of
place. It had been awhile since I had gone out and even longer since I’d had the time to see my friends. The bartender came back with my drink. Darren raised his glass and we cheered. I took a sip and loved it. I could taste the flavor of sweet fruit, with a slight hint of floral notes. 

“
You seem to like it,” Darren said watching me carefully. 

“
What’s not to like? It’s a Glenfiddich, isn’t it?” I smiled.

“
It is. It seems our girl Addie knows her liquor,” he smiled.

“I used to
, but not now.” I looked at my glass regretful of a past I hardly had. 

“So
tell me, the diner’s not doing well? Is that why you’re here?” He sighed as he leaned against his bar, watching me. I hated being pitied.

“It’s more for Sofia.
I need to get her into Yale. She got the scholarship, but only a partial one. I still need to find the money for the rest of the tuition,” I shrugged. 

“Okay.
When can you start?” Darren took his glass and finished the last of his whiskey. 

“How about
next week?” I asked nervously. The truth was I had no choice. Ready or not, I had to do this.

“Ok
ay, next week.” He smiled. I took my glass and finished it. I reached for my purse to take out my wallet. “Don’t you dare!” Darren warned. He kissed my cheeks again and hugged me good-bye.

I walked thr
ough the bar only to be intercepted by Daimon.

“Well
, I see you seem to remember Darren,” he sneered. 

“Of course, Darren was always good to me.” I smiled a little and tried to walk by him
, but he stopped me. 

“Really?
Why? I wasn’t?” he asked. 

“S
ee the thing is, even if you were or weren’t, I wouldn’t know, because I don’t remember you.” I narrowed my eyes at him, but he laughed.

“Maybe I s
hould make you remember then,” he warned.

“Do
whatever you like. What was your name again?” I said condescendingly.

“Fine
, Addie, have it your way.” He moved out of my way and let me pass.