Sequel: Stay ›
Status: Active
Bruised and Scarred
This Was Supposed to be the Easy Part
The next few days with Jason were difficult, mainly because he thought I was ruining his life. Like that was something unusual though. He was off to another major trip with his company, but he would be gone for about a year. He would be in England, with no phone service, no internet service, no checking on me. This left me excited, but I don’t know why. Maybe because I felt a little safer after he had left. But the day was nothing special. I got up, showered, put my hair up in a bun, wrapped my head in a series of headbands, got dressed and made my way to Hooters for another double shift. But when I got there I saw Krys, waiting impatiently for me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her, sounding a bit agitated.
“Making sure you’re still alive,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well you got your answer, now I have to work. I was about to go into the back when she started following me.
“Emmeline, please talk to me.” I sighed, and turned to look at her. She seemed desperate.
“My shift ends at midnight. Can you wait until then?” She nodded, and took a seat at the bar in wait. I went into the locker room, and changed out of my turquoise blazer, white and black polka dotted ruffled cami, and bootcut jeans and into my mandatory hooters uniform and went to work.
----
By the end of my shift I was exhausted, ready to pull my hair out, and was ready to go home. But once I had changed back into my street clothes and slipped into my yellow wedges, I realized Krys was still at the bar. I sighed and slowly grabbed my camel colored bag and went over to the bar, and ordered a beer. I sipped it cautiously, and waited for Krys to start talking.
When she didn’t I looked to her. “Why are you here, Krys?” I finally asked.
“Because, you’re still with Jason aren’t you?” I nodded.
“You know the more he gets angry at you, the quicker you’re going to be digging your grave.” I took a swig of my beer, and shrugged.
“He won’t kill me.” She stared at me in shock.
“How can you be so sure?” I looked at her with a straight.
“Because he refuses to kill me until I give him what he wants.”
“And what is that?”
“Sex,”
“Why are you with him, Emmeline? You could do so much better than an abusive fuck like Jason.”
“You obviously don’t understand then, do you Krys?”
“What is there not to understand?”
“You don’t seem to understand that I can’t do better than Jason, he’s the only one who wants me. And he’s all I know, I can’t leave him. Even if I could, he’d kill me before I had the chance.” She looked at me, sadness in her features.
“Where is he tonight?”
“On a flight to England,”
“How long will he be there?”
“A year,”
“Perfect then, come stay with me.” I shook my head.
“No way, I’m not doing that.” She gave me a look of annoyance.
“Why not? Just stay for the weekend,” I sighed, and was ready to protest but with Krys, there was no protesting. She packed a weekend bag for me, and we were on our way to her house. It was nice. It was spacious, warm and welcoming. It was nothing like my cold, uninviting apartment that I shared with Jason.
“Make yourself at home,” She told me, falling back onto the couch and flipping on the TV. “Um, can you show me to my room real quick?” She nodded and got up again, then led me up the stairs and showed me to my room.
I thanked her and told her I was going to get ready for bed. I changed into my pajamas, and sat on the full sized bed, and sighed. I knew that Jason couldn’t watch over me from England, but his voice was still in the back of my mind.
You’re mine. Don’t embarrass me. You’re never leaving me.
I pushed these thoughts out of my head and crawled under the covers, and quickly fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I heard voices downstairs. It was yelling; someone was fighting.
“You asshole!”
“You bitch!”
My senses went into over drive, and I rushed down the stairs.\
“Krys! Are you okay?” When I got downstairs I saw the boys from Mayday Parade huddled around the tv, playing Mario Race Karts.
“Shit! You beat me again” Alex whined to Krys. I sighed in relief, seeing there was no actual violence to worry about.
“Hey, sleepy head is up,” I heard Derek said with a laugh.
“What time is it?” I asked with a yawn.
“12:30.” I grew wide eyed.
“You’re kidding,” He shook his head.
“Nope,” I quickly grew nervous, and ran up the stairs to check my phone. It was indeed twelve thirty in the afternoon, and I had missed calls from Hooters. I groaned, and quickly called them back, telling them I had over slept and I would be in soon. But much to my dismay, they were firing me. First time offense being late, and they fire me. What a great boss I had. I went downstairs and plopped on the couch next to Alex, and stared blankly at the tv.
“Everything okay,” I looked over to Krys, and shrugged
“If you call getting fired from your job because you overslept okay then sure,” She grew wide eyed.
“You lost your job?” I nodded.
“Yeah,” She sighed, and was ready to comfort me when I interjected.
“Did you guys make lunch?” She nodded and I went into the kitchen, and made myself a plate of what was left over.
“You going to be okay?” I heard Derek ask, causing me to sigh.
“Yeah, unless Jason finds out,” He cocked an eyebrow, and I began to go on about how I was the main source of our income.
“So, why would losing a job at Hooters be such a big deal to him?” I wanted to tell Derek the truth, that Hooters was the only place of employment that Jason thought was suitable for me, that that’s the only place he thought I was capable of working at. But I shrugged.
“Jason gets upset over change.” Derek shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Why don’t I find you a temporary job?” I gave him a skeptical look.
“How could you possibly find me a temporary job?” He rolled his eyes.
“Do you have no faith in me old friend?” I laughed and shrugged.
“I don’t know. Should I?” He smirked, and excused himself to make a few phone calls. I stayed in the kitchen, nibbling at the food on my plate when suddenly he came back in with a big smile on his face.
“How would you like to work in retail?” I stared at him, and he had a devious look on his face.
“Depends, what’s the store I would be working for?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and smiled proudly.
“No store,”
“Oh God, Derek. Just tell me what you got me into.”
“You can work as a merch girl for my band, we’re having a few local shows and need extra help. Krys works as a merch girl, so you won’t be completely alone. And she can help you get the hang of working merch at shows.” I smiled wide, and threw a wadded up napkin at him, causing him to laugh. I was in for a lot of trouble at this point, but for some reason I didn’t really care.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her, sounding a bit agitated.
“Making sure you’re still alive,” I rolled my eyes.
“Well you got your answer, now I have to work. I was about to go into the back when she started following me.
“Emmeline, please talk to me.” I sighed, and turned to look at her. She seemed desperate.
“My shift ends at midnight. Can you wait until then?” She nodded, and took a seat at the bar in wait. I went into the locker room, and changed out of my turquoise blazer, white and black polka dotted ruffled cami, and bootcut jeans and into my mandatory hooters uniform and went to work.
----
By the end of my shift I was exhausted, ready to pull my hair out, and was ready to go home. But once I had changed back into my street clothes and slipped into my yellow wedges, I realized Krys was still at the bar. I sighed and slowly grabbed my camel colored bag and went over to the bar, and ordered a beer. I sipped it cautiously, and waited for Krys to start talking.
When she didn’t I looked to her. “Why are you here, Krys?” I finally asked.
“Because, you’re still with Jason aren’t you?” I nodded.
“You know the more he gets angry at you, the quicker you’re going to be digging your grave.” I took a swig of my beer, and shrugged.
“He won’t kill me.” She stared at me in shock.
“How can you be so sure?” I looked at her with a straight.
“Because he refuses to kill me until I give him what he wants.”
“And what is that?”
“Sex,”
“Why are you with him, Emmeline? You could do so much better than an abusive fuck like Jason.”
“You obviously don’t understand then, do you Krys?”
“What is there not to understand?”
“You don’t seem to understand that I can’t do better than Jason, he’s the only one who wants me. And he’s all I know, I can’t leave him. Even if I could, he’d kill me before I had the chance.” She looked at me, sadness in her features.
“Where is he tonight?”
“On a flight to England,”
“How long will he be there?”
“A year,”
“Perfect then, come stay with me.” I shook my head.
“No way, I’m not doing that.” She gave me a look of annoyance.
“Why not? Just stay for the weekend,” I sighed, and was ready to protest but with Krys, there was no protesting. She packed a weekend bag for me, and we were on our way to her house. It was nice. It was spacious, warm and welcoming. It was nothing like my cold, uninviting apartment that I shared with Jason.
“Make yourself at home,” She told me, falling back onto the couch and flipping on the TV. “Um, can you show me to my room real quick?” She nodded and got up again, then led me up the stairs and showed me to my room.
I thanked her and told her I was going to get ready for bed. I changed into my pajamas, and sat on the full sized bed, and sighed. I knew that Jason couldn’t watch over me from England, but his voice was still in the back of my mind.
You’re mine. Don’t embarrass me. You’re never leaving me.
I pushed these thoughts out of my head and crawled under the covers, and quickly fell asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I heard voices downstairs. It was yelling; someone was fighting.
“You asshole!”
“You bitch!”
My senses went into over drive, and I rushed down the stairs.\
“Krys! Are you okay?” When I got downstairs I saw the boys from Mayday Parade huddled around the tv, playing Mario Race Karts.
“Shit! You beat me again” Alex whined to Krys. I sighed in relief, seeing there was no actual violence to worry about.
“Hey, sleepy head is up,” I heard Derek said with a laugh.
“What time is it?” I asked with a yawn.
“12:30.” I grew wide eyed.
“You’re kidding,” He shook his head.
“Nope,” I quickly grew nervous, and ran up the stairs to check my phone. It was indeed twelve thirty in the afternoon, and I had missed calls from Hooters. I groaned, and quickly called them back, telling them I had over slept and I would be in soon. But much to my dismay, they were firing me. First time offense being late, and they fire me. What a great boss I had. I went downstairs and plopped on the couch next to Alex, and stared blankly at the tv.
“Everything okay,” I looked over to Krys, and shrugged
“If you call getting fired from your job because you overslept okay then sure,” She grew wide eyed.
“You lost your job?” I nodded.
“Yeah,” She sighed, and was ready to comfort me when I interjected.
“Did you guys make lunch?” She nodded and I went into the kitchen, and made myself a plate of what was left over.
“You going to be okay?” I heard Derek ask, causing me to sigh.
“Yeah, unless Jason finds out,” He cocked an eyebrow, and I began to go on about how I was the main source of our income.
“So, why would losing a job at Hooters be such a big deal to him?” I wanted to tell Derek the truth, that Hooters was the only place of employment that Jason thought was suitable for me, that that’s the only place he thought I was capable of working at. But I shrugged.
“Jason gets upset over change.” Derek shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Why don’t I find you a temporary job?” I gave him a skeptical look.
“How could you possibly find me a temporary job?” He rolled his eyes.
“Do you have no faith in me old friend?” I laughed and shrugged.
“I don’t know. Should I?” He smirked, and excused himself to make a few phone calls. I stayed in the kitchen, nibbling at the food on my plate when suddenly he came back in with a big smile on his face.
“How would you like to work in retail?” I stared at him, and he had a devious look on his face.
“Depends, what’s the store I would be working for?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and smiled proudly.
“No store,”
“Oh God, Derek. Just tell me what you got me into.”
“You can work as a merch girl for my band, we’re having a few local shows and need extra help. Krys works as a merch girl, so you won’t be completely alone. And she can help you get the hang of working merch at shows.” I smiled wide, and threw a wadded up napkin at him, causing him to laugh. I was in for a lot of trouble at this point, but for some reason I didn’t really care.