One night was all it took: Season 3 "One second was all it took"

Wrap around

I am standing at the exit of my bar, staring inside the empty building wanting to bawl my freaking eyes out, again. Yet, I know this is only temporary and I will be back in business in no time. My eyes follow along the barstools and empty tables. The pictures that have been hanging forever and even my first dollar that I made as a bar owner.

The most messed up part about all of this is I have only owned this bar for a few months, and this happens? I believe in the quote 'Everything happens for a reason,' but this is just bullshit.

I stepped back inside and ran my hand across one of the varnished wooden tables. My high heels click against the floor and bounce off the walls while I stare at my bar. I have this weird gut feeling it will be a while until we reopen, and I have no idea how I am going to handle not taking care of my bar.

I hear the door behind me. I look over my shoulder and see Jared slowly walking in. The look on his face is a hurtful and disappointed one. His eyes are filled with sorrow and his frown hurts me more than he will ever realize. "Lace." His tone is quiet and saddened. "I'm sorry. I wish there were more I could do to help."

"No." I interrupt him. I have a stern tone to my voice. I know I can bounce back from any problem. "I'm sorry that my staff is out of work right now. I wish there were more I could do. Just know, you will receive unemployment and I will not charge you a dime for your apartment."

He steps next to me. "Lace. You don't charge me now."

"Oh." I shake my head. I give him a half-tilted look. "I'll give you a bonus for being the bar manager in case you don't make it off unemployment alone."

"Where are you getting all of this money?"

I take a deep breath while staring at the kitchen doors, wanting to walk in, start up the flyers, and begin my day with this bar. "I've been saving for years. And now since I have owned the bar for a few months, I have made a lot of money...and my wealthy fiancé does not let me pay for anything. So, I will use the money wisely...on the people I love." I sigh and turn my head toward him. "Trust me when I say, she has money, and I haven't spent a dime of what I have made. I will not even go into details. Just trust me."

He slides his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezes. He is looking around the bar like he is losing his best friend. "What if they decide to never open us back up again? Like...I know that will not happen, but hypothetically speaking?"

I smile and glance down at the old beat-up floors. I slide my foot back and forth against the small piece of torn flooring. "I'll fight until I win. I do not give up...ever! They can shut us down for now. I will allow this...but I will be damned if they ever shut us down permanently. Over my dead body." I turn around. I can feel the rage burning behind my eyes. My stomach hurts from the anger that sits inside of me. I am walking to the exit.

I walked out of the bar. Jared is following right behind me. I reach for my keys from my pocket and lock the doors. "I'll see you later?" He asks.

I smiled and turned toward my car. "We'll get dinner tomorrow if that's okay with you. I have some things to take care of today yet." I am walking toward my car as he is heading up the stairs to his apartment. I glance back at him. "If all turns out well, I'll get a hold of you later and there's a chance we could go for dinner today yet. We could drive to one of the bigger cities."

He nods. I can see the seriousness on his face. His eyes are lowered, and he looks lost without the bar being open. His lips are pursed probably because he does not have anyone to hang out with since we do not have a bar.

I bent down and got into my car. I take a deep breath and lean my head on the steering wheel. I am having a tough time understanding why Claudia caused our bar to close. It was not her that made it close, it was the gunshot. I shake my head and exhale. I press the start button, investigate the rearview camera, and back out of the parking stall.

It is beginning to bother me how Roger was okay with selling the bar so quickly and for ten dollars to me. He was not lying, he treats me like a daughter, and he knows I worked my ass off. I believe he did that out of the goodness of his heart. But I am starting to think there is more to all of this.

My mind is going wild as I turn the corner. My hands glide so smoothly against my steering wheel. I am questioning if the bar was closing due to something out of our control. When we had the inspector right after I bought it, Natalia paid him off, but he made it seem like he was going to close us. Then I was told twice that the city wanted more information on the bar. Now the shooting forced us to close and then reclose again.

I turn down my road. I can feel the anger sitting inside of me. The more I think about this, the more I believe the bar was fated to close. My biggest question now is are we closed permanently? I do not want to scare anyone or freak out Jared. I do not want to believe it myself. I feel like if I even ask the city, they will say we are closed. When I bought the bar, two people were against me owning it. They hated me for undisclosed reasons. They were absolutely against me reopening it.

I get out of my car and take my time walking toward my front door. I stop and want to turn around. I am frustrated and angry and sad and everything I could imagine. I do not know what could help me right now and I feel lost. The one place that I knew I would be at for the rest of my life, or I thought I was...and it is gone.

I turn around and begin to walk back toward my car. I hear the door open. "Bear!" I turn around again to Natalia's smiling face. She has a way of making me smile. "What are you doing? You just lost your bar, bring your beautiful ass into this house."

I scoff and wipe the small tear from my eye. "Nothing is going right! Why is everything happening at once? Hannah is gone! I almost died...twice! I feel like I am losing my friends! I never see Gemma or Rya since they are a thing! Your ex will not stop until she kills! My bar is closed and may be closed forever!" I sniffle and feel more tears pouring from my eyes. "Damn it, Natalia!" I rushed into her arms.

She wraps her arms around me. "You've been crying a lot lately. We need to fix this! You need another vacation. Or something!" She pleads while resting her head against mine.

She releases her arms, drives her hands up my neck, and wraps them against my cheeks. She is staring into my eyes with a passion. I swallow and run my finger along the bottom of my eye. I run my tongue across my lips. "What?" I ask.

She smiles and pulls my face into hers. She gently presses her lips against mine. I can taste the salt from my tears as she grips the back of my head with both hands. Her soft tongue drives a rush of calmness and a feeling of static through me. I breathe in through my nose as I slide my tongue deeper into her mouth. She is purposely turning up the flame or arousal inside of me. I pulled back and licked my lips. "Whiskey?"

"I needed it.... more like I needed you."