Chapter 2: Distracting Thoughts
1576 Words
Blythe's P.O.V.
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"Hey, you're here a bit early for your shift," Mary said as I walked around the counter to clock in.
"Jason asked me to before I left last night," I told her.
"But... you worked a double yesterday... and closed..." Mary said, putting the pieces together.
And here it comes.
"Bly, you worked until past 1 in the morning, and you're back already?" The way she said it was accusing, like I was the one that asked for this shift.
Great, so she knows that it took me forever to close last night because I had to do everything alone. Jason was supposed to help, but spent the whole night shooting the sh.it with the cook who was also supposed to be helping. I'm not even sure how long they ended up staying. Of course, Mary knows all of this already.
"I was asked to come in early today. I said yes, Mary," I replied. "It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" She asked incredulously. "Bly, it's only seven in the morning right now. You have to close again tonight-"
"Mary, please," I cut her off as I turned to face her. "I know you're worried, but I'm fine, okay? I got bills to pay. That's all."
Which was a total lie. I need this job. Not because it pays well, or because the diner is just doing so well that I make incredible tips. Because those would both be lies. It's because Jason pays me under the table and doesn't ask questions. Plus, I need a job that I can make cash at every day.
Just in case I need to run again.
"You're going to burn out though, and then what?" Mary muttered under her breath.
I let it go, mostly because we had tables to look after. I know that even if Mary knew that she'd be short-staffed today, she would have told me to stay home and sleep. I doubt that Mary could handle waiting tables, bussing tables, and taking food and drinks out all by herself though. It's hard enough with just the two of us.
Thankfully, the morning kept me busy enough that I remained wide awake. I was used to not sleeping much anyway. It also made time fly by and, before we knew it, we were in our less busy time of day. I was busy preparing silverware and marrying the ketchups when Mary stood next to me, leaning on the counter.
"I cannot believe that it's already almost eight o'clock," she said.
I whipped my head at the clock hanging on the way and then looked at Mary.
"You were out at four," I said, frowning. "Where is Abby? She was supposed to take over for you."
Mary shrugged as she started helping me.
"Guess she called in to say she was going to be late or something," she replied. "Jason asked me to stay until she got here. He said he had to run to go get her because of car trouble."
I rolled my eyes.
Right. Car trouble. Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that she and Jason are fu.cking on the side. You see, Jason is actually a married man. Not happily, which is understandable because his wife is a mega-cu.nt, but still.
Jason's wife, Lora, will come in here at least once a week. She always has something rude to say, she degrades the place and all of us workers, and then she and Jason spend at least two hours fighting in his office. I try to stay out of it, but I often wonder why they're even together still.
Regardless of their reasons or anything else, Jason cheats a lot. Abby is not the only one, but she is the only one who works here. And not for lack of trying either. I guess Mary and I just have standards. All the kitchen cooks are men, and I guess Jason doesn't swing that way.
However, this means that Abby gets everything she wants and Mary and I have to suffer for it. We're already short-staffed because Jason keeps scaring off the waitresses. Apparently, Mary and I were just built to handle a lot. Still, I have no idea how the man hasn't been sued for se.xual harassment.
If only I wasn't so afraid to be found.
"Do you think that Abby's boyfriend knows that she screws her boss?" Mary asked me, genuinely curious.
I snorted.
I love Mary. If I were a more trusting person, I think we could be really good friends. She's funny and bubbly and tends to be a lot of fun when we work together. She's tried to get me to hang out several times, but...
I just can't.
"I didn't know Abby had a boyfriend," I replied. "I thought she had multiple, and they all knew about each other."
Mary let out a burst of laughter. Luckily, we only had one customer at the moment, who happened to be Silent Jay. He's an elderly, grumpy man who glares at us while he takes two hours to drink his cup of coffee and eats his dinner, and then he leaves. And with barely a tip, I might add.
"Gosh, you're too much," Mary teased me, gently pushing my arm as she snorted.
I only smiled and kept doing my job. I'm glad I made Mary laugh, but I was actually being serious. I've seen a few different guys come in and claim to be her boyfriend. Maybe because I work more shifts with Abby than Mary does.
"Anyway, her boyfriend that I know about is a guy from the motorcycle gang in the next town over," Mary continued.
I froze.
There's a motorcycle club near here? I've never seen any club members around before. Though, I just work and go to the grocery store, so maybe I just never saw them?
The fact that I'm so close to some random MC scares me a little. Just a little though. Despite how shi.tty my supposed friends ended up being, the club was always a safe place for me. Until it wasn't, but that was my sh.itty friends and my even shi.ttier stepsister, Everly.
I never blamed the club though. The older guys were like father figures to me. After Tusk became my stepdad, they were like uncles. They were never mean or rude to me and always treated me like family.
That was probably just because of my mom though. Nobody actually wanted me around. I figured that out the hard way.
Anyway, being close to an MC shouldn't be a big deal. They obviously never come in here, and why would they? As long as they aren't affiliated with The Inferno's Demon Riders, then all should be fine. Even if they were, the only worry I'd really have is word getting back to my father and husband about my whereabouts.
Just like last time.
Whatever, I doubt that anyone would even recognize me. Right? I mean, I haven't seen the majority of them in nine years. The last time I was there, I only saw Evander. That was still eight years ago.
"The guy came in here the other night, and he was fine as hell girl," Mary continued.
I tried to keep up with all her gushing about how such a hot guy could be with an STD-riddled ska.nk like Abby. It was difficult though. My mind kept wandering towards the past, reminding me of the good ol' days.
Or were they good?
I thought so at the time. Hell, those memories used to be the safe place I'd escape to when things got bad at Silent Divine. Then I came to learn the truth though. The cold, hard, ugly truth.
None of them wanted me. Not my mom, not Kylian, not Tae, not Evander, definitely not Chayton. I wonder if Ozias ever even truly liked me.
The more I think about it, the more I wonder if they were all told to befriend me and be nice to me. At least at some point they were told that. Probably when my mom started seeing Tusk behind our backs. Tusk wouldn't want to upset his ol' lady.
Maybe I was always just a nuisance to everyone.
"I told you to stay away from me for a while."
"God, you're always in the fu.cking way, Shorty."
"What are you doing here, Spark? We told you to stay out of the clubhouse."
"Maybe you should take the hint, Dimples. No one wants you here."
"Bly, are you listening to me?" Mary asked, pulling me from my spiraling thoughts.
I blinked away the wetness filling my eyes and plastered a smile on my face.
"Sorry, zoned out a bit," I mumbled.
"Understandable," she replied. "You're probably dog-tired."
Of life, yes.
"Anyway, I was saying that we should go out tomorrow night after work," Mary said. "We close together again. Let's go get a drink after."
"I don't know, Mary," I mumbled.
"Oh, come on! Please?" She asked, pouting at me. "Just a couple of drinks?"
"I'll think about it," I replied.
Mary squealed like I had told her yes instead of maybe. Perhaps she took it as a yes, since I always say no, no matter what. I could probably go out for one night. I can handle that. Everything will be fine. No one knows me here.
What's the worst that could happen?
- Writer
