Chapter 7
At The Bar...
Another night of boredom.
No one was there
in my section of the bar, so
I sat and drank a beer stirring it with my index
finger.
A guy sat down and I got up, walking
over to him I noticed who
it was.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Brian angrily.
"I
came to get a beer, I'm legal, are you?"
I rolled my eyes, "Just
a beer or what?"
He nodded as I went to the back.
I stood there
for a second, 'I can't believe he came,
Nick must have told! The squealer!' I
thought as
I banged my fist on the wall.
I sighed and brought the beer
over to him. "Anything else?" I asked.
"Just someone to
talk to," he said taking a sip.
"Why would I want to talk to you
right now?
I have nothing to say to you," I said giving him a look.
"Boy
you talk when you're upset. I've never heard
you talk this much before,"
he said taking another sip.
I sat down next to him, "If we talk for
a few minutes,
will you go away and leave me alone?" I
asked pleading.
He nodded putting his beer down.
"About what happened between you
and
me a while ago," he said turning to me.
"Forget it. You led me on,
now I know that you just
want to be friends, and I'm cool with that," I
said taking
my finger and placing it in his beer.
I put it in my mouth
and started getting up.
"I'm not paying for that," he said pointing
to his beer I just fingered.
"Don't even go there Brian," I
said gritting my teeth.
My boss came over to me, "Leslie? What's
going
on?" She asked me, she was real angry.
"She's messing with my beer,"
Brian said.
"Leslie? I don't think you should work
here anymore,"
she said.
"What? Just because I was messing with him? He's
a friend
of mine, I know him Betty!" I said
trying to explain.
"Even
so, we are running out of money, yesterday I
had to fire Sarah. I'm sorry Leslie."
She
said taking my notepad and my tip apron from
my waist.
I looked
at Brian; he definitely was trying to apologize.
I nodded to Betty and walked
out the door,
Brian following.
"Leslie? Come on I was just playing
I
didn't think…" he said as it started to rain.
I turned around
to face him, "Is this what you wanted
Brian? Is it? I've worked in there
for 2 months,
2 months! I haven't even gotten one paycheck yet!
I have no
rent money for Wendy and Ashley, I
have no money for food, or clothes,
or
anything." I said, the tears blending with the rain.
I was soaking wet
by now, and so was he.
"Leslie, I really am sorry. I just didn't think
that was a
place you should be in. Something could
happen to you," he
said.
"I can take care of myself," I said gritting my
teeth
in anger.
"No 17 year old can take care of
themselves," Brian
said getting angry as well.
"I was raised by no one till I was 6, lived
in a
homeless shelter. Then I was put into 3 foster homes
before moving next
to Ashley. If that's not taking care
of myself I don't know what the
hell
is," I yelled as I started walking away.
He grabbed my arm, "Look.
I'm very sorry for
everything I've done, really. I would not be standing
out
here in the pouring rain to yell at you," he
said calming down.
I
nodded, "You don't think I know that?" I said
pulling my soaking wet
hair back behind my ears.
I was shivering, in a halter-top and shorts in the
pouring rain was definitely not good for me.
"Can we just be friends
Leslie? Your friendship
means a lot to me," he said still holding onto my
arm.
I nodded and said quietly, "I gotta go okay? I'm going
to die
in this cold." He nodded and let go of my arm.
I got into Ashley's car and
watched him get into his.
"Friends," I said out loud beating my head
on the
steering wheel. 'If only age didn't matter to him,' I
said as I wiped
away my tears and drove off.
