Together

124. I wanna talk

Out of my head
But you made me this way, I swear
Rose-tinted glasses,
But trust me, I'm seeing red
-Ellie Goulding

JJ immediately pulls out his phone. He's been texting Kie with no response for over an hour. And that was before Mike showed up and accused him of taking drugs. He has no time to think about that though.

The second Mike said that Kie was at the Wreck with Travis every moment of any interaction she had with him filled his mind. Surrounding him with memories that weren't even his, but nonetheless terrorized his mind to think about all the shit that Kie's had to deal with.

What Travis has been putting her through. All the things he says and does. The violations of her privacy and intrusion into her personal space. The loss of safety in her physical being, as he just does what he wants.

It makes JJ sick. Shoupe attempts to be the voice of reason in the situation. Mike practically ran out the door and JJ wants to do the same after finding that Kie still hasn't gotten back to him. Shoupe places a hand on his shoulder, wanting him to slow down as he's brushing him off to grab his bike.

His throat is closing up with new fear as he calls her, only for it to go to voicemail after ringing for what seems like an endless amount of time. He curses audibly.

Shoupe is trying to tell him breath, taking care to not say the words "calm down" because it's clear that's not where he's willing to go. He can barely process the main message that his guardian is trying to get across.

"Can you follow me to the Wreck?" he asks, swinging a leg over his bike. Mike is in his truck, already driving off and JJ doesn't want to be too far behind.

Shoupe answers him, but JJ has to trust that the answer is a yes, since he's started his bike and is pulling on the throttle a half second into the response, tailing after Mike.

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Travis watches Mike leave, then looks around at who is in the restaurant. The cooks are just finishing up cleaning, wiping down the counters and prepping spaces one last time and eyeing the clock in hopes that no one will arrive and cause them to have to redo all the work.

Normally it would make Travis roll his eyes. People were so lazy. They were being paid to do a job. Hoping that they could leave early was ridiculous. No wonder people on the North side hate associating the with Pogues. It doesn't bother him now though.

He walks behind the line, telling the head chef of the night that he can pack it in, they would be closing early. The man's eyes light up. They all saw Mr. Carrera leave the restaurant in a rush, so it's not too surprising that they're being dismissed early.

The rest of the crew also finds no objection and quickly finish up the remaining closing tasks for the back of house and are out the door without so much as a see ya. Travis walks to the front next, finding the dining area still with customers. He can see that some are loitering and others are still waiting to be cashed out, their checks placed on the table.

Kiara is at the bar, refilling the drinks for one of the tables she was serving, distracted. Travis walks up to one of the tables with a couple individuals that are just waiting around and tells them that they are closing up for the night. The guests apologize, gathering their things and making an exit. He follows them out, turning the sign on the entrance to closed before heading to the next table and offering to take care of their bill.

Kiara makes a confused face when Travis comes into the bar area to cash out the table.

"Please don't comp the meal on the manager or something," she deadpans, expecting him to be a dick.