The bartender rolled her eyes, catching my gaze, and I smiled sympathetically. I didn’t even have the energy to put these assholes in their place. Not today, anyway. Was I any better than them?
A half an hour later, as I finished my last beer, the door opened again, and two people came in. Jami was the first, and Renee was the second. For a split moment, I couldn't take my eyes off her. She had been crying, it was clear, and her freckled face was rubbed red and raw, eyes darkened from the damp mascara stains beneath her lids. She sat down after she followed Jami to the other side of the room. They haven’t noticed me yet, and I plan to keep it that way. I really didn’t need this tonight.
Shrugging my jacket up as high as it went, I sat at the bar for a moment, finishing my beer. I couldn't hear Jami and Renee’s conversation, but that was probably best. What I did hear, however, was the group of jocks in the back, and they’re getting rowdy. And drunk. It annoyed me.
Figuring I could slip out of here and go home before the shit hit the fan, I paid my tab and started to get up, but one of the guys was still talking loudly, and I heard a comment that piqued my curiosity.
“Hey, you,” one of the jocks said, and I turned on my stool just a little bit to see two men approaching Renee and Jami’s table. One of them has a piece of paper in his hand, and I watch as he hands it to Renee. “Is this you?” he asked.
I couldn't even begin to assume what this paper was for a moment, but I immediately noted Renee’s reaction. She swallowed hard and, with trembling fingers, handed it across the table to Jami, whose brow furrowed as her eyes scanned the page. I saw Jami look up at the guys standing near their table, and she looked angry suddenly, hands flinging in the air, a scowl on her face. Renee wasn’t saying anything, but she was once again crying.
Pain ripped at me, a pain so intense I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt anything like it before. Whatever it was, it was bad, and I was almost afraid to find out.
“So, is that you?” the other guy asked, pointing at the paper. Renee didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to because Jami was on her feet, her voice rising with every moment that passed.
“Get the hell out of here,” she said. “And take this with you.” She slammed the paper against the chest of the first guy, who shrugged and looked at his buddy, who laughed. I didn’t realize I was cracking my knuckles in annoyance until my fingers began to hurt. The guys high-fived each other and then headed in my direction towards the bar.
“Hey, cutie,” one of them said to the bartender. “Could we get another round, please?”
“Sure,” she muttered, clearly annoyed. I glanced at the two men beside me, eyes landing on the paper in the second guy’s hand.
“Have you got something funny there?” I asked. The guy turned to me, just noticing I was sitting there.
“Oh,” he shrugged, handing me the slightly crumpled paper. I took it from him and spread it on the bar before me, eyes scanning the paper.
It was a photo of Renee as a younger girl. When she was still awkward and geeky, with glasses and braces and the whole shebang. Right below this photo were the words,Virgin Mary or College Whore?And below that were two boxes that anyone could check for their vote.
Fucking Carly.
Anger simmered below the surface of my chest, hot, dangerous, ready to explode. I closed my hand around the sheet of paper, crumpling it in my fingers, and then tossed it aside into the little trash bin on the other side of the bar. The two guys looked at me, frowning, and I leaned in and lowered my voice, forcing them to come closer.
“Stay away from that girl—-”
“And if we don’t?” One of the guys asked, fists pumping menacingly. A smile curled on my lips, and I slid off the stool, getting to my feet in one quick motion. This must startle both of the guys because they backed up, hesitant.
“If you don’t, I will make it my personal goal to smash both of your faces until you’re no longer recognizable. Is that clear?”
For a moment, I think at least one of the guys will argue, but after a second, the first one nods, then the other does too.
“Good,” I said, slapping one of them on the shoulder. “Pass the word around.”
Without waiting for an answer, I slipped past them and out the door, careful not to look towards Renee’s table again. I didn’t want her to see me.
I couldn't.
Because the pain in her face was far too much for me to handle.
And all of this was happening because of me.
