*Sophia*
"Please Reece, please!" I beg as the tears streak down my face. I pull against the restraints that have my hands pulled up above my head, but I can't move. My ankles are restrained to the floor as I'm kept forced into this kneeling position.
My body hurts, as he comes down again with the whip, harder than before, causing me to scream.
I wake up screaming, sweat beading down my forehead. I look over and see Nox staring at me from the chair in my room. Wiping my brow, I glance at the clock and see that my alarm will be going off soon. Flopping back down onto my pillow, I sigh, wishing I had one peaceful night of sleep.
Nox jumps onto my bed and rubs his body against my arm until I pet him.
"Noxie, do you think someone will ever love us? Love us for the way we are, nightmares, scars and all?" I ask as he rolls onto his side, putting his paw on my arm.
I earn a little meow from Nox before deciding I need to get out of bed and ready for work. After a quick breakfast which consisted of a granola bar and coffee, I fed Nox and went through my steps of making sure everything was locked before heading out the door to work.
Pulling into the diner parking lot, I was glad to see that Shelia and Jonah, one of the cooks, were already here. I hated pulling in here so early in the morning by myself. It made me too paranoid. Unlocking the back kitchen door, I headed in and was greeted by Jonah as he was pouring himself some coffee.
"Mornin' Sophia," he said with a half-smile, "there's more coffee if you need it."
He gestured to the half full pot. "Thanks Jonah."
I poured a cup for me and headed to put my purse in my locker, where Shelia was.
"Hey Sophie, I'm sorry for the bet," she said, with a faint blush of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks, "you know we love you."
I looked at her emotionless before smiling and responding, "I know, I love you assholes too."
After a quick hug, we went back to the kitchen to get the place ready for our shift.
***
"Soph, orders up!" Jonah yelled as he hit the bell and put the food on the counter.
"Table six," he said as he went back to the next order.
I grabbed the plates and headed for table six, which was a family of four who were just passing through town on a small family vacation. The son and daughter were 8 and 6 and just about to start school again in a few weeks so the family decided on an impromptu vacation before their lives became busy again. I smiled at them as the kids told me everything that they had seen in our town, and I even gave them a few small ideas on what they need to see from a local perspective. The parents thanked me for my kindness and after assuring me they were good with their meals; I went to my next table that had just been seated.
This table consisted of two men who looked way too expensive for our town. I stopped in my tracks for a moment, their demeanor giving me flashbacks of Reece and his friends. I shook my head to get my mind back to where it needs to be before stopping at their table
"Welcome to Frankies, I'm Sophia and I'll be your waitress today. What would you gentlemen like to drink?" I asked with a smile on my face.
The two men looked at their menus briefly and then glanced back up to me before responding. The one on my left had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. There was a tattoo that was creeping up through the top of his shirt that I couldn't quite make out. His suit shirt and jacket were both tight enough to see the defined muscles that were underneath with the white shirt also bringing out the tanned complexion of his skin.
He spoke, breaking me from my ogling, "I'll have a cup of coffee, thanks."
His voice was as smooth as I assumed it would be. I turned my attention to the one of my right. He had the same dark hair, but his eyes were an ice blue. He was too wearing a suit, but this was a steel grey color that accentuated his muscles underneath which were more pronounced than his friends. There was also a tattoo that was visible just at the neckline, but I could see that this tattoo seemed to run from his neck to his hand. This man had the aura of someone who is in charge. He exuded power and money, two things I needed to stay away from.
He cleared his throat, getting my attention, "I'll have coffee and a water."
He dismissed me from their table without a thank you as I went back behind the counter to get their drinks.
"Damn girl, you always get the hot customers," Shelia says as she comes up behind me to get her tables drinks.
I laughed quietly, "We can trade if you'd like," I replied.
"Girl, I wouldn't be able to form a coherent sentence around them if I was their server," she said before walking back towards her table.
As I poured their coffee, I could feel the hair on my neck stand up as if I was being watched. Turning around quickly, but nonchalantly, I glanced around the diner inconspicuously to not draw any attention to myself. There was no one staring. Everyone was chatting away at their tables as I was being paranoid over nothing. Grabbing their drinks, I felt it again as I turned, only to see the demon in my dreams walk through the front door. I dropped the cups, which shattered into pieces everywhere with coffee splashing on the floor. The sound caused the diner to come to a deafening silence as everyone turned to stare at me.
I watched Reece eye me up and down before smirking and taking a seat in my section. The commotion only stopped conversations for a short period of time thankfully. I shakily bent down to start cleaning up the mess when Shelia came up to me to help.
"Sophia, are you okay? You look pale as a ghost," she said, concern showing all over her face.
"I'm fine, just feel a little off today," I lie.
Picking up the pieces I throw them into the trash and glance around again. Reece was gone. He was right there in a corner booth, and now he had vanished into thin air. Maybe I was losing it. Shaking my head, I go to pour my customers their coffee and head back to their booth.
"I apologize for that. Here are your coffees and your water sir. Are you gentlemen ready to order?" I put on the best fake smile I can muster as I wait.
The green-eyed man orders scrambled eggs and toast, nothing else. The blue-eyed man orders a spicy omelet. After asking if they need anything else, I head towards the kitchen. The breakfast rush is finally dying down. Shelia only has two tables and I'm down to just the two men.
Luckily, our other coworkers will be here to take over the lunch shift soon and I can go home and erase this day from my mind. There was no way that was Reece. I'm seeing things for sure. I've used a fake name for everything here, there is no way he could have found me so easily, right? Right. I keep talking to myself in my mind when Jonah dings the bell for the order for my table.
Grabbing the plates, I set them down in front of the men and ask if they need anything else. Green-eyes says he is good and as I turn to blue-eyes; I see that he is studying my face and my expressions. It makes me uneasy, being stared at always makes me feel that my scars are visible for everyone to see. I squirm slightly in front of him as a small, barely noticeable smile appears on his lips. He FINALLY responds and says he is good, the bastard. He enjoyed making me feel uncomfortable for some reason.
"Let me know if there's anything else you gentlemen need," I smile and walk away quickly to get into the kitchen for a breath.
I walked towards their table about twenty minutes later to see if they were ready for their check, which they were. Their bill was only twenty-five dollars and eighty-four cents, so I was surprised when the blue-eyed man pulled out a hundred and told me to keep the change. I shook my head and told him I couldn't accept that, which he rebuffed and walked out of the diner. I was irritated today that's for sure. I followed them out to their car and before they could climb in, I put my hand on the door to shut it.
"Listen sir, I can't accept this much of a tip. That's over 100% of your bill. It's not right," I glowered at him as I tried shoving the money back at him.
"Take it. You look like you need it," he said, laughing slightly.
I was taken aback for a moment before regaining my strength and slapping him across the face. I didn't have a chance to comprehend what I had done to this stranger because the next thing I knew, I was pinned up against his car with him towering over me, breathing down my neck. As he stood there, caging me in against his car, my panic attack started to slowly take over. My breathing became erratic, and I started to hyperventilate. I felt as if I was going to pass out, which of course I almost did. I slumped down to the ground and put my head on my knees so I could control my breathing.
I was vaguely aware of the man slowly backing up and his cohort standing next to him, both of them staring at me. I couldn't stop shaking as I dug my nails into my palms until I bled. I heard them muttering to each other as my breathing evened out and I glanced at them as they watched me curiously. I needed to go home.