Can't Remember to Forget You

Chapter Twenty

Cassie

My shift at the club drug by. It was a Monday, and those apparently aren't a very popular night to go watch girls dance. Even though the crowd was small, I had done pretty well on tips tonight. I had to wonder if maybe it was because I had been able to get all dressed up today. Getting ready here at the club hadn't been all that easy.

Carl came by at closing as usual. "I noticed you didn't crash here last night." He said to me. "That going to be a regular thing or...?"

I blushed a little. "Yeah, I will be staying with my friend now."

He nodded his head and counted through the cash register. "Suppose that means I will have to pay you now..." He said mostly to himself. "I can't afford much for you right now. I wasn't really looking to hire a bartender, you know? I can probably only swing $4 an hour and you can keep your tips. That still good for you?"

I surprised him by wrapping my arms around him in a huge hug. "Thank you so much Carl!" I kissed the side of his little bald head. "You're my hero." I laughed.

He swatted me away and ducked out from behind the bar. "Yeah, yeah. I'm a regular fairy godfather." He mumbled walking away. "See you tomorrow."

I couldn't wipe my smile away.

Sure $4 an hour doesn't sound like much, but I am here a lot of hours, and I get to keep my full tips now. That alone is $250 tonight. I counted out my money one more time and then tucked it safely away in my bar.

Trix and I finished closing. It was about 3am and I walked out to the street with her. "Where's the asshole?" She asked.

I shrugged. I had been wondering that myself. It wasn't like he'd said he would pick me back up, but the way he insisted on driving me, it seemed off that he would not come back to get me. It is late. Well, or it's early. Depending on how you look at it. He's probably already in bed back at home.

I gave Trix a hug and kissed her cheek then hoped into my cab and rode home. It hurt a little to hand over the cab fare but at least I know now there will be more money to be made tomorrow night.

We pulled up to Owen's place and I was immediately struck by the thought that his bike wasn't parked on the road. If he isn't home how am I going to get in? We hadn't had a key made for me yet.

I walked up the stairs and hoped beyond reason that he had left the door unlocked.

Of course not. I sat down on the front stair beneath the porch light, attempting to use it for some heat. It was freezing tonight. I pulled my legs up to my chest and zipped my jacket up around them.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Owen wouldn't just leave me to sit out in the cold all night, right?

Hours went by before finally a car pulled to a stop right in front of the stoop. I stood up and squinted my eyes to try to see if it was Owen in the car or not. I was desperate to get inside. If this isn't him I am considering either breaking a window or just going back to the club.

The driver door swung open and a guy I didn't recognize got out. He rushed along to the backseat passenger side. "Hey, come help me with him." The guy called to me.

I waivered for a second. He was a pretty well built, tan, dark, handsome type. He was dressed slightly thuggish, but I have been working on not judging people based on things like that. I slowly walked down the stairs until he opened the car door and I saw Owen slouched across the backseat.

I ran to him. "Owen!" I yelled. "Oh my God, are you ok?"

He just waived his hand at me and grunted.

"Grab his other arm and help me get him inside." The other man said to me.

I reached into the back and grabbed Owen's forearm and pulled at the same time as the guy next to me. Once Owen was out of the car he slung his arms over our shoulders and we helped him up the stairs and laid him back on the couch. There was no way we could carry him up all the stairs to his own bedroom.

"What happened?" I asked him again.

His friend shook his head at me. "He'll be fine, he just got the shit kicked out of him."

"Yeah I can see that." I retorted. Owen's face was covered in dried blood and he was holding his side and wheezing when he breathed. "Who are you anyway?"

He actually had the nerve to straighten his shirt and try to give me a charming smile. "I'm Troy. We've actually met before."

I rolled my eyes. Last time I talked to someone who said that I ended up being assaulted in an alley. "Whatever." I mumbled without looking at him. I knelt down in the floor in front of Owen. I brushed his hair away from his face where it was sticking in the blood. I examined all the tiny cuts and determined that they didn't seem too bad. They did need cleaning though. "Go get me some washcloths from the bathroom, a bowl of hot water, and whatever antiseptics we have here." I told Troy. "Oh, and some ice too." He smiled at me again then ran off to get what I needed.

I washed Owen's face off and then cleaned all the little scrapes and applied some medicine to them to keep them from getting infected. Owen kept his eyes trained at the ceiling the entire time I bandaged him up. I made him a bag of ice to put on his fat lip and then looked him over again. His shirt was still drenched and needed to be taken off or it was going to get on the couch.

"Owen, I need to take off your shirt. Can you sit up on your own?"

He made a lot of noise about it but he eventually did make it to a sitting position. I gently pulled his long sleeved grey sweatshirt off. His eyes met mine briefly as I had pulled it over his head, but he had just as quickly cast them back down. Once his shirt was off he laid back down on the couch. I could see the angry bruises across his right side. I looked at his poor face again and then down to the hand that was resting on his stomach. It was swollen and red too.

I jumped up and went to get another bag of ice for his hand. When I laid it on top of it he winced a little and then smiled. "You should see the other guy." He tried to joke but he could hardly talk.

"Are you in a lot of pain?" I asked softly.

"Not too bad." I could tell he was lying.

"I will go and get you some pain meds and I will be right back!" I jumped up and made sure I still had my money on me.

Troy met me at the front door. "He said he didn't want you going alone." He told me. "I can drive you, and I know where to get the good stuff anyway." He gave me a devilish grin.

This didn't sound like a good idea, but if Owen trusts him then I guess I can too.