Darkness in the Neon Lights (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 12

Marcel then grabs a handful of Bryce hair and slams his face into the ground before yelling, "Shut up, Bryce! You're not making this any easier on yourself!"

"Fuck you!"

I can't help but shake my head at all of this. I've never seen Bryce act like this. He's so angry, and I don't understand why, or where this is coming from. I don't understand what's going on.

Ten minutes. This whole thing started ten minutes before I got here. What could have happened?

Bryce continues to yell and struggle for what feels like an eternity, and I can't help but shake in fear as I see this. His behavior... It reminds me of-

We finally hear the front door open before we see three police officers rush in. They run over to Bryce and force his hands behind his back before Marcel and David get off of him. Panda walks out from the back and pulls one of the officers to the side. I have to fight back tears as I watch him get dragged away, kicking and screaming, threatening Ohm. After a minute, Panda and the officer go over to Ohm and he helps Ohm up. He talks to him in a claiming voice before leading him to the bar.

"Alright everyone," Panda yells out, facing everyone that was still in that little half circle.  "I know that this is going to be hard, but I want all of you to put on smiles and get back to work. We can't let this incident keep us from doing our jobs, and you all already know that I've done all I can to keep everyone safe. Ohm will be taken care of, Bryce will be taken care of, and I know that with the support from all of you, you will be taken care of. So, get back to work! We have a busy night!"

After Panda finishes his speech, everyone breaks away and goes back to setting up for tonight, including Mini and Smitty. Panda then walks over to me and gives me his hand.

"Some way to be welcomed back."

"You can say that again," I say, taking his hand. He then pulls me up and pats me on the back. I bite my lip, wanting to know, but knowing myself, I won't be able to stop the question from coming out. "Do you know what happened?"

He sighs and pats me on the back again before turning to the back door. "Let's talk in my office."

I blink in confusion, but follow after him. In about a minute, we end up in his office, and he asks me to go sit on his couch. I do as he asks, and watch him as he walks over to his bar, pouring a drink for himself before he grabs a glass and fills it with coke for me.

After handing me the coke, he walks over to the window and looks out. "I was down stairs when the fight started. I was originally going to speak with Bryce when I saw him here, but before I had the chance, Ohm got to him."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, Bryce wasn't supposed to be here. While your bruise was healing, I had him working the floor. I was planning on giving him the day off today, and I had told Ohm to tell him. Apparently that didn't happen, so when I went to ask Bryce why he was here, Ohm ran up to him and started apologizing to him. Next thing I know, Bryce had slammed his drink into Ohm face."

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately," he says before he take a drink. "All week, I heard him talk about how some old friends of his were in town, and he hadn't found the time to see them. He complained about how they had been inviting him out every night, but because he was scheduled to work, he wasn't able to see them. My guess is that Ohm forgot to tell Bryce about the schedule change, and Bryce got mad about missing out on a night with his friends."

My heart drops to my stomach as Bryce's words come back to me. It makes sense now. "This is all my fault."

"What?"