Page 65 of Claymore
“Fruity or hard?”
“Sorry?”
“Your drink. You more of a fruity drink girl or something nice and strong?”
“Something strong, please. It’s been a crazy night,” I muttered, glancing around looking for any sign of my redheaded best friend.
The bartender got to work on pouring me a glass of whiskey on the rocks while I scrolled through my phone looking for a photo of Hallie. I settled on the last one we took right outside the bookstore on a slow day. I remembered it clearly. She’d made us both hot chocolates, and we got lost in some first editions I’d never seen before. Back then, everything seemed so simple. Everything seemed sonormal.
“Have you seen this girl come through here tonight? She’s a friend. She told me to meet her here and I’m worried she might be in trouble,” I said.
She took a good look at the photo, pressing her lips together tightly. Her eyes lit up like she’d remembered something, and my heart started thumping loudly all over again.
“Ah! You must be Ella. Yes, she said you’d be coming. She wanted you to wait in the back booth for her. She was here a little while ago. I’m not sure where she went,” she said, scanning the room looking for her.
“Did you see her leave?”
“No, hun. I didn’t. All she told me was that you needed to wait in the booth near the back hall. I’m sure wherever she is, she’ll be along any second,” she reassured me.
“Thank you, Violet,” I responded, spotting the name on her gold-plated name tag.
“Any time.”
Violet shot me a strange look when I grabbed my glass, heading to the tufted red booth in the very back of the bar. She furrowed her brow at me, wiping down the bar with a clean washcloth. I caught her staring, even as she was tending to other customers, even as she went to the back to bring out some hot bar food.What’s that about?I shook it off, taking a large gulp of my drink, hoping that Hallie would come in through the front door any minute.
I felt for the knife, nervously watching every face in the room, worried that things would soon get ugly. I peeped my cell phone screen lighting up, and I grabbed it frantically hoping it’d be Hallie calling. I watched Archer’s name light up on the screen a few times, but I ignored every call. He’d left a few messages, sent a few dozen text messages, but I couldn’t answer him yet.He’s going to call Claymore any minute. Goddamnit, Hallie. Where are you?My head started to feel a little woozy, but I imagined it was the anxiety that finally started to hit me. I rested my head in the palm of my hands, swirling my amber-colored drink just as I heard the front door open.
My ears perked up, my heart beating loudly in my chest, but when I saw that familiar face, I froze. The world around me moved in slow motion, the sound of glasses clinking and the music wafting over from the jukebox had gone completely silent in my mind. I stared at him with such wonder, such deep, impenetrable hatred that I wanted to kill him right then.Ray.He strolled over to my booth with that smug look on his face. His beard was thick and slightly gray in color, his eyes bloodshot, and the wrinkles on his forehead had deepened. He wasn’t the brother I remembered. He wasn’t the scrawny, strung-out man that had come knocking on my door countless times begging for money to feed his detrimental habit.
Ray was stronger now. He had a new sense of determination in his eyes that only made me more afraid. The chains on the belt hooks of his jeans struck each other with a sharp, clamorous clank. He slipped right into my booth, stretching his callused hands across the table, flashing that eerie smile. I spotted two new gold teeth in his mouth, and I imagined the others had fallen out on their own with all of the drugs he pumped into his system.
“It’s been a long time, Ella. You look as beautiful as ever.”
“What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Hallie? I swear to God, Ray, if you so much as lay a hand on her, I’ll—”
“Relax, baby sister. Your friend’s fine. I needed a way to get to you, and she fit the bill. You’ve known that bitch longer than you’ve known any of those other fucks down at Crystal’s.So, you like what I’ve done with the place?” he asked with a maniacal chuckle.
“Where is Hallie?”
He sighed, resting his arms on the table, leaning in a little too close to me. My head started to spin, my fingers started to shake, and my body began to sweat. I furrowed my brow, trying to talk myself out of it because I’d been sure it was just the fear, but deep down, I knew something was wrong.
“One of ours must’ve taken her back home by now. She’s probably at that fucking bookstore, reading and shit. I told you she was fine. Now, you gonna listen to what I have to say or not?”
I nodded, pressing my lips together.
“You’ve gotten yourself wrapped up in a fight that has absolutely nothing to do with you. I can’t lie, I was real fucking pissed when I learned you were shacking up with one of those Rebels. I knew I had to teach you a lesson and show you this world is not one you wanna be in. You get the message, Ella?”
I gripped the edge of the bar table tightly, trying to keep myself steady because the image of my brother was fading and the world around me simply didn’t feel real anymore. I blinked hard, hearing my heart thump loudly in my ears, nearly drowning out every word he was saying.
“Why are you doing this, Ray? Why now?”
“Because I’m tired of those fucking Rebels screwing with me. They’ve been screwing with me for a damn long time, Ella. They need to go. I’m warning you now, if you keep this shit up, I’m gonna come for you too. I don’t wanna hurt you, baby sis,” he said.
“Then don’t,” I spat.
He slumped back in the booth chair, tapping his fingertips on the table, smiling at me. It was burned into my brain now, the image of him, the man he’d become.
“What about that woman you’ve aligned yourself with? Fang? Who is she?”
