OXRO: Insubordination

Chapter 8

"Let her go!"

Sutton's head swiftly whipped towards the guy claiming the space her shadow would. Rage swirled in his dark honey eyes, eyes that locked on Miles. The black t-shirt spread across the expanse of his torso didn't rip from the way he puffed out his chest. One would think he was calm from the steady, easy breaths he took but she wasn't one of those people. Goosebumps sprouted on her arms, the arm that Miles still had snared. 

She felt it his furious energy pierce through her dermis and flood her countenance with distress. Her heart raced and confusion clouded her psyche. She didn't know why she felt responsible for this courageous stranger but let her eyes scan the brass name tag attached to his shirt that read 'Zander'.

"I can handle this," She plainly told the stranger.

He didn't look her way, "Let her fucking arm go." He yanked the chair she previously sat in sending it smacking against the floor. "Now!"

"This isn't your business," Miles seethed standing to his feet. "You can back the hell out of our space and go back to doing what the hell you suppose to."

"We should all take a step back." Krishna soothingly appealed. She spoke as if she was addressing all of them but her nervous eyes were just glued on Miles pleading with him. "Do what we're here to do." She swallowed hard ignoring the inquisitive diners around them, that watch their table like it's the midseason finale of this best series ever written. "Eat."

"I lost my appetite." Miles looked the stranger up and down with pure contempt. "I'm craving something else."

"Are you really doing this? It's not the time or the place." Sutton jerked her arm again hoping this time he'd listen to reason and not his ego. "Let me go!"

She was wrong. His grip just got tighter and the knife of Krishna's plate seemed like the best route to take. Sure, she might get arrested and charged with assault but they had to be better than a bloody brawl setting off. And something told her these two wouldn't stop after a few punches or even a broken jaw.

"I'm not letting you go!" He snapped at her. "You just got out of the hospital. You're not thinking straight. You're going to get yourself hurt. Be in a situation we can't free you from." He glanced over at Krishna then back to her.

"I'm looking out for you. Just sit down," He pleaded, releasing her arm and the stranger stepped back but stayed near.

His worry mirrored hers but she knew it wasn't for the same reason as her. His gaze lost its anger leaving something else in its wake. Something that she smelt as he took a step closer to her. Fear.

"I'm not sitting down! I'm not staying here." Her shoulders rolled back and her chin tilted in defiance. She held out her hand. "Give me your key. I need my back. I'm going home."

"Then I'll take you." He pulled his wallet out the pocket of his sweatpants, swiped through a wad of bills, and flicked six twenties on the table—a bill slapping on Krishna's plate.

"That's too much," Sutton studied the thick stack of bills in his possession with two questions coming to her foggy mind.

How could their food be that expensive? And how could a college student earn that much cash?

"It's a tip." He shoved his wallet back into his pocket, gave the Midnight worker a dirty-smug look then refocus on her. "Do you want a to-go plate or—"

Sutton's mind might not have been working on full capability but her gut was. Deep in the pits of her stomach, something didn't feel right. As she stood in the middle of the eatery letting her gaze slide over all the faces that were once interested in the scene at her table that had now gone back to their own bubble of enjoyment. She guessed that since her arm was free from the clutches of her boyfriend all drama had subsided, there was nothing else to see but she felt it was.