“I’m good, Chels. Thank you.”
“I’ve seen you a lot more in the past couple of months. Everything okay?”
“Yep. The bar is almost done. Hoping to open in a couple of weeks. So, I find most of my weekend nights free,” he told her as she pulled the tab to fill a glass with a local brew for a customer.
“Don’t you have any friends to hang out with?” Chelsea delivered the drink to the man seated at the center of the bar as Landon clutched his heart in fake devastation.
“I thought we were friends, Chelsea. You wound me.”
With an exasperated sigh, she tossed her cleaning rag in his direction, which he caught with his spare hand, lifting the beer bottle to his lips with the other.
“If you weren’t so attractive, I would kick you out of this place.”
“What does my attractiveness have to do with anything? Not that I mind the compliment.” It wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before.
“Brings the ladies to the bar and they stay for a while hoping for your attention.”
“Oh,” he said as he lifted the hem of his white T-shirt. “Would you like me to really make it worth their while?”
Laughing loudly, Chelsea shook her head as she walked over to him and grabbed her towel she had thrown. “Keep your clothes on, Casanova. I don’t need anyone having heart attacks. Let me know when you need another, okay?”
“Yep.”
As Chelsea went to work serving the new customers, Landon turned his attention to the television in the corner. A news story was occupying the screen, something about a hijacked car, but Landon didn’t pay it any mind. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the raucous sounds of the bar wash over him.
Some people thought he was crazy for craving chaos, but the sound of silence wore him down. After ten years behind bars, Landon knew that silence meant something was happening that he didn’t want to be a part of. It took only a few days to learn how to protect himself in the Georgia system. He made the right friends and connections, which kept others from messing with him. He was also lucky that many of the men he shared his time with felt bad for him and his situation.
A vibration in his pocket brought Landon back from the blackness that threatened to pull him under. He grabbed his phone and saw that there was a text from his twin brother Oliver.
Oliver: Things good?
Me: Yep
Oliver: Planning to come home anytime soon?
Me: Nope
Oliver: Okay
That was all their conversation consisted of. Back and forth requests of a visit to their childhood home, the one they left unwillingly at the age of ten, and Landon’s refusal. He had no reason to return to the place where his end-all began. Oliver understood more than anyone ever could. He knew that Landon’s refusal had nothing to do with seeing his brother. Landon would give anything to be with his brother again. But it was the place that he couldn’t return to. The country, the village, the home. They were all reminders of everything that were stolen from him. That innocence he was never going to get back despite how his life had turned around in the last two years.
Screams and cheers erupted from behind him, bringing Landon’s attention to the mirror behind the bottles stacked behind the bar. He watched as a group of young men, about college age, slapped hands in excitement as they gathered. From the corner of his eye, Landon watched Chelsea smirk and shake her head toward him as if affirming that the particular group was going to get out of hand later.
So much for the peaceful night where he could remain in the shadows. He would have to keep an eye on the group, if only for Chelsea’s sake. The bar had bouncers and security at the two entrances, but rarely did they intervene with anything happening inside the bar. A lesson he learned the first couple of times he frequented when he noticed a drunk man unwilling to take no from a very clearly not interested woman. Landon had stepped in and almost found himself back behind bars that night. Chelsea had vouched for him, saving his tail.
Returning his gaze to the mirror, Landon watched the group pile into one of the round booths as one of the servers headed their way. He was thankful that they seemed to be more interested in catching up than disrupting the few tourists and families still enjoying their dinner. But he knew once they got a few drinks in their system, things could change on a dime.
Landon gulped at his beer until it was empty and held it up in Chelsea’s direction, requesting another. She quickly placed a new cold one in front of him.
“I’ll take that menu now, whenever you get the chance,” he said, knowing that he would need to eat soon if he continued to drink. Reaching under the bar counter, Chelsea grabbed a laminated menu and slapped it on the counter in front of him with a wink before sauntering over to a group of men that took the open seats on the other end of the bar.
It d
idn’t take him long to decide on a meal and he quickly ordered the specialty burger with a side of fries. His workout the next day would have to make up for the meal, but he didn’t mind the extra work.
A woman sidled up to the empty seat beside him and he tried his best to ignore her, but the heavy perfume that she wore made his nose twitch. From the corner of his eye, he could see that she was watching him expectantly.
“Hi,” she said in a nasal tone that reminded him of scratches down a chalkboard. The woman also wore far too much makeup for his liking, but she did have a nice body showcased by a short dress that matched her skin tone. If he didn’t know better, he would think she was standing naked beside him.