Safe haven | Rick Grimes

013. YOU'RE SAFE WITH ME

Chapter thirteen

"You're safe with me."

It was Scarlett's first night in King County, and she already had her first shift as a hospital attending lined up for the morning. As she sat at the bar, many eyes in the room lingered on her, curious about the newest face in their small town. However, one off-duty deputy—a regular who stopped by every night before heading home—simply couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Straight tequila, really?" The bartender asked, poring her a drink. "You're gonna be sorry in the morning."

"Well, I am alive, and I officially start my first day as an attending at the hospital tomorrow, so keep them coming," Scarlett replied. She grabbed the glass and tossed it back.

The deputy walked up and stood behind her. "I'll take a refill," he said, placing his empty glass on the counter.

"Old fashioned coming right up," the bartender said, taking the glass.

The deputy slid into the stool next to her. Scarlett looked over at him. "You must come here a lot if the bartender already knows your drink," she noted.

"Well, seeing as the regulars you see around here are usually the only one's in here, yeah, you could say that," he shared with a chuckle. He pushed, looking at her. "You're..um, you're new here."

Scarlett didn't answer right away, taking anotjer sip of her drink instead.

"You're ignoring me," the man pointed out.

"No. No," Scarlett said, her eyes dropping to the badge resting on his hip. "Deputy Rick Grimes."

Rick looked down at his badge and sighed, causing Scarlett to chuckle. He looked back up at her with a smile. "Well, seeing as you know my name. I think I deserve to know yours."

The bartender placed his drink in front of him.

"Scarlett Avery," she told him.

"So, what's your story?" Rick asked. "I only ask because not many people exactly choose to move to this small town."

Scarlett raised her brows. "Would you believe me if I told you it was for a job opportunity?"

Rick furrowed his brows. "Seeing as you chose tequila for your drink right before your first day as an attending, I'd have to go with no."

"Well, I don't exactly tell strangers my real story," Scarlett said, downing the rest of her drink.

She placed the empty glass on the bar. The bartender laughed, sliding her another refill. Rick chuckled, taking a sip of his old fashioned. "I'll take that as a challenge."

Aas the night went on, the drinks continued to flow. Most of the other patrons had fluttered out, but even if the bar had been packed, it felt as though Scarlett and Rick were the only two people in the room.

"You asked what my story was?" Scarlett said, looking over at him.

"Mm-hmm," Rick murmured, turning his full attention to her.

"I'm a girl who watched her mother bleed out and die on the kitchen floor because her father beat her to death," Scarlett shared quietly. "Then, he started hitting me. After everything, I wanted to use my medical training to help people. So, I got out. I went to college and met a guy who was nice and charming—until he wasn't. He told me if I ever tried to leave, he would kill me. And he meant it."