Chapter Three
As I sit behind my brother Ash on his motorbike I am looking forward to the day ahead. I managed to stay cocooned in my room all night and just grabbed some cereal from the kitchen when it was empty this morning. I had intended on making my own way here but Luna caught me when I was leaving and called Ash to give me a lift.
I don't mind him as he keeps himself to himself like me. We hardly ever speak and I notice that he just does what he is told to do. Come to think of it considering they're my family I know very little about them.
Once his duty is done he speeds off, probably on some other mission for my father and a strange feeling of excitement grips me as I walk up the steps to the bar.
The television is once again highlighting some game or another and there is loud music playing, filling the bar with loud angry tunes. I see Dylan clearing tables and he smiles as he sees me coming. "Hey Scarlett, good to see you; you came back for more I see."
I flash him the briefest of smiles and he grins at me. "One day I'll see the full force of that smile of yours if it kills me. I know it's in there somewhere."
Raising my eyes up I look around me. "Drake's in the kitchen if you're looking for him," he says cheekily. My face flushes bright red because I realise that was exactly what I was doing. Defensively I retort, "In his dreams. No I was just wondering if we were moving on to phase two of my training."
Grinning he comes over and hands me a notepad and pen from his pocket. "Here you go, phase two complete."
Taking it from him I snort, "Is that it? Your training course leaves a lot to be desired." Laughing he moves away and says over his shoulder, "Well it's not exactly rocket science darlin."
Despite how annoying he is I like Dylan a lot. He is easy going and friendly in fact the complete opposite to my family. How I wish my brothers were like him and Drake.
I put my bag away and head back to the bar and start to busy myself with clearing the tables. As I work I make sure that I keep an eye out for anyone who may want to order something.
It must be fifteen minutes later I sense that Drake has entered the room. It's as though we are connected and I can feel where he is before I can even see him. Looking up I catch him watching me and rather than look away he smiles good naturedly. "Hi Scarlett."
Once again I just smile briefly and carry on with what I'm doing. However I am conscious of every move that he makes and almost can't concentrate when he is around.
Trying to ignore the effect he has on me I throw myself into the job in hand and after the first couple of hours have fended off the hands of several semi drunken customers and taken several orders. The tips are good and I take great satisfaction in adding mine to the jar that is kept behind the bar. We will all share them at the end of the shift which is only fair really.
Before long Drake shouts over to me. "Hey Scarlett, why don't you take a break? You can grab something to eat in the kitchen if you like. Mac will sort you out."
Suddenly I realise that I am famished and smile gratefully. Mac is the chef for want of a better word and soon fixes me up with a burger and fries.
As I sit eating I watch him work. He doesn't say much which suits me fine but I enjoy seeing him working; it's quite nice to have some company for a change.
As I grab a coke Dylan comes in and flashes me a grin. "It's getting busy out there, looks like we're in for a good night."
I quickly jump down. "Sorry Dylan, I'll get straight back to work." Reaching out he puts his big burly hand on my shoulder and pushes me back down into my seat.
"Relax darlin, you finish up here. You work really hard and deserve a bit of a rest. Anyway most of the current customers are here for Drake anyway so we may as well give them what they want."
He laughs as he sees my confused expression. "My little brothers got a bit of a fan club so to speak. They're out in force tonight; it's entertaining to watch though."
For some reason his words annoy me. The thought of other girls around Drake irritates me and I don't know why. It's not as though we are even friends let alone anything else, why should it bother me?
I give it another ten minutes and then grab my apron and head back out to the bar. Dylan wasn't joking when he said there was a fan club here. There must be a dozen girls at the bar all vying for his attention.
There is more make up and false extensions here than I have ever seen and they are all making the most of their considerable assets as they battle with each other for his attention. He appears to be lapping up the attention and catching me looking grins mischievously. I pull a face and look away and suddenly the need to clear tables is overwhelming.
After a little while I can't help myself and flick my gaze back to the scene at the bar and notice a girl leaning on it looking at him with a flirtatious look as she thrusts her chest towards him.
She has long blonde hair and is beautifully tanned. Her cut off shorts leave nothing to the imagination and her T shirt is exposing her chest. I hear her giggle. "Come on Drake, you know that all work and no play makes Drake a dull boy. Take the night off for once and show a girl a good time."
Seeing me curl my lip in disgust Drake laughs loudly. Seeing him look she swivels around and catches sight of me. Shock registers in her eyes as she notices my apron and she says in a shrill voice, "I never knew there was a job going here, why didn't you say you know I would have been interested?"
Drake grins. "Nothing to do with me darlin, my father does the hiring and firing around here."
I see her eyes narrow as she looks at me and I turn away. Girls like her are everywhere both here in this town and at home. They're all the same and my sisters are no different. I keep away from them as much as I can; they make me sick with their fake smiles and fake everything else. All that matters to them is landing the number one guy around and being seen with the right crowd, well they can keep it; I have too much self respect than to join that particular club.
Ignoring them all I carry on with my work. Occasionally I catch Drake watching me which sends shivers down my spine. He certainly affects me and it is extremely distracting.
After a while as I come out of the kitchen with an order I can see the girl standing in front of me looking annoyed. "Miss, can you come to the rest rooms please. They're disgusting and I cannot possibly use them in the state they're in."
Looking at her in surprise I nod and head towards them. I only checked about twenty minutes ago and they were fine then. Being the only female member of staff means that I am responsible for the replenishment of the ladies facilities. Not a great job but somebody has to do it.
However when I go inside it is obvious that they are fine. I spin around to leave and see the girl blocking the exit. She narrows her eyes and looks at me with a sneer.
"I've seen you looking at my boyfriend and I don't like it." Wearily I raise my eyes. "Your boyfriend you say, and who would that be?"
Her eyes flash and she approaches me. Without warning she reaches over and grabs my hair and twists my head around slamming me into the mirror. The force of it causes it to break and I feel a sudden pain as the sharp cut slices my head.
"Stay away from Drake you little slut. I know your sort, a piece of low life scum bumming around in bars to make ends meet. Well for your information he's taken so back off sister." Almost immediately I can feel the rage building inside me and know that there is nothing I can do to stop it.
Quick as a flash I elbow her sharply in her stomach and as she relaxes her grip I twist around to face her. The rage is now consuming me and I can feel the fire in my eyes. Her expression changes to one of disbelief followed instantly by one of fear.
Grabbing hold of her arm I twist it until she cries out in pain. I let the fire burn within me and it transfers to her body until it consumes her. I watch her pain and her eyes dilate and the fear overtakes her body. I can see everything within her and I use it against her. I can feel the fire in my eyes as I direct them towards her.
&nb
sp; "Just a word of advice sister know who you're dealing with before you pick a fight. For your information Drake is not your boyfriend and I am not interested in him. If I was I wouldn't let a piece of trash like you put me off either. Now I don't like to get angry and you have brought my inner devil out which annoys me. The only thing that is stopping me from sending you straight to Hell is the fact that I'm working and I kinda like my job so if you know what's good for you you'll leave this place and never come back, got it?"
Tears are now running down her face and she nods. I can feel the pain in her as I hold her in my grip. She is no match for me and she knows it.
In disgust I release her and follow her outside as she runs from the room. There is a crowd of her friends waiting outside who look at us in stunned disbelief.
Before she can leave however the exit is blocked and I sigh heavily as I see who it is. Filling the doorway is the intimidating site of my army of brothers all clad in their trademark leather jackets, their eyes flashing with menace. You could hear a pin drop in the bar as they look at the scene in front of them.
The girl runs towards Caleb shouting, "Get her Caleb, she attacked me for no reason and I need you to sort her out." Suddenly he laughs loudly and is joined by my brothers. The girl looks totally confused until Caleb says, "Well Morgan, I see you've met our sister."
Morgan pales and looks between us all blindly. Her friends look away and there is a tense silence in the room.
Looking at my brothers I say wearily, "What are you doing here?"
Caleb laughs and his eyes flash with excitement. "We were sent to check on you, although by the looks of things you've got it covered."
They move to the side and Morgan races outside closely followed by her friends. Once again my brothers laugh and then head towards the bar to get a drink. I notice that nobody looks at them as they pass and I can feel the fear in the room. I push my hair back from my face and realise that I am bleeding. Sighing I head off to the rest rooms to see to the cut.