Damaged Goods

Chapter 25

After receiving the text from TJ, Lyla sighed to herself, feeling disappointed. She had been looking forward to spending time with TJ now that the weekend had arrived. She considered what to do, as she didn't really enjoy staying in the apartment alone, so she decided to head down the street to the bar where Travis worked. He was really the only person she knew in this town, other than TJ, and she wanted to do something to pass the time.

"Hey Lyla" Travis greeted her when she walked in.

"Hi Travis" she responded.

"Where's TJ?" Travis asked, looking past her to see if TJ was coming in behind her.

"He's stuck at work late" she responded disappointedly.

"Ah, that's too bad" said Travis. "I'm glad you came by. Better than sitting at home alone. But you she really make some friends" Travis said with a little wink, as he handed her a Sprite. "Want anything to eat?"

"I'd love some buffalo wings" she said, smiling and nodding a thank you for the beverage.

"You got it" he said, as he entered her order into the computer.

Lyla sat at the bar, enjoying the various sports on the different screens around the bar, and picked at her food. She enjoyed people watching, and a sports bar was a great place for that. But she was still feeling a bit lonely. She was lost in her own thoughts and didn't notice Darren come in, until he was sitting down next to her.

"Lyla, what a pleasant surprise" he said, touching her shoulder.

"Hello Darren" she said stiffly, as she bristled under his touch, and she moved her shoulder away from his hand.

"Travis, I'll take a whiskey double, and another of whatever the lady is having" he said, shouting at Travis who was further down the bar.

Travis brought Darren his drink, and looked to Lyla to see if she wanted another beverage.

"No, I'm good. Just about ready to head out" she said in response.

"Not leaving so soon" said Darren. "Let me buy you a drink. You shouldn't be here alone on a Friday night. Where's that worthless cousin of mine? Why isn't he here with you?" he asked, with a smirk on his face, knowing exactly where TJ was, and that it wasn't likely he would be showing up at the bar any time soon.

"He's working late" was all Lyla replied, as she began to quickly finish her food.

"What's the rush, darling?" Aske Darren, as he draped his arm around Lyla's shoulders.

Lyla pushed his arm away quickly. "Please don't touch be" she said, trying to keep her anger under control. James used to call her darling, and the way Darren touched her when also calling her 'darling' triggered a series of unpleasant memories.

"Oh come on," Darren persisted, reaching for her again, this time trying to place a hand on her knee. "I'm just trying to keep you company."

"I don't want your company" she said angrily, as she quickly jumped up out of her seat to avoid his touch, knocking her bar stool over.

"Woah, woah, calm down, Sweetheart!" he said, startled at her reaction.

At this point, Travis had come around the bar, and was picking up the fallen stool.

"Are you ok, Lyla?" Travis asked her, then glared at Darren. "Move to another seat, or get out."

"Seriously?" Darren asked, staring back and forth between Lyla and Travis.

"I'm going to go" Lyla said, turning to Travis.

"Want me to call you a cab?" Travis asked her. "Don't worry about the bill, I'll put on TJ's tab, so you can get out of here."

"I'm fine, I'll walk. And thank you, Travis" she said smiling at him. Then she glared at Darren as she walked past him toward the door.

"Stay away from her" Travis said to Darren, making sure that Lyla was out of the building and on her way, before moving from his position, blocking Darren from attempting to follow her.

Travis debated on whether or not to text TJ and let him know what happened. He felt protective of his friends, and wanted to be sure Lyla was ok, but he also didn't want to think he wat going behind her back by telling TJ, if she didn't want him to know. He had gathered that Lyla was a pretty private person, and didn't want to overstep and cross any lines that might make her upset.

Lyla rushed back to TJ's condo, using the walk home to work out some of her frustration and adrenaline. She felt very embarrassed. She chastised herself for being so sensitive and freaking out. She tried to rationalize that Darren was TJ's cousin, and that he probably didn't mean anything by it, and she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but it didn't help. She was still pretty upset, frustrated at the flood of emotions that were swirling around her, and she didn't like Darren, and wanted nothing to do with him.

When she got back to the condo, she walked in,locked the door and burst into tears. She hated feeling this vulnerable and shehated feeling so controlled by her past and her emotions. She had recently beenbeginning to hope that she would be able to move forward, and maybe start a newfuture here with TJ, but after today, she wasn't sure if that would bepossible. She was afraid she would never be able to let go of the fears andtrauma that seemed to have defined her for so long.