Rise and Fall

“Hey babe. You’re in for a rough night. Phillies lost,” Bobby told me as I entered the bar and I groaned. I walked behind the bar and began prepping it for the night, making sure that we had all the popular beers in stock and that all my juices were filled for mixed drinks.

“Fantastic. My tips were counting on a win,” I sighed, tying on my apron. “We all were babe,” Bobby said and sat down at the bar. “Jack and Coke,” I asked and he nodded.

I chatted with Bobby for a bit. He was like an older brother to me. I knew he had feelings for me but I just didn’t feel that spark towards him. He had a crush on me from day one. In a way he reminded me of Bella's friend Mike in the Twilight series. Very loyal, always by my side. Even if I was put in jail for murder he'd probably still defend me.

Hopefully he was only having a drink or two because sometimes it got a little awkward when he got drunk. It usually ended with him professing his love for me… and sometimes he got a little touchy.

Within an hour the bar was packed. Soon enough I was surrounded with people barking different orders at me. Long Island Iced Tea. Seven and seven. Bud Light. Coors. I only had two hands! I quickly made the drinks and handed the beers to the guys in front of me. One of them winked at me and I got a little skeeved out, especially since he was missing one or two of his teeth.

“Jack and Coke,” someone said. “Bobby hang on a sec. I’ve got my hands full,” I snapped. “Now is that any way to treat your customers,” the voice drawled.

It took me less than a second to recognize it. I put the money in the register and turned around to face him. Sure enough it was Shadows and he looked very surprised to see me. He gawked at me and his eyes flickered to my semi low cut top and I blushed as I began prepping the drink for him. Thank god it was dimly lit in here.

“You work here,” he asked. “No I just volunteer my services and enjoy getting harassed by drunks. Yes I work here,” I said, annoyed. I handed him the drink and he placed a ten in front of me, walking off without another word. The man was the definition of mystery.

I watched as he walked to a nearby table and was with a bunch of people that I didn’t recognize. I thought Brian or other people from Daddis would be with him but I was dead wrong. He was with some brown haired girl who instantly snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Her arms were covered in tattoos. It was like they matched, except they looked trashy on her. A customer yelling at me snapped me out of my trance. It was definitely going to be a long night.

Time was going by so slowly. It was only one in the morning and we closed at three. Shadows had come back for two drinks. He didn’t even say a word. I knew what his drink order was so I refilled it and he paid me. A completely silent transaction. There was a lull between customers and I took a second to lean against the counter and see what was on the TV. It was just ESPN, recapping the scores of the games. No one seemed interested. Some LMFAO song was blaring. People were chatting with each other, having a good time going out for a night.

Bobby was back and fortunately he was mostly sober. He gave me a small smile and sat at an empty stool. “How’s it going babe,” he asked. I shrugged my shoulders and glanced around for anyone needing anything. For now, everyone was covered.

“I think I’ll be heading out. You and Kyra are closing,” he informed me and I nodded. “Bye
Bobby,” I said and gave him a peck on the cheek before he left.

I had to admit I was glad he wasn’t staying. Sometimes I just felt uncomfortable with him around. I looked around at the different tables and saw that Shadows was there, lip locked with his girl. I looked away, not interested in watching a round of tonsil tennis and started to get a beer for one of the regulars.

“How’s it going Tom,” I asked. “The usual. Same shit, different day. How about you, love,” Tom asked. I was familiar with a lot of the regulars. I had worked here for the past four years and got acquainted with a lot of them. Tom was in practically every night. To say he was a bit of an alcoholic was the understatement of the century.

“I’m doing good. Just started a kickboxing class,” I informed him. I told him a little about it and he seemed interested. “My son did that years ago. Did some fights here and there. Really enjoyed it,” Tom slurred. “Only problem was he was getting in more fights outside of the gym,” Tom added and I smiled at that. I had to admit that despite the pain, I really liked it too. I didn’t know if I’d ever be brave enough to do an actual fight, but only time would tell.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek and a crash of glass. I looked up and saw that Kyra had dropped the glasses she was carrying and that some guy was grabbing her ass. It was the guy that was sitting with Shadows. “HEY. Watch it pal,” I snapped. “You want in on the action sugar,” he asked, slurring his words. It was clear he was far gone and became a total horn dog when he got drunk.

“SHADOWS. Control your fucking friend,” I yelled and he broke apart from his girl, looking annoyed. “Get out if you can’t keep it in your pants,” I told the guy. He gave me a smirk. “I’ll put it in your pants darling,” he grinned. I scowled and Kyra was stupidly trying to pick up the pieces of glass.

“Kyra, get Jake to clean it up you’re going to cut yourself,” I yelled. Jake was our bar back who took care of any spills, refills, and cleared up fights if we had any. He was over six feet tall and had decent muscles from what I assumed working out at the gym. He was definitely someone you wanted in your corner. She nodded and scurried off to find him. “Can I get another beer darling,” the creep slurred. “Consider yourself cut off, pal,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “What the fuck? You stupid whore,” he snapped, sounding pissed.

I ignored him and went back to serving customers at the bar who now needed refills. He was just showing typical pissed off drunken behavior of being cut off. I was taking change from one customer and giving them their beer with a smile when he interrupted again.

“Hey whore I’m talking to you,” he yelled loudly and something hit me in the head. For a drunk he had good fucking aim. He hit me on the side of the head with his beer bottle and people screamed as it shattered on the floor. I winced and knew that it had cut me. I placed a few fingers to the place where my head was throbbing. I pulled them away and winced. Yeah I was bleeding. And pretty badly too.

“Get the FUCK out of my bar,” I yelled. “Consider yourself flagged you asshole. What’s your name,” I asked. I grabbed a napkin and placed it on the side of my head, staring as Shadows got up with his plaything. His friend stumbled up and leaned against Shadows for support. “Corey Taylor,” Shadows informed me. “Some real classy friends you’ve got,” I said, squeezing the napkin a little harder to help control the bleeding. Shadows said nothing but had his girl on one side and balanced Corey on the other and they walked out.

I pulled the napkin away and it was already becoming soaked with blood. “Jesus. Jake can you take over for a minute? I need the bathroom,” I said and he nodded and filled in for me.

I went to the bathroom and washed my face. There was a nasty gash on the right side of my face. I was probably going to need stitches. Stupid asshole. I cleaned the cut and washed my face. Other than the cut, everything else looked ok. I put a paper towel against it and went back into the office to get a band-aid or some type of bandage to cover the cut. I spotted a large band-aid and after removing the paper towel I quickly put the band-aid on before it could start bleeding profusely again.

“Thanks Jake,” I said. “No problem. Try not to get clobbered for the rest of your shift,” he said and I grinned. “I’ll do my best,” I said and he gave me a boyish grin. He was a handsome guy. Tall, black messy hair, a nice smile, and a good sense of humor. He was one of my favorite people to work with. I would’ve considered dating him if he was a little older. He had only just turned 21 a few months ago.

The rest of the shift was pretty uneventful and I was glad for it. My muscles were starting to catch up with me from class earlier and were beginning to ache. I was glad we were about to close up. People were finishing up their drinks and were starting to clear out.

After the last customer left I locked the doors and counted the money and did everything that was part of the closing routine. I made $276 tonight, which was pretty good for a weeknight. I locked the doors since I had seniority and was one of the few people who had a key to the bar. Bobby had insisted that I have a copy after I had worked there for a few years.

I said goodnight to Kyra who left immediately, and I gave Jake thirty bucks knowing that Kyra probably hadn’t tipped him out. She usually kept to herself and wasn’t keen on sharing her tips. “Thanks for everything tonight. You’re a life saver,” I said. “No problem. Stay outta trouble Jules,” Jake said and I grinned.

Before going home I went to the hospital and waited at the ER. I was exhausted and ended up waiting almost two hours to be seen. I ended up getting four stitches. Stupid asshole. They informed me that in two weeks I’d be able to take the stitches out and the cut would be healed. I thanked the doctor and nurse and left. I was annoyed that nearly half of my earnings from the night went towards the hospital bill, but it was necessary.

I got home and the apartment was pitch black and silent. It was five in the morning so of course they were asleep. I stripped down to my underwear and slid on a baggy shirt and went to bed, staring up at the ceiling. Now that Shelby and Rob were engaged it had me thinking. If they were engaged, soon to be married, it probably meant I had a deadline for how long I could stay with them. They probably wanted me out in the next few months or so. I had hassled them enough by living with them as long as I had. I would just have to do some research and look at some apartments in the Philly area. It would be a cheap one and probably a shit hole, but it would be my home. Starting tomorrow, I’d start looking.

I yawned and my brain was tired of thinking, so I closed my eyes and fell asleep shortly afterwards.