Remember Me [Jalex]

.9.

Jack had given me the option to stay home while he went out to work. In fact, he strongly recommended I did but I insisted that I wanted to follow along. It has been a few days since I came back from the hospital and I haven't been out of the house since that afternoon that ended with a fight. I was getting bored with the various means of entertainment at home. After a brief argument, he relented.

We spent most of our evening at The Cornerstone, enjoying the near empty environment. I noticed that the light at the staircase had been replaced, giving that corner a much more welcoming look. There was only one other person sitting by the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He obviously knew us because he raised a hand in greeting when we came in. Jack walked up to him and I tagged along.

"Hey, Pete," Jack said.

"Hey," he nodded to the both of us. "How's things going? I heard you were in hospital not too long ago," Pete said, mostly to me.

I hesitated, wondering if I could trust this man. "How did you know?" I asked.

"Rian told me everything," he replied simply.

"Everything?" Jack echoed.

"Everything," Pete confirmed. "Right down to your amnesia."

I scowled. I hardly knew this guy and it felt intrusive that he knew so much about me. Although it wasn't anything to be ashamed about, I was kind of annoyed that Rian had let some outsider in on what has happened to me.

Jack explained, "Pete's a good friend of ours. He visits all our joints pretty often."

"More often than the bosses do, I dare say," Pete added in, chuckling. "I like the way you guys run things. And your girls are the best in t-"

Jack cleared his throat loudly, cutting Pete off. I looked at Jack curiously and he just shot Pete a stern glare. The man winced and gave him with an apologetic look. Their little exchange amused me but I held back a chuckle.

"I mean," Pete started at a feeble attempt to correct himself. "The girls that come here are class acts. And they're worth the price. They've got nothing to do with you guys at all."

"Right," I responded disbelievingly.

Jack had nothing to say about the subject matter. He just slid me a glass of ice cold beer, all the while giving Pete a glare that made Pete increasingly uncomfortable with each passing second. Pete ran a hand through his short cropped hair and I saw flashes of his dark roots underneath the bleached blonde hair. In the awkward silence, Pete downed the rest of his whiskey in one go before excusing himself and walking out of the pub. I'll admit it was a smart move from Pete because Jack was basically throwing daggers at him with his eyes.

But it was no use. The cat's out of the bag.

"So," I said, breaking the silence. "We have prostitutes."

Jack didn't reply, focusing on running his finger up and down the condensation on his glass of beer.

"Jack," I pleaded, wanting to know the truth.

He sighed and nodded. Finally he looked at me and I could see the sadness and shame in his eyes. "Yeah, we do," he admitted. "That's why we provide rooms upstairs. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you would react. It's not exactly a career to be proud of." He turned his attention back to his glass, going back to drawing patterns on the cold surface.

I kept quiet and took a sip from my glass, thinking of something to say. I shrugged. "It's alright," I mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"It could've been worse," I said lightly, trying to keep things somewhat casual. "At least we're not distributing drugs or something."

Jack didn't look up but he nodded. "Yeah, I suppose," he replied softly with a half-smile.

"Or we could've been leaders in some underground gang group," I joked.

"Imagine that."

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Just something a little short and light this time around. Hope you liked it. Vote, comment, and share if you did!

I'll see you soon.