Page 9 of Van

“What was your man like?”

“At first, he was great. He was a good guy who did what he could for me, but after I found out I was pregnant, things changed. He didn’t want kids, and I kind of ruined that for him.”

“He could have used protection,” he tells me.

“You’re right. But he didn’t want to, and this is the result.”

“So he was pissed,” Van says, making the obvious statement.

“Yeah, he was. He ignored me for the most part and went on with his day until the other day. I told him I needed to go to my appointment and he lost it. My car wouldn’t start, and I needed a ride. He wanted nothing to do with it,” I tell him.

“That sounds like a real piece of shit. I’m glad you’re here and not there anymore. You ever need anything, includin’ a ride to the doctor you tell us.”

“I really appreciate all that you’re doing for me. You have no idea how much.” He smiles and pats my arm before standing.

“I got an idea. Don’t worry about anything,” he says before walking away. I watch him walk across the room and stand at the bar, one of the girls hanging off his side. He wraps his arm around her and pulls her in close. I miss that. I miss having that with someone. I don’t miss Derrick, though, not after what he did.

“You okay?” Nicole asks as she walks over and sits next to me.

“He was just telling me not to worry about anything,” I tell her.

“He’s right. They have you covered. I talked to Mask.”

“They can’t be taking care of me, Nic. I have to do something.” She shrugs her shoulders.

“Work the bar then. They won’t care.”

“You think so? I can make drinks.”

“It’s mostly grabbing them a beer anyway. It’s not that hard,” she assures me. I nod my head and shove to my feet before grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me.

“You can show me around,” I tell her. She nods and agrees as we walk to the bar. Nic shows me everything I need to know as Van looks at me strangely. When a few of the other guys come up to the bar, I’m the one sliding them a beer.

“No. No fuckin’ way. You were just hurtin’, and you just got off work. Get the fuck out from behind that bar,” he demands as he looks at me. Everyone is looking at me now, too.

“What?”

“You aren’t workin’ the bar. Get the fuck out of there!” He says louder this time.

“What’s the problem?” Mask asks.

“I was just trying to be helpful,” I tell him.

“We offered, darlin’. You don’t need to do anything but relax and take care of yourself. I thought we made that clear,” Mask states. I lower my head and look at my feet before I feel hands on my face. Van lifts my face, so I’m looking at him.

“We’re not that kind of people. We don’t want anything in return, Chyanne.”

“Oh Christ,” Mask mutters over his shoulder. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I ignore his words and focus on Van.

“I need to do something.”

“You just got off work, darlin’. Go rest your legs.” Without arguing with him, I put the bottle on the counter and blow out a breath before walking away.

“What the fuck, Van? I told you she’s off limits,” I hear Mask say as I walk toward my room.

“I didn’t do shit!”

“Yeah, okay. I’m warnin’ you.” And that’s the last I hear of their conversation before I walk into my room, close the door, and drop onto the bed. I don’t know what to do with myself, and I don’t know how to take their charity. It’s nice they want to help me out, but I can’t sit around here and pay them nothing. I have to find something I can do, even if I have to be sneaky about it.