As I poured myself a second glass of whiskey, I watched the usual customers pile into the bar. They usually consisted of old men who were trying to get into some poor girl's pants, underage teens with fake id's (like myself), college kids, shady gangster dudes, and married people trying to get away from their boring old lives for a few hours.
I spotted an old, most liked married man, trying to flirt with one of the underage girls. It was sickening in a way, watching all of this unroll right in front of my eyes. Teenage girls, selling themselves for some cash or a drink...old men preying on them, knowing what they want and what they'll do to get it. But I like my job. The actual bartender and waitress part, not the weird customer part. This job keeps me sane. If I didn't have this job, my next stop after a day of school would be getting beaten by my mother's boyfriend. So if you think hard enough, this ain't that bad considering the circumstances.
I sipped on the cold whiskey and couldn't help but sigh. Don't take this the wrong way, I usually don't drink while I'm working. But today was one hell of a shitty day.
Yes, I'm 18. Yes, I'm not legal to be drinking or even to work here. But for Meg, the law doesn't exist. Her father Louis, opened this bar back when neither Meg or I were even born. He was later sent to jail for drugs, along with my father who sold the drugs for him. Before my father was killed in jail, he told Louis to find me when he got out. He knew he had a lot of enemies in jail, but he wanted to make sure someone knew about my existence. He wanted Louis to take me away from my psycho mother. However, after he was killed...everything went downhill. Louis got revenge on the murderers because that's the way he was. He always stuck up for his men and made sure that everyone paid for the thing that they've done. As a result, he extended his sentence. So he then waited for Meg to be old enough to tell her to find me. He told her to take care of me in any way that she could. He was afraid he wouldn't make it out of jail alive, just like my father. And he was right. Last year, he died in his jail cell from a heart attack. Meg told me he had an envelope under his pillow, in which he explained everything that has happened. From start to finish, not missing a single detail.
He put his entire life in a letter. But he also wrote a letter to me, explaining my father's path in life also. He knew no one else could tell me anything about him. So he explained the drug dealing business, my mother's behavior, and why my father never really got to see me when he wasn't in jail yet. That's how I grew to hate my mother even more than I already did. Louis told me everything he knew about her, which was a lot considering he knew her from high school. And that is why Meg is like family to me. She's the only one close enough to the title.
"Okay that's enough, Mel" Meg came up from behind me and took away my glass of whiskey. I huffed, letting her take it from me. Not gonna deny it, I feel a little tipsy already.
"What's going on? Spill it" She asked, now facing me. I looked away, letting my gaze land on an awkward-looking couple. Who comes to a shady, underground bar for a date? I sighed, turning to look at Meg again. I knew she wouldn't leave me alone until I told her what was wrong.
Ever since the support group came to an end, that jerk's words kept ringing in my head. Do I really come off as a stuck up rich girl who never felt an inch of pain or suffering in her life? It just got to me."You don't know what they feel". I fucking do, Ethan Summers. I know exactly how it feels.
"Earth to Melanie Deen" Meg interrupted my thoughts. My eyes met hers and I shook her question off immediately.
"Support group shit" I quickly replied. She smiled sadly and handed me the whiskey glass.
"Keep it reasonable, though" She pointed to the bottle on the shelf, giving me a look. I watched her walk away as I sipped the drink.
"Whiskey on the rocks" A familiar voice made me jump. My eyes darted to him, the realization hitting me. That asshole. What is he doing here?
"If there's any left, that is" He mocked, looking at the half-empty glass in my hand.
"Oh fuck right off a bridge!" I exclaimed. Why the hell did he decide to come to this bar tonight? I have never seen him here before.
"That's not a pleasant way to speak to customers, is it?" He smirked like the jerk that he was. I grabbed a clean glass angrily and began preparing his drink. Suddenly, an idea sparked in my mind. "ID please," I asked calmly, extending my hand.
His eyes grew amused as he handed me his ID. Oh wow, what a bummer. It's fake.
"Not surprised" I flung it back at him and continued making his drink.
"That it's fake?" He asked.
"No, that it's real," I said sarcastically, making a dumb face. "Yeah, that it's fake, dumbass!"
"Well, show me yours" He chuckled, ignoring my aggressive sarcasm. I flashed my very fake ID in front of his face and shoved it back into my pocket. He rolled his eyes, taking his drink and downing it straight away. I watched, not impressed at all.
"So tell me, Mel" He began. I quickly took a sip of my drink, not looking forward to what was coming. "How does it feel, being a rich barbie doll?" He smirked.
I turned around and made my way to the other side of the bar counter. As I served other customers, I just couldn't ignore the asshole's stare. I flashed him my middle finger and continued to do my job. To make the situation better, he started ringing the bell to gain my attention. Angrily, I headed right back over to him.
"What do you want?" I hissed, making sure none of the other customers could hear us.
He took in my attitude, smirking smugly."Oh, sugarplum...I know the truth hurts, but don't let it get to you so much. We all have our issues!" He mocked Alisa's voice. I took a deep breath and made my way to the bottle of whiskey on the shelf. I poured myself a third glass and downed the whole thing immediately. He snickered.
"Don't worry, daddy will get the right color next time!"
I poured another one, ignoring him completely. He watched me, his attitude faltering as I downed another glass.
"Fuck off," I spoke up, shrugging."You don't know me. Hell, yesterday you didn't even know my fucking name! What makes you think you know me?" I lost it.
He stared at me, not even blinking. "Huh?" I pushed, eager to guilt-trip him.
He continued to stare, completely emotionless. I chuckled cynically, turning around to pour another drink. People only know how to make assumptions about you, not for one second thinking about the reality of things. It's sickening.
Out of nowhere, Ethan leaped over the counter and snatched the whiskey bottle out of my hand. I stared blankly at him, at a loss for words.
"Quit the 'damsel in distress' act. It's obvious, who you really are. You're one of those blonde, blue-eyed princesses" He sneered, setting the whiskey bottle back on the shelf where it belonged. "You always get what you want...you think you're always right...everyone loves the shit out of you! You.never.felt.neglect" He spat his hatred at me. His face became a blur, as my eyes filled with tears.
"What the hell are you doing, Kid?" Megan's voice interrupted my verbal beating. I took a deep breath, trying so desperately to get rid of my emotions.
"I was just setting some things straight" He shrugged, leaping back over the island.
"Mel, what are you doing? I told you to keep it reasonable!" She exclaimed. I could tell she wasn't mad, just disappointed. So I turned around and her face softened immediately. I wiped my tears away and shrugged at her.
"Are you really surprised?" I asked, laughing through tears. She stared at me with a pained expression. "Are you actually surprised that I fucked up again?!" I asked, my hands shaking from the sudden release of built-up emotion."Because I think you're not. I certainly know I'm not surprised. It's what I do! I set off this trigger in people, apparently. Everyone can't stand me so much that they have to make it crystal clear to me!" I cried.
She made a move to come closer but I retracted straight away. "It's fine...I'm fine! I'll take myself out of here, so you don't have to" I said as I grabbed my backpack from a shelf under the counter, completely ignoring Ethan's confused stare.
Fucking dick.
***
I stayed put in the car, dreading what would happen next. Please be asleep...please be asleep.
Once I finally gathered enough courage to step out of the car, the front door opened immediately and I looked up to see Nick. He had a baseball bat in his hand.
"Well, you little fucker!" He bellowed, tightening his grip on the baseball pat."I need an explanation, not that it'll help you"
I sighed, throwing the car keys at his feet. Might as well have fun with this.
He raised his eyebrow at my attitude. "Are you fucking serious?" He asked. I smiled, the smile never reaching my eyes.
"Do you wanna die today?" He threatened, swing his bat.
"I'd love to" I whispered through my creepy smile.
"I can fucking make that happen" He growled as he grabbed a chunk of my hair to pull me inside the house. Feeling like a true princess right now, Ethan.
***
Next thing I knew, I was laying on the kitchen floor taking in a nice beating. I didn't fight back, there was no point. His baseball bat against my scrawny fists? Yeah, no point.
I stopped fighting a long time ago. It all started with my mom's first boyfriend. Also an alcoholic, also psycho. I mean, none of them were normal. I soon came to the realization that I'm the problem. They all just wanted my mom. She worked all day long, came home for only 3 hours, paid all the bills, fed them, and even gave them all of her money. I was just a teenager, who constantly got in the way of things. I was a burden to their perfect set-up. Anyways, I've learned that fighting back only makes it worse.
"Sweetheart, let's go to bed I'm tired". Oh wow, it's the mother herself.
"She fucking stole my car! She's a filthy thief, Viki. Thieves need to be punished" He snarled, kicking me in the stomach. I curled up into a ball, shaking from the pain spreading throughout my entire body.
"Sweetheart, I know...I know. It's going to be okay! We can all be happy tonight, just for tonight! Let's just talk about this tomorrow" She said calmly, smiling in her creepy way. She's probably high on some shit, like always. Go on and have your moment while I lay here in agony, staring at my blood on your nice white tiles.
"Viki, you know how I feel about her behavior! She needs more discipline" He walked away from me, dropping the baseball bat to the floor. My old self would've gathered all her remaining strength to get up and hit his big, empty head with the bat. But I was smarter. I knew my mother would've called the cops on me and I'd have to spend the night at the police station. It has happened before, so I'll pass on the offer.
"Okay, dipshit. I guess you're lucky tonight. Now get up and go take a shower!" Nick kicked my side as my mother went off to get her purse from the car. Ah, yes! Now for the cherry on top. Sexual harassment.
I struggled to get up but did it anyway. The ripping feeling in my side made tears well up in my eyes. Everything hurts like hell.
I slowly walked up the stairs, Nick right behind me. "Go on, go on," He muttered, tapping my ass ever so slightly."Take your sorry ass upstairs" I felt the palm of his hand slap my behind, hard. I couldn't stop myself from howling in pain.
As I entered the bathroom, he followed me in. I let the tears cascade down my burning cheeks. "Take it off" He pointed to my shirt. I hissed as I slipped out of the long-sleeved top that was stuck to my body from all the blood. His eyes twinkled with pleasure as I started unzipping my jeans. I gulped painfully, throwing them to the floor. This isn't something I'm not used to.
"Nick? Where are you, sweetheart?" My mother's voice interrupted his disgusting groping. For a second, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. But he soon recovered, looking at me with a vile smirk on his revolting face."Sorry, we got interrupted" He placed a sloppy kiss on my forehead. With that, I watched him leave the bathroom. It's fine...I'm fine.
Leighton Meester as Megan Reyes in the story