I just made a $35 tip, and I didn't want it all to go to replacing spilled drinks by this asshole.
He doesn't seem to notice or care, though, and I quickly put down the tray on an empty table as he fumbles.
And just as I rise back up, he grabs my breast. Not accidentally.
My face is red with rage as he squeezes it in his hand, letting out the most disgusting moan I've ever heard in my life.
"What a ripe peach," he shudders as I try to back up, but I'm pinned between him and the bench, and the ladies to my left are just laughing like it's all a joke.
I grab onto the bench, trying to push myself up, but he’s built strong, and I can't move as he puts more weight on me. His entire body is pinning me down, holding me there as he squeezes my breast so hard it hurts like he's bruising me.
I let out a shout, and just as he's about to bring his other hand up, headed towards my thigh, there's a scuffling of tables. I can't see anything beyond the disgusting drunk until he's yanked off me and thrown to the ground. Hard.
The thud can be heard even over the music, over the laughter of the drunk women next to me, over my screams.
And then Kaiden is atop him, pummeling his face over and over, and even though I’ve never been in a real fistfight, I can tell he’s not holding back.
Each time they connect, they make a sick cracking noise, and I cringe away. I feel like I'm going to be sick, and I finally manage to jump up—around the two of them and between the tables, out the door into the night air. My hands go to my knees, and I buckle over, dry heaving onto the asphalt.
Tears sting my eyes, embarrassment and anger combining in me.
I don't know how long I stay, just trying not to throw up, but suddenly there's a hand on my back, and I jump, startled, away from him.
"It's just me, Abby," says a much softer, tenderer voice than I'm used to. I haven't heard Kaiden sound like that in so long...
"Listen, we gotta go," he says, taking a step nearer to me, but I back away.
"I'm fine, Kaiden. I didn't need your help," I spit back, and my words sting him like acid. He visibly flinches, and some part of me feels bad, but I'm too angry and scared to care.
"That fuck-head is still in there. He's a friend of Ryder's, you're not safe here," he warns, and his voice is starting to return to its normal hard, gravelly sound.
"I'm not leaving, I still have a shift to finish," I repeat, obstinate, and I can see the anger building in him too.
I glance down and notice the blood on his knuckles, and I know that by tomorrow, he'd be bruised and bandaged.
"I'm not fucking letting you go back in there tonight, Abby, so stop fighting me," he grunts, grabbing my shoulder roughly. And I just let him, even though the last thing I want is to be touched right now. But in a strange way, it's comforting.
Familiar.
Warm.
It's something I want, and something I don't want to want, all at once.
"I need the money," I protest weakly with a sob, but it's about more than that.
It's about what I heard him say to Ryder, what Ryder said back. It's about the fact that I'm already involved in something far more dangerous than some disgusting drunk.
"I remember when you looked up to me," Kaiden barks angrily, glaring daggers at me as he shakes my shoulder. "You remember that, huh? Remember, you used to call me your hero and mean it?"
Oh, I remember.
I was just a kid the first time I was picked on. I can't remember why anymore, but I remember being so upset I cried for days until Kaiden finally got it out of me.
The next time the kid started pushing me around, Kaiden was there. He got suspended for a week; his face was all bruised and he was so sore, but he just kept telling me he'd do it again for me. That he'd protect me.
No matter what.
Tears sting my eyes as I remember, and I try to brush past him, but he holds me still, his other hand going to my chin and forcing my watery eyes to look at him.
"What happened to that girl, Abby? The one who looked up to me?" He looks so sad, and his brows are furrowed as he holds my chin between his thumb and his index finger.
My eyes move from his, down to his lips. They're so near to me, so preciously near, and I envision myself just leaning forward. Pressing my mouth to his, thanking him for protecting me, for rescuing me.
Begging him to take me home and shield me from all the terrible things in the world.
I lick my lips, my breathing hard, and I'm not sure of how much time has passed, but it feels like an eternity before I finally pull away, bringing my gaze back to the ground.
"Things have changed, Kaiden," I say, icily. I can’t have these feelings, and so I push him away, even though it breaks my heart. I can’t look at his lips and think about kissing him.
It’s wrong.