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Carter gets his textbooks and a job at a college bar nearby.
After his first shift, he’s made not just one new friend, but two. He comes home bubbly and smiling, talking a mile a minute as he sheds his clothes that smell like fried food and booze. He doesn’t seem to notice that I’m in the same clothes I’ve been wearing the past two days. Or that I’m cradling a tequila bottle to my chest. Or that I’m not really able to follow all of his words because they’re sort of blurring together. I don’t blame him for not noticing. He’s just so happy.
This is working for him.
I’m so fucking glad it’s working for him.
He asks me something, his blue eyes wide and hopeful, and I find myself agreeing to… come to his work tomorrow? To see him there?
"I'll give you free lunch," he says proudly. I don't mention that I'm not really into eating these days. "Can you stop at the store after though? We're out of pretty much everything."
"Okay…"
“Wanna come into the bathroom while I shower?” Carter asks. “I want to tell you all about my night.”
I tighten my grip on the bottle in my hand, trying to think of an excuse with my tequila-fogged brain. I can’t come up with one. So, I go with the truth. “Showers scare me.”
He pauses, his shoulders sagging and his smile slipping off his lips. Guilt stabs my chest. I hadn’t meant to steal his happiness. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”
“It's fine." I eye my phone. It's been dead for a while now, Carter handling every check-in so far by calling Maison. I should charge it before tomorrow. Venturing out into the world on my own will definitely require a cell phone. "I'm actually going to sleep. I'm tired."
"Oh, no problem. I'll probably crash pretty hard too. Night, Case."
"Night."
Despite only being early afternoon, the pub is loud with music and conversation. It’s dim, shadows moving around in the corners. My skin crawls as I force myself to put one foot in front of the other until I reach the bar. A red headed man with freckles and a wide smile greets me. “What can I get ya?”
“Oh. Um.” I scan the surrounding area, stomach twisting when I realize Carter is nowhere in sight. “Is - is Carter here?”
“Yeah! One second.” The guy shoots me a playful wink before ducking through an opening that - from the sounds of it - leads to the small kitchen. That wink would have been plenty for me to go off of last year. The game would have been on. I wouldn’t be standing here trying not to hyperventilate or hide under the bar, I’d be standing here coming up with a good pick up line. Maybe I’d give him my number. Maybe I’d just ask what time he gets off and meet him after. Hell, if it was just a quick itch I was hoping to scratch, I’d ask him if he wants to spend some quality time together on his next break.
Will I ever get back to that version of myself?
Carter pops through the opening with a towel slung over his shoulder. He grins when he sees me. “You came!”
“I came,” I agree, still not sure why in the world I thought I could do this. I fight the urge to glance over my shoulder to see if there’s danger lurking. It wouldn’t matter anyway. If there is danger, it won’t be something I can see. It’ll just come out of nowhere. Just like my kidnappers had. One second, life was normal. The next, I was… owned.
The thought makes the panic brewing inside of me flare into a storm. My knees wobble, a stool thankfully close enough for me to fall onto.
“Do you want a drink?” Carter asks. “Or food?”
“Tequila,” I say immediately.
Carter’s brows pull in. “Let’s make it a tequila sunrise, yeah? It’s a little early to be hitting the hard stuff, Case.”
I want to tell him to fuck off. Instead, I paste on a sticky smile. “You’re right. That sounds great.”
“I’ll get it,” the red head says, his smile flirty as his eyes trail over my body. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt today, so he probably can’t tell that my broad frame is just an illusion. “You must be Casey? Carter’s roommate?”
I nearly laugh. It sounds so ridiculously… normal. “That’s me.”
“I’m Eric. I’ve been training this goof.” He offers me a hand as he sets my tequila sunrise down. I stare at it. Slaves don’t shake hands. Heat crawls up my throat and across my cheeks as I shove the thought away, pissed at my head for even allowing such bullshit to still be there.
My hand trembles when I grab his, but he’s kind enough not to point it out. “Nice to meet you,” I mumble.
“You too.”
Carter grins at me, completely oblivious to my discomfort. “Isn’t the place great? I love the ambience. It makes me feel…” He pauses to glance at Eric, who is further down the bar helping a new customer, then looks back at me to finish his thought. “Normal.”
