the trailer park / eddie munson

Chapter 30 - Happy Birthday

"Another round for you guys?", you smile down at a group of man as you step at their table, holding your serving tray. The all nod, you grab their empty glasses and make your way back to the counter. Matt, your colleague who's working behind the bar, looks at you with friendly eyes and nods at the sign you're giving him before starting to draw the ordered beers. You lean against the counter and let your eyes wander through the bar, scanning the tables and checking if somebody else might need anything while waiting for him to finish. The phone behind Matt starts ringing, you turn around and look at him with a raised brow, he shrugs and turns around to answer the call. "The Hideout", he says with his deep voice, clamping the receiver between his head and shoulder and turning back around to continue drawing the beer. His eyes shortly glance up to you, he hums and nods his head, listening carefully to whoever's on the phone. "Mhm, okay. Yeah, I'll ask. No problem, man", he says, looking at you again and smirking before looking back at the beer. "I will, yeah... Yeah. Bye", he turns and hangs up, before putting the beers on the serving tray. "Who was it?", you look at him while taking the tray from his hands. "Oh, uhm, just... someone asking to rent the whole bar for a party or so. I'll quickly go and tell Dean. He can deal with that". He points over to the hallway leading to Dean's back office. You nod and serve the beers to the table, your eyes dart up to the clock above the front door. 11:38. Almost your birthday. You sigh and fake a smile, while putting the beers down, "Enjoy, guys" and turn back to the counter. Matt and Dean are standing in the doorframe leading to the hallway. Matt is mumbling something to your boss, who just listens and finally nods, his eyes shortly glancing to you. You furrow your brows and walk up to them, their indistinct talk stops as soon as you're close. "What's going on, mh?", you look at your boss and raise a brow. He just hums and shrugs, "Nothing, Matt just told me about some delivery issues". "I thought you said someone wanted to rent the bar?", you raise your brow at Matt, who's nervously looking at his boss. "Y-yeah, that was also a topic, of course". Your brow rises even more, "Matt what the-" - "ANYWAYS", Dean suddenly claps his hands and startles the both of you, you wince and gasp quietly. "Let's go back to work. Jules, you can leave earlier, it's not much to do tonight and I don't need both of you". "Uhm, o-okay", you frown and look back at Matt, he smiles at you and nods, showing you it's okay if you leave him alone for this shift. You walk back behind the counter and grab your bag, looking over your shoulder and waving at them before leaving the bar, not seeing the cheeky grin your boss and colleague share as Matt grabs the phone again.

You softly hum to the song that's playing in your car while driving through the entrance of the trailer park fifteen minutes later. All you want to do is fall into your bed and hide underneath your blanket. "Home sweet Home", you mumble to yourself as your car stops in front of your dark trailer. You sigh and cross your arms on your steering wheel, sitting in the darkness of your car and just looking at the trailer that you call your home. But without Eddie, it doesn't feel like a home anymore. Coming home doesn't excite you anymore, there's nothing to look forward to while being at work. No one's waiting for you when the door opens. Your eyes notice the time on your dashboard. 12:02. "Happy fucking birthday, Jules". With a mumbled groan, you open your door and climb out of your seat. Your keys quietly jingle as you lock your car and walk up to your front door. You slide your key into the keyhole and stop. It's unlocked. "What the hell", you mumble, trying to remember if you locked it when you left for work earlier. You take a deep breath and slowly open it, carefully poking your head inside. Your hand slides over the wall, searching for the light switch. Click. The inside of your trailer lights up, everything looks exactly like you left it. No one's here. You shake your head and close the door while kicking your shoes away. You lock it and turn to your side table to throw your keys on it and freeze. "What the-", your brain is desperately trying to process what your eyes are looking at. Keys. Another pair of it. You're so perplexed, you're not hearing the sound of steps behind you.