Saving Melanie Deen

Chapter 9

With one swift kick, my black stilettos flew off my feet and landed in the middle of the staff room floor. I let out an exasperated groan, picking my butt up off the armchair to go get my shoes. What? Now I can't even have a moment of weakness?

That night was the busiest we've had in a while. To our great dismay.

Tim's crazy friend, who's name I still haven't learned, spent most of the night passed out in their booth. For that, I was beyond thankful. In other news, the handsome gin & tonic guy called me a bitch because I poured a drink over his head after he pulled me onto his lap. I mean, he was lucky I was the one to teach him a lesson, though. Ethan was already making his way over to end his life before I even had the time to realize I was on someone's lap. Because, apparently, he's my new personal bodyguard now. Go figure.

''Kill me!'' Meg stumbled in, leaning against the doorway with her eyes closed shut. I chuckled, helping her into one of the armchairs. Just as I made it back to my chair, Dylan strolled in with under-eye bags darker than ever before. His shirt was covered in stains and his hair was all sticky."Remind me to always swap out Saturday night shifts" He muttered under his breath, falling onto the couch.

"And leave all that work for me? No thanks," Ethan held his hands up, walking in like he owned the place. Of course. His knuckles were bruised badly from doing most of the security work tonight. It turned out that one of our security guys didn't come into work, so Ethan stepped in as both a security guy and a bartender. I stared at his hands, completely zoning out.

"We need more people working here" Dylan spoke up, breaking the silence. I broke my zoned in stare, turning to look at him. We really all do look done with life, huh?

"How the hell did three of you handle this?" Ethan exclaimed, plopping down beside Dylan.

"Sometimes it's just two of us" I grunted, letting my eyes close for a split second. Right now, I really wish I had a full nights sleep.

"Sometimes one" Meg mumbled, already half asleep.

Ethan raised his eyebrows.

"I mean, it's never really been this bad" She yawned, grudgingly taking her converse off. I nodded, agreeing with her. It really hasn't ever been this bad...and there were way more new faces tonight than before. Strange.

"Good thing we're closed on Sundays because I can't imagine going back out there in a few hours" Dylan shook his head, rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes.

"That's so true" Meg nodded, pulling her feet up onto the chair. 

I took the scene in, feeling a goofy yet tired smile creep up onto my face. We were all so tired that we didn't even mind the new face in our tiny group. Ethan was a newbie here, yet everyone seemed to accept him straight away. If I said that I didn't think it was sweet, I'd be a liar. 

I yawned, yet I couldn't imagine sleeping right now. It felt like I was running on an infinite battery. After the sleepless night at the motel, I didn't feel like going back there again. And I didn't even feel like sleeping either. To be honest, I just had too many thoughts running through my mind. I wouldn't be able to shut off.

"Come on, I'll take you to the motel. Go get your stuff-" Ethan motioned for me to get up. Meg's eyes shot open, remembering our previous conversation.

"Speaking of that..." She groaned, sitting up straight to look me in the eye.

I huffed, hesitating to speak. All three of them stared at me, patiently waiting for me to speak. "My mom's in the hospital so I can't go home. Also, the cops know about Nick abusing me...so my life is officially fucked right now" I threw my hands up. Meg stared at me, intently. I shrugged feeling overwhelmed under her serious stare.