“Uhm... just give me the same thing.”
“Fried or grilled?”
“Seriously, Metal, is this Burger King? Do I look like I want fried chicken?”
She leans back in her seat to display her hard earned plastic body. I am sure her daddy paid for that.
I take their order to Tank and roll my eyes when he gives me a questioning look. One of the many things I hate about working here is it doesn’t matter what a customer says or does to you, you have to always remain professional.
While that has never been an issue before it seems to be one now.
Chapter Four
The rest of the night goes as usual after Allyssa leaves. She and her date left a tip of one penny and walked out laughing. I find it amusing that the class nerd thinks he has won since he put on muscle and is now dating the high school bitch.
“Want me to walk you to your car, Lynnie?”
I turn to see Tank standing behind me. I am so over them being protective of me.
“Okay, I have had enough. What is with you and Frank? One man comes in and you two act like he has threatened my unborn children,” I say putting my hands on my hips.
Tank takes a deep breath and says nothing.
“There are ten other females that work here, Tank, tell me have you offered to walk each of them to their car or is that an honor just for me?”
“Do you want me to walk you to yours or not?”
“For the last time I am fine and unless one of you plan on telling me what the hell is going on chill out with the protective shit.”
I grab my purse and walk out the door. Usually when I walk out I have my eye on everything around me. But today has been so messed up. I forgot to get my keys out of my purse before I walked out. I stop in the middle of the parking lot and dig in my purse to find them.
The parking lot is lit up with street lights all around so I stop under one while I look for my keys. I hear tires screeching and look up just in time to see headlights coming towards me. I scream and jump out of the way while the car keeps going never letting off the gas petal.
“What the fuck?”
When I look around there is no one else in the parking lot. Just a few cars that belong to Tank, Frank and another waitress. Why would someone want to hit me with a car? I stand and dust my jeans off. There is a pain in my knee and elbow. When I lift my elbow up and look, it has a scratch on it that is now bleeding.
“Great, just fucking great.”
Who the hell would be speeding through the lot like that? There is no point in calling the cops because from the way the guys are acting I won't be able to breathe without them down my neck. And the police would take an hour to get here. What would be the point in that? Quickly, I walk to my car and shut and lock my doors.
I was going to leave straight from work and go check on Taylor, but now I need to go home, shower and change. The last thing I need is to walk in the hospital looking how I do now. I don't like doctors unless they are working on someone else. If I go in with ripped clothes and a bleeding elbow, I'm sure one of them will want to “check it out” as they say.
****
I walk into Taylor's room, and it feels like old times. I would sneak out of my room at night and into Taylor's. She would act like she is asleep only so her parents won't check on her again. We would lie in bed and pretend we were sisters and life was this one big fairy tale. My mom was never around, and my father hated the ground I walked on. In his eyes, I was the child who ended it all. I was the cause for their failed marriage. My grandmother raised me until I was old enough to get the hell out of there.
Don't get me wrong, I loved my grandparents, but when their son treats you like shit and they make excuses it gets old fast. He would show up to Thanksgiving and Christmas and remind me just how much he hated me in front of the whole family. It didn't stop him from yelling at me or slapping me when I tried to yell back. I think my grandparents were scared of him and the only reason they let me live there was so he didn't have to come home to me at his house every day.
I walk to the bed and sit down beside Taylor. They have her hooked up to an IV and a heart machine. She looks so peaceful laying there asleep. I hate that she is going through this and I can't be there 24/7.
She moans when I rub her hair and rolls over slowly opening her eyes. When she sees me she smiles and grabs my hand.
“Hey, Jos.”
“Hey, baby girl, how are you feeling?”
“Better. They have me on meds to help me sleep and I have eaten the best broccoli and cheese ever,” she says scrunching her nose.
We laugh and I lie back on the bed beside her.
“So how was your day?” She asks once the laughing dies down.
“Same shit, listen I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“When you get out of the hospital I want you to come live with me. I will talk to Frank about giving you a job and you can stay in my spare room.”
I lean up on my elbow and turn to her. She should have been staying with me all along. I can't help but think that if she was she wouldn't have been in this bed in the first place. I would have kept her away from the people she drank with in the past. Maybe if she comes now we won't find ourselves here again.
“I can't do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you already have enough shit to deal with.”
“You know if you're going to make excuses at least have them make sense. I work and I come home that is all I have going on.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. Have they said when you would be able to go home?”
“The doctor said if I am still doing good at the end of the week they will let me go home. I have to talk to a rehab lady tomorrow and they think that would be good for me.”
“What do you think?”
She sighs and looks to me and smiles.
“I think it wouldn't hurt.”
“Okay good. After that you are staying with me. I love you, Tay, but I am going to run home. I need some sleep.”
“Okay will you come see me tomorrow after work?”
“You know it.”
I smile and give her a kiss on the head. I stop when I get to the door and turn back to her.
“I'm proud of you.”
“Thank you, Joslynn, I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Chapter Five
You never realize what you have in life until you stand back and look at your surroundings. Sounds cheesy but after almost getting hit by a car you tend to want to look at things differently. I hated my job. I hated that people from school would come in and see that I never went anywhere with life after school. However, I was alive and well and that was enough to make me thankful for the little bit that I did have.
After getting home from the hospital, I make something to eat and sit on the couch staring at a TV that I don't even bother to turn on. I showered earlier so I decided that maybe food and sleep would be my friend for the night.
Once I am done eating I lay across the bed and sigh. I want to know why the guys at work all of the sudden seem to want to be my big brothers. It doesn’t take long before I am asleep and it's the same dream I have had for the last three years. My dad walks into my room at my grandparents. His nose scrunched up at all the pink around my room.
“You should have never been born, Joslynn, you ruined our lives!” He yells.
I cower in the corner of my bed and cry. As he inches closer and closer, he gets louder and louder with his insults. When he is right up against the bed, he leans into my face, and I smell the beer and cigarettes on him. I gag at his smell. My whole body is tense and shaking in anticipation of what comes next.
I jolt awake in the bed. I am covered in sweat and there are tears running down my face. He never lets up even in my dreams. He takes the time to tell me what a piece of shit I am. I hate that man, really and truly hate him. I roll over and look at the c
lock. It's one in the afternoon, and I have a few hours before I have to go to work. I might as well work on Taylor's room. She will be coming soon, and I don't want to go to sleep so it will keep me occupied until I need to leave.
****
It doesn’t take long until it is time for me to get ready for work. I make a list of things I need for Taylor's room and head to the shower. No one has stayed in that room since I moved in so I want to paint it and buy new sheets. All of which I hope she will give me an idea of what she wants.
When I get to work there are blue lights everywhere. Getting closer I see the parking lot is full of cops.
“What the hell happened now?” I whisper to myself.
This has been the most excitement this little Alabama town has seen in a while. I sigh and step out of the car. As soon as Tank sees me he runs to my side.
“When the hell did you plan on telling us you almost got run over in our parking lot, Joslynn?” He yells.
“If you want the truth, Tank, I wasn't going to. What the hell is going on?”
“The cops want to speak to you. We would have never known had we not watched the damn tapes from last night.”
“Well, I didn't think it was that big of a deal, Tank. People speed through the lot all the time. You know we are connected to a back road.”
I think of any excuse I can to give him that will keep him from hovering more than he already does now. It scared the shit out of me that someone almost hit me but I didn't want nor need a shadow.
“Just go talk to the damn cops would you... Please?”
“Fine.”
I motion for him to walk in front of me and followed him to an officer that is talking to Frank. He's tall with a bald head and baby blue eyes. He is the epitome of a cop.
“Are you Miss Joslynn Nethers?”
“I am.”
“We understand you almost got hit by a car while leaving work last night? Around midnight correct?”
I roll my eyes.
“Look maybe it is because I didn't sleep very good last night but I don't see what the big deal is. People speed through this parking lot all the time. I was just standing at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, ma'am, we have watched the video and we saw the car had enough time to slow down before turning into the lot and enough time to slow down before getting to you. Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you?”
“Seriously? No, I don't. I work and I go home, that is my life.”
He nods his head and looks to Frank, who from the look on his face is not happy that I am not more worried.
“Sir, would you be okay with us having an officer come and patrol the parking lot a few hours a night? We will make sure one is here when she gets off work and is walking to her car. I would also suggest pepper spray and maybe someone should start walking her to her car?”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer nods again and turns to the others around him barking orders. I walk past them all and get started working. If they want to make a big deal out of nothing that is all on them. I have other things I can do.
Marshall is at his normal table when I clock in. Seriously, does no one else sit there? Has he written his name on it somewhere? I grab my order pad and pray he is in a better mood while I walk to his table carrying his drink. I learned yesterday not to ask him what he wanted. If Frank wants to make a big deal out of it he can start taking his order.
Marshall looks up when I set his drink down and smiles.
“Hello, Joslynn.”
“Marshall.”
I turn to walk away when his hand on my arm stops me. My whole body goes stiff. It feels like his touch has a straight connection to my pussy. No passing go. No collecting $200. My eyes roll back and I slowly turn back towards him.
“Listen, it was a bad day yesterday and I took it out on you it was unfair.”
“It... It's. Fine.”
The look in his eyes tells me he knows just the effect he has on me, and he is enjoying it. I try to remove my wrist and he only grips it tighter. His eyes connected with mine.
“Forgive me?”
My breathing stops. I have heard that somewhere. It means something. The room begins to get fuzzy and I can feel the floor coming closer.
“JOS!” is the last thing I hear before the room is black.
****
When I wake up I am on a couch. I moan and roll my head around. Nothing hurts nothing is broken. But I am not sure where I am or how I got here.
“Hey, Joslynn, you okay?”
I moan again and roll my head to locate where the noise is coming from. Tank and Frank are both standing in front of me, hands on their hips.
“What happened?”
“You passed out. The guy with all the gunk on his arms caught you and brought you in here,” Frank says.
“Marshall.”
They both look at me confused.
“The man with the gunk on his arms… his name is Marshall,” I say and roll my eyes.
“Well, he caught you when you were falling and brought you here and left,” Frank adds.
“What do you mean left?
“As in he left, Joslynn. How much more detail do you need?” Tank says.
I lay in silence for a while. Why would I pass out for no reason? I don't have any health issues so there is no reason why I should have passed out. I think about the words that Marshall said. They seemed so familiar like I have heard them before. But where? Frank and Tank start in with a million questions asking me what he said or did he hit me when they weren’t looking.
I slowly sit up on the couch and Frank hands me a glass of water. Neither of them seems to be leaving the room anytime soon, so I ask the one question I want answered and hope that one of them can tell me something.
“What is the issue with Marshall? I have worked here a while and neither of you have acted this way towards me or from the effect of a customer.”
They look at one another, neither saying a word. The quietness makes my blood boil. What do they know about me and my life that I don't?
“One of you needs to tell me something.”
Frank shakes his head, looks away to Tank and then back to me.
“Why don't you take off tomorrow?”
“No.”
“Joslynn...”
“I fucking said no! Neither of you want to tell me shit! I AM COMING TO WORK TOMORROW!”
Tank shrugs and walks out of the room.
“Fine but at least take the rest of the day off.”
“Fine.”
“You can lay in here until you feel up to driving, and then go home.”
“Yeah.”
I lay my head back and close my eyes. My normal and boring life feels like something out of a movie. A sexy tattooed, wet dream creating man comes in and all of the sudden more has happened to me in two days than it has in three years. He feels so familiar to me as do the words he says.
Chapter Six
I finally feel like I'll be okay driving home so I stand and walk out. Gathering my things I tell the guys bye and head to my car. As promised, there is a police officer sitting in his car in the parking lot. This is going to get old and fast. I have never had anyone be protective of me except Taylor, and even she is not as bad as they are.
When I turn back and look at the door, Frank is standing with the door open watching me. I turn back around and roll my eyes. I feel like I am a child as I walk to my car and get in. I can't say it doesn't, at least, have a small effect on me because once I am buckled I lock the doors to my car. Maybe I should have checked the back seat.
I call Taylor and check on her and let her know I won't be coming in tonight to see her. I tell her I had to work late so she won't worry. If I tell her what is going on she will never go to the rehab, and they have her set to leave tomorrow.
When I start down my driveway, my heart starts racing. There is a car parked in front of my house and standing outside of it is none other than Marshall.
Why is he here and how the hell did he find my house? I park behind him and very slowly get out of the car. He is dressed in faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt and standing against his car with his arms crossed looking at the ground.
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