by Dawn Doyle
“Beck,” Ava cut in. “Ray didn’t do anything.”
“Really? I have a report that says otherwise,” he replied, still glaring at her.
Beck had never once looked at her like that, and she didn’t like it all. What he thought she’d done, he was wrong. The only thing she was guilty of was falling for him.
“I don’t see how,” Raven replied.
“Kato gave me the report that you signed yourself.”
Raven stood in shock at hearing Kato’s name being brought into it. Beck smirked slyly at her as though her reaction meant she’d realized she’d been caught out.
“You thought I could do something like that to you?” Raven asked, her voice shaking. “After more than three years, I never said a fucking word, yet you believe the bullshit Kato fed you? A guy that you hate?”
Beck narrowed his eyes. “He said he got his information from the admin. Your signature was right there. Why wouldn’t I believe him?”
“Because I loved you!” she yelled, putting her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant for that to come out.
Beck took a step back as though he’d been slapped in the face. He stood still, his mouth open; his eyes fixed on her.
Ava wrapped her arms around her shoulders, glaring at Beck. “You need to get the fuck out of here.”
“Not until I can see Raven alone,” he said, looking around Ava.
“Go away, Beck,” Raven spat.
“Raven, will you at least talk to me? Hear me out?” he pleaded. “Please Raven.”
Raven shook her head. “You have no idea what happened when you left, do you?” Beck closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Raven didn’t care. It was his own fault that their friends were now looking at him in disgust. “You didn’t give a shit. You thought I’d played you, so you cut everyone out of your life like a spoilt child.”
“What happened?” he asked quietly.
“Go fuck yourself.”
Raven wasn’t about to tell him how devastated she’d been.
“Yeah, hotshot…” Ava said, crossing her arms. “No amount of sweet talking is gonna get you out of this mess. You should just leave. You’re good at that.”
Beck took a step towards Raven, but Donnie got in his way.
“We thought something had happened to you, you prick. We were worried sick. I kicked open your fucking door because Ray was panicking that you’d had an accident and were hurt.”
Beck’s eyes moved from from Donnie’s to Raven’s, and she could see the emotion behind them.
He was upset.
He had the same expression that he had the day he approached her after leaving his room when they’d first slept together.
I hope it hurts, asshole. Maybe you’ll get a taste of what I felt.
The claw filled agony ripped through Raven from inside out.
All he had to do was call her straight away when Kato had turned up. The past seven months could have been avoided if he’d just picked up the phone.
“I’m so sorry,” Beck apologized again. “I didn’t know…”
“I have to get back to work,” she said, wiping her eyes and turning to the bar. She wasn’t going to hear another word.
“Wait, you work here?” he asked, his eyes widening.
“No, I’m just a huge fucking fan,” she replied sarcastically as she gestured to the name of the bar across her T-shirt.
“How long?”
“Get out of my bar,” Mike said from behind Raven. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her protectively as she slipped hers around his waist.
Beck’s eyes narrowed as he looked between them. His lips pursed, and his jaw flexed under the tension.
“Go.” Mike pointed to the door, and Beck slowly turned and headed to the entrance. “Are you ok sweetheart?” he asked Raven, cupping her face.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Raven replied, and Mike kissed her forehead before pulling her into his chest, hugging her tight.
She turned her head into his shoulder and opened her eyes in time to see Beck take one last look at her before disappearing through the door.
Raven saw Donnie whisper something to Ava before leaving.
“He’s going to find out what the hell’s going on and why he chose today to turn up.”
“There’s no need, Ay,” Raven said, wiping the rest of the tears from her stained cheeks. “I don’t want to know his excuses.”
Raven went behind the bar and lifted a tray of clean glasses ready to be shelved. They rattled as her hands shook.
“You don’t want to hear what happened?”
“Does it matter? After everything we’d been through, he thought I was capable of that?”
“Yes, it does, Ray-Ray. Even thought the fucker deserves to be strung up for what he did to you, to believe Kato it must have been some really convincing stuff. I mean, would you believe Mike if he showed you something like that?”
“That’s different,” Raven shrugged. “Mike isn’t a jealous son-of-a-bitch who doesn’t think twice about stepping on people to get what he wants. He’d make sure he found out the truth before telling me anything.”
“True,” Ava nodded. “But he had ‘evidence’,” she said, holding her fingers up.
Raven gave Ava an ‘are you kidding?’ look. “Whose side are you on? Have you forgotten what happened that day? After that? What I…” Raven screwed her eyes shut to block out the memories she was trying to forget.
“I haven’t forgotten,” Ava said angrily. “It doesn’t change the fact that he’s an asshole for putting you through that. I’m just saying it might be worth finding out what happened, before you tell him he can go jump off a cliff.”
“He saw my car outside,” Donnie said to Ava when he returned.
Raven was serving some customers their drinks and tried not to hear what he said.
“And?” Ava asked.
“The next thing he knew, he was already through the door.” He turned to Raven. “He told me what happened.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Raven shook her head.
“You need to. Kato fucked him over big time,” Donnie said gently and Raven could tell he believed whatever excuses Beck had told him. ”With what Kato said to Beck, Ray, it was pretty fucked up; even for him.”
Raven looked down at her hands as she wiped the bar.
Donnie began to talk again, but Raven moved further down the bar away from their conversation. She didn’t want to hear anything more that involved Beck. She saw Ava glancing to her as Donnie spoke, and was glad when she could see Ava’s face twisted in fury, which quickly turned into sheer surprise.
“Hey Ray,” Mike said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “How’re you holding up?”
“I’m good, thanks Mike. I just didn’t expect him to show up.”
If she was completely honest, she didn’t think she would see Beck ever again. Especially since he’d never been back to campus. Not that she would have seen him there anyway, but no doubt Ava would’ve mentioned kicking his ass, like she said she would.
“If he shows up again, say the word and I’ll show him the pavement,” Mike said with a mean glint in his eye.
‘Showing him the pavement’ was Mike’s way of saying he would beat the shit out of him outside.
“As much as that’s a lovely gesture…” she smiled placing her hand on his cheek. “…that won’t be necessary. I doubt he’ll come back here.”
“Well, if he does and you need me to, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks Mike.” Raven wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged his solid frame tight. “Now I need to serve your customers.”
Raven plastered a fake smile on her face and tended the bar.
*****
“Hi, Mom. What have we got today?” Raven asked when she arrived at the surgery.
“Good afternoon, honey,” Jayne, her mother, greeted her. “We have a black lab coming in soon to get his stitches removed, a rabbit with an infected ear from a wire c
ut, and a hamster who decided to chew through a plastic house. The poor thing swallowed some big pieces and I have to surgically remove them.”
Raven put on her white coat, and latex gloves to get ready to work.
“Ok, should I set up for the dog?”
That wouldn’t take long. Just the suture removal scissors and tweezers.
“That’s already done, honey,” her mom said with a warm smile. “Tell you what, why don’t you just go and check on our furry patients in recovery?”
Raven’s mom knew she loved to do that because it relaxed her.
Her stomach bottomed.
“You’ve spoken to Mike, haven’t you?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“Don’t be angry Ray. He’s worried about you. He told me he didn’t know who the guy was until he saw Ava stepping in front of you like she was guarding you.”
“I’m not angry, mom. I know he means well.”
Mike had given Raven a job when she left college. He’d been looking out for her ever since. Just like he had when she was little. He never scolded her for what happened, he just accepted her with open arms as he always had. Her own personal cuddly bear. That was as solid as concrete.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jayne asked, running her hand over Raven’s black ponytail.
She shook her head. “No. There’s nothing I want to say.”
“I’m here whenever you need me sweetheart.” Jayne kissed Raven’s head affectionately.
“I know. Thanks, Mom.”
Her mother never pressed for information, and Raven was grateful. The last thing she wanted was to be nagged. Talking to her mother about Beck showing up would only infuriate herself again, and it would be worse if her dad got involved.
When she’d arrived home, and they’d gotten the cliff-notes version, he wanted to hunt him down and arrest him. Raven snorted as she thought about her dad locking Beck up and trying his hardest to make charges stick against him. Breaking her heart wasn’t a crime in the justice system but, to her dad, that carried the death penalty.
“What did he do?” Georgio, her dad, asked with a thunderous expression Raven hadn’t seen since high school when she split from her boyfriend.
Raven had spoken to her parents and had told them how happy she was that she and Beck had been seeing each other, and that she couldn’t wait for them to meet him. Now she’d gone home and had to tell them that the man she loved had left her with no explanation.
“He’s gone, dad. He left.”
“Tell me what happened, Raven.”
“Please don’t call me that, dad. He always called me that,” she said holding back tears.
“That’s your name…ow!” he said when her mom hit him on the arm.
“Georgio, be sympathetic,” Jayne scolded him. “Just Ray, like you asked,” she said to Raven. “Ava told me what happened, honey. You don’t need to explain again.” Jayne glared at Georgio.
“I’m going to hunt that boy down and lock him away for hurting my daughter,” her dad snapped, pulling her into him and holding her tight. “I’ll charge him with something, anything, until I can find something that’ll stick to keep him behind bars for a while.”
“Just leave it, dad. His own dad will just throw money at them to let him out anyway.”
Raven pulled back from him and turned to her mom when she spoke.
“Mike said he has an opening at his bar. It’s not ideal…” Jayne said, raising her eyebrow, and Raven felt guilty about what she’d done, “…but it’s something until you feel like yourself again.”
“Thanks mom. I’ll call him later.”
Mike owned the bar across the city. It was quieter than the usual bars, but with the same amount of customers, because Mike didn’t want a ‘nightspot’ kind of place, but somewhere people could have a good time and still hear each other talk over the music.
“Yeah, he also said that he’ll gladly help me get rid of the body. All I have to do is pick up the phone,” Georgio said as if it was just a regular favor between guys.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, but…um… thanks. I think.”
After another hug from her parents, Raven grabbed her case and went up the stairs to her childhood bedroom with light pink walls, matching white curtains, and bedcovers with blue flowers on the bottom edges, and a light blue carpet.
Kicking off her tennis flats, she curled up in her bed, fully clothed, and stayed there for the rest of the day.
“Ray, there’s some guy out front asking for you,” Ali, the receptionist, said as she popped her head through the door.
Raven’s stomach lurched, and her pulse sped. There were a lot of sharp implements about and she didn’t want to go to prison.
“What does he want?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“I’m not sure, hang on.” Ali disappeared and came back not a minute later. “He said he’s here to pick up the ointment for his cat’s wound.”
Thank God is isn’t him, but why couldn’t the patients’ owner just ask Ali for that?
“Ok, I’ll be right out,” she sighed in relief.
Raven went to the cabinet and took out the prescription bag for Jewels’ medication. She’d been spayed and had managed to get out of her cone, and chewed through her stitches. Her mom had had to re-close the wound, but it was raw where the cat had bitten, and the ointment was needed to fight any infection.
“Here it is,” Raven said, handing the tall blonde guy the prescription bag. “Apply it twice a day. It’s advisable to wear gloves but if you don’t, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after use.” Raven had repeated those instructions many times over the years.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice low.
Raven looked up into his brown eyes, and he was smiling at her. He was really good looking.
A strong jaw with a hint of stubble, lips that were proportionate to his face and he looked like he was into his fitness.
She looked to Ali, then back to him. He was still looking.
“Can I help you with something else?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.
“I think you can,” he said, pulling a card from his pocket. “Here’s my number. Give me a call some time. I’d love to take you to dinner.”
He handed Raven a card with his name and number on it, and then left with his kitty cream.
“Holy shit!” Ali laughed. “That’s why he asked for you specifically. He wants to take you out!”
“Not happening,” Raven said shaking her head. She threw the card in the trash. “He’s too sure of himself.”
That was a lie.
It wasn’t because of his overconfidence, or even that he was older.
He wasn’t Beck.
That notion hurt because it made her worry that she’d never get over him. Especially now that she’d seen him again.
Raven went back into the surgery where her mom was operating on the hamster, accompanied by the surgical assistant, and headed through to the recovery room. She took her gloves off with a snap and threw them away.
“Hammy the hamster is A-ok,” Jayne chirped as she brought him through from surgery. “I’ve just removed four pieces of plastic from his stomach.”
She took the little creature and placed him in one of the recovery cages in the rodents section. It wouldn’t be long until he woke up, so Raven watched her mom expertly place the hamster in one of the cages.
Raven took a drink bottle and filled it with fresh water for when he came around.
Raven’s phone beeped with a text. Finishing setting up the bottle and food, Raven retrieved her phone from her pocket.
A: Are you ok honey?
R: Yes. Just sorting out a cage for a hamster. He’s just had surgery.
A: Aww, poor fluffball!
R: He is. X
A: We’ll swing by Mike’s bar again later. Are you still working tonight?
R: Of course.
Raven was still working regardless. Mike would be there t
oo, and if anything happened -not that it would because a certain person had been warned- he’d be there to protect her as always. Protecting her from unwanted attention, and unwanted assholes.
A: Great! We’ll see you soon. Luv ya lots. x
R: Like jelly tots. x
Raven checked the time and saw that she had only a couple of minutes before she needed to leave to get ready for the bar.
She’d gotten to know some of the regulars since working there, and Mike was more than happy to let them know that she was off limits. Not that that mattered. Raven wasn’t interested.
*****
“Hi Mikey,” Raven greeted him as she walked through the door to the bar. “Busy?”
“Hi there beautiful,” he replied, with a warm smile. “It’s been steady.” Mike uncapped a couple of beers for two men sitting in front of him.
“Good. I need to keep my head busy.”
Raven put on her short apron that protected her black pants from alcohol spills. With her black uniform and black hair, she blended nicely into the background.
She picked up a washcloth and wiped down the area of the bar she was working that night, ready to serve.
“What can I get you?” she asked a couple who’d sat in front of her. She recognized them instantly; Cole and Cathryn.
The same Cole she’d dated briefly. He’d gotten engaged a few weeks earlier, and it never bothered Raven in the slightest. He’d looked sheepish at first, before the proposal, when they’d turned up, and she’d been working. That soon stopped when he saw that she was genuinely happy that he was dating.
