Page 270 of 7+Us Makes Nine

I’m here outside Freddie’s where the now-famous shootout took place a few years back, leading to the deaths or arrests of the O’Rourke biker gang. How this meth has resurfaced is currently a mystery, but a number of theories have…”

I clicked the TV off, gritting my teeth as I felt a cold cramp of fear in my gut. I breathed in and out deeply as I poked at my bacon shakily.

You don’t need it anymore, Eden. Those times are behind you. Conall isn’t here to force you to do things you would never have dreamed of doing otherwise.

I’d been clean from meth for a number of years, since my ex-boyfriend Conall O’Rourke had disappeared, following his release from custody due to lack of evidence.

I hadn’t been a prolific user or hopeless addict, hell I didn’t even smoke it. Just a few lines when Conall and his biker mates wanted to drink and get high. Which was quite often, it turned out.

Since stopping the meth and with the violent and unpredictable Conall out of my life, I’d become a new person. Confident, witty and hardworking. I had worked two, sometimes three, jobs to save up a deposit for a place of my own after moving back with my parents for a while.

After getting my own place and everything I needed, I was now working two jobs; my day job at the most popular diner in town, and an occasional evening at a local bar.

The pay wasn’t too great, but the tips from both jobs boosted my income nicely and I was able to put away a fair amount of money each month. I was saving for a vacation, which I hadn’t had in god-knows how long. And I was considering a college course in accounting, so I could get a decent, well-paid 9 to 5.

Then I just have to meet a nice man to look after me, maybe have a few kids…

I sighed wistfully as I plated my bacon and eggs, adding a slice of slightly burnt toast to the side. I didn’t like to admit it to myself, but I was lonely. Working hard went some way to help me forget, but it didn’t give me any time to actually meet someone. The only men I usually met were the perverts who came in to ogle me at the bar.

I smiled to myself. Since I’d filled out and started to wear tighter clothes to show off my curves, I’d noticed my tips increased considerably, and I didn’t go a night without getting a drink or two bought for me.

Men. Just like animals sometimes. Why am I cursed to only meet violent thugs or old perverts?

My house phone rang as I took my first bite of breakfast.

Typical.

I sprang up and half jogged to the phone.

“Hey, Eden here.”

It was my manager from the bar. I wasn’t due to work this evening, but apparently the usual waitress had come down sick earlier. I was his first call to find a replacement. Said the locals liked me, drank more when I was working, apparently.

“Sure thing, Bill. I’ll be in at eight. I’m not gonna turn down work. You know me.”

I went back to my breakfast, gobbling the eggs and bacon down hungrily. I’d half-finished my breakfast when there was a loud knock at the door. A loud, slow, ominous sound… knock… knock… knock.

It can’t be. No, it’s gotta be someone else. Has to be.

I froze at the sound of Conall’s signature knock at my front door. It would be just like him to turn up unannounced, march in like he owned the place. Start trying to manipulate me. Again.

I picked myself up, raising my chin confidently as I headed for the door.

If it is him, I’ll show him I’m not a scared little girl anymore. Show him he can’t control me. And there’s no way in hell I’m having him back.

I took a deep breath before opening the door.

Conall stood there, hands in pockets. He was wearing a black leather biker jacket, accentuating his huge frame. A cigarette hung from his mouth as he grinned at me. He stared down at me with bloodshot eyes. I could smell alcohol on him, even from a few feet away. He had put on a little weight around his waist, but was otherwise just as beefy as ever.

I frowned at him.

“Long time no see, babe. How you been?”

That’s it? That’s all you got after abandoning me?

“You look like shit, Conall. Rough night? Again?”

“Ain’t no such thing as a rough night for me. You know I’m no lightweight.,” he snarled.

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