Damn Good Reasons (Ace Merrill | Chris Chambers) [2023 REWRITE]

7 Skeletons (Part 2)

Ace and Vince stood tall, a smug, oversized air of confidence and arrogance about them.

"No way!" I said. "All of you need to leave. Now!"

"Oh come on, O'Connor - you owe me this, remember?" Vince smirked.

"I don't owe you anything."

"Who painted out front? You?"

"What does it matter?"

"Looks like you gave the local preschool paintbrushes and let them run loose."

"Leave her alone, Vince," the other guy said behind him. It was then that I recognized him by his distinctive jet-black ducktail. Billy, I recalled, was in the car the day Vince picked me up.

"That paint job sucks, and you know it!" Vince spat back at him. "She's missed spots!"

"Stop acting like a jerk. Come on."

Vince aggressively shoved Billy in the chest with such force that Billy stumbled, falling onto the table behind him. Billy steadied himself and brought his fists up, ready to defend. I couldn't believe they were actually gonna start a brawl right there in the diner. How embarrassing.

"Hey!" Ace snapped, his authoritative voice instantly catching both boys' attention. "Stop acting like a dumb pair of idiots and sit down."

"No, don't sit down..." I said, exasperated as Vince ignored me and slid into the booth next to Eyeball. I could feel my composure slipping as I realized I was losing control of the situation. Billy slid in on the other side of the table, going all the way to the wall. "I'm not serving you! Any of you! This is a family diner!"

I frantically glanced back at the family only to see the mother glaring at me over her shoulder. I had to get rid of these guys and fast.

Ace's icy eyes set on me, and he took half a step forward, brushing his chest against mine. I raised my chin high, determined not to show even an inch of submission, but I could feel my face heating up under the intensity of the standoff. He leaned down to my ear, and that familiar whiskey-scented breath hit against it.

"From what I heard, you can't afford to turn us away," he whispered. "This place is going broke. And, I wonder if that's because it's lost too much money in missing stock."

"What are you talking about?"

"A couple of months back, stores all around town were reporting that stuff was going missing at nights," he whispered. "Right about the time these two losers gave you a ride into town."

I went cold. Surely he can't be talking about... No. There's no way he could possibly know about-

"Yeah," he smiled. He looked into my eyes like he was watching the memories play through my head. "I heard this diner was the worst hit."

"I... but... that's not..." My mouth felt dry as I fumbled to put together a full sentence; his small curl of a smile told me that lying would be futile.

He pulled a twenty out of a brown leather wallet and held it out to me to take. Twenty whole dollars.

"Hey Ace, when did you get a wallet like mine?" Billy asked.

Ace tossed it to him, hitting him in the chest.

"Wait... this is mine!"

"You gonna take it?" he asked me, note between two fingers, leaning in close. "Or am I gonna air it?"

"Now, what is goin' on here?" Patty swept through the diner, her red lips pursed as she dropped the family's burgers at their table before sailing like a whirlwind in our direction. "Get out! All of you!"