Bonds

Sally Learns A Horrifying Truth, But Finds A Glimmer Of Hope

Sally flinched as the glass shattered against the counter, covering it in a mix of glass, beer foam, and blood.

"YOU DUMB FUCKING BITCH!" the fat man shouted, slamming his bloodied fist down and jumping off his stool; his thick neck and face red with rage. "THAT WAS ALL FOAM! DO YOU THINK I GAVE YOU A MY HARD-EARNED DOLLAR FOR FUCKING FOAM?"

She flinched again as the man pounded his fist repeatedly on the ancient counter like an obese gorilla. "I-I-I'm sorry s-sir," she squeaked out, placing one hand over her slightly swollen belly out of maternal instinct, and taking backing into the liquor shelf to put as much distance between herself and the ranting customer. "I'll- I'll g-get you an-another!"

"I DON'T WANT ANOTHER BEER," the man screamed. "I WANTED THIS ONE! YOU DUMB FUCKING COW!"

"I- I- I- I," she stammered as the man -Gabe if the patch on his mustard stained shirt was to be believed- leaned over the counter with a look of pure malice in his beady little eyes.

Almost a month had passed since Kris found her crying in the alley and gave her a job as a bartender at his bar. The job paid poorly, but it came with a tiny one room apartment up the stairs, and all the bar snacks and soda she could want, making it better than any other job someone with her educational background and condition could get. Since she was eighteen, Kris had her working the day shift, the time of day when customers were few and she mostly spent her time cleaning or making sure the vat of chili in the kitchen didn't burn. The work was pretty boring and tedious, especially since most of the customers weren't particularly chatty and some were downright scary, but the bands Kris hired to perform at night practiced during the day, giving her something to listen to. They were typically punk or rock, but she was slowly beginning to appreciate their sound. All-in-all the job was pretty good, and it was giving her the means to take care of herself and the unwanted child growing within her.

But this morning was the first day that things had turned unpleasant. There was something wrong with the Bud Lite tap, filling every glass she poured with nothing but foam. Kris hadn't come in yet, so she had no idea what to do other than tell customers that it was out of order. The few that tried to order the lite beer grumbled a bit when she told them she couldn't do that, but simply ordered something else.

Everything would have been fine if the day continued on that way, but then the balding, heavyset man walked in. He refused to believe her that it was out of order and grew increasingly hostile as she offered him alternatives. She finally relented and tried to get pour him a draft when the veins on his temples began to throb, only for the beer to come out all foam like she had warned.

"I- I- I- I what?" Gabe repeated mockingly, now leaning over the bar.

Sally looked around the dim room for anyone that could help her, only seeing the biker-looking regulars huddled around the pool table, and she believed they would only side with the fat man. "I-"

"Do you know any other words?" the man growled, picking up a larger piece of the shattered glass. "How about duck?!"

She fell to the ground as the sharp projectile flew by where her stomach had been not moments before; the shard instead impacting the bottles of whiskey and bourbon, breaking them, and covering her in a mix of booze and glass. Terrified, she tried to crawl backwards away from the livid man.

Gabe climbed onto the bar (a remarkable feat considering how out of shape he was) and leered down at her with a look in his eye she had seen once before. A look that haunted her dreams. "Let me show you how to make a man a proper-"

A pool cue slammed into the back of the man's head with enough force to split the wood in two, sending the fat man tumbling face first into the liquor shelf. Amazingly (but actually sadly), Gabe wasn't knocked unconscious by either impact, and tried to push himself up as blood poured from hundreds of cuts all over his body. But before he could get to his feet a black blur bounded over the counter and knocked him back to the ground.