Dark Truths

Chapter 7

Zacks POV

I sigh, using my forearm to cover my eyes as I lie on top of the bar counter, waiting for the stupid clean-up crew to finish.

Four days a week they come clean the place for a half hour after we close, and I have to stay till they're finished since I don't trust the idiots to lock up properly.

We close at midnight originally, so waiting till half twelve is never fun when you're already exhausted from dealing with people's shit for hours

"Do I want to know why you're lying on a bar top?" An all too familiar voice says, startling me. I open my eyes, seeing Leo standing right next to me.

"Jesus Christ- walk a little fucking louder next time" I scowl at him, but he just smiles. "Well, don't you seem to be in a lovely mood" He chuckles, and I roll my eyes, before closing them, covering them with my forearm again to block the light.

"Fuck off Leo" I mumble, too tired to think of a more original insult. "You're exhausted. Why are you still here?" Leo asks, and I hear the sound of him pulling out a stool. He must have sat down.

"Waiting for the damn clean-up crew to finish their job. But they are slow as fuck" I mutter. "I'm talking about you Bella!" I yell, and I hear some muttering from afar. I smile knowing she heard me.

"Go home," Leo tells me. "And trust these fucks to lock up? Fuck no" I mumble. It's a monthly occurrence that one of them somehow gets locked inside the bathroom. I wouldn't trust these people to hand me a piece of tissue.

"Maybe if you didn't shout at us all the damn time, we'd work faster" I hear Bella say, and I sit up immediately. "You're telling me you fucks are working at a snail's pace on purpose? I swear to fucking-"

"Okay, let's lie you back down" Leo chuckles, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me back down. I let him since I'm too tired to fight him off. Whatever.

"Just a reminder, I know where you live Bella" I add, letting my eyes close once again. I feel a hand suddenly run through my hair, Leo's hand, and I unintentionally let out a sigh of comfort.

"Fuck off Leo" I mumble, despite the fact I don't want him to stop. I just need to pretend I do so he knows I don't care. But Leo just chuckles, and I get a sense he knows my plan.

"I'll keep you company until they leave. Stop you from killing anyone" Leo says, and I smile slightly. "As if you could stop me," I tell him. "We both know I could stop you," Leo says.

"The fucks that supposed to mean?" I scowl. I could easily overpower this dude. Easy. "You know exactly what it means, darling. Now quit getting pissed off by everything. You're tiring yourself" He says, and I scoff.

"I am not. And stop fucking playing with my hair, you're going to make me fall asleep" I mutter, reaching my hand up and shoving his hand away.

"Oh?" Leo says, and I can just tell that he's grinning right now. "Forget I said that," I tell him, and he chuckles. "Never".

Groaning, I sit up, swinging my legs to the side until I'm sitting facing Leo. He's sitting down on one of the bar stools, like predicted, with a grin on his face.

"Listen you dickhead, what I say when I'm tired doesn't count," I tell him, and he chuckles, standing up and standing in between my legs. "Oh, but it counts the most. You say stuff you forget to suppress" Leo smiles, and I roll my eyes.

"I do not" I say, but he doesn't look like he believes me at all. "Fuck off" I mumble, and he laughs while running a hand back through my hair again. "I said to stop doing that" I scowl. "No, you said it's going to make you fall asleep. And since you keep complaining, I think I'd rather you sleep" Leo says casually, and I stare at him in disbelief.

"Since when did you insult me back? That's not how this goes" I say, and he smiles. "Apologies darling. I didn't mean to upset your feelings" Leo says, and I glare at him. "You know damn well you didn't, 'upset my feelings'. Maybe you need to stop pissing me off intentionally" I snap at him.

"Mabey you need to stop taking my jokes so seriously," Leo says, amusement dripping from his tone, and my glare softens. He's joking? Oh...

"Whatever" I mumble. I clear my throat. "Were you going home?" I ask, changing the subject. "No, I have a shit ton of work to do" He chuckles. I look at him confused. "How much work does an illegal bar take?" I ask.

"Hardly any. I have other work, darling" Leo answers. Why do most of his answers, provide more questions? "What other work? And why are you doing it here if it isn't involved with the bar?" I ask, and a small grin forms on his lips. "Take a guess," He says, staring at me.

I freeze a bit. "You come here..for me?" I ask, and he hums. "I know you'd be miserable without me" He chuckles, looking around while I continue to stare at him.

It makes sense now that I think of it. I've worked here for years and had only seen him once. Then, over the last month, I've seen him nearly every day.

I feel a bit weird. Knowing he specifically comes here for me. It's a side effect of tiredness probably...Whatever.

"I'll leave now," He tells me, and I look at him confused. I then realise the cleaning crew is done and is leaving. "Oh..yeah um-" I clear my throat. "Yeah, fuck off now," I tell him, and he chuckles.

"You can just say goodbye" He points out, and I smile a bit. "Fuck off Leo," I say, and he grins. "Love you too darling" He takes a step back, before turning around and walking to the door at the end of the bar, that leads to the stairwell, and to his office.

I smile to myself, before jumping down off the bar top. I grab my stuff, before locking up and going home.