𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, guy germaine

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 | unnecesary showdown

     I YAWNED AND YAWNED after the clock hit midnight, getting exhausted from my day of work. Since it was a weeknight the crowd had thinned out by a lot, but I still felt overwhelmed and tired.

Two hours, and I could go home.

After midnight, it was a lot more focused on clean-up, which came easy to me. I spent a lot of my life cleaning up our apartment, doing laundry and dishes, that sort of thing. I always felt obligated to take care of the boys, especially the younger boys, so I knew a lot of what to do.

At 1:30, I had a final break, so I decided to call Judson to come walk me home. I was a little nervous about walking home since I was so tired - I didn't need to be vulnerable. Not to mention you're 15 times safer when your brother has a gun on him at all times.

Jack was nice enough to close up, letting all of us girls go home right at two. Most of the girls drove - maybe one day I would feel comfortable enough to ask for a ride. But as I expected, Judson was waiting for me right by the door.

"Hey Opie." He sniffed, taking me against his side for a hug. "How was it?"
"It was alright, I guess." I started to take the pins out of my hat, taking it off to shake my hair free a bit as we walked.
"Make good tips?"
"I dunno yet, he doesn't give 'em until Sundays."
"Well, I bet you did. You've got a smile that can kill a man's wallet."
I chuckled at his suggestion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Suddenly, a guy came out of the alley between our bar and the strip club. Judson stopped us from going any further, standing in front of me. He had told me about getting jumped by people coming out of alleys before, so he was right to be nervous.

But I knew that blonde hair anywhere - it was Guy. I told him not to wait to walk me home! Judson noticed he was about my age, and I peeked around his large frame so I could be seen better.

"Hey-" Guy tried to speak, but was quickly overpowered.
"Shut your trap and move along, kid. She isn't interested." Judson scoffed.
"Jud, I met him-"
"You aren't supposed to be talking to any guys out there, Opie! You know what they do - they try to sneak on you in alleys to get a feel." He changed his focus from me back to Guy. "And you, you little shit..." He took a few steps toward him, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him into the brick wall like it was nothing.
"Jud, please don't-"
"You need to keep your hands off her. You shouldn't even look at her, fucking scum."
"Judson!" I kept trying to stop him, but it didn't do any good.
"I wasn't trying to-"
"I said shut your trap!" Judson's voice boomed louder than before. He pulled his gun from his pocket.

"You don't need me on you. Won't last a second." Judson spoke. I tried to pull him off Guy, but I wasn't big enough to have any impact. Guy didn't seem as scared as I thought he would, especially by a gun.

"Put your gun away, Judson, please..." I pleaded with him. He did listen to that, letting Guy go from his hold as he shoved it back in his pants.

Guy gave me a look that said a million words, and ran back down the alley. A million words... one being "goodbye," others "I'm sorry" or "I didn't mean to."

"Judson, how could you do that to him! Why couldn't you let me explain anything?" I pushed him back from me, letting him know how angry I was. "He's the nicest guy I've ever met!"
"Nice guys don't exist, nightingale. And I love 'ya to death, but you're too innocent to be talkin' to guys you meet on the street. You have a lot to learn about the world."
"He watched me play, Judson. He watched me play, and we had a conversation, that's all." Boy, I wished that was all, but there was no telling the truth right now. "Why can't that be okay?"
"'Cause you have no idea what he's thinking! You're really talented and it ain't your fault guys are simple, but they see a girl of... well, a girl that looks like you, and don't know you're as young as you are and don't expect you to know as little as you do!"