"You're such a bitter bitch, Maria," she continued to slur. "After all our years of friendship, this is how you treat me?"
I folded my arms and sighed. I was used to her theatrics, although they were usually aimed at others.
"What did I do, Lissa? Give you a job when you've been fired from every other one? Give you countless chances after all the times you called in sick, hungover, or simply couldn't be fucked coming into work?"
She sneered at me as she steadied herself against the booth. "My firing has nothing to do with that. You're pissed over a fucking guy who was never yours."
The color drained from my face as she carried on. "He couldn't get enough of me that night. Told me he doesn't give a shit about you and that you were nothing more than an easy fuck. And now he's engaged!" She cackled and swayed. My heart shuttered at her words. "He was fucking you for years, and then five minutes later he's engaged. That just proves you're nothing more than a –"
"Alright, that's enough out of you." Linda slammed her drink down and pointed at the exit. "Take your drunk, unemployed ass home before I get Theo to throw you out." The rest of the girls watched on, their faces a mix of pity and shock.
Before she could open her mouth to retort, Theo's voice boomed across the floor.
"Lissa! I told you to get outta here. I can't serve you if you're already drunk."
Lissa's face turned beetroot as she scanned the bar. More people had crawled in after work, but it was still relatively quiet. Unfortunately for me, all their attention was zeroed in on Lissa. And our table. My gut clenched as I wondered just how much of Lissa's words they heard. Wisely, Lissa tipped her head back and staggered towards the door.
The table remained silent in her wake, and I fought back the sickening feeling of embarrassment her words left me with. It was bad enough that the town had witnessed my supposedheartbreak with Simon, but to hear my worst insecurities spelled out for me in public—and in front of my employees, no less—had me wishing the floor would open and swallow me whole. My usual cool demeanor deserted me, and the need to escape became overwhelming.
"I need a drink."
Without waiting for a response, I stood and walked woodenly towards the bar. I was careful to keep my gait casual to not betray the absolute mortification I felt. My cheeks were heated with shame, and although I didn't feel like a drink, I still picked up Theo's abysmal cocktail menu and pretended to peruse the three options. The words blurred and bounced around the page.
A breeze from the front door opening shifted through my hair, and I welcomed the cooler temperature against my warm flesh. A group of laughing male voices pierced through the quiet lull of the bar, but I kept my attention focused on the piece of laminated paper in front of me until the humiliating lump in my throat faded.
I had no issues returning someone's snark. I could eviscerate someone so deeply with just a quirk of my brow and a few carefully aimed jibes. But for some reason, Lissa had always unnerved me.
I’d looked up to her growing up, and that admiration followed me for the rest of our toxic friendship. I owed her a lot. She’d taken a bullied, emotionally damaged twelve-year-old under her wing and declared me her best friend. She was gorgeous, confident, and otherworldly at times. When she rose through the ranks of popularity at school, I was right by her side. My confidence grew, and my hierarchy among my peers climbed until no one remembered the insecure, welfare, food-stamped kid I had been...or still was at that point.
I hero-worshiped her, although the sheen wore off a bit after we left school. While I had the motivation to better my situationso that I would never have to rely on anyone again; Lissa, in contrast, leaned into her reputation and looks to coast through life. She still retained her nasty, mean-girl persona and had burned a lot of bridges in our small town.
A presence beside me jolted me out of my morbid trip down memory lane. I had stalled long enough. When Theo appeared, I ordered a margarita without thinking. Although, I had second thoughts when I caught Theo's wince. Cocktails weren't something the gruff owner liked to make, but my goal was to get tipsy enough to forget that Lissa had just verbally annihilated me. Publicly.
"Hi."
I startled at that simple greeting, which pierced my mind's loudness. My heart lurched when I recognized the owner of that voice. That deep voice that haunted me for the past few weeks.
"Remember me?"
Brian's mouth curved in a slight smile. The corners of his brown eyes crinkled as he leaned against the bar. His hair was a tad windswept, and I cursed myself for finding it adorably rumpled. That was probably how he looked when he woke up in the morning. Next to his wife.
My eyes turned steely. First, Lissa spreading her ray of sunshine and now I had to deal with Brian. I couldn't catch a fucking break.
I dismissed him without a word and stared ahead as Theo sniffed a bottle of lime juice before pouring a little too much of it into the mixer.
Brian straightened, turning his body further toward me. "Look, I think we had a misunderstanding at lunch the other week. Can we grab a table and talk?"
"I'm here with friends. I'm a little busy."Just leave me alone, please, I silently begged.
"Oh. Sure. Maybe we can –"
Theo chose that moment to place my margarita in front of me, and I could've kissed him for his impeccable timing. Even though it looked way too watery, and there wasn't any sugar on the rim, I didn't care. I grabbed my drink and returned to the table without waiting for Brian to finish. I didn't have time to stand there and listen to bullshit.
Maria, a year ago, would've made excuses and ignored red flags. I would've stood there like a simpering idiot and let Brian convince me that I had the wrong end of the stick. I probably would've taken him back to mine for a fuck before I woke up to him inevitably making a quiet escape.
But I wasn't that girl anymore.
Vivi and Toni glanced up as I approached and immediately ceased their whispered chat. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who their topic was. But I didn't care. The embarrassment I felt after Lissa's words was overtaken by searing anger at seeing Brian again. I could feel his gaze scorching my face before he turned back to the bar to order his drink.
