''Hi! What can I get you?''
The man turned to me, his smile widened. Slowly, he thought about the alcohol of choice for the evening before he settled for the usual. ''I'll have a long island, please.''
Quickly, I fixed his drink. The bar was more than crowded tonight. It was one of the elite clubs, and no one without an invitation could've entered. Usually, the clientele was nice. They were rich, intelligent and just wanted to have fun without being in the headlines.
Thus far, I was yet to have a problem with any of the clients. And my favorite happened to be the young man that was on the other side of the bar.
His name was Marcus Stevens. He was a future CEO of a tech company that sky rocketed within the past couple of years. Currently, he was the vice president until his father retired. Only a few years younger than me, yet he was already successful with money enough to have his grandchildren set for life. On some levels, I envied him.
I placed the cocktail on the napkin in front of him, along with the receipt.
''So, how have you been, Alison?''
I smiled. ''It's been very busy. The summer is over, thank God, otherwise I probably would've quit, changed my name and identity and ran away.''
Marcus laughed. He was a very sweet young man and his company was something I enjoyed on busy nights. Having someone to talk to whilst I worked was good. Thankfully, I was on bar duty only, I couldn't have imagined being a waitress in his place.
I straightened my uniform, annoyed at the sudden crease on the shirt.
''Well, I've been doing okay.''
Marcus raised an eyebrow. ''Just okay?''
I grinned. ''Okay, fine. I'm doing amazing. A few weeks ago, I got blackout drunk and made some... questionable investments. But, it turned out to be a good thing. I'm going to be a very rich woman soon.''
Marcus was curious. ''Do, tell.''
I was reluctant to tell him. The company I'd invested in was a start up company. When I checked the statistics yesterday, it seemed that the company had gathered quite the publicity, and along that, interest of serious businessmen who had no better things to do than invest their money in the company.
It would bring us all enough money, and then I'd be able to start a business of my own.
I tilted my head to the side. ''I'm not showing you all of my cards, Marcus.'' He was disappointed, and then I added. ''But, we might be on the same side of the bar very soon.''
With a wink, I turned my attention to another customer, Marcus' deep laugh followed. I'd been working in the club Grayland for over two years. My manager, Samantha, was nothing but generous towards me. She was easy to trick and once I'd given her my sob story, she was more than happy to give me late night shifts, because I studied during the day.
Two years later, I was long done with my PhD, and still worked night shifts. It paid better, the tips were better, and I was rather going to deal with drunk people during the night hours than early in the morning. Why the hell did people get drunk in mornings?
I felt a sharp sting in my chest. Once upon a time, I did that with a few friends. However, those were all memories that were from another life, from when I was a different person. Nothing in life lasted forever, happiness especially.
Marcus waved me over once the crowd from the bar had cleared. With a small smile, I approached him and made him another cocktail.
''So, can I take you out sometime?'' He gave me a boyish grin.
Marcus had asked me out on dates repeatedly over the last few years. I rejected him, each time with a new excuse. He was a great guy and any woman would be lucky to have him. But, that woman wasn't me.
I leaned on the bar, exhaustion washed over me. ''How about this. The moment I decide to settle down, I'll call you?''
He laughed it off. ''You better.''
We both knew that was a lie. I had only one man in my heart, and that man was no longer in my life, and would never be again. I did a reckless thing, and lost everything I once cherished. It took me two years to finally feel guilty, but by the time I regretted my actions, it was far too late.
Instead, I welcomed a new life and new opportunities with open arms, away from everything that I once knew. Change was good, change was needed in life. Especially in my life. I'd lived through hell, and died.
I had another chance at living the life to the fullest, and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.
Soon enough, it was closing time. We had cleaning ladies come in very early in the morning, however, cleaning behind the bar and getting it ready for the morning shift was the bartenders duty. I told the waiters to go, since I had made quite a mess that needed to be taken care of.
By the time I'd finished, it was two in the morning. I lived a block away from the club, and thankfully, the town was much safer than New York had ever been. Not once did I fear for my safety whilst walking home alone at night.
Granted, bad people were everywhere, and crime happened in every country and town in the world, but the statistics were undeniable. For the first time since I was sixteen, I felt truly safe.
Whilst I was walking, I noticed two people in front of me. They seemed to be a couple and they were laughing, chatting, having the night of their lives. I smiled to myself. It was nice that at least someone was able to live the romance life I'd dreamed of.
However, the closer they were getting to me, the more familiar they were. Their walk, their figures, their voices.
By the time I'd realized what was happening, it was too late. I froze in spot, eyes widened.
The two of them mimicked my actions, their eyes widened, faces pale as if they'd seen a ghost. No one spoke, and the chill air was too suffocating. Slowly, I took a step back.
The girl's eyes flickered from my face, to my uniform, eyes slowly narrowing. I'd recognize those blue eyes and blonde hair anywhere.
''Freya?'' She whispered softly.
I took another step back. ''I'm sorry, you have me confused with someone else.''
Why the fuck were they in London? No, no. Why the fuck did I have the world's worst luck? Out of anyone in the world, I had to run into them. The two people I used to care about a lot.
''How the hell...'' The man spoke, doubt in his voice. Not once did he look away, as if he was afraid that I was an illusion that would disappear the moment his eyes drifted away.
I couldn't move my body. As the wind blew, I felt Cora's signature perfume. It hit my nose unexpectedly, and I was on the verge of tears. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, and took another step back. It took all the strength in my body to make the move.
I smiled. ''I probably have one of those familiar faces.''
Their confusion soon turned into anger. Cora wasn't a pretty woman when she was angry and she wore her heart on her sleeve. Every single atom of strength was poured into the look of pure fury she'd thrown my way.
Without another word, I bolted right past them. It didn't occur to me until way later that I'd shown them the route to my apartment, but in that moment, I didn't care.
All I cared about was getting out of their way. This wasn't supposed to happen. I knew that there would've been a possibility of them coming to London, at some point in their lives, but I never imagined that in a city of almost nine million people, I'd have the worst luck and run into two people I selfishly left behind.
My heart raced as I locked the door behind me. It was a panic attack, one that I hadn't had in years. I felt like every single organ in my body was slowly shutting down. It felt as if my entire body was on fire, and there was nothing I could've done to put the fire out.
My lungs had collapsed, the air felt heavy. I struggled to breathe, the mere thought of them knowing I was alive brought terror down my spine.
Slowly, my mind went blank. Slowly, I felt darkness around me. I welcomed it with open arms, and it was when the Pandora's box opened.
--
I shouldn't have done it. I fucking despised myself for even thinking about it. Before I was able to bring my rational side to the surface, I was already in and out of the hospital.
Elijah was on the news. He had a fucking heart attack in his sleep.
I shouldn't have done it.
But the stupid bitch inside of me had to find blue roses. Honestly, what was the point of that card I left him? I made sure no one saw me and that I was fully covered so he wouldn't recognize me if he asked to see security footage.
''Alison?''
I just needed to make sure he was okay. A part of me was always going to be in love with him and to care for him. I knew that he had a fiance, and I was never going to ruin it for him. I googled her, she was an amazing woman and they deserved happiness.
''Hello, Alison?''
So, why the fuck did I do it? I felt guilty, most likely. It was the only reasonable explanation. He was a person I cared deeply about and he had something terrible happen to him. I had to make sure that he was alright. That was the right thing to do, right?''
''Alison!''
I snapped from the train of thoughts. Marcus had his eyes on me, worry laced his features. I brushed off the sudden uneasiness and smiled.
''Sorry, Marcus.'' I apologized. ''I have a lot on my mind right now.''
He wasn't convinced. ''Are you okay?''
I nodded my head. ''I'm fine.''
I turned around and started fixing him the drink. I took two weekends off, at the fear of Cora remembering the club's name from the shirt I wore the night we ran into each other. And after running out of excuses, despite my better judgement, I returned to work.
I placed the cocktail on a napkin, in front of him.
''You've been gone for two weeks. Sam told us you caught the flu. You sure you're okay?''
I waved him off. ''Yeah, I went to the doctor and everything is fine now.''
Marcus blinked. ''Oh, on another note, there were two people looking for you for the past two weekends.''
I froze, but didn't let him catch that. ''Oh, really?''
Marcus nodded his head. ''Yes, though they used a different name to call you. I told them you took a few shifts off and that I didn't know when you'd be back. Sam, however, wasn't pleased by someone unknown coming to see her staff members.''
Sam was a godsent. She protected her staff like we were her children, and I was forever grateful for that.
I threw on a fake smile. ''Don't worry about them.''
Marcus dropped the subject, but he wanted to know more. I saw it in his eyes, he was a curious little thing. With a laugh, I changed the subject.
It wasn't until around eleven o'clock in the evening that I felt something twist in the pit of my stomach.
The entrance was straight ahead of me. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't have missed the grand entrance Cora and Luka made. Hand in hand, dressed to impress, their eyes searched throughout the club until their eyes landed on me.
I clenched my jaw, but didn't break eye contact.
It was time for me to tell them never to seek me out again. I had enough of pleasing other people, and I was putting myself first.
No one was going to change that.
--
Hehe enjoy <33