Chapter 4

I could smell the booze on his foul breath as he leaned over me and pounded his fist into the wall just inches above my head. "Get your ass out of bed and go to school." He grinded his teeth and his eyes twitched as he stared down at me.

I cringed and gripped the fleece blanket tightly trying to find some comfort. I was confused. It was midnight. Why was he telling me to go to school? If I argued with him then there would be a chance that my world would end tonight. "But-"

He wrapped his burly fingers through my thin hair and yanked my head to the left. "Don't you even think about talking back to me," he spat. “Get your ass up now." He yanked my hair even harder causing me to fall out of bed and land on the cruddy floor. My hand landed in a pile of dirty clothing, soiled with spilt booze. It was most likely, Jack Daniels. It was my father’s choice of poison.

"Henry," My mother said, through hiccups. "It's only midnight." She leaned back against the wall and started laughing. Her laugh sounded oddly diabolic and it sent shivers through my body. Why wasn't she trying to help me?

I woke up gripping the blanket on my bed so tightly that it almost ripped. The sweat dripped down my face and left a salty taste on my swollen lips, reminding me that it was just a nightmare.

The nightmares had gotten so bad that I sometimes woke up with my whole face puffy and swollen. I couldn’t seem to fight the tears. I was too weak. No matter how hard I tried.

I forced my legs to work as I jumped out of bed and quietly ran down the hall and into the bathroom. I tiredly switched on the light and stared into the brightly lit mirror, my clear reflection showing every bit of the lost girl that I’d become. The pain in my eyes, were very distinct as the tears continued to flow down my face and soak my shirt. I hated the way my parents still got to me. It didn't matter how far away I was. It still hurts.

I turned on the cold water, hands shaking, as I splashed a handful of water on my face. The frigidness of the water gave me the chills that ran all the way through my whole body, waking me up completely.

Afterwards, I made my way through the house in search of Jace, not sure, if I really even wanted to find him.

“Hello.” I poked my head into the living room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. The house was empty. Where could he have taken off to? I ended up back inside the kitchen, quickly noticing a note firmly stuck to the fridge. I yanked it off, reading it with curious eyes.

I didn’t want to wake you. I left ten dollars on the counter for a cab.  Meet me at the diner by ten o’clock. I'm sure that you will love your new job.

-Jace

The note fell out of my hand landing like a feather on my bare foot. The words left me speechless. This man didn’t owe me anything, yet he was willing to provide me with a place to stay and a job. It was more than anyone else had ever done for me, yet I’d done nothing to earn it.

I plopped down on a kitchen chair and slowly rubbed circles on the side of my head. It helped me to calm down most of the time, although, I wasn't so sure it was going to help me much this time.

My hands shook at just the thought of waiting tables. I had no experience and the feeling left me empty. I didn’t want to mess everything up and end up jobless and homeless once again. I couldn't make Jace look bad and at his own diner.

Finally, I looked up from the table to see that I had less than an hour to get ready and to the diner. I panicked.

I jumped up from the chair and ran back to my room, nearly tripping over my own two feet. I flew face first into the dresser as I reached out to catch myself. I quickly opened every single drawer to the dresser, throwing everything that I owned out onto the floor around me. It was really becoming a bad habit.

“Damn. What do I wear?” I held up my favorite T-shirt shortly before throwing it down next to me. Then I yanked out a pair of faded jeans and my only pair of Converse sneakers.

Forty minutes later I was showered, dressed and standing outside waiting for the taxi. The taxi arrived with fifteen minutes left to spare. I sprinted over to the old taxi sticking my head inside to get a peak. To my surprise, it was the same man as the last two times. I had to admit, that I was kind of still embarrassed by our last encounter.

“The Indy Go," I said, with a smile, hoping that he wouldn't bring up the money situation.

He looked out the window staring at me as he struggled to roll it down. He tilted his head and took a deep breath. “Do you have cash this time, ma'am?"

I nodded my head

He looked me up and down with a look of surprise on his round face and returned the smile. "Get in," he said. “That place has some good fried chicken. Are you going there for a lunch date?” he questioned.

I shook my head and searched through my purse. “No. I am actually starting work there today.” I found the ten-dollar bill, pulling it from out of my purse. “Here you go. Sorry but I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“Sure thing. No problem, ma’am. I'm just your guy," he said proudly.

The rest of the cab ride was silent. I was sure that by me hurrying him had made him feel uneasy about starting up a conversation. It was fine, though. I wasn't much for conversation and never really knew what to say.

We pulled up to the diner with only two minutes to spare. I sat up anxiously and looked out the window.  “Thank you.” I jumped out the door, taxi nearly still moving, and ran for the door of the diner.

I stopped dead in my tracks and took a long deep breath before reaching out for the door handle. My hands shook as I whispered words of encouragement. “You can do this. Stay calm," I breathed.

I pulled the door open, eyes wide, to see families gathered around the diner, most of them laughing and playing with each other. Little kids playfully chased each other around while their mothers reached out for them laughing and playing back. I swallowed hard as a lump formed in my throat.

“Avery. You made it.” Jace suddenly stepped out from behind the counter greeting me with a friendly smile. He looked good, in a plain back tee and dark denim jeans. His smile made it even better. “I’m glad that you woke up in time.” He looked excited to see me. It made me strangely happy.

I nodded my head and turned away from the happy families as I fought to catch my breath. “Yes. I did. I got lucky, really." I forced a smile and looked him in the eye. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” Jace ran his hand through his styled hair and waved his arm out in front of him. "Let me show you around."

A short man in about his mid-fifties suddenly stepped out from behind the counter reaching for my open hand. It startled me. His white slicked hair glistened in the lighting as he chuckled and looked me up and down in wonder. Why damn! I'm Winston, the cook. I make all of the great food in this diner." He grinned and looked at Jace, before looking back at me. “You must be, Avery, the pretty new waitress that Jace told me about.” He elbowed Jace in the side and raised an eyebrow.

Jace smirked and lightly squeezed Winston's shoulder. "The word I used was beautiful, Winston." He smiled playfully and reached for my hand. He didn't looked embarrassed one bit, having Winston call him out like that. “Come on.”

My heart sped up at the sound of the word beautiful. He had said it once and even then, I couldn't believe it. I pulled my hand from out of his tight grip and nervously bit my lip. He touched excessively and it bothered me. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Jace looked down at my hand and smiled. “This here is the kitchen.” I followed him around the corner and into a tiny kitchen. It was complete with two stoves, a large deep fryer, two freezers and a fridge.

He quickly pointed out the dressings, desserts, salad condiments and breads before guiding me over to the server station. The server station was a tiny area with a computer, napkins, silverware settings and a place to put your belongings.

It was a lot different from the club I had grown used to going to. There were no half-naked girls, fighting for the best outfit or snatching up my makeup, tainting it with their filthy lips.

“Jace,” I paused, trying to find a way to thank him. “Thanks again for…this.”

Jace smiled, placing his hand on my lower back and giving me a light shove toward the computer. “This is where you will place your orders. The orders will then go back to the kitchen and Winston will prepare your food.”

He stepped away from the computer and pointed over to the heated counter right outside the kitchen. That sucker was so hot that I could feel the heat radiating off it. Either that or it was just Jace. Either way, I started to sweat. "That there is where Winston will leave the food when it's ready."

I looked around, confused as to how I was going to manage to pull everything off and make it through the day. I waved my arms in front of me to cool off. It didn't help. “I don’t know-“

"Don't worry.” Jace cut in. He smiled and looked me in the eye. He always looked me in the eye, making me nervous. In some ways, I believed that he meant to.  “I'm sure that it will be a lot to take in, but Stacy will be here to help you."

I glanced up at him feeling a bit overwhelmed. My eye twitched and I secretly tried shaking it off. "I'm going to guess that Stacy was the waitress that messed up my order the other day," I questioned

I felt the presence of someone behind me before a hand gripped my shoulder and squeezed. I swiftly turned around me to see the young girl from the other day. Her blue eyes gleamed with joy as she pushed her blond strands out of her face. "I'm Stacy," she said. "I'm sorry about the other day. I would like to start fresh." She smiled at me revealing her small set of dimples.

I carefully looked her over taking in her cheerful attitude. She gave off a totally different vibe than the first time I had seen her.

"Yeah sure," I replied, unsure of how to act around her. "Everyone has a bad day once in a while." I smiled small and twisted a finger in my hair. “Thank you.”

She gave me a satisfied smile before leaning in and wrapping her arms around me. I instantly stiffened up feeling uncomfortable. "It's okay." She laughed, and something in her laugh told me that she was used to that reaction. "You will get used to me soon enough." She dropped her arms away from my stiff body and walked away with a small smile. "Follow me."

An hour later, I took on my first table, which happened to be an elderly couple that could barely move without my assistance. I was terrified of accidentally hurting them. However, they didn’t mind when I made a few mistakes and understood that it was my first day. I had to admit that I got lucky to get them. They helped to ease me in and relax me before taking on the busy day.

Three plates dropped, and six hours later, I somehow managed to make $68.38. It wasn’t the hundreds of dollars that I was used to but the business was a lot better than my last job. I had managed to make it through the whole day without some pervert trying to grope me. I could get used to that.

I leaned into the last dirty booth with a smile as I calmly washed off the table. The clock above me read 4:28 p.m. The hours at the diner were Sunday: seven o'clock a.m. to four o'clock p.m. and Monday-Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. It seemed reasonable enough for me. I could actually get back to my old sleeping habits or at least try.

Jace strolled over from out of nowhere, grabbing the towel from out of my hand. I jumped, unaware that he was even close by. He smiled sweetly before bending over and wiping off the table, taking over my job. "How was your first day," he questioned. "Did you do well on tips?"

I clumsily reached into my apron and pulled out my bundle of cash, hoping that he wouldn't laugh. I had no idea what a good waitress made. "I made around $69.00. Is that good?" I questioned.

Jace looked up and over at Stacy as she gathered up her things and headed for the door. "Thanks Stacy," he said smoothly. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Stacy shoved her keys into her mouth while juggling her belongings. She was quite talented. “Sure,” She mumbled. "Bye, guys."

Jace stood up, reaching out a hand. “Do you want help?”

Stacy nodded her head and pushed the door open with her foot. “Um…no. I got it.” She smiled and headed out the door.

Jace watched as Stacy disappeared before turning back to face me. “Stacy only made $63.00. You must have something special." He grinned and then motioned for me to follow him to the break room. He bent down, picking up a wrinkled up food order, and tossed it into the trash. "You did a wonderful job. I had a lot of regulars tell me how much they liked you," he said, tone professional. “I am very impressed.”

I felt my cheeks redden as I turned my head away in embarrassment. I reached out the hand with the money in it. "Here's some money for rent. I know that it's not much, but it's a start."

Jace placed his hands on mine and pushed the money away, his hands lingered for a moment before he pulled them away. "Nope," he said. "I don't want any of that. You don't owe anything until next month. I already paid rent this month." He walked over and turned off the light switches. Then he pointed toward the door and waited for me to follow.

I walked in silence not knowing how to thank him. All that my parents ever did was take from me. I wasn't use to someone giving. The feeling was...different.

He walked in front of me, holding the door open for me as I followed behind him. He locked the door, checking it twice before turning around and smiling. “I am starving.” He threw his keys in his pocket and reached for his car keys. “What shall we eat today? It’s ladies choice. I would think hard about this because you might not get this opportunity again," he teased.

I laughed softly as I followed him through the gravel and to his car. It was getting dark outside and the cool wind gave me the chills. “Well… let me think here. It sounds like a huge life decision,” I teased. “I haven’t eaten all day so I guess I should make it count.”

Jace smiled and stopped in front of the car. “What is your favorite food? What do you like," he questioned. "I know nothing about you yet. All except for the fact that you like to sleep in your underwear," he grinned, obviously teasing me.

I felt my face flush when remembering thinking that I saw him while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It was dark and I couldn’t quite be sure if it was him or just my eyes playing tricks on me. Clearly, it wasn't just my eyes. I cleared my throat and jumped into the car. I waited for him to get in and shut the door. "Chicken," I mumbled, trying to change the subject. "I love chicken."

He gave me a cocky grin and then shifted the car into drive. "Great choice. We'll stop at the video store, grab a movie and then pick up some fried chicken," he said confidently. "We'll just have a chill night and I can get to know my new roommate."

I smiled at the thought of just having a normal night, with movies and food. Just two people hanging out. I’d never had a night with anyone that didn't involve sex, bars or dancing. I liked that idea.

"Sounds good, but I get to pick the movie," I said playfully.

"Okay, but nothing too girly. I'm a manly man," he said, nudging me in the side as we pulled into the video store.

What he didn’t know about me yet was that I didn’t have a sensitive side. Girly love movies would do nothing for someone like me.

After spending a good ten minutes searching for a movie, we ended up leaving the video store with an action movie. The man on the cover looked entertaining enough to catch my eye and really, I just wanted to get out of there. There were too many people watching us as if we were some kind of happy couple. It was creepy.

After arriving back to Jace’s house we sat down at the kitchen table, dished out the chicken, and mashed potatoes and started eating.

Jace looked over while taking a bite of his chicken and smiled as I played with my food. “So Avery, do you have any family close by?”

My whole body stiffened, hand shaking, as I fought to keep in control. No one had ever asked me about my family and I wasn’t prepared to talk about them. “No,” I blurted. “I mean…I haven’t seen them in over a year.” My gaze set down on my plate of food as I spooned my mashed potatoes. Why is he doing this?

The room stayed silent as Jace studied me with a serious face. I was trying hard to keep my eyes away from his, but I found it to be impossible. Finally, he pushed his food away clearing his throat. “How old are you, Avery?” he questioned, in all seriousness.

I looked up, nose flared, as I fought to hold back the tears. I didn't want to talk about my life and it angered me. “I just turned nineteen last month.” I shoved a bite of potatoes in my mouth and slowly chewed. “Why? Why do you need to ask me these questions?”

Jace looked surprised as he tilted his head in thought. “I just want to know about you. This is me getting to know you,” he paused. “Or at least trying.”

I bit my bottom lip and averted my eyes away from his stare. His eyes were making me want to surrender and tell him more than what I wanted to. “Well I just don’t like too many questions.”

Jace took a few bites of his chicken before leaning in next to me and smiling. “So, you have a fake I.D?” he questioned amused.

I looked up and nodded my head, happy to change the mood. "Yup!" The room went silent again. "What about you, Jace? How old are you? You own a diner and have a great house. You really have yourself together."

"I just turned twenty three a few months ago. The diner was my fathers before he ran off." His smile faded as he looked up at me and leaned back in his seat. "Why haven't you seen your parents in so long? Where are-"

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I stammered, thinking that I was already in the clear, when clearly I wasn't.

Jace swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well do you have anyone close by? Like maybe a friend or a boyfriend?”

I looked away, eyes watering, as I dropped my fork. “No.” I swallowed hard forcing back the lump in my throat. “I’ve never had a boyfriend and I don’t have any friends.” I instantly felt stupid for telling him things so personal about myself. I felt weak. “I think that I’m just going to head to bed.” I stood up and pushed my chair away. “Thank you for dinner.”

A look of hurt crossed Jace’s face as he jumped up from his seat and reached for my hand. His grip was firm. He pulled me in for a hug but I backed away from his pull. “Avery,” he whispered. “It’s okay to talk about things.”

I let out a deep breath and relaxed into his strong arms, burying my face into his chest like a child crying to their father. Feeling his moist shirt against my cheek made me feel silly. I felt like a silly child that had lost. It made me angry. I didn’t understand why I was allowing myself to let this happen.

He gently rubbed the back of my head and then ran a finger along my cheek. “There, do you feel better?” He pulled away from me looking me in the eye. “It’s okay to cry. The strong ones always do.” Somehow I doubted that.

I let out a half sob, half laugh when realizing that I did feel a bit better than before. He didn't know much, but he knew more about me than anyone else did. It was a start. "Yes. Thank you," I whispered. “I actually do feel a bit better.”

Jace smiled and brushed the hair from out of my face. “Good, now let’s go watch this movie.” He stared me in the eye for a moment before he walked away and started cleaning up our dinner mess. He wrapped up the chicken box before throwing the plates into the double sink.

I stood there hesitating shortly before reaching for a plate and deciding to help him. “Here, let me help.”

Jace grabbed the plate from out of my hand, brushing his thumb over mine. “No. I can take care of this. You can go and set up the movie.”

I pulled my hand away and turned away from him, feeling bad for letting him do all the work by himself, but thankful at the same time. “Okay, sure.”

I made my way into the living room and over to the coffee table.  I stared down at the movie before reaching down and taking it out of the case. If I really thought about it, it would be my first time watching a movie with a man. As cheesy as that sounded, it was true.

My hand slightly shook as I attempted to shove the movie into the player. I kept missing the opening. Shit. Relax. I pushed the movie in and smoothed out my shirt before taking a seat on the loveseat.

A few minutes later Jace plopped down next to me scaring me out of my thoughts. He eyed me curiously, as I kept readjusting myself. “Are you okay?” He laughed as I ran my hands over my jeans, wiping the sweat off.

I looked up at the TV, running a hand through my hair. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm fine." Really, I wasn't. I couldn't seem to get comfortable being so close to him.

He smiled at me and turned on the TV. "Are you feeling uncomfortable?" He grabbed my shoulder and gently pulled me against his body. It made my stomach flip. "You can lean against me for support. I'm pretty comfortable." He rested his head next to mine and placed his lips next to my ear. "I don't bite," he whispered.

I let out a nervous laugh relaxing my muscles as I fought to stay calm. Just breathe. It’s not that bad. "Thanks," I whispered back. "Thanks for everything."

He glanced down at me and brushed the hair out of my face. "Don't worry about it." He smiled comfortably.

He started the movie and we both sat there in a comfortable silence. It felt nice for once just to relax and not have to talk.

The rhythm of Jace’s heartbeat against my back helped to make me feel more at ease, although, my body was screaming for me to get up and run. A small part of me just didn’t want to. Therefore, I didn’t.