Page 8 of Minotaur Bar
“Bossman! Taking a piss break!” I shout over the raucous as Havoc nods, showing he heard me. I run to the bathroom in the back, realizing quickly we have no fucking paper towels. I roll my eyes. I’d bet money on the fact that fucking Cash didn’t replace themagain. I swear, he’s slacking just to make my life a living hell. I have no time to replace them myself, so I just run out to the customer bathrooms and barge in. A couple of female minotaurs are primping, checking themselves out in the mirror. “Hey, ladies,” I say quickly, walking over to the paper towel dispenser and grabbing a handful of them.
“Hey, Tess!” one named Maggie says with a genuine smile. “Weird night, huh?”
“Yeah, Havoc is tense. He thinks something wild is about to happen,” I reply, soaking up the beer from my sopping cups.
“Shit. He’s never wrong about those premonitions, girl,” Ginger, Maggie’s friend says as she applies her lipstick. “He can call that shit from a mile away.”
“Great. Just what I need to deal with tonight while Cash is on my last fucking nerve,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“He’s such a jealous bitch,” laughs Maggie. “He loves to hate you.”
“Don’t take it personal. Rumor is things with his girl are on the outs. He’s making you an easy target,” Ginger says, capping her lipstick.
“That’s shitty,” I say quietly, feeling bad.
“Some things don’t last. Just the way the world works,” Ginger replies as she looks at my boobs. “What’s going on here?”
“Cash spilled the beer in my hands when he bumped into me,” I complain as Maggie snorts.
“What a prick,” she says. Ginger nods in agreement.
“My tits are sticky now.” I throw the wet paper towels away and then grab fresh ones, wetting them before swiping them through my cleavage. “Yuck.”
“Good luck with that, Tess! We’ll see you out there!” Ginger says with a sympathetic look. I wave to them both as they leave. I throw the wet towels away next and grab the sink in front of me, looking into the mirror. I smooth out the dark makeup under my eyes that’s smudged from sweating and fix my messy bun. I take a calming breath before stepping outside into the chaos.
The first thing I notice is shouting. The bull’s bathroom is right next the one I was occupying, and I’m currently trapped on both sides in the crowded hallway. The next thing I realize is that the bodies to my left are pressing in on me, squishing me against the wall. I try to yell, but it’s obscenely loud as four or five minotaurs begin to shove one another. I’m doing my best to get out of the tight hold one has on me because he’s being pushed back when a pair of long horns charge at me violently,aiming for the minotaur pinning me to the wall. I try to dart away when his body surges forward to meet the attack. But he’s shoved backwards again from the momentum. And because of it, I’m pinned to the wall once more, this time by the long pair of bull horns piercing my side. I cry out in anguish as my skin burns in searing pain. Instantly, my eyes flood with tears. I try desperately to suck in a breath. I do my best to fall to the ground, crawling through hooves as I try not to get stepped on by the raging bulls. I’m shaking as I tuck tail and retreat back into the bathroom, locking it behind me. My hand, now coated in blood, shakes profusely while it holds my wounded side.
I scream, scared as hell when the bulls slam into the door behind me, cussing each other out and pounding the shit out of one another. I vaguely hear the sound of Havoc yelling, breaking up the fight outside the bathroom. I’m frozen, shock setting in. I don’t know what to do. He told me to stay behind the bar earlier. And since I can’t get there safely right now, I’m staying in the fucking bathroom, alone and terrified on the dirty floor.
Chapter Nine: Havoc
I watch as Tess leaves the bar to head to the customer bathrooms, my heart hammering in my chest. Why isn’t she using our employee one? I don’t want her out of my sight right now. The air is wrong in here. The energy is rife with conflict. The bulls are fucking raging tonight.
I’m fulfilling more orders as I hear a fight erupting somewhere to my right. “Fucking hell!” I cry out, doing a visual sweep behind the bar to see if Tess has returned. When I come up empty, I start to panic. Leaving Cash behind to handle drinks himself, I run to find red.
The hallway by the bathrooms is flooded with bulls. There’s a group of them that are getting squirrely, facing off and yelling obscenely at one another. I start trying to thread my way through to them when the first clash of horns happens. And that’s when I see it. A flash of red.Myred. She’s pinned against the wall and trying to free herself, but the fucking brutes are going at it, and she can’t break away. I’m scrambling as I do what I can to reach her, but the scent of copper permeates the air dishearteningly. I see the horn slice into her side, my world shattering. I freeze for a second as the terror on her face holds me in place. I try to will myself to move, but I’m so fucking scared she’s dead that I seem to be broken. She grabs her side and drops to the ground. A few seconds later, I see the nearest bathroom door opening. I pray it’s her that went inside. Hoping that she’s at least capable of moving and now safe allows my body to spur itself back into action.
Adrenaline floods my system. I begin to throw bulls in every direction to get to the dickheads who hurt my red. “You’re alleighty-six’d!!” I scream. “You drew the blood of my bartender! You’re lucky I don’t fucking kill you myself!!”
I’m livid. I can smell her blood in the deep recesses of my snout. It’s a fucking nightmare in hell and I’m living it in real time. A couple of my regulars help me haul the banned bulls out of the hallway. My long-time friend Duke, an older bull who has been coming here since I opened my doors approaches me.
“Where’s Tess?” he asks frantically as I point to the bathrooms. She’s got to be in there or I’ll lose it.
“She’s hurt. I’ve got to get to her. Can you help Cash hold down the bar?” I reply quickly as he nods, pushing me towards the bathroom.
“On it, Havoc. Go make sure she’s ok!!” I nod, turning away. My fist pounds on the door desperately as I reach it.
“Red!! Open up, babe. Please! It’s me! It’s Havoc!Red!!!” The entire sentence flies out of my mouth in a flurry of worry. I’m pleading to any god that has ever existed that she isn’t dead on the floor. I have no idea the extent of her injury. And every inhale I take is forcing the smell of her blood deeper into my snout. I hate it. I feel like my heart is breaking. I’m berating myself for allowing her to work here when I finally hear the lock slide open. “Stand back, babe! If you can. I’m coming in!” I yell as I try to push through the door gently. In reality I feel like I’m barreling in. Luckily, she’s by the sink. I throw the door shut and re-lock it.
Tess is bent over the faucet, blood covering her hands as she breathes shallowly. She’s shaking and I can tell she’s out of it. “Havoc,” she says weakly. “I’m sorry, I tried to get back to the bar.”
“Are you seriously apologizing to me right now when you’re fucking hurt, red?” I ask as I surge forward. Her cheeks are already wet, but I’m assuming my tone is what brings the next onslaught of tears pouring out. “Hey, babe.Shhhh. You’re safe.I’ve got you. Shh, shh, shh.” I hold her small head to my chest as she leans her weight against me. I repress a groan because fuck, it feels good. To feel her on me. And I don’t like that she’s hurt at all, but I like that I’m the one here with her now in her time of need. Being able to provide for her.
“I can’t look at it. I’m scared,” she cries softly as I nod above her.
“I’m going to take care of you,” I answer soothingly as she nods her pretty head and buries her face further into my chest. My fingers grip her hair like I’m afraid she’s about to disappear and leave me standing here alone in the bathroom, covered in her blood. “Let me look at it, babe.” She whimpers as she looks up into my face. I can almost taste the fear radiating off her. She’s absolutely terrified. It’s a side of Tess I’ve never seen before, and I hate it. I hate this more than I can express with words. My girl has always filled the room with her magnetic energy and right now, she looks so fucking small and human standing before me. “Just keep watching my face, red. Don’t look down, ok?”
“Ok,” she says almost inaudibly. My ears twitch as they pick up the sound. I remove her hand, wishing I hadn’t as blood seeps angrily from the wound. Even though the gash is deep, she hasn’t been impaled. That was my worst fear. It sliced right through her thick waistline. There’s a large flap of skin that needs stitches.
