Fatal Infatuation [18+]

Ⅳ

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The sound of roaring laughter and chattering filled my ears as we all sat at the round table. The group discussed all sorts of things. Work, relationships, current news, food, celebrities, anything and everything to avoid awkward silence. Apart from me, of course. I sat and watched them, taking the occasional gulp from my glass until I got drunk enough to finally abandon any feelings of shame or embarrassment and enter the conversation. I laughed an occasional laugh, smiled an occasional smile, and said the occasional word when someone asked me a question. 

I felt the blood rush from my head and a dizziness wash over me and I knew that the alcohol was getting to me. Suddenly, Leanna turned to me. 

"So, what do you think?" 

"Huh?" I replied, snapping my head up to look at her. They all looked at me expectingly, but I couldn't make out a word of their conversation. 

"The new barista that's coming in, silly!" Kashvi laughed, punching my shoulder lightly. 

My eyes widened and I cleared my throat, "Oh, it's great." 

"Great?" Mateo scoffed, making quotation marks with his fingers. "What's so great about a new barista? I'm great at working alone." He continued, in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"I mean..." Carter started, a sheepish grin on his lips. Mateo looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. 

"What? Am I not good at my job?" He asked with an irritated frown. 

"No." I laughed, shaking my head. They all whipped their heads at me. I bit my cheek and continued, "You don't show up to work, you don't clean up after yourself, you take half of your orders wrong, you don't know how to use the POS system." I listed off, counting them with my fingers. 

"You take, like, 30 smoke breaks every hour." Carter added, nodding. 

"Oh! You never take the trash out." Kashvi added onto that, crossing her arms. 

Mateo scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm amazing at my job, you all suck." 

"Especially you." He narrowed his eyes, pointing his finger at me. His words dripped with venom. 

"What? I'm always cleaning up your shit, taking your shifts, clocking in and out for you, and I still find the time to do my own job." I emphasized, shooting daggers at him. 

He almost laughed at me. "Yeah, right. You don't talk to anyone, you don't know how to handle the customers, you just hide in the corner like a stupid fucking pest." 

"What the fuck is your problem?!" I yelled, standing up, and almost spilling my drink. 

He stood up right after me, as if on cue. "My problem is that you can't do shit, and you still work here!" He shouted back, getting in my face. The group watched our squabble, Kashvi gripping the table as if she were getting ready to stand up and fight him. 

"You're the most annoying, lazy, stupid piece of shit I've ever seen! The only reason you still work here is because you're lucky enough to be born into it. If it wasn't for that, you'd probably be giving handjobs on the corner of the street!" I barked back, clenching my fists at my side. His eyes widened and his face turned red from anger. 

That's when Kashvi stood up and punched him square in the nose. He stumbled back quickly, as if tripping over his own feet. He held his nose with his left hand, groaning in pain. The blood sept through the gaps in his fingers and dripped onto the floor, in slow and loud drops. We watched him in surprise, and Kashvi covered her mouth with her hand in terror. She had just punched a 19 year old boy in the nose, a 19 year old boy that could singlehandedly get everyone fired from their place of work. 

"Oh my God, oh my God." She repeated, her eyes wide. She wanted to approach him, but Leanna held her back by her shoulders. 

"Are you okay!?" Carter yelled, rushing over to him and crouching in front of him. Mateo only sat on his knees in shock as the blood dribbled down his nose and stained his shirt. I watched with a blank expression. Sure, I felt bad that he got punched, but he had it coming. If Kashvi didn't get to him first, I would've done it myself, especially since I was pumped up on a mixture of alcohol. 

"Okay, I think it's time we all go home and cool down." Leanna suggested, keeping a calm exterior. Kashvi nodded and looked up at her partner. The couple looked back at me one last time, Leanna giving me an empathetic smile and Kashvi looking absolutely terrified. She was scared we'd both lose our jobs. Actually, that we'd all lose our jobs. I was nervous about that, too, but I was too drunk to care in that moment. 

"Bye, Carter." I smiled down at the ginger male, who only looked up at me and nodded as his arm was wrapped around Mateo's shoulders in a soothing manner. I grabbed my bag from the floor and pulled out a 10 dollar bill, sliding it onto the table before walking away. 

Tonight was... Eventful. I stumbled as I walked, my eyelids half shut with drowsiness. I almost stumbled into traffic, but Carter ran behind me and pulled me back. 

"Jesus, Evelyn!" He exclaimed, dragging me back onto the walkway. 

"I'm good, I'm great." I hiccuped, holding my thumb up. 

He chuckled and adjusted my hand, "You're holding your thumb the wrong way. Y'want me to take you home?" 

I shook my head rapidly. "No, I live around here somewhere. I'll be fine." 

He sighed and gave me an unsure nod, watching me walk away in a direction that was definitely not my way home. I walked and walked, grabbing onto every lamppost I saw. Some people passing by gave me strange looks, but I ignored them.

 Suddenly, my vision became blurry and disoriented. I stumbled to a wall and slid down the cold bricks, my sweater becoming filthy with dust and every other dirt and bacteria that existed in the crevices. I groaned and rubbed my temples, plopping my bag next to me. A man appeared in front of me, and I looked up at him, squinting. I could only see an outline, almost like he was a shadow. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice becoming more and more fuzzy in my head until I can barely make out what he's saying. I feel him hold my chin up and read my face before everything turns black. 

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