Losing Everything [COMPLETED]

Lonely Long

👿Andy Beast👿

"Another one, barkeep," she said. 

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her. "Haven't you had enough?" I asked.

She smacked her hand on the top of the bar. "I'll tell you when I've had enough," she said. 

With a sigh, I poured her a new drink. I slid it to her and watched her take a sip, leaving a fresh print of pink lipstick on the edge of the glass. She was a customer I was rather familiar with. I didn't know her name, but I did know that she came in every Friday and Saturday. And tonight, she was different. "You cut your hair. And colored it," I said. 

She eyed me carefully before nodding. "Thanks for noticing," she said quietly. For the first time all night, she slid onto one of the bar stools. Her hair used to be blonde and pretty long. Now it was about shoulder length. It was a dirtier blonde than it used to be. Her bangs came down on the right side of her face. The front section of her hair had been highlighted with dark blue, light blue, sea green, pink, and purple. 

"It looks good," I added. 

She smiled faintly. "Thanks, barkeep." She looked down at the top of the bar, reaching up to push her hair back behind her left ear. Her silver hoop earrings glinted ever so slightly in the dim bar light. Her blue dress was shinier than usual. And it was much shorter, much tighter... And, the obvious one, it was strapless and kind of pushed everything into a more noticeable place. Her eyes were done up in that smokey eye... thing, I guess. 

As a harpy, her hands and arms connected straight into her wings. They were purple, matching the purple in her hair. Her nails were the same light blue that was in her hair. With the flick of a finger, she pushed her glass back towards me. "Another."

With a frown, I refilled the glass. "You know, it might be wise to stop after this one," I said. 

"You're sweet to care about me, but you're the only one," she said.

I crossed my arms over the top of the bar and leaned forwards. "You know, as a bartender, it's basically my job to listen to whatever's troubling you," I said. 

"You wouldn't want to listen to me. Men never do," she said. 

"Recently dumped?" I asked.

"If you have to know, yes," she said. 

"Hey, Andy! Another round!" Romulus called out from across the bar. 

"Be right over!" I called back. I pushed myself back and placed my hand on top of hers. "I'll be right back, and then we can talk about whatever fool left you alone."

***

🔥Heath Burns🔥

"I really enjoyed being around you tonight," Aurora said.

"Honestly, I had fun, too," I said. 

She smiled. "We should do this again."

I nodded slightly and shoved my hands into my jean pockets. "Well, you have my number," I said quietly. 

"I'll call you, then." She pushed her bangs out of her face. "See you around, Burns," she said. She turned and walked into her house. With a sigh, I turned around and walked back down her driveway. For the first time in a long time, I had allowed myself to get out of the house and have fun. I had allowed myself a date with a woman that wasn't Abbey.

In high school, when I was going around calling every girl 'hot stuff', I never imagined that the one girl I actually fell for would only burn me with the cold. 

JULY

"Heath?" Aurora asked, her voice soft. I looked up as she sat down across from me. "Can we talk?" she asked. 

"Do you have to ask?"

A smile appeared on her face for about a second before it vanished. "When we met in that coffee shop?" She blew out a nervous breath. "It wasn't an accident."

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"I'm a reporter." She looked ashamed. "I wanted the inside scoop on the murders at the high school. I knew you were single. I knew about your girlfriend, that she died. I wanted a report so bad. I knew it would boost my career. The article would go throuhg the roof. No one knows the real story. Dracula never let it get out," she said. 

I scratched at my jaw. "What do you wanna know?" I asked.

Her eyes locked with mine. "What?"

"If we get this report out of the way, then we can go back to normal, right?" I asked. 

"I... I guess. But I don't want to take advantage of you like that. I feel horrible enough as is," she said. 

"You don't need to feel horrible. It's been a long time, Aurora. The story can go up."

THREE DAYS LATER

🏀Clawd Wolf🏀

"Oh, no," I whispered as I flipped through the newspaper. Someone had gotten ahold of the report on the murders at the school. If Laura saw it-

"Hey, Cookie," Laura said as she walked into the kitchen. 

I looked up at her and smiled. "Hi." Don't panic. Don't let her see it. 

"What're you looking at?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Nothing important."

She walked up behind me, draping her arms over my shoulders. Before I could close the newspaper, her hands were on mine. Her eyes scanned the article. This was it. This would be the moment I lost her to depression. Again. She stood up straight and patted my shoulder. "I'll call Daddy. He'll get this out of the paper and have it falsified before anyone has a chance to believe that any of it is true," she said. She kissed the top of my head and then left the kitchen. 

I blinked a few times before a smile crossed my face. She was over it. No depression. No sadness. No grudge or pent up rage. She was happy, content. Something about that made me happier than I'd been in a long time.