Page 4 of Moments of Malevolence

When she doesn’t answer right away, I turn to look at her. “Louise, spit it out.”

“Jeff told me not to ask for help.”

“That ship sailed, didn’t it? Besides when do I ever listen to Jeff?” I smirk. “Now, tell me, what do you need help with?”

“Well, I know the men coming in tonight. They’re from where I grew up. They are…”

“What?” I ask when she trails off.

“Scary. And they terrify me.”

“You can’t have my area, Louise. You know you can’t. My regulars don’t want you.”

“I know. They want you. But I was hoping I could help you, make it easier for you to help me.” She bites her lip.

“Louise, you know how to make people warm up to you. Are you sure you can’t do this one yourself?”

She starts shaking her head, slowly at first, and then picks up the pace the more the panic rises in her eyes. “No, please don’t make me.” Her eyes are wide, and then I notice a visible shudder run down her body. Louise never shows fear. She’s always bubbly. Always.

“Okay, I’ll help. I’ll take their orders, and you deliver. That’s the best I can offer. I have my own tables I need to manage.”

She leans in and throws her arms around my neck, and yells in my ear, “I love you. So, so much,” before she pulls away. My hands stay at my sides. “You don’t know what this means to me. These men…” Her whole body shakes and she bites her lip.

“I’m sure they aren’tthatbad.”

“They never come to places like this. Bars aren’t what they do.”

“Bars are what everyone does,” I remind her.

She chews her bottom lip nervously. “No, not these men. When I saw their names, I didn’t believe they could possibly come here. But if it is really them…” She sucks in a breath. “They have a reputation, and its known. These are three men you never want on your bad side.”

“Well, maybe someone is just using their names, and you might get off easy.” I smile knowing how far-fetched it sounds but trying to make her feel better anyway.

“If someone is, then they have a death wish,” she murmurs under her breath before she turns and walks away. I shake my head, having never seen Louise this worked up over anything. She is always bubbly and doesn’t let anything get to her.

Kicking off my slides, I pull on my black cowboy boots. When I glance up, Sarah’s standing there applying her pink lipstick and staring at me.

“It’s meant to be pink tonight. Do you ever fucking listen?”

I hate Sarah as much as she hates me.

Ignoring her, I throw my slides into my locker and turn my back on her before I start to wander out.

“I can’t wait for the day they fire you,” she says loud enough for me to hear.

“Sarah, have you ever seen blackness before?” I ask, and she scrunches up her nose at my question.

“Who even says shit like that? Blackness? Do you even speak English?”

“Blackness is what happens when I slam your head into this locker so hard that all you see is black. So shut your fucking mouth before I do just that.”

She whips her inky hair over her shoulder and turns before storming off.

Maybe I should have slammed her fucking head anyway.

But I have to remind myself—no violence, I’m a new person now. I don’t have to slam heads into lockers because someone has pissed me off.

No, I’m not that person anymore.

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