Let's Set Our Hearts At Self-Destruct

For the first time in her life, things were going good for Avery. She moved back to her hometown, quickly found a job, she even found an apartment to rent that didn’t set her back too much. She didn’t have many friends, but then again, she didn’t really want any. She had spent so long doing everything with everyone that it was refreshing to be able to do something by herself. With that being said, Avery still had a very strong fear of being alone. The nice couple from across the hall were very kind and took care of her, inviting her over for dinner and offering her company from time to time. Everything was… nice.

May crept up suddenly and Jaime’s twenty-third birthday was upon him. Jaime woke up feeling old. He had never been twenty-three before, it felt weird. He shook his head at the thought and jumped out of bed to get ready for the day. Since today was a special day, his friends were taking him to a new bar in town. Even though going to a bar was nothing special to them, since this one was newly opened, they considered it worthy.

The morning went by oddly slow, but Jaime wouldn’t have it any other way. After showering, he went downstairs to fix himself some breakfast and then watched his favourite movie. His phone practically exploded with as many messages and calls he got wishing him well on his birthday. Since he had nothing better to do, Jaime politely replied to each one, making sure to call his mother since it was her special day as well. She had given birth to him twenty-three years ago, of course!

Six thirty came around and Avery rolled out of bed to get ready for work. She had the night shift so she had spent the entire day in bed. She started making coffee so she’d be able to stay awake until last call. For some reason, she wasn’t looking forward to work that night. Something was in the air, she thought, something peculiar. Avery took a quick, cold shower then sat down on the counter to mentally prepare her self for the night. Her phone rang from the other room indicating that it was now seven and she needed to hurry up. She rushed out of the bathroom, quickly drying herself off and made her way to her closet.

“What to wear, what to wear…”

Avery muttered to herself before settling on a pair of black shorts and a plain white tee shirt. Her phone rang again as she walked to her bed to put on her shoes and this time it was actually someone calling her. Strange, she thought. She answered the call and simultaneously put her socks and shoes on while talking. On the other line was her co-worker asking if he could bum a ride because his car had mysteriously stopped working. In the back of her mind, she thought he had just wanted to spend some time alone with her, but she shook it off. She was not in the mood for a boyfriend at the moment.

“Sure, I’ll be there in twenty.”

She replied into the phone before hanging up. She had a really rude habit of not saying goodbye before hanging up. It was on the never-ending list of things she needed to work on. Noticing that she didn’t have time to fix her hair, she pulled her damp, long brown hair into a sloppy bun at the crown of her head. It would have to do. With the last five minutes she had before she left, Avery applied some light makeup and poured herself a cup of coffee.

It was seven thirty and Jaime was ready to go. He was practically bouncing off the couch as he waited for Tony to pick him up. No one wanted to be the designated driver, but Tony had pulled the short straw that night. Taking a sip of his water, he looked at his phone, almost willing it to ring. As if on cue, it lit up and Jaime answered it before it even rang.

“Be there in five.”

Tony quipped on the other end before ending the call. He had probably driven past a cop that caused him to end it so suddenly. Tony always seemed to be the picture of safe driving whenever there was a cop around. Jaime shuffled to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. He ran his hand through his hair making sure it was nearly perfect and straightened his shirt. He couldn’t lie; he was looking good. It was his birthday after all, what single man in his right mind wanted to go home alone on his birthday?

A horn honked outside and he ran to the living room to grab his keys and phone. Making sure he didn’t forget anything, Jaime locked the door behind him and jogged to the car that was awaiting him.

“Happy Birthday!”

They all shouted as he climbed in. This caused Jaime to laugh generously. He was glad he found these guys. Without them, he would probably still be miserable. He shook hands and slapped fives with the various people in the car and then they were off.

Work had been oddly slow tonight, and Avery rested her chin in her hand at the bar. Because of the severe lack of people, Mark had served everyone and she barely lifted a finger except to wipe the bar down every so often. And then suddenly, a large group of quite raucous people stepped in.

“Finally!”

Avery practically yelled to herself and hopped off her stool and made her way behind the bar to serve whoever was thirsty. The group of people kept talking about how it was someone’s birthday and it made her quite curious. She reminded herself to figure out who it was exactly who was having a birthday and remember to be very nice to him. The nicer she was and the more she flirted, the bigger the tip she got. It was an unspoken rule between her and Mark; he worked up the single girls, and she worked up the single men. The better they did, the more generous the tips were.

“It’s my friend’s birthday here, and he could use a stiff drink.”

Avery heard someone say and looked up to see three men sitting at the counter. One looked oddly familiar but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She was working and he was probably just some drunken boy she slept with at a party.

“Coming right up.”

Avery said with a wink and poured a brown liquid into a small glass before pouring a clear liquid into three shot glasses and set them in front of the three men.

“And who might this be for?”

She asked, holding the glass up slightly.

“My man Jaime, here.”

The tall one said, slapping the back of the man in the middle. The man she recognized. Jaime? Jaime. JAIME. She knew that name. It had taken her aback slightly and when she set the glass on the bar in front of him, it spilled slightly.

“I’m so sorry. “
Avery muttered and quickly took the rag from her shorts and cleaned up the mess. This made the two men on either side of him chuckle, making her blush like mad. Jaime just stared at her with a slight frown before quickly knocking back his shot. He needed it. Without waiting for his friends, he downed his drink as well.

Ava. His Ava. She was here. Serving him. The pain was back. The ache in his chest that haunted him for all those years. He just stared at her and when she spilled his drink slightly, he knew she remembered him too. She was probably afraid to talk to him. Ashamed, even. Truth be told, Jaime was scared too. He didn’t want to talk to her. She broke his heart. She didn’t deserve to speak to him after what she did. If his birthday wasn’t enough of a reason to get drunk, he now had one.

“I could use another one.”

Jaime muttered, licking his lips. Mike smiled at him before asking for one as well, winking at Avery. He wanted to punch him. He shouldn’t be winking at Ava. She was his. But only, she wasn’t. She wasn’t anyone’s. She never had been. He didn’t know her anymore. He just let it pass. From what he remembered about Ava, her and Mike or anyone else in the bar would be perfect together. They could go out and get drunk and sleep with each other, waking up to a foggy memory and a bad hangover.

“Happy birthday.”

She whispered to him before setting three drinks in front of the three of them. She quickly walked away to talk to the other person behind the bar. She switched spots with him and he made his way over to their side of the bar. Jaime gritted his teeth and drank his glass in one gulp as she served the people in front of her with a big, fake smile.