Wild Bastard

2

THREE WEEKS AGO
Marina

"Marina, what should I do?"

Tears of pure fear stream down my new friend's face.

Lana, a blonde girl who's not even eighteen yet, sobs uncontrollably, her head dropping onto the bar. I just wiped it down after some drunk idiot spilled Jack Daniel's all over it.

"First of all, calm down!" I snap. I've never had patience for useless whining. "Second, all I got from your sobbing is that you crashed someone's expensive motorcycle."

Lana looks up at me with watery eyes, like a helpless kitten.

"Hey, girl, how long do I have to wait for my beer?" Some guy in a blazer—one that looks like it hasn't seen a dry cleaner in years—calls out in a snooty tone.

"Can't you see she's crying? You'll survive waiting a few more minutes. Finish what you've got first," I bark back, throwing a quick glance at the clock and counting down the minutes until my shift ends.

I'm so sick of these drunk faces. Sometimes I wonder if they even have a limit. It's like the customers at Mads' Bar have bottomless stomachs when it comes to alcohol.

"Okay, remember when I told you about Dan?" Lana sniffles, trying to pull herself together enough to get the words out. "He taught me how to ride a bike. Today, I asked him to race. He didn't want to at first, but he finally let me—on the condition that I keep my helmet on. He didn't want anyone to see me."

She pauses, her nose wrinkling like she's about to burst into hysterics again.

"Look, don't be mad, Reenah, just get me a drink!"

"No. I'll get fired. Only alcohol-free if you want something."

"Okay, grandma." Lana sticks her tongue out at me and rolls her eyes.

"Tell me everything again." I ignore her sulking as I toss a handful of ice and mint leaves into the glass, then pour Sprite over it while she continues.

"Long story short, I missed the turn and crashed!" She wraps her lips around the straw and takes a few greedy sips of the cocktail. "Scratched it up badly, bent some part. God, I don't even know... but now Dan wants me to pay for the repairs, and I don't have any money. I gave you my last bit, didn't I?"

Her chin starts trembling again.

Yeah, she did. Sometimes this girl reminds me of a naïve cartoon princess. I was a complete stranger to her, but she lent me a few hundred bucks. Just because I accidentally let slip that I couldn't pay my rent and, in a few days, would be living in the bar's utility room. From that day on, our meaningless small talk turned into something deeper.

She started dropping by almost every day, telling me about herself, then dragging me out to the movies or the park. I didn't even notice how she grew on me, how I started feeling like an older sister to her. And it's only been three months. Maybe because I'd never met anyone like her before. Since childhood, my world had been limited to a small, ruthless circle—where if you didn't fight to survive, you ended up freezing to death or rotting in a basement.

And Lana... she's like the sun. Bright and warm. She makes me want to warm up, too.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with telling your father or your brother. They'll help you no matter what. You're family." I shrug, sliding a beer down the bar to some impatient idiot waving his empty glass at me.