It had been several days since graduation and life quickly had gotten back to normal, except from going to university of course. It felt rather strange for Keira to not go there anymore and she picked up extra shifts at work to fill the empty days. David had enrolled in some extra courses, to keep himself on track for next year, so he wasn't home very often. Life between them had been difficult though, he was normal during the day, but in the evening when he started drinking he made sure to make her feel guilty. He then accused her of being a distraction or even deliberately sabotaging his revising so she would look good compared to him. Keira knew that none of that was true of course, she had tried to help him as much as she could during the last couple of months, but he always snapped at her when she had tried to explain something. So she had made sure to keep quiet and had found herself visiting Abby or Tom more often during the evenings.
She had helped them prepare for their new jobs and prepare for their new lives, because both would be moving within two weeks. She still couldn't believe that this was it, that they would never again sit together to work or revise. Although she was very happy for them, they landed their dream jobs quite early, she also envied their success. Maybe dream job wasn't the right word, but they would be able to grow within the company and move on to the position they would really like. She was more enthusiastic about Abby's job, naturally, because aviation was also her field of expertise. Sometimes she felt jealous, because they had been able to find a job so quickly and she had not. She herself had sent out a couple of resumes, but she knew that something was holding her back. Not quite sure of herself yet and she didn't really know if she was ready for the big, scary world.
Keira found herself staring at the information screen, not really taking in when exactly her bus would arrive. It didn't really matter, because all the busses would take her to the right place. It was nice to take up a couple of more hours at work, as it kept her busy, but she also really liked her job and therefore her colleagues. It wasn't a high demanding job, but the environment was really enjoyable and she had grown fond of the regular customers. Also getting up to date with all the college gossip was always something that amused her. Charlotte was the manager, but she didn't really look or act like it and she was the one closest to Keira while having the natural ability to get stories out of people. Sometimes the gossip was too good to be true and they would spent hours laughing and discussing the people involved. A couple of customers would even chip in during these conversations, they would remember the good old days when they had been in college or were just interested in what people got up to these days. All in all, she really liked her job.
'Hey Keira, right on time!' Keira swung open the door of the cafe and saw Charlotte waving at her.
'Yes, as always,' she said. That was true, she always was on time, because she hated being late.
'You'll keep up your 100% record of being on time then,' Charlotte turned to Michael, 'that's something you would never achieve,' she said dangerously.
'But you still love me,' he smirked.
Keira chuckled, she knew that was also true. She spotted Michael smiling innocently at Charlotte and she gasped while throwing her arms in the air.
'You'll get me bankrupt one day!' with that Charlotte disappeared behind the counter and left Keira and Michael behind.
Keira took off her coat and put it away, Michael threw her an apron and she quickly put it on. It was still early and there weren't many customers yet. She knew that in the next thirty minutes the regulars and commuters would come in and it would get busy. That part she always liked, the busy hours where people would crave for a good cup of coffee and were on their way to work. It kept her occupied and her head empty, also time went by rather quickly.
She felt Michael giving a friendly slap on her shoulder and that made her wince. She tried to hide her face, so Michael wouldn't see it. It was necessary that no one would see it, because that would raise awkward questions. She felt the pain slowly fade away and made her way to the bathroom. When she stood in front of the mirror she pushed away the fabric of her shirt. A deep purple bruise was visible on her shoulder, still looking fresh and quite large. Keira shivered, it wasn't a nice sight, but luckily she could hide it well. Studying her face she tried to make it look happy, or even just normal, as it was very important that no one would notice. In everyone's eyes David was perfect, the boyfriend everybody wants and a very caring character. She knew this was true, but people didn't often see his other side, when he had too much to drink.
This particular bruise was from two days ago when they had ended up in an argument. Keira had been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of broken glass. She had gone downstairs to see what the problem was and she had found David in the middle of the kitchen, cursing. He had dropped one of the bottles of beer which he was holding in his hand. He had looked drunk and his coordination hadn't been exactly what it should have been. Keira hadn't said anything, but just had cleaned up the mess he had made. When she had tried to take the bottles which hadn't been smashed away from him, he had punched her. He had missed her face, but her shoulder had gotten hit instead, it did still hurt. The next day he had apologised profusely and she had accepted it. It was clear that he hadn't been in his right mind when he had punched her and had not meant to hurt her. Keira sighed when she remembered that night, it hadn't been a particularly nice one.
'How's life going now you graduated?' Michael sounded cheerful.
'A bit strange really, it's weird to think that I'm never going back there.'
'Have you already applied for a job? I think it's right to think you're going to leave us,' he said sadly while pouting slightly.
'Not immediately, don't you worry. I have sent out some resumes and looked up several companies, but I'm still not quite sure what exactly I want to do. Something in aviation, but that's so huge!' Keira chuckled when she saw Michael's sad face. She pulled him into a hug and he happily hugged her back.
'Don't you worry, you'll find something quite soon. I bet they are all queuing up to employ you, you are so smart!'
'I don't know, I'm afraid they wouldn't like me or that I screw up,' she sighed.
'Nonsense, I've never met anyone else who is as loyal as you are. It will all be fine, just wait. You have a job right now, so you shouldn't hurry!'
Keira smiled, Michael was right, she would still earn enough money to pay her rent now that she could work more hours. It was key to find a job she would enjoy, not just accept any job because they would want to hire her. She quietly thanked Michael in her head, he was always able to cheer her up.
'How's Emma? Did she also graduate?' Keira remembered something about his girlfriend also graduating, although she wasn't sure if that was true.
'Yes, she did! Was the best of her year,' he said proudly.
'So, also looking for a job?'
'Yeah, I think so, although she is a bit preoccupied with partying nowadays,' he laughed.
Keira knew how Emma was, she was always in a party mood and had more than once came into the cafe to get Michael to go to some fancy party. He didn't mind, he was also quite a party animal and would take up any chance to go out, they were a perfect fit. Keira saw Charlotte coming back from behind the counter and quickly got on with making a customer's order.
'All going well?' Charlotte checked.
'Yes, calm before the storm as we call it,' Keira smiled.
'You still have fifteen minutes before it gets really busy,' Charlotte said while checking her watch.
'Time for some gossip then!' Michael shot Charlotte his best impression of a mischievous smile.
Keira giggled, this was something they did every time they were working together. They now knew almost everyone at college or the customers which came into the cafe.
'You know Miss Brown, right?' Charlotte began.
'The one who always sits at the table at the window?' Keira replied.
'Yes, that one,' Charlotte nodded.
'Go on!' Michael said eagerly.
'When I went shopping the other day I saw her following Mister Johnson. When he entered a shop, she did. When he grabbed a bite to eat at a bakery, she did too. She never was more than a couple of meters behind him. When he got on a bus, she got on the same one. I still don't understand he didn't notice!'
'She didn't!' both Keira and Michael looked at Charlotte with wide eyes.
Miss Brown was a very quiet woman and was always sat at a specific table at the window. One day when she had came in her table had already been taken and she quickly had gone out again without ordering coffee. They had made fun of her for that, just a little, or not. She looked a bit like a hippie, a very quiet one, but one that didn't really know what a hippie was. On the other hand, Mister Johnson was a gentleman, quite a bit older than her though. Always in a suit and looked like he was working in a bank, maybe he was, but they didn't know. They couldn't put two more different people together then these two.
'What do you think? Was it deliberate or was it just coincidence?' Charlotte was cleaning the counter top, while looking at the others.
'Definitely deliberate, she always looks quite strange. I wonder what she was up to,' Keira answered as their eyes locked and they ended up giggling in silence, because they didn't want to disturb the customers.
'I hope we find out sooner rather than later! Maybe we have to put them together, accidentally,' Michael was always up for a bit of controversy.
They agreed that they would try to get them together and to find out what exactly was up between them. They didn't even know if Mister Johnson was aware of the whole situation and maybe that would end up in something hilarious. It was not long before the cafe became swamped with customers and it was finally time to get to work.
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'Hey, wait up!' Keira heard Michael's voice coming from behind.
She stood still and turned around, she had just left the cafe to go home.
'Want to go for a drink?' he asked her while putting his arm in hers.
'Yeah, why not?' she answered him with a smile.
They walked to their favourite pub and saw that it was already quite busy, a lot of business men and women liked to go out before returning home. Michael opened the door for her and led her to the bar.
'Two pints, please,' he asked the lady behind the bar.
This was something they did quite often, so they all knew each other's order. She gladly accepted the pint Michael handed to her and looked around the pub. They were rather underdressed, although that was rather strange in a pub. She could see a few ties being loosened and also several buttons on shirts being opened, it all contributed to the cosy and lazy atmosphere. In the corner there was quite a large and loud entourage, it was clear that they weren't business men, they were also a lot younger than business people. One voice sounded rather familiar to Keira, but she couldn't find a familiar face in the group. She turned her head towards Michael, who had finished his pint already. He chuckled when he saw her looking and shrugged his shoulders.
'Thirsty,' with that he ordered another drink. 'You want another one too?'
Keira showed him her glass that was still half full.
'You are a very slow drinker,' he sighed.
'I just appreciate the taste, I'm not much of a heavy drinker. You know I hate getting drunk.'
'That's true, although I can remember that time-'
'Ok, that's enough,' Keira interrupted him, she had gone rather pink, 'that has never happened as far as I'm concerned.'
At that moment Keira felt a hand on her shoulder, she quickly turned around to see David standing there. So that's why she heard a familiar voice, she thought. She looked up and could see immediately that he wasn't in a good mood, she felt her muscles stiffen. Looking down was something of a habit, because she hated that look in his eyes.
'What are you doing here? And who is this?' he barked at Keira and she crumpled in her seat.
Michael looked rather alarmed at both their actions and didn't know what to make of it. 'Hi, I'm Michael, a colleague of Keira's,' he held out his hand for David to shake it.
He didn't shake it and looked suspiciously at Michael. 'Why are you here with my girlfriend?' he almost spat at Michael.
'Just going out for a drink and discussing our day at work,' Michael raised an eyebrow and was visibly not impressed with David's behaviour towards him.
'I'm sorry,' Keira said timidly.
'Why should you be sorry, what's wrong with going out for a drink?' Michael still wasn't impressed.
'Yeah, just going out for a drink. Is that what you tell yourself? I know that you want to get her in bed,' David had raised his voice and several people where now looking at them.
Keira felt ashamed, she hated David being like this in public.
'Mate, I have my own girlfriend, I don't need yours. I'm very happy with mine and I just like going out for drinks with friends,' Michael made sure to lay focus on the word friends.
David still looked angry and it was obvious that he didn't believe one worked Michael had just said. Keira looked from one to the other and wasn't really sure what to say or to do.
'Are you coming?' David asked angrily.
Keira hadn't heard the first question, but it was obvious that David wanted her to go home with him. She quietly got off her chair and followed David outside. Looking over a shoulder she tried to say sorry to Michael, who still was sitting on his chair, but looking rather dumbfounded. Keira sighed, it had been a good day, but this had ruined it for her, again. She felt David's hand in hers, but it wasn't a gentle grip, it felt like she wasn't allowed to let go. It was so different from how she had felt six months ago, then she had felt safe and secure while holding hands, now it was quite the opposite. She hoped to be home soon, then she could get into the shower and feel the hot water burn on her skin. One day it would get better she assured herself, she closed her eyes and kept walking.