Page 10 of Waiting for Redemption

“Hey there,” Ruby’s voice is sweet as sin as she speaks to him and it makes my blood boil instantly.

What the fuck is this?

“Did this gentleman over here threaten you?” she whispers, nodding over to me.

What. The. Fuck?

“Sure did. All I said was that I wanted a better view than he could give me. Promised I wouldn’t touch—unless it was asked for,” he says with a wink, making me want to slam his head into the bar repeatedly until he’s left without any sight at all. I see Ruby’s shoulders stiffen slightly as she leans a fraction closer.

“Well… If you ever come in here again insinuating you plan to touchanyone, asked for or not, I’ll let him do whatever he threatened to do and more. Understand?” Her words come out so commanding, like a perfect breeze fanning the flame burning inside of me. I feel myself start to calm down as the guy’s face turns ghostly white.

“Y’all are fucking crazy,” he argues, standing from his barstool.

“Yeah? Well, the owner of this bar takes no bullshit, and neither do I. Get the fuck out and don't come back.” She stands up taller, flipping him off before pulling me back to the kitchen again.

“It better have been a good threat.” She points her index finger at me and I notice the way her hand is shaking before she pulls it back.

“It was decent. I think yours was better,” I say, making her smirk. Just as I’m about to ask if she’s okay, Shane comes rushing through the door to the kitchen.

“There you guys are. What the hell happened out there?” She asks, her eyes bouncing between me and Ruby. I raise a brow at her, giving her the opportunity to answer instead of me.

“Ugh, some drunk idiot talking shit, and Tank had to put him in his place. I was just following up. Nothing new.” She rolls her eyes with a shrug, and Shane scoffs.

“Ew. Those are never fun. Well, Marco closed him out and sent him and hislovelyfriends on their way.” She fusses with her ponytail as she hops up on the counter where some of the staff sit for their breaks.

“Tank, I’ll have to point out the guy that comes in here and stares at me like he’s trying to put a hex on me. Maybe you can put him in his place too. Or blacklist him from the bar. I’m cool with either.” She shrugs as Ruby starts laughing.

“Oh my god, yes! Tank this guy is seriously so disturbing. We’ll definitely have to point him out next time he comes in.” They continue talking about the amount of people who have come in the bar and made them uncomfortable that I now have to apparently play bar bouncer with.

The thought of being needed is appealing, sure. But after seeing the way Ruby handled that guy I’d say they don’t needmefor shit. This is exactly why I didn’t try to go out of my way to belong here—because I don’t. I belong somewhere I won’t want to threaten every piece of shit that looks at my coworkers the wrong way. Somewhere I won’t count down the minutes until I get to leave and be by myself. Somewhere I don’t have to connect with others to do my job well. Because I had that, and I lost it—and nothing will ever be like that again.

* * *

Me

Gym?

Tucker

Holy fucking shit. The hermit is crawling out of his hole!

Me

Hermits live in shells, also known as their homes.

Tucker

Yes, but they hide in holes.

Me

Oh my god. Are we going or not?

Tucker

You’re a cranky crab.

Tucker

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