Finding Harry

9. Finding Bruises

Sitting up in the chair I lift my head from the table and lightly touch my hand to my neck, rubbing it as if the harder I rub the less visible the eventual bruises that are going to form there will be.

I stand up and walk over to the fridge, opening it up to see that luckily the diet cokes are still in the same place they were yesterday. Taking one out a place it on the nape of my neck, it immediately helps with the tenderness. 

Letting out a deep sigh I stand in front of the open fridge, today's almost over I can do this. The second Ray says I can go I am on my way to Suzy-May's to get absolutely paralytic tonight. Fuck Cain and his precious little pills that, I hate to say it, made life here bearable. If even for a millisecond.

The door to the back room opens bringing me out of my thoughts, quickly I take the can away from neck and slam the fridge door shut.

"Hey you alright?" I hear Ray say behind me.

Putting on a relaxed face I spin round "Yeah just thirsty, you mind?" I hold the Diet Coke can out to him, he's got this sort of lost puppy worried look on his face. great.

"No it's fine go ahead" He leans against the doorway as I go sit back down on the chair and crack open the can taking a long gulp afterwards. 

My throat burns for the first second as I swallow the carbonated drink but it quickly subsides as I take another sip.

"I didn't know you knew Cain Jones" I flinch slightly, barely noticeable to anyone who doesn't know how still I normally remain. I didn't realise Ray was still standing there.

Cain Jones... Now I know one thing about him he doesn't know about me, his last name, take that Jones.

"He's a new friend" I reply not bothering to turn around to look at him, instead taking another sip once I finish speaking.

That was a lie, Cain and I could be defined as a few things but as of our last interaction I don't think friend is one of them.

"Oh well just so you know he's not the best person to hang out with" Ray says and I snap my head in his direction.

There is nothing I despise more than people trying to tell me what the hell to do, don't get me wrong I totally know that I probably shouldn't be hanging out with Cain, granted that the whole reason I'm here is to stay sober and get my act together and he is very much the opposite of all the things I'm being forced to achieve. 

But that train has already left the station so at this point I really don't care and I really don't want to be told what to do.

"Just so you know" I stand up leaving the half empty coke can on the table "It's none of your business" I walk out the back room pushing past him and go back to my place leaning on the counter.

"Listen I-" Ray begins to start but I take my phone and plug in my earphones leaving no time till I press play on my music from earlier this morning.

I can hear muffled protests coming from Ray but I ignore him, There is absolutely nothing stopping me from checking people out, while simultaneously listen to my music and ignoring Ray.

The rest of the afternoon goes by painfully slow, you could practically cut the awkward tension with a knife. I spend the entire time with earphones in, taking one out whenever a customer came into the store and promptly putting it back in once they left before Ray could get the chance to speak to me.

At about five Suzy-May texted me asking what time I got off work, I responded with seven even though I'm not actually entirely sure. She quickly made arrangements for an Uber to pick me up at that time to take me straight to Yasmine's with the promise of a change of clothes and pizza.