Beyond Denver

Chapter 43

I enter Reese's bar, complete by myself. The bar is crowded with old folks sitting on their stools drinking beer. They all stare at me, but not because I am a fourteen-year-old girl, but because they know who I am and who my father is. 

They know my father is the next candidate for the city council. I don't even know if these people are supporters or voting against him. But being here, right now. It is bad news.

 I want to scream, and I want a drink. Maybe I need Minhoca to talk about boys and how confusing they are. Reese's son used to fix drinks for Jason and me in the past, but it is not the case now. Now that people are around and the bar is crowded with music playing loud, he pretends this never happened.  

"Not right now, sweet tooth," he whispers as he approaches. "My dad won't be at the bar on Wednesday afternoon. You can come with Jason. I don't want any trouble, especially now, you know."

Reese's son doesn't even know Jason stopped talking to me because I went to that stupid Hawaiian party.

When I step out of Reese's, I bumped into intimidating Gasper, smoking his cigarette outside. He is taller than me, and I don't like how he stares at Emily's dress. I thought he had been arrested for messing up with a minor, but I guess he was bailed out. He is a forty-two-year-old man, and I heard my father speaking with a friend, the happenings between Gasper and the girl were not substantiated. The lack of evidence was the issue to keep him behind bars. 

I'm ready to go home even though Emily's hurt my feet. Maybe I should take them off, for God's sake. There is no point in going back to Jessa's house for a sleepover, not after my friendship with Jason fell apart. My father is not fond of me sleeping alone in our big house, especially when he is out of town and my mother is gone. Well, he doesn't need to know I am going there tonight. I'm a big girl and don't need protection. 

"Would you like to go for a walk, baby girl?" Gasper asks. His black eyes are so intense that they give goosebumps to my spine.

"Finally, I found you," Martin interrupts, getting a hold of my arm. He stares at Gasper, who finishes his cigarette and enters the bar.

He looks at me, "Look, I  know that I pissed you off," He walks me over to the bench and light up a cigarette. The bench is across from Reese's bar on Main Street. There is no malicious tone in his voice now. It is only Martin being Martin. The old Martin that watched after me, Jessa, and Jason when we were younger. The same Martin fed us and played hide and seek around the house with all his cousins and me. The same Martin who sang with us around the fire.

"What are you doing here all by yourself, Cassidy?" he asks. The town has plenty of people walking around, and no matter what I do here, everyone seems to know my business. Everyone knows about my life.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going home." Martin's cigarette is still behind his fingers as he never places it in his mouth.

"No. You were at the bar. You exchanged words with Gasper. You don't want to be around him. It is not safe."

"I don't care. I don't even know if whatever happened between Gasper and that girl is true. It is probably people in this town spreading rumors."

"I don't know about that girl, I forgot her name anyway, but she was thirteen. I know about Angie, though."

"What about her?" Angie is older, Martin's age. Seventeen. I don't go out with her.

"Well, they were..."

"Were they dating?"

"This is what she said, but do you know what consent means?"

"Yes, she gave him consent, right? I saw her a couple of times with him driving around town."