Wicked Dreams

*Chapter Two*

*Sophia*

"Please Reece, please!" I beg as the tears streak down my face. I pull against the restraints that have my hands pulled up above my head, but I can't move. My ankles are restrained to the floor as I'm kept forced into this kneeling position.

My body hurts, as he comes down again with the whip, harder than before, causing me to scream.

I wake up screaming, sweat beading down my forehead. I look over and see Nox staring at me from the chair in my room. Wiping my brow, I glance at the clock and see that my alarm will be going off soon. Flopping back down onto my pillow, I sigh, wishing I had one peaceful night of sleep.

Nox jumps onto my bed and rubs his body against my arm until I pet him.

"Noxie, do you think someone will ever love us? Love us for the way we are, nightmares, scars and all?" I ask as he rolls onto his side, putting his paw on my arm.

I earn a little meow from Nox before deciding I need to get out of bed and ready for work. After a quick breakfast which consisted of a granola bar and coffee, I fed Nox and went through my steps of making sure everything was locked before heading out the door to work.

Pulling into the diner parking lot, I was glad to see that Shelia and Jonah, one of the cooks, were already here. I hated pulling in here so early in the morning by myself. It made me too paranoid. Unlocking the back kitchen door, I headed in and was greeted by Jonah as he was pouring himself some coffee.

"Mornin' Sophia," he said with a half-smile, "there's more coffee if you need it."

He gestured to the half full pot. "Thanks Jonah."

I poured a cup for me and headed to put my purse in my locker, where Shelia was.

"Hey Sophie, I'm sorry for the bet," she said, with a faint blush of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks, "you know we love you."

I looked at her emotionless before smiling and responding, "I know, I love you assholes too."

After a quick hug, we went back to the kitchen to get the place ready for our shift.

***

"Soph, orders up!" Jonah yelled as he hit the bell and put the food on the counter.

"Table six," he said as he went back to the next order.

I grabbed the plates and headed for table six, which was a family of four who were just passing through town on a small family vacation. The son and daughter were 8 and 6 and just about to start school again in a few weeks so the family decided on an impromptu vacation before their lives became busy again. I smiled at them as the kids told me everything that they had seen in our town, and I even gave them a few small ideas on what they need to see from a local perspective. The parents thanked me for my kindness and after assuring me they were good with their meals; I went to my next table that had just been seated.

This table consisted of two men who looked way too expensive for our town. I stopped in my tracks for a moment, their demeanor giving me flashbacks of Reece and his friends. I shook my head to get my mind back to where it needs to be before stopping at their table

"Welcome to Frankies, I'm Sophia and I'll be your waitress today. What would you gentlemen like to drink?" I asked with a smile on my face.

The two men looked at their menus briefly and then glanced back up to me before responding. The one on my left had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. There was a tattoo that was creeping up through the top of his shirt that I couldn't quite make out. His suit shirt and jacket were both tight enough to see the defined muscles that were underneath with the white shirt also bringing out the tanned complexion of his skin.