Ready Or Not

003. Not So Settling In.

Eddie

"Figured you needed a drink, well deserved after recent events, Munson." Robin said, as I raised my beer glass.

"You figured correctly, Buckley." I said.

"Although, it was quite a shock seeing Grace Domas behind the bar." I added.

"Ah, public enemy number one." Nancy interjected, as I nodded.

"And to think, I'd gotten so used to it being me." I said, half sarcastic.

"No you hadn't. But at least you get to take a break. She's taken your place for now." Steve said.

"Only in my eyes, man." I reasoned.

"She served you, and there was no slanging match. Some would call that progress. " Steve wagered, as I shrugged.

I glanced over at her, as she wiped the bar down, her long, golden blonde hair intricately tied back into a bun, that settled at the nape of her neck, bright green eyes, pale skin.

Her hand was still bandaged, which I deduced was her dominant hand, due to the fact that she was almost, clumsily wiping down the bar with her other.

It didn't seem to look natural for her.

She was dressed quite formally, much different from the blood-soaked, torn wedding dress I'd seen her in previously, just a modest black vest top, and black pants.

She looked less formidable, less dangerous now.
She looked normal, like a fish out of water, lost in her own head, save for whenever she served anyone.

"Okay, let's look at this from her perspective. She meets this guy, there's this whirlwind eighteen month romance, he proposes, and he whisks her off to his family's mansion for a home wedding. They then tell her there's this family tradition, after she's literally just met all of them, and she pulls a card that at first glance, appears to be an innocent game of hide and seek. She wasn't expecting them to come out with guns and knives to sacrifice her to whatever demon or ghost or whatever, generations before them had made a pact with. And people like us? We'd understand that above anyone else. She's shot in the hand, which was bad enough, but she was shot by one of the kids, and she's then had to fight her way through to six o'clock the next morning. Her own husband betrays her, sells her out to his family, and she's very nearly murdered. If that was me, I'd hate the human race, forever." Robin mused.

"What? So you're saying I was too hard on her? Fuck that." I argued.

"And how do you even know the details?" I added.

"No, not at all. I think she very wrongly verbally attacked you actually, Eddie. But possibly through trauma." Robin responded, very matter of factly.

"And it's all anyones talking about, still." She added, matter of factly again.

"Also! On your side here, predominantly. Just giving you her perspective, or an idea of, at least." She continued, as I sighed.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"It might have taken me six months longer to walk before all the other babies, but I made up for that in brains, and perspective, I like to think." She said, as Nancy smiled coyly.