Page 13 of Starshine
Monika waved her off even as her coughing subsided. “Hush, girl, I’m fine. Just a tickle in my throat is all.”
Bridgette scoffed. “And if you’re catching a cold, it’s all the more reason to use one.”
Garrett wondered how hers differed from his own mixes. He opened his mouth to ask only to remember that such idle conversation wasn’t allowed. Instead, he said, “I have some pots in my pack that might help as well.”
Monika threw up her hands. “Enough mothering! Let’s get this place cleaned up. It’s late, and I’d like to be asleep before sunrise, thank you very much.”
Bridgette rolled her eyes before meeting his. The look spoke volumes, and Garrett grinned even as he shrugged. Couldn’t help someone who didn’t want to be helped.
“Go lie down,” Bridgette said. “We can handle closing up.”
Monika stifled another cough before taking the cup Bridgette had filled for her. She took a sip before she looked around the bar. The girls had already finished cleaning upstairs, the tables had all been cleared, and all that was left to do was mop, which Garrett was already halfway through.
“Fine,” she said before jabbing a thumb in Garrett’s direction. “Just make sure you lock the door after he leaves.”
“Now who’s mothering?” Bridgette teased before she ushered the scoffing woman out from behind the bar. “Go. And shout if you change your mind about that tincture.”
Monika muttered something that sounded like “I’d rather drink tar” before she headed towards her room by the back door.
“Goodnight, ma’am,” Garrett called.
Isolde came down to drop her laundry in the basket by the door before disappearing back upstairs. The quiet that followed made Garrett acutely aware of the fact that he and Bridgette were alone. He kept his head down as he finished with the floor, but out of his periphery, he could see Bridgette watching him. It made his pulse race, his hands suddenly clammy around the handle of the mop. Once the floor was clean, he grabbed the bucket of soiled water and took it out back.
When he returned to the main room, Bridgette met him with his pack in hand. The sight of her touching it made his pulse spike before he quickly stamped the reaction down. The woman had given him a small fortune just earlier in the week and had given zero indication she wanted it back.
“Monika told you not to speak to me, didn’t she?” she asked, her voice lowered to little more than a whisper.
He nodded as he took his offered pack before casting a furtive glance towards Monika’s door. “I haven’t gotten to thank you for - “
Bridgette held up a hand to stop him. “You don’t need to thank me for common fucking decency. Monika pays us all a pittance, so I know she can afford to pay you enough to cover your rent.” She pushed her annoyance aside and asked, “Is Thomas treating you alright?”
Garrett shrugged as he ran a hand over his braid. “Well enough. Though I’m glad I decided to keep my pack with me.”
“Maybe he realized you’d paid him rent with his own coin,” Bridgette said slyly.
“Maybe so.” Even though the mark that Monika had left on her cheek had long since faded, Garrett’s eyes flicked to the spot all the same. “Does she… hit you often?”
“If you can call that a hit,” she said, but her mask slipped as she crossed her arms over her chest. She avoided his eyes. “But, no. Not often.”
Garrett swallowed the knot that had settled in his throat. She deserved better, too. “I’m sorry that I was the cause of it.”
“Youdidn’t hit me,” she said through a scoff. “So you don’t need to be apologizing for other people, either.”
Monika’s loud cough traveled from her room, and Garrett’s stomach sank. No doubt she’d heard him empty his water bucket and wondered why he was still hanging around.
Bridgette seemed to come to the same realization and sighed. “I should check on her.” She reached up and gently tugged the end of his braid that trailed over his shoulder. “C’mon. I’ll see you out.”
Garrett flushed hot as Bridgette turned away. The touch had been so casual, but it made him ache with want to feel it again. Instead, he shouldered his pack and followed her to the back. She opened the door for him, yet as he moved past her in the narrow hall, he brushed a hand over her back. It was a thrill like no other when she smiled at him, her lower lip held between her teeth.
“Goodnight, Garrett,” she said quietly.
“Goodnight, Bri.”
The next day, the cold that Monika had claimed she didn’t have took hold. As soon as she opened the door, Garrett took a step back.
“Oh gods, not you, too,” Monika said, her voice hoarse and thick. “Isolde and Bridgette won’t even get near me.”
Garrett couldn’t blame them. Monika’s complexion had sallowed, skin shiny with sweat. Her nose was red and raw as if she’d been out in the cold for hours. “Forgive me for being frank, ma’am, but you look terrible.”
