Closing Time

8.

"Feeling the cold today, Ryleigh?" Dottie giggled as I stepped behind the bar.

I turned slightly red as I raised a hand to adjust the turtleneck. "The rest of my clothes were in the laundry, okay?"

Dottie laughed and walked away as I turned to face the front. There was amused look in her eyes, one reserved for cute little children who messed up. I returned her smile sheepishly as I tugged at the raised neck of my shirt self-consciously. My laundry was perfectly fine. My neck was not.

Lou's threats last night had left some vivid bruises against my skin. My voice was still a bit hoarse this morning, but I didn't seem to be having any difficulty breathing, or talking. I'd even forced myself to eat breakfast this morning to check.

There hadn't been anymore demons last night. It was those five randoms, and Lou... who had stayed his normal self through the night as I cradled my throat. He left shortly after those five did. No apologies, no guilt, nothing.

I probably shouldn't be surprised about how less my life meant to him, but I'd hoped we had formed enough of a rapport by now for him to not get angry at my actions. I admit I'd gone slightly overboard in defending myself, but he'd gone overboard in lying about what our relationship was. Starting with the fact that we apparently had one. I had a better tie to my regulars than I had with Lou.

The only good news from last night was that they all tipped well. And, they all left on time. I was worried I would end up there an hour or two longer depending on how many of them arrived. But that hadn't happened. They were all pretty quiet, kept to themselves and only left their tables to pick up their drinks, or pay the bill and leave. My bar was self-service after Dottie and Sasha left, and I'm not going to change it for them.

The sleeveless turtleneck I'd picked out to wear this morning was very form-fitting. I didn't normally mind that, but the way some of my more sleazy regulars and customers eyed me had me uncomfortable. Dottie and Sasha complimented me, followed by them ganging up on me as they noticed I'd lost weight. I had no choice but to quietly accept it. Whatever had been happening the past week was giving me even less of an appetite than I usually had. Sasha's cooking could only go so far in terms of calories considering how much later I'd been working lately.

It's not like I could tell them. Let's face it, explaining this would land me in the nut house and I'd rather not have to turn to what remains of my blood family for help. That's never going to happen.

Yet, I was grateful for them. They didn't know it, but they were the only semblance of normalcy left in my life. Being with them till they left usually helped me relax up until the clock struck half past eleven and the bane of my life walked in.

The bell dinged. In the most literal sense of 'talk of the devil and the devil walks in'- the devil walked in. I threw him a horrible glare, turning back to washing the glasses as he took his seat.

"Good evening, Ryleigh. Feeling chilly today?" That bastard. I want to punch the smirk off his face.

I tapped my neck. "I seem to have a bit of a hoarse throat after yesterday."

He shook his head slowly, as if he was worried about me. "You should bundle up more. Start wearing scarves." Right, like my health is on his mind.

I could feel the irritation rumble in my gut. "Sure thing, Lou." I gritted out. I tried my best not to slam a glass against the countertop.

One by one the normal regulars left, one by one my midnight regulars arrived. The view outside had darkened as usual. I didn't see them walk up to my door before they entered. All that announced their entrance was the bell each time the door opened.