For the Love of the Law

Chapter Sixteen | Can You Come Clean My Apartment?

Marley spent the rest of the night and most of the day after in hospital, before dad brought him home later that afternoon. The doctors were confident he would be okay at home, but the minute I saw his face and the way he was slightly hunched over, as if he was trying to walk without putting pressure on his organs, I doubted their decision. 

Half of his face had blossomed into patches of black and blue, and his right eye was still swollen, making it hard for him to see out of that eye. He had butterfly stitches in the gash on his forehead, but that still looked terrible as well.

If punching bags were humans, I realised that this what they would look like.

But there was something different about the way Marley looked, aside from the obvious injuries. He had a look in his eyes, like he'd just woken up and started to realise something.

I didn't know what had caused the difference in his demeanour, but I almost wanted to thank whatever it was.

I hadn't seen that healthy glint in his eyes for a long, long time.

"Shelly said I can take the day off work to help look after you if you want me too, Marley." I told him as I walked into the lounge the morning after his arrival home. It was Wednesday, halfway through his last week of freedom before senior year began, and if I was going to be honest, I'd rather stay at home and hang out with him then go to work.

But Marley just shook his head at me. "No way, you're needed at the diner. Maybe you guys should hire another waitress, to help with your workload." Marley suggested, raising the eyebrow over his none puffy eye. 

I kind of agreed with him. "Do you want a job?"

"Me?" Marley pointed to himself. "At the diner? I'd scare away all the customers."

"With that faace you would, yeah." I taunted, and he just rolled his eyes and flipped the channel to MTV. "Are you sure you don't want me to keep you company? Dad's working the late shift again."

"I'm sure, Harls. Jag's coming over later anyway, so I'm not going to be alone for long." Marley smiled at me, and I nodded in defeat.

"Fone. Alright, I'll see you after work then." I said, waving at him as I walked towards the front door with my keys in one hand and my bag in the other. 

When I got to work, I almost regretted even thinking about taking the day off. The diner was already half packed, and Shelly was rushing around all by herself, taking orders without a pause for breath. 

We did need a new worker. Desperately. 

"Morning, darling." Shelly called out as I walked behind the counter and grabbed a note pad and a pen, forgetting about putting my bag in the back room and instead stashing it between the counter and the cups.

"Morning, Shell. We're a little busy this morning." I nodded towards the filling diner, and Shelly rolled her eyes as she grabbed a wad of paper napkins from the counter top, glancing up to meet my eyes. 

"You have no idea. It's like all the other diners have closed down for today." Shelly said, and I laughed, already walking over to an unattended table.

Work was always something I actually enjoyed. Earning the money that I needed to help out my family gave me a sense of pride in a twisted way. Most other girls my age were saving up for that new pair of heels, or putting money away to college.

Not me. I'd never really been like them, anyway.

For first few hours passed quickly, and Shelly and I were starting to get run off our feet by the amount of people coming in through the doors. The lunch rush had just hit, and it didn't look like letting up soon. Even Ryan came out to the front to help out behind the counter, and that only happened on busy holidays.