Say My Name

Chapter Eleven

As they sluggishly walked past the bikers, the humidity in the air and the ray of lights coming from the neon sign made her feel a little intoxicated. She tried not to look the men in the eye directly but felt them gazing in her direction. Veronica opened the door and walked inside first, making her feel a little cowardly. As they both got through the door, cigarette smoke and whiskey burned the inside of her nose. Betty shuffled through the crowded bar, making her way in front of Veronica, so she was ahead of her. She scanned the room full of drunken gang members, and not a single one of them was the man she was looking for. A queasy sensation built up in her stomach when she noticed a few men giving her a hungry stare, eyes finding their way up and down her body. She thanked her past self, who told her it was a good idea to wear jeans and a shirt that covered her entire backside. When she couldn't find the face she was looking for, Betty made her way over to the bar where a young girl with purple-tinted hair and an inviting smile was pouring drinks. The girl was too distracted by a couple of guys who looked twice her age to notice Betty leaned against the bar with her left side supporting her weight as she faced Veronica, who took a seat in the barstool next to her.

"Do you not see him anywhere?" Veronica asked, and Betty shook her head in disappointment.

Veronica's voice must've caught the bartender's attention because after Betty had looked around the bar one last time, she jumped at the sudden presence of the purple-haired girl who was now standing right in front of them. "What can I get you two?" Her welcoming voice and faux smile seemed a bit forced. Betty peered down at the 'Toni' written on the girl's name tag.

Betty and Veronica both looked at each other, unsure of how to respond at first.

Toni raised her eyebrows at the two of them, then gave Betty a judgemental scan up and down her body. "Do you guys have ID?"

Betty sat down on the barstool, resting her forearms on the sticky bar. "Um... no. I'm actually here to see Jugh-- Forsythe," she quickly caught herself. "I need to talk to him."

The girl stared at her, blinking a few times like she was trying to register what Betty had just said. "You're kidding, right?" She half-smiled and raised her left brow at her.

Confused by her reaction, Betty furrowed her eyebrows and swallowed. "I'm sorry...?"

"You're here to talk to Forsythe? What do you have, a death wish, or something?" She grabbed the damp cloth that was draped over her shoulder and started wiping down the sticky bar. "Or are you a horny teenager who wants to get in bed with the 20-year-old gang leader?"

Betty awkwardly smiled at the girl's words, then swallowed again, trying to moisten the dryness that appeared in her throat. There was an uncomfortable silence between the three girls, and she was having a hard time breaking it.

Veronica noticed her distraughtness and swooped in. "Our friend owes him some money. She just needs to talk to him about that."

The dryness in her throat was now affecting her mouth. She smacked her lips a few times, then stopped when she noticed her friend and the girl behind the bar giving her an odd expression. She cleared her throat and patted the damp counter with her hands, drawing even more attention to herself. "Can I have some water?"

Toni rolled her eyes, then proceeded to bend down, grabbing what appeared to be a clean glass from underneath the bar counter and filled it up with fresh water. She slid it over to Betty, who thanked her with a small smile and inahled every last drop of it. When finished, she slammed the glass down and swallowed the last bit of liquid in her mouth forcefully, making a gulping sound.

The two stared at her like she had just shamelessly chugged an entire bottle of whiskey. "What?" She questioned their expressions.

"Someone's thirsty." Veronica chuckled, and Betty wiped a droplet of water off her lip with her pointer finger knuckle.