'Can't you just leave me alone?! I'm leaving, Henry! You hear me?! You can't hurt me anymore!' I was confused. Was she his daughter? Henry is thirty nine and she looks like she's in her early twenties.
'Where are you going?'
'What's it matter to you, huh? I'm leaving with my boyfriend and I'll never see you again. Just like I asked for, now move.' If looks could kill, they'd both be six feet under. Someone opened the door, the bells ringing broke the awkward silence.
'Come on, Cheryl. We don't got all day.' The man who spoke wore a white wife beater that had a grease stain, a pair of worn out jeans, and a pair of sandals. Wasn't he cold in this weather? His southern accent was thick and he looked about Cheryl's age. Although his style was bad, I admired the 79' mustang that they both came out of.
'I am. Just go back outside, I'll be there is a sec.' She never broke eye contact with Henry as she spoke, blue dilated eyes blazing with hate.
'That old fart still messin' with you?' I glared at the boy who insulted my friend but said nothing, along with Ethan who blocked them out by now. The boy grabbed Cheryl by the arm and dragged her out of the diner, his finger nails digging into her skin. He walked so fast, she couldn't keep up with her tall heels and tripped over a few times. Henry's movements were swift, I didn't know what he was doing until it was already done.
He grabbed one of the cues that were hanging up on the wall next to the pool table and grabbed the boy, pushed him on the floor and hit him over and over again with the wooden cue. I cringed, hearing the sound of flesh ripping and scarring, the wood whistled in the air like a whip. Henry never stopped, if my boss would've ever intervened, every bone in that boy's body would've been broken. The boy lay there, his white wife beater soaked with blood, two black eyes, and youthful face cut and bruised dripping with blood. When I heard the sirens from outside the diner, I sat down and had a long swing of hard liquor myself.
Dawn.
YOU ARE READING
Coffee
Short Story"Let me guess, you want to order coffee again?" "You know it." "Something tells me the only reason you come to my diner everyday is for the free coffee, not me." "Shouldn't it be that way?" "Name one thing you love more than coffee." "You."
