Stay With Me (Liam Payne)

Part 1

Great, she thought. Here he comes again. That makes four nights in a row, with four different girls. It must be nice to be rich and famous. Party all night, eat breakfast at 3am, sleep until the afternoon and then start all over. Well, at least he was a good tipper. Lord knows she needed the money. The midnight shift at the diner wasn't exactly busy, but it was better than nothing. She figured she should go get his order.

"Morning," she said. "My name is Nicki and I'll be your waitress. What can I get for you?" She already knew his order. She shouldn't even bother to ask. But, the bimbos always wanted something different.

"Full English Breakfast and coffee, please." he asked,  giving her an incredible smile. Wait, she thought. It was just a smile. Sure, he was handsome, but she wasn't falling for that. She turned to the bimbo and asked for her order.

"Can I get a salad?" she asked. Nicki wanted to roll her eyes. Itwas 3am. Who ate a salad at 3am? Nobody. Except this bimbo.

"Sure, what kind?"

"With like lettuce?" she replied.

Wow, she thought. He picked a winner tonight. She wanted a salad with like lettuce. She kinda hoped this one gave him the clap. But, she smiled and told her it would be right up. Then she walked back to the kitchen. "I need a full English breakfast and a salad." she told Lee, the cook.

"A salad? Seriously?"

"You heard me" Nicki answered. She got the coffee and a diet cola and took them back to the table. They were the only people in the restaurant, so she went back to help Lee. She made a salad with like lettuce and grabbed the breakfast from Lee. Walking over to the table, she set them down and told them to enjoy. Then she went back to the amazing job of filling the napkin holders.

"Hey!" a voice yelled, coming in the door. She looked up. Jesus, what was he doing here? "Nicki! Coffee, babe!" She grabbed the coffee pot and walked over.

"What are you doing here, Matt." she asked. "You can't be here."

He stood up, grabbed her arm and said "I'll be where ever I want to be. Don't tell me what to do or you'll get it. Here me?" She pulled her arm away and he smacked her face. Her hand flew up to her cheek, feeling the heat of his hand still there. She poured the coffee and walked away, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her get upset.

She walked back into the kitchen and Lee volunteered to kick him out and them gave her the 'you are better than this' speech. She nodded, knowing that it wasn't true. She couldn't leave him. Not yet. She didn't have the money and whenever she saved, he found it and spent it.

She wrote out the check for pretty boy and the bimbo, walked over and placed it on the table. "No rush." she said and tried to walk away.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "That looked..."

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Thanks." she told him and walked away. She had to pass Matt's table to get back to the counter and he grabbed her arm.

"Got any money, babe?" he said and reached into her pocket, pulling out her tips for the night. "Great! See you at home." He grabbed her arm again, pulled her over to him and kissed her. Then he pushed her away.

"Matt, I need that! I need to get..."

He rounded on her, his hand ready. "What? What could you need, you whore?" She stepped back and shook her head. She couldn't afford to have a bruise tonight. "That's what I thought." he said and walked out. She just sighed and went to give pretty boy his change. He handed her 50 pounds and told her to keep the change.

"I can't, sir. That's far too much." She made his change, 37 pounds fifty and the register and brought it to his table, setting it down and trying to walk away.

"I meant it. You can keep it. You need it more than I do." he said.

She whipped around. "I am not a charity case. Take your change. Good night." With that she walked into the kitchen, sat on Lee's stool wishing that she could be the bimbo in the short skirt and not the loser with a crappy boyfriend.

"You've been here 12 hours. Mindy just walked in. Go home, Nicki."Lee told her. She didn't need to be asked twice. She grabbed her coat and walked out into the night.

It took her about twenty minutes to walk home. She was glad to see only one light on in the basement flat. She ran down the stairs, opened the door and went right to her mother's room. "Hey, mum. Why are you awake?" she asked.

"Just having some pain. Where you able to get my medicine?" her mum asked.

"No, sorry, mom. Not enough tips tonight, but I'll try tomorrow."

"Don't lie to me, Nicki. You always make plenty. Did he take yourmoney again?" she asked. "You don't need him. We will be fine without out him."

"No, we won't mum. He pays the rent. We aren't going to live off the government, okay? I still have my pride. Despite everything, I still have that. I'll go to the clinic tomorrow and see if they have more samples."

"Nicki, honey, they aren't that much money. This isn't worth the pain you go though. Please, just tell him to leave." her mum begged.

"He will kill me and you know it. Now, get some sleep, okay?" She kissed her mother and went to her own room to try to sleep.

She woke up at noon the next day, happy to see that he hadn't come home, or at least not to bed. She needed to get to the clinic and to work by three. She checked on her mum who was still sleeping. Nicki pulled on some jeans, ran out to catch a bus and rode to the office to see about more samples.

"We can't give you anymore, Nicki. You've had more than the limit already. What are you doing with all this pain medication? If your mother had used it, she's be dead. Are you taking it?" the nurse asked.

"No! I'm not. We just can't get the script. Please? She doesn't have much left and I can't watch her die in pain. Please?" Nicki begged.

"I'm sorry. No. I'll lose my job."

Nicki stormed out, angry at Matt for taking all her money. She only needed five pounds to get what here mother needed, He couldn't even leave her with that. Back in the flat, she found him, snoring on the couch. He had his wallet in his pocket. She could see it. She needed it. As carefully as she could, she reached into his pocket, trying to grab his it without walking him.

"What are you looking for?" he growled. "It better be my dick and not my wallet." Nicki froze. Sometimes, if she didn't move, he forgot about it and moved on. Today wasn't that day. He grabbed her arm, punched her in the eye and pushed her to the floor. Roughly, he ripped at her clothes, pulling off just enough so he could ram his shaft in her. Nicki laid there, waiting for it be over, remembering a time when she thought she loved him. Remembering a time where sex wasn't a punishment. He finished and stood up. Grabbing his wallet, he grabbed out a 10 pound note and threw it at her. "Here, you whore. Get what you need for the old bat. She'll be dead soon anyhow." He stomped off to the bedroom. She heard the springs creak, telling her that he was laying down. She grabbed the money, yanked on her clothes and went to buy her mother's pain medication.