Hidebound

Chapter Two

"Girls!" Both Harley and I jump at Stevie's shout. I side-eye Harley as the tension thickens; she still hasn't gotten over the fact that Stevie had banned Banks from Darby's and there hasn't been a proper conversation between the two since it happened. "Train the new girl, make sure she knows what she's doing" he says loudly from the doorway of his office. He doesn't even wait for our answers before walking back inside his office and closing the door behind him.

I roll my eyes and Harley grunts in frustration.

"Do you know anything about her?" I ask Harley as I dry a glass.

"The new girl?" She asks. I nod. "No, haven't heard anything about her except that she's younger than both of us" she answers. I look at the clock on the wall, she should be here soon.

"I hope she's decent and Stevie keeps her. I'm sick of working overtime" I mumble as a customer walks past the bar.

"Yeah, me too" Harley agrees. I feel bad leaving mum at home by herself all day. She hasn't got any friends and had been having trouble being assigned a job by the government because of how long she had been out of the workforce.

Just then, the door opens and bangs closed. Harley and I look up. She's young, probably twenty-three. Her blonde hair tumbles down her back and her short stature the complete opposite to Harley and myself.

She looks around confused before seeing the bar and makes her way over to us.

"Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm meant to be starting today" she says kindly with a shy smile on her face. The aura around her instantly makes me warm to her. She seems sweet.

Harley shows her where to put her bag before getting her set up with an apron and started on some orders. I watch closely, ready to jump in if she needs help but she's quick with her hands and it seems like she's bartended before.

It's a few hours of serving people and running alcohol around Darby's later before I get the chance to talk to the new girl. It's after the lunch rush now and Harley had left to take her lunch break, I saw Banks' blonde hair through the window while he was waiting outside for her. The occasional curious glances from Sarah don't go unnoticed by me.

"He's got a Darling" I chuckle under my breath as we stand behind the bar. Sarah's head swings to face me, her skin turning white and her mouth opening and closing like a fish as her eyes widen.

"I-I wasn't-I have a Platonic" she explains. She seems shy or maybe she's just not completely comfortable with Harley and I yet.

I shake my head "no, it's okay. I just thought I should let you know before Harley sees you". She blushes again and goes back to the drinks she was making.

The awkward silence is making me uncomfortable and I know it's not her fault, she probably feels just as uncomfortable as I do but we're going to be working together so might as well get the awkwardness out of the way.

"You said you have a Platonic?" I ask. Sarah perks up and turns to face me again.

"Yeah, his name is Daniel" she smiles. I wait for her to continue "he's twenty-four". I nod. I want to ask if he treats her well but I think it's still too early for us to have that chat. "What about you? Platonic, Darling?" She asks. I didn't expect her to keep the conversation going but I'm glad she did.

"Darling" I smile at the thought of Hex, I catch the look Sarah gives me when she notices how my face lights up. I know how she's feeling; I used to feel the same when I was with West. The longing, awe and jealousy. "His name is Hex, he's actually Harley's brother" her eyes move to Harley outside the window then back to me.

"How'd she take that?" She asks.

I shrug "I knew Hex before Harley so there were no problems" I see the look of wonder in her eyes. Wondering how Hex and I met. "It's a long story" I laugh under my breath "maybe one day I'll tell you". She cracks a smile and I can feel her warming up to me.