Page 14 of Chaos

12

Eris

When he stumbledthrough the door last night, reeking of beer, I was glad it was closing time. Everyone had left, except for Ray and me, thankfully. I was sure if Sam had been there, he would have called the cops out of sheer principle or beaten him to near death. Sam usually handled his own business, but if there was a crowded restaurant, like there was the other day, he tried not to lose his cool. If that guy who grabbed my arm had argued at all, Sam would have called the cops, only because there were so many people in the diner.

In three long strides, he was in front of me, and I wasn’t sure how he didn’t fall on top of me, given the amount of weaving he was doing.

“No. Pancakes. Please,” he said as he smoothed down my wild blonde hair I had just removed from a nine-hour bun.

“Okay,” was the only audible word I could form, noticing his kind demeanor and the way his eyes were pleading me for forgiveness.

“Come on, buddy. Let’s get you some coffee,” Ray said, helping my bearded…well, I didn’t know what to refer to him as. Some people crossed into your life when you least expected them to, and often it was the unexpected ones to make the biggest impact.

In almost three weeks, I’d felt myself hate this man, long for him, and now at his drunkest, I found that I needed him. Yesterday, I denied I missed him. Today, I tried not to see him. I saw through his thick exterior, and I liked who he was a little too much to admit, so I didn’t.

He leaned his elbows onto the table and then pulled a napkin from the holder.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk,” I said sincerely, knowing it needed to be said.

He squinted one eye a tad and one laugh piped from between his lips.

“You were a shit.”

My mouth opened to respond, but I held a finger up.

“I was an ass.” He fiddled with the napkin and pulled the pen from my shirt. “You’re flawless and I didn’t want to ruin that,” he admitted.

He wrote, “I’m sorry ~Drex”.

I had never heard the name Drex in my life, but it fit him. It seemed harsh, yet beautiful.

I flipped the napkin over and wrote, “Me 2 ~Eris”.

He smiled and I felt him breathe the smallest amount of hope into my body.

Ray brought Drex’s coffee and set it onto the bar, scooting it within Drex’s reach. Drex lifted it to his eye level and slowly peered into the cup, his eyebrows dramatically rising and falling.

“See, Eris. No cream!” he said after a moment of silence, putting it in front of my face, the steam traveling up my cheeks.

I jumped at the sound of his deep voice and then laughed. “I know. I know. You like it black,” I said through a smirk.

“I know you do.” His eyes narrowed, and his nose wrinkled.

We three laughed, remembering the awful amount of cream I’d put into his coffee a few days before.

Neither of us spoke another word, which was fine with me, because given our track record so far, it would probably be hateful or spiteful.

Drex drank a few sips of his coffee and then started nodding off.

“Sug, you get home. I’ll see to getting him to his place,” Ray said, helping Drex to his feet.

“You know where he lives?” I asked.

“Nah, but I’m sure we can figure it out. Go on now.” He nodded toward the door, asking me to open it for the two of him.

“See you tomorrow, Eris.” Drex tipped his imaginary hat and leaned into Ray.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ray said and waved at me over his shoulder, locking the door and pulling his keys from Drex’s grasp afterward.

---