The Cynical Prince

'I knew you would always be there...'

Tonight wasn't the lounge I was working at, tonight was the bar down in Brooklyn that my parents hated me for taking the job but, I knew being the bartender no one would touch me. Who would want to ruin the relationship you have with the person who's handling your drinks? I knew I wouldn't.

"Alessa, looking good tonight." I smiled at Tom, a regular and cracked open his Coors for him. He smiled at me and paid for it and then left a two-dollar tip in my cup. He would be back for more and I knew once he started drinking the harder stuff my tips would increase.

"Thanks, Tom." I waved him off and looked at the time. It was 10 and my shift here didn't end up until three in the morning and Steph already knew that and so did Tagan knowing that Wednesdays were my late nights and that I wouldn't be able to take him to school in the morning. Luckily my classes were late on Thursdays going in at 2 in the afternoon.

"Let me get a Corona?" I had been bent over looking for some ice, noticing we were running low when I heard that voice. I quickly shot up and saw Dean sitting there. He looked at me shocked and then smiled.

"Do you work everywhere?" I laughed and got him his beer opening it up and handing it to him.

"Pretty much. This is my second job. I work here Wednesday nights and the weekends. Here I get lots of tips. On Monday's and Friday's though, I work at Borders during the day since I don't start classes until 3. After my classes are done I take the late shift over at the lounge." Dean looked at me shocked as I wiped down the counter. Another guy called me over and I excused myself from Dean and walked over.

"What can I get you?" The guy smirked and looked at me up and down. That was the only reason why I hated working here. I hated having to dress in short shorts and a tank top as my uniform, my apron covering practically all of the shorts.

"One of you is all." The guy laughed and he friend did also, coming up behind him.

"Well, I'm not for sale, so what drink can I get you?" The guy glared at me and stood up straight. I hated when men like this walked into the bar thinking they could say what ever they wanted to the waitresses. I remember on of the girls, Stacy, almost got attacked if it wasn't for our manager who stepped in and beat the crap out of the drunken lard.

I was still so glad that it hadn't happened to me yet, being that I'm the one that handles their drinks but this guy looked sober and pissed, made me afraid of what he could do drunk and pissed.

"All have a vodka straight." I poured him his glass and he slammed the money down on the table. I grabbed it and placed it in the register rolling my eyes. I sighed and walked back over to Dean who oddly enough was gripping his bottle of empty Corona like he was strangling it.

"You okay?" I asked him placing my hand on his. I felt him tense up but then calm just a bit.

"Me? Are you okay?" I laughed and took his bottle from him, placing it in the recycling bin under the bar and handed him another one. I knew he wanted it.

"Things like this happen all the time. Our manager watches over us and come on; this is me we're talking about, Dean. I kicked your friends ass, drunk and very pissed off and he was much bigger than me!" Dean laughed and nodded his head remembering that time. Most of my drunken memories were with Dean.

"Right you are. But still, you can't go getting into bar fights Alessa, you have a son to go home to." I looked at him admiringly. He was always so smart and knew exactly what to say when to say it. Sure he didn't have good timing when he was in love with me but he sure knew what to say to make my heart beat faster.

"I know that. If that was me six years ago trust me I would have started that fight and then been fired. I can't risk that with my rent and food prices nowadays." He chuckled and then his name was called. I saw a group of guys with a couple girls waving at him beckoning him over. I smiled at him and wiped down the counter again, it being wet from the bottles.

"Guess, I'll see you later then," he nodded his head as he stood up to leave and slipped five dollars into my tip cup.

"Dean-" He held up his hand and smiled at me.

"See you later." I watched him walk over to the table all of the guys greeting him with shouts and hugs. One girl instantly going over to him and hugging him closely. She looked over at me and glared so I quickly looked away shrugging it off. Guess he had a girlfriend.

It was well into the night and half the people here had been drinking way too much. Dean and his friends were surprisingly still here, half of them drunk and the others nothing far from being smashed. Also the guy that had bothered me from before was still there and it bothered me just a bit. He kept getting a mix between beers and hard liquor that made me worry just a bit.

It was time for my break so one of the other girls came behind the counter while I took a Corona for my cigs and myself and headed out the back. It was a small alleyway where we would take our breaks and just relax from all of the men hitting on us and possibly count our tips. I took a drag off my cigarette and long swig of the beer hoping to relax just a bit before I went back in to finish off the hour I had left. However, my solitude was greatly disturbed by the man who was bothering me before.

"Hey bitch!" The next thing I knew my head was slammed onto the other side of the alleyway wall and both my beer and cigarette fell to the ground. I was dizzy and still on my feet when he pushed my up against the wall and pulled my hair back. I could feel his breath on my neck, drenched in all the alcohol I had served him and I tried desperately to wiggle away.

"I normally don't get angry this easily when a girl rejects me but when she rejects me and then goes off to talk to some loser who has a girlfriend, that pisses me off!" His body was pushed up hard against mine so I felt it when he started fiddling with his pants trying to get them off. That's when I began to panic. I struggled hard but I couldn't get him to let go.

"Please!" I begged knowing if anything happened lord knows what would happen to Tagan.

"Shut up you fucking whore!" He banged my head against the wall yet again and my vision started to blur. Blood was pouring out of the wound on my forehead and I knew if I didn't do something fast he would.

"HELP!" I yelled only to get my head smashed against the wall again. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness even though I tried so hard to stay awake. The pain in my head just became too much for me and I fell to the ground.

The ground?

I looked up, everything still a bit blurry and saw a man on top of the man that was attacking me, hitting him. I could hear the distant punches of fist meeting face, and then my name being called by someone familiar.

I didn't know who he was, all I knew was that he saved me and then everything went dark.