Page 1 of Alpha & Omega

I counted the money from the till and sorted through the credit card receipts, setting aside the tips for my staff—my family, my crew. It had been a decent, busy night, but Fridays usually were, especially if the local band was well known. Alpha’s Rejects could quickly fill to capacity. I made the most money on Thursdays through Saturdays, but I struggled to bring in enough cash for the rest of the week.

I needed the money more than ever. Between the increase in my business insurance and rent, the increase in my apartment rent, and the hospital bills I was still paying off for Tony, my foster brother, Stone, and Nacho, the financial pinch was startingto hurt.

Everyone seriously needed to stay healthy from now on. Regardless, I would help them again in a second if they needed me. My ‘Rejects’ had no one else but me and each other, and only I did the best financially. Well… I had been until the beginning of last October when Tony crashed his bike. Everything went downhill from there. I’d thought about opening up the bar earlier in the day, but Alpha’s didn’t get enough of a crowd to justify hiring more staff for those hours.

Pushing aside negative thoughts, I shoved the money for the night into a bank bag, which I would deposit at the bank on Monday morning.

Pippin wiped down the bar counters, making sure everything was clean before we opened again tomorrow night at five. Since the music was off and the crowd was gone, he removed his earbuds. His ADHD prevented him from focusing on work as he tended the bar, but the noise-canceling headphones helped with that.

“How are things between you and Nacho?” I asked him as I washed the glasses, dunking two into the hot, soapy water at once, then I dipped them into the second sink to rinse before setting them aside to dry. The two former foster brothers and best friends had loved each other for years without communicating their feelings. After overcoming their fears, they finally admitted their love for each other, and both were now under the much-needed care of a therapist. The change between them was astounding, especially for Pippin, who was also on medication. I was so proud of them since their road had been an uphill battle, but at least they always had each other, keeping them grounded and moving forward. It made me a little envious sometimes, wanting someone like that in my life.

Pippin smiled shyly, and his green eyes glittered in his love for Nacho. He fingered back his long, red bangs from his face and looked at me. “We’re doing so good. I thank the universe every day for him.”

“I’m so happy for you both, and I’m glad to see things are still going strong for you two. You’re both also looking really good with all your therapy.”

“Thanks, Alpha. I’m not sure I would’ve done that had you not found a doctor to help us through video conference,” he said with a proud smile, then returned to cleaning up behind the bar.

“You’re welcome.” Pippin had a phobia of doctors, so teletherapy made a vast difference in punching through that, allowing him to get the help he needed without having to face a doctor personally.

Pippin and Nacho came into my life over four years ago, homeless and struggling. I’d been skateboarding, getting ready for a championship coming up that would bring a substantial amount of money if I won. It had taken years of practice, and skateboarding had really taken off in popularity, so the prizes were larger than ever. I wanted to cash in on it, and I believed I was good enough to win. A local skateboarding manufacturer, ThriveSk8t, thought so, too, allowing me to take part in bigger competitions. Unfortunately, they weren’t big enough for me to travel to other destinations to compete, which would’ve brought in even more money.

One day, the foster brothers showed up at the park to skate and unwind from their struggling lives. Growing up in foster care myself, I felt deeply for them. My empathy skyrocketed despite years of not caring about anyone or anything after my own horrible upbringing. I’d been closed off and angry. By the time I met Pippin and Nacho, I’d already received plenty of therapy to help me get through day-to-day life. And perhaps living a year with my grandmother before she died helped with that, too.

We got to know each other as they came by the park more often, and I’d learned they’d been on the streets for two years after fleeing horrible foster care conditions. I struggled even to imagine it. Mine hadn’t been the best, but it paled compared to what they’d gone through. Abuse was a real problem in the system.

After taking pity on them, I dragged them to my shitty apartment, let them shower, and I washed all their clothes at the building’s laundromat.

My apartment only had one bedroom, but since the days were growing colder, I let them crash in my living room, telling them they could stay for as long as they liked or until they got on their feet. After we became friends, I found it next to impossible to send them back to the streets, and they were incredibly sweet people. They’d suffered long enough.

Having a place to stay and being clean with laundered clothes, they finally found jobs. They insisted they help pay rent, but I refused. I’d been struggling with money myself at the time, but I wanted them to be able to save and payrent at their own place, which they eventually did. Once I opened up this bar, they worked solely for me.

They hadn’t always been Pippin and Nacho, but Sam and Nate. Later, our friends gave them nicknames as part of our growing crew and family of rejected misfit skateboarders. But they were the first in my new family. Sam and Nate had started it all.

It hadn’t been intentional that the young men and one woman grew close to me, learning from me and eventually becoming my brothers and sister. Stix’s father had abandoned him. Ajax’s mother had committed suicide, and his sister also abandoned him, leaving him all alone. Then came the twins Jazz and Blondie, and the first girl in our little family, who were also runaways from foster care like Pippin and Nacho.

All of us had been abandoned in one way or another.

At twenty-five years old, I won a major skating championship set in Washington, DC, winning enough money to put down on this bar almost three years ago, after I’d turned twenty-six. The idea came out of nowhere when I passed this building for rent one day. I’d had a lot of experience already working at a bar, so opening one sounded perfect. I wanted to give my family a home and a safety net by providing them with stable jobs. They’d been forever grateful to me, but I didn’t need it as long as they were happy, healthy, and stayed in my life.

Eventually, our family grew as they fell in love. Stix found Stone, and Ajax found Blaze. Well, I wasn’t sure Ajax and Blaze were in love, but they were certainly together after months of fighting between them. With them came Cueball, an enigma, but intelligent as hell.

While I empathized with my family and loved them, I never saw myself as some ‘fatherly’ figure, especially since I wasn’t thirty yet. Maybe because I had no one except for my foster brother, Tony, growing up, who’d always been there for me when I needed someone, even when I angrily believed I didn’t need anyone. He’d stuck it out with me with patience and kindness, despite being bullied himself.

In all that time, I’d done my best to guide my crew to live not only with stable jobs but also with their mental health being vital to a healthy life. Iprobably wouldn’t have survived without therapy, so I pushed it on my family, ensuring they could cope better.

I never did tell them I’d won the money and used it mostly for their benefit. They wouldn’t have wanted me to spend all my winnings on them. But I’d done it for myself, too, not only to have a business of my own but also to be part of a family like this, which made me feel less alone in the world. I adored every single one of them.

But I was alone, wasn’t I? No matter how many family members you had, there was always that one missing element—love. Romantic love. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a deep connection with someone. I’d been too fucking busy bringing this bar to life and making it succeed. Even then, I’d been resistant because there was always a risk of loss after falling for someone. All the people who’d loved me—or apparently loved me—left or abandoned me. People who’ve lost a lot tend to be wary of getting intimately close to others. But I was growing increasingly lonely.

“Ajax! Put me down, fucking yeti,” Blaze complained.

I looked up from washing glasses to find Ajax tossing Blaze over his shoulder and spinning him around, laughing and whooping. Blaze clearly wasn’t a fan, no doubt reminding him how much smaller he was than Ajax.

Those two had hated each other for so long, but one day, something clicked between them. I had no idea what, but they’d worked out their shit, it seemed. No, it was more than that. They definitely held stars in their eyes for each other despite trying to fight it. It hadn’t been that long ago when we’d been skating, and the two polar opposites kissed each other in front of everyone. It was Jazz who’d called it, knowing their hate was more than it was.

Ajax finally set him down, cupped his face, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Blaze went from pissed off to melting for Ajax in seconds.

God, I missed that sort of fire and affection. I wasn’t sure I’d ever had anyone I melted for. I’d only had snippets of it in my life, nothing long-lasting. In part, it was from fear. But that was then. As I’d grown older and more confident, I’d been wanting more, but work kept getting in the way.

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