Kitten

“Oh baby, you know I love you,” Alex said, teasingly ticking the back of Lisa’s neck as the waitress dodged around the cook’s fingers.

“Of course you do,” Lisa replied, smirking and moving to stand beside Brendon. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern. “You’ve seemed sorta down all day.”

Brendon shrugged, setting down his tray of dirty dishes. “Wash these,” he told Alex in a flat voice.

It was right after lunchtime, after the rush of customers has left and the waiters were cleaning up and joking around, and Alex and Lisa were worried about their co-worker.

“Are you gonna tell us what’s wrong or do we need to beat it out of you?” Alex asked and Lisa smacked him affectionately across the shoulder.

“I’m not sure,” Brendon mumbled just as the door opened and a furious-looking man stamped in.

“You!” the man hissed, charging straight for Brendon. “Is your name Brendon?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Brendon saw Lisa take a purposeful step closer to him. “Y-yes,” he stammered.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem—” Alex began, but the man cut him off.

“My star has lost his voice and it’s all your fault!” he screeched, face red with fury. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to put an a show with an actor who won’t talk? I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Mister! Mister! Calm down!” Lisa barked in a voice that left no room for argument. “I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

The man never took his eyes off Brendon, backing towards the door. “You’ll pay for this, you bastard,” he growled, dropping a fistful of loose-leaf papers in the doorway before disappearing.

“What’s his problem?” Lisa asked, eyes narrowed.

Alex shrugged and walked over to the door, picking up the papers and bringing them back over to where Brendon and Lisa where standing. “Here,” he said, shoving the papers into Brendon’s hands.

Still a little bit shaken by the man’s forceful outburst, Brendon slowly looked to the pieces of paper in his arms.

And what if you love them? What do you do? read the first piece of paper in a slanted hand-writing that Brendon would recognize anywhere as Ryan’s.

Ignoring Lisa’s and Alex’s curious looks, Brendon turned to one side, shielding the pages from their view.

I’m afraid to. Nobody ever listens when I do.

Next page.

Have you ever been hurt by someone who’s supposed to love you?

They obviously weren’t in the right order.

He didn’t stop when I asked him to.

Brendon froze when he read that. What had happened?

He asked me how it was and I told him it was good because I knew he wouldn’t believe me if I said otherwise. And then he told me that he could do better and he forced himself upon me.

Flip.

Brendon. The waiter from the diner.

Confused and dazed, Brendon frantically turned to the last page.

He was drunk last night. And he was pissed at me because I was having sex with someone else even though we’re not dating or anything. Just best friends. With benefits. But I love him.

Brendon felt tears slowly rolling down his cheeks and the papers fell from his hands, lazily floating down the ground.

He loves me? Brendon thought numbly. And I … hurt him.

“Brendon?” Lisa asked hesitantly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

His voice was a ragged screech as he cried out—“No!”