AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was nothing.
And I was…well, I was a work in progress, but he sure as hell didn’t need to know that.
“What can I get y’all?” I asked, pen and pad in hand, my spine straight and my chin tipped just slightly.
“Four mules,” he said, his friends laughing at some joke I hadn’t heard.
“Anything else?” I asked, practically vibrating with too many emotions to track, but I tried to all the same.
Anger, for sure.
Fear, definitely there.
Embarrassment? Wow, yep that was there too.
Embarrassed that I ever let this asshole have so much control of my life. Control he didn’t have a clue he held. He probably didn’t even recognize—
“Andromeda VanDoren?” he asked. “Is that you?” A wide smile stretched his lips, the sight looking all wrong stretched over his face. Oh sure, he was handsome and charming and all the bullshit that helped people like him get away with whatever they wanted. He likely had a bank account that helped him get out of trouble too.
I shrugged. “Is there anything else y’all want?”
“No way,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s really you! Since when do you work here?”
Why the hell was he acting like we were old friends? Was he really so obtuse that he had no clue what he’d done to me?
“It’s been ages,” he said. “It’s so great to see you. You lookgood.” He prattled on, eying me up and down like I was nothing more than a piece of furniture to be appraised.
“I’ll go get your drinks,” I said instead of responding to a thing he said, stomping toward the bar and placing their order.
I was tempted to give the table to one of the other waitresses, but something in the back of my mind told me that would be cowardly. He had no power over me anymore, and I was working to ensure he never would again. And the asshole didn’t even remember what he’d done to me, by the way he was acting, or he just didn’t think what he’d done was wrong. I couldn’t decide which was worse.
Either way, maybe this was the universe’s way of testing me. Testing my sobriety and my strength.
Well, joke’s on you, universe, because I’msonot relapsing because of this douchebag. Nice try though, but it’ll take more than that to break me.
The realization of that fact sank into my bones, filling me with a rush of confidence and strength. So much so, I took their drinks to them with a classic sugary-sweet-southern smile on my face, and barely looked back as I went to check on my other tables.
The night flew by, thankfully with Kent and his friends leaving after only two rounds of drinks and no more attempts to talk to me, thanks to my ignoring his every question. By the time I clocked out and said goodnight to Lyla—who stayed later than anyone to help clean and prep for the next day—I was exhausted but jittery in a way that I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep right away. It had been a long day, not just with work but with the session with Dr. Casson and somehow seeing Kent too. Like what were the fucking odds?
I gathered my things, typing out a fast text to Jim before I could stop myself.
Me:Just getting off work. Wired. Want to hang?
I bit my lip, hope fluttering in my chest. Hanging out with him after the day I had felt like the best way to put an end to it, even if all we did was watch Netflix and eat snacks. Actually, that sounded like the best way to endanyday—
“There she is!” a familiar voice rang out as I walked out of Lyla’s, heading toward the back road where employees parked their cars. Everyone else had already gone home, so there shouldn’t be anyone hanging around this area, but there were foursomeones.
One in particular that made every bone in my body lock up.
“We were waiting for you!” Kent hurried toward me, clearly drunk.
Serving him drinks had been one thing, but seeing him out here waiting for me was another thing entirely.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Jim:I picked up a night shift or I would. Sorry.
Me:Lyla’s. Hurry.
