2
COLE
The whisky burned on the way down, but I welcomed the sensation. The sharp heat sliding down my throat reminded me that I could still feel something, even if it was only the sting of alcohol, which had now become my crutch.
The restaurant used to be full of life.
Now it was mostly empty.
I sat at the far end of the bar with the glass in my hand, staring out at the dining room.
The tables were still arranged the way Eva had always insisted they should be. The napkins were folded neatly into precise triangles. The silverware was perfectly aligned beside each plate. Small vases sat carefully centred on every table.
Eva had always loved those little details. She used to say they were what made people feel welcome.
Now the flowers in those vases were plastic. Real ones had become expensive months ago, and replacing them every few days had turned into a luxury the restaurant could no longer afford.
Five years ago, Eva had opened this place. She had poured every ounce of her heart into it. I could still picture her movingthrough the dining room, adjusting table settings and greeting customers with that warm smile that made people feel like they belonged here.
Chloe used to spend hours here. She would sit at one of the corner tables colouring pictures while Eva worked, or she would run around the dining room pretending to take orders from imaginary customers. Sometimes she even dragged a small notepad around like a real server and scribbled nonsense orders in it.
It had been Eva’s dream.
Now it was just another thing I was slowly destroying.
“You’re going to kill yourself at this rate.”
Jack’s voice broke through my thoughts as he wiped down the bar in front of me. The rag moved slowly across the polished wood while he watched me with the kind of concern that had become far too familiar over the last two years.
I glanced up at him briefly before lowering my gaze back to the glass in my hand. “Good evening to you, too.”
Jack set the towel aside and leaned against the counter.
He had been my friend for nearly five years. We met not long after Eva opened the restaurant, when he came in looking for work, and Eva decided she liked his attitude. Since then, he had become more than just an employee. He had become part of the place. When everything fell apart two years ago, Jack had quietly stepped in and helped keep the restaurant running when I stopped caring whether it survived or not. Without him, the doors probably would have closed months ago.
“You’ve had four already,” he said.
I lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Then pour the fifth.”
Jack stared at me for a long moment before finally reaching for the bottle. The amber liquid glowed beneath the dim barlights as he tilted it over my glass. He poured the whisky without saying another word.
That was the thing about Jack. He knew when arguing with me was pointless.
“You know the bank called again today,” he said after a moment.
I took another drink before answering. “I figured they would.”
“They’re not going to keep extending the deadline, Cole.”
“I know.”
Eva’s restaurant was drowning in debt. And I had neither the energy nor the desire to save it.
It was not as if I lacked the money. The company I worked for and helped build was running successfully despite my increasingly detached involvement. My brother had stepped in and taken over most of the decision-making, which suited me just fine. He handled the business.
I handled… nothing.
But every time I thought about investing money into this place, something inside me resisted.
