Liquid Lucidity (A Novella)

Chapter Four

Hannah woke up in a bare bedroom, the only lighting coming from somewhere in the distance. It took her a few moments to remember where she was, realizing she was still in David's apartment. It was pleasantly quiet considering the space was just above his bar, and the blackout curtains kept the lights of the bustling city at bay. She could easily pretend that she was back in her much smaller city, no chaos surrounding her. 

The problem was that the fantasy could only be lived in for so long. Eventually she'd be hit with the loud and busy reality that belonged to the outside world; one which her mind and nerves couldn't seem to handle. 

She felt like a fool for the scene which occurred outside David's bar, but that would only be the first of many. Hannah couldn't come up with a way of staying here. If Meggie only lived a few blocks away it just didn't seem feasible. 

Even where she was from, Hannah took night shifts after the city slowed down and the crowds lessened. Though she wasn't certain, this city probably didn't have a slow mode and as she peered between the curtains, she saw the streets were still full and traffic was still heavy. Hannah glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table and saw it was just after one in the morning. On a Tuesday. 

Hannah got out of bed, noticing that the sheets smelled like him. Stale booze and french fries. Not the best smells in the world, yet her heart sank when she left the bedroom and the smell disappeared.

The man named David was the polar opposite of Shawn. Though she met him only for a short length of time, that much was glaringly obvious. While Shawn kept his hair short and tidy, David's flowed like a wild river. While Shawn was tall and fairly thin, David was at least a few inches shorter but had the muscles of a linebacker. Shawn's skin was fair and void of imperfection while David's had a slight tan, showing a lineage she was curious about, and appeared covered in small stories she wanted to hear.

Maybe it was because he didn't know her when her life changed forever, but he looked at her and only saw her. That was perhaps the greatest gift this small adventure had given her, even if the adventure could only be short lived.

She opened the front door and immediately noticed the music was a fair amount quieter compared to before. As she began her decent down the stairway, Hannah quickly noticed the crowd had thinned out, only a few people at the bar, one of them being David, with Meggie behind the bar.

"You're awake!"

"I am." Single syllables. Though David didn't appear bothered by her speech, she didn't want it to be noticeable. The more she struggled, the more people noticed. If she took her time speaking and stuck to small words, she almost sounded... normal.

Hannah risked only a small glance at David before seating herself next to him. The next part would be hard to admit, but there was no way around it. And despite having only one conversation with him and despite being excited with the idea of having Meggie back in her life, she'd have to let them both go. So she took her time speaking again, saying each word as if it were its own sentence. "I don't think I can stay here, Meg."

Rather than look at her, Meggie's gaze fell to David.

"Told you," he muttered before taking a long slow drink from his glass. David, it seemed, had predicted this outcome.

"I wish it c-could work, but I don't s-s-see how it can." As she felt the disappointment fill her body, so did her nerves, causing her speech to falter.

"There is one option."

"Oh, Christ," Meggie breathed out. "You were serious about that?"

Whatever they were talking about had been spoken of while she was sleeping. Even if the option made no sense or couldn't possibly work, it was nice that he cared enough to think of anything.

"The neighborhoods loud and it ain't safe. Not a week goes by without someone's house gettin' broken into. I don't want you livin' there. Shit, I don't even like her livin' there and no one pisses me off more than she does."

"So, where would I live?"

His lips pursed, creating small lines to form on either side of his mouth.

Something about his silence spoke volumes. "With you?"

David picked up his glass and tapped the edge against the worn wooden bar, his grayish blue eyes remaining fixed on hers. "You can stay upstairs or I have an apartment above my garage at my house. It's about as quiet as you can get, just outside the city. Small lake and the nearest neighbor is a mile away. Either way, you'd have your own space. You can work here at the bar in the back and I could take you to work and bring you home, or there's a small town a few miles from my house. You could apply for some jobs there if anyone's hirin'."

"This is so fucking ridiculous," Meggie chimed in.

And it was. There were no two ways about it. It was absolutely insane.

"Why?" He barely knew a damn thing about her. She could secretly be a serial killer for all he knew. Of course, it would be hard to be a serial killer if raised voices freaked her out. And she didn't do well around blood.

Hannah really would make a terrible serial killer.

"'Cause I think given time, you'd be happy here. Plus, somethin' tells me it'll be nice havin' you around." The smile he gave her this time was much smaller than the ones he'd graced her with before with no trace of devilish undertone.

There wasn't even time to blush. Before her body could naturally react to his kind words or thoughtful smile, Meggie threw a dirty bar rag at his head. "Are you seriously hitting on her?" She didn't wait for his response. "She's been here for six fucking hours and was asleep for five of them."

David raised his hands in protest. "I'm just bein' friendly, you crazy bitch!"

"You're being horny!" Meggie countered with tenacity. "If you stick your dick into my best friend, I swear I will end your fucking life."

Though they continued to banter, David arguing that he wasn't nearly as much of a 'man whore' as Meggie assumed, Hannah just felt the need to laugh at the whole thing. Maybe he was just being friendly or maybe he was innocently and unintentionally flirting. Hannah was never great at telling the difference, even back when her mind worked perfectly. It took her forever to figure out that Shawn was trying to be more than just a friend.

But no matter what David's intentions were with his comment, he still treated her like he would anyone else by making it.