Conflicted (Secrets and Lies) (17 page)

"Mia, you are
so
in trouble," she commented notably concerned by her tone.

"I took his order and made small talk. That's all."

I tried to sound nonchalant but failed miserably. I massaged my temples to subdue the pain that was increasing with the situation at hand.

"Seriously, don't lie to me," Bri scolded.

I opened my mouth to defend myself but her annoyed expression cut me off.

"If there weren't people in here, you'd be across the table screaming each other's names."

I shut my eyes from her critical gaze. She was not helping with the sludge hammers beating down in my head. Bri forced my eyes open before fidgeting with her necklace. She glanced at Ethan and then over to me muttering under her breath.

"You're imagining things. Is there an attraction there? Yes. It's harmless."

Her lips became a thin line as her fingers drummed across the bar. "God Mia, please tell me you're not that dense. Actually, I know you're not so just stop. The looks you were exchanging could solely be the cause of global warming. I think Antarctica just slipped into the ocean."

I scoffed. "You're talking crazy Bri."

She looked at me not buying a lick of what I was saying to her. Bri appeared beyond irritated by the crease in her forehead. She massaged that area with her fingers opening and closing her mouth several times before continuing her rant. "Am I? Are you two like this at his office? It's blatantly obvious that you to screw each other. I can only imagine what you're like around him for eight hours a day."

"I don't see him that much at the office," I disputed.

I paused to verify that our tables were good with no new customers to serve. My eyes lingered over Ethan's area before going back to Bri.

"I still think you're in trouble. I wanted to fan myself while watching you two. The sexual tension present spoke volumes. And don't even get me started on the silent talking that you two do when you ogle each other," she persisted.

I dismissively rolled my shoulders but Bri was resolute in her opinion. She brought my face into her hands forcing me to see the seriousness deep within her green eyes. "Mia, I know you have a lot riding on being there. He literally is the last person that you can even think about getting naked with right now," Bri pointed out.

Before I had a chance to respond, Chase hollered from the kitchen that my order was ready. I shuffled away from her and grabbed a glass setting it under the Miller Lite tap. With his order in hand, I grabbed his beer and headed back over to his table. I took a deep breath to gather myself before attempting round two with Ethan.

I strung out my approach to appreciate him from afar. He had a patch of exposed skin that was visible by the few buttons he left open. I caught a glimpse of a tattoo but nothing definitive. My eyes trailed across the tattoo to his muscular arms then down his torso. I was beyond interested to know whether it was a six or eight pack underneath that shirt. Every part of him had definition so my money was on an eight pack. Everything south of me clenched tightly wanting to satisfy the ache he created in me. I gave my head a quick shake trying to get myself back into the state of mind that allowed me to articulate a simple sentence. With this hangover, it took a greater effort on my part.

"Sorry about the wait on your beer."

Ethan set his phone down and gazed at me with a full dimpled grin. "It's no trouble at all. I could tell you had stuff to deal with at the bar." He motioned to where Bri was observing us. He raised an eyebrow displaying his curiosity as she stared at us unashamed.

"Umm...yea...something like that. Enjoy your food," I responded, fiddling with my apron.

Ethan tilted his head as softness entered his eyes. "Mia, this is a little forward but I was wondering if you wanted to join me. I enjoyed talking with you the other night."

My heart surged at an irregular pace from his invitation. Every part of me longed to sit with Ethan all afternoon. I closed my eyes to push those feelings away. After my heart slowed down, I opened my eyes to answer him. He looked at me with hope spread across his face.

"It's a nice thought but I really can't."

My voice had more sadness to it than I was expecting. I saw the disappointment in his eyes. I twinge ran through my chest at his expression. Ethan picked up his beer and took a long drink.

"It's not that I don't want to or anything. We're already short staffed and to be quite honest I'm not ready to attempt food yet," I admitted.

"I take it you had a good time last night," he remarked.

My face flushed as I recalled last night, this morning, and what was now the lost hours of my twenty-second birthday. "It was a great night. I'm certainly feeling it today."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Any special occasion or was it another typical college party?"

"Actually, it was my birthday yesterday and my friends wanted to celebrate it," I snapped.

Christ, he pushes my buttons. I can feel the rainbow of emotions around him in a matter of minutes. I don't like it.

"I was wondering why you didn't say anything yesterday," he said, grabbing his burger.

"How did you know that it was my birthday?" I asked, picking at my cuticles.

"Background checks...they give us all sorts of fun details like that when we run them."

Ethan took a bit of his burger. His face spread into a satisfied grin. I wished it erased the idiotic feelings soaring through me. I stammered out some of the stupidest questions to the guy and the latter was another one to add to the list.

"I'll let you enjoy your food while it's still hot," I mumbled.

"I hope you had a wonderful birthday," Ethan said sincerely before sipping on his beer.

"Thanks. I'll...ah...check in on you later."

I returned to the bar with Ethan at the forefront of my mind. Bri eyed me as I busied myself with the glasses again. She handed a drink over to the gentleman in front of her and took his money. Bri walked past me to get to the register. She made no effort to contain her growing frustration at watching me interact with Ethan.

"Trouble," she muttered.

I checked on Ethan a few more times while he ate his food. I held back from lingering and kept our conversations brief. There was no need to add any more fuel to the fire in Bri's thoughts since she was accurate in her observations. Once he settled the tab, he got up to head out. Before exiting, he turned around with a wicked grin.

"Thanks for lunch Mia. You were right. The Juicy Lucy was delicious. It was an unforgettable virgin experience!" Ethan shouted.

Everyone in the bar started laughing. It utterly mortified me and he knew it as he walked out. Bri thought his entire departure was hilarious and had no problem dropping to her knees in laughter. She remained on the ground giggling hysterically until tears dripped from her eyes. I shot her a glare before going over to his table to clean it up.

If I thought that the day couldn't get any worse, I was wrong. The night crowed rolled in and they were a more rambunctious group than what I had seen in a while. There were a handful of patrons that were lingering but Chase told us that it was fine to take off. We were preparing ourselves to head out for the night when a fight broke out at the front of the bar. I glimpsed upfront only to dread ever acknowledging that anything was wrong.

Great. The Fitzpatricks. This is going to get ugly.

A younger group had come in earlier and took up residency in the Fitzpatrick's booth. It was an unspoken understanding to everyone in this area. When they walked in and their booth had patrons in it, the expectation was that whoever occupied it moved immediately. Here in lied the problem this evening. The group occupying it tonight refused to move stating they had been there for hours. I knew right off the bat that they weren't from around here. They were definitely from one of the northern suburbs. The Fitzpatricks didn't waste any time to let them know exactly where they were and whom they were dealing with here.

Knives were out and the fight was on the rise. I glanced over my shoulder looking for Chase but he remained in the kitchen. These kids weren't backing down. I was unsure if it was the liquid courage or sheer stupidity but they were getting right back in their faces and that's when the eldest Fitzpatrick had enough. He pulled out his gun and fired a shot across the bar at an empty table with beer bottles cluttering it. The sound echoed off the walls as screams filled the bar. My heart thumped in my chest as the lump in my throat restricted me from swallowing. I had to keep it together for Bri. I pushed her around the bar into the walkway and out of sight.

"Mia, what the hell is going on?" she asked.

I brought a finger to my mouth indicating to keep quiet. I motioned for her to duck down with me. She slumped to the floor with terrified eyes. I grabbed her hand squeezing it with everything that I had. She opened her mouth to say something but I but my hand over it. We heard chairs thrown and high levels of threats spewed out while the rest of the patrons scrambled for the door. The scuffling of men grew louder by the minute with more shots firing off. I kept looking for Chase but he hadn't come out to stop it. He never seemed to care when shit like this went down in the bar. He let it play out which baffled me. Bri started squirming next to me so I dug my nails in her hand to get her to stay still.

"Be quiet Bri. Don't say a word," I warned.

She looked at me wide-eyed and paranoid. I didn't blame her since this had never happened when she helped out in the past. We were on day shifts. This was nothing new to me since I lived right about it. One of the Fitzpatricks fired a shot to the front of the bar taking out one of the bottles right above us. Bri started shaking uncontrollably with tears streaming down her face. I stopped breathing and glanced behind me to see if it was enough to pull Chase away. He didn't have tolerance if the violence affected his liquor supply. He emerged in the kitchen window clearly pissed.

I stood up to see if he was going to do anything. He looked at me signaling not to make a move yet. The Fitzpatricks had scared off the kids that were dumb enough to taunt them. They were the only people left in the bar. They looked at me with slick grins. Bri started to rise and I shoved her down immediately. Her eyes continued to water but I ignored it keeping my focus up front. They strode to the bar gesturing for a drink. I glanced at Chase to see what he wanted me to do. He motioned to serve them. I walked around the bar and grabbed a handful of glasses to fill them up with Guinness.

He's such a fucking asshole. Why does he let shit like this happen without a care?

I took a deep breath pushing every ounce of my fear away. I was able to handle this. I knew that much from years of experience. The four of them smirked when I slid their full glasses of beer in front of them.

"Good to see you again Mia. It's been too long," the oldest commented.

He typically did do the talking for the rest of them. The other three gave a nod with one of them licking his lips. Acid trickled up my throat and I fought the urge to throw up.

"It has been but so is life. You get busy you know," I said coolly.

"It does get busy especially in our line of work," he said with villainous grin. He looked towards the empty kitchen window and hollered, "Sorry for the mess Chase. We'll take of the damages. Those preppy motherfuckers needed a lesson about their whereabouts."

Chase appeared in the window with a tight smile. "No worries. If you guys don't mind finishing up your beers, I'm going to close up."

The Fitzpatricks raised their arms feigning disappointment but didn't argue with Chase. They downed the rest of their beers tossing a few twenties against the bar. The oldest paused before walking out the door. I held my breath wanting them to just leave already. During the entire exchange, I refrained from looking at Bri because I didn't want them to acknowledge that she was here. They seemed to have missed that much when they started their brawl.

"Don't be a stranger anymore Mia. We know you aren't in school so you should pay the old neighborhood more visits," he said on his way out the door.

I gulped down the rising acid in my windpipe. As they left, I wrung my hands out to stop the inadvertent shaking that started at some point. I rounded the bar to get Bri. She had curled her knees up with her chin on her legs as tears streamed down her face. I crouched down in front of Bri and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Let's go. It's over now."

She looked at me with raw eyes completely terrified yet. I sat down next to her wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Bri. I know you're scared but it will be okay. Let's just go home," I said, coaxing her to get up with me.

"How are you okay right now?" she asked, rising to her feet.

She gazed at me taking deep breaths. Once her breathing evened, her face flared with anger. I tossed my apron underneath the bar. I picked up my purse and grabbed my car keys. Bri met me at the door where she discarded her apron and grabbed her purse. We made our way through the back and over to my car.

"This isn't the first time this has happened is it," she snapped after a few minutes.

"No, it's not. It's life down here. You get used to it. The gunshots are nothing new."

As we approached my car, Bri yanked at my arm to get me to stop. I turned towards her to see the frustration emanating from her.

"It's one thing when you hear them outside in the distance. It's an entirely different matter when they are fired right above you. These are the types of people you are willingly involving yourself with now. Are you insane?"

I removed her hand from my arm and unlocked my car. She got in on her side in a huff.

"I'm not crazy. The two things are totally different," I contested.

Bri banged her hand against the window. "They aren't different. It's the same. It's dangerous all together and now you have a guy mixed up in all of it. This was a bad idea to begin with but now its just trouble."

I didn't argue with her. She had more than enough tonight. Bri glared at me waiting for an answer but I sealed my lips and started my car. My body was close to falling over as it worked to find calmness. I was beginning to see the numbness in a new light because at least that was easier to deal with than the roller coaster of emotions I went through today. It was exhausting jumping from one extreme to the next.