“Maybe it’s the holiday magic.” I reply and squeeze his hand. He grins and let me go take care of my other tables, but it’s no question that Scott believes I’m somehow attracted to him all of a sudden.
“You know,” Scott begins when I get him his dinner. “I can take care of you.” I frown, not fully understanding.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for my college and rent like a sugar daddy?” I try joking, but Scott nods.
“All that and more.” His arm snakes around my waist as I lift a serving tray over my head and I nearly topple over. “But there’s so many more things I can take care of.”
“Sweetie, I can take care of myself.” I say when it’s obvious he’s taking our flirtation a little too far. Jake’s eyes follow his every movement, grimacing when Scott’s arm tightens around me. I wiggle out of it and tell him I have to get back to work.
I dip into the stockroom near the kitchen to both catch my breath and refill a few salt and pepper shakers. The door behind me opens and close and I ask whoever it is what they need.
“I thought you already knew that.” Scott’s voice is close to my ear. He wraps his arms around my body and fondles my breasts. I try screaming but he covers my mouth. “Shush, Remy. Don’t pretend like you didn’t lead me here.”
I try elbowing him in the stomach but it seems to only excite him more. All I wanted was to make the twins jealous. All I wanted was for them to regret pushing me away. Scott’s hand pushes my skirt up my thigh and I bite his hand.
“Bitch!” He yells and raises it to smack me. I scream only for a moment before the door opens and Scott is thrown off of me.
“You want to call her that again?” Jake yells. He jumps on top of Scott and punches him in the jaw. “Let’s hear it, huh?”
“Jake!” I yell, but Emmet grabs my shoulders and pulls me away. “He’s going to kill him!” I scream when Scott pukes up a mouthful of blood. Emmet shows no remorse in his usually kind eyes when he speaks to me.
“And I’m going to help him.” He joins Jake when Scott lands a blow against his twin’s cheek. Emmet holds Scott’s arms above his head as Jake knees him in the stomach.
David turns the Christmas music louder to mask the agonizing screams of Scott, but the restaurant is already in a panic. Half of the customers yell and take pictures of the fight while the rest run around trying to get away, and the staff all stare in horror as Jake and Emmet team up against Scott.
Red and blue lights appear through the window and sirens mix with the music. Emmet notices them first and nudges Jake, who whispers threateningly in Scott’s ear.
Surprisingly enough, when the cops enter and question a bloody mouthed Scott, he says that the fight was his fault and that the twins were only acting accordingly.
I stay huddled in the corner with Camila as David and the twins speak in hushed tones after the cops leave. Scott rushes out the door after them, refusing to even look in my direction. The rest of the staff ushers customers out with coupons good for half off their entire meal, and the kitchen staff wait for orders.
“Are you okay, chica?” Camila keeps her arms around my shoulders. I nod and watch as the twins leave without so much as a glance.
A broken table and chairs and several shattered glasses lie where the fight had been, and David complains about hiring a company to get the blood out of the carpet before it stains.
“We’re closing the rest of the night.” He yells at us, though he too doesn’t look at me. “Close up as normal and go home. But it’s coming out of your paid time off.” Everyone groans and starts cleaning their section.
“The Kennedys are leaving earlier than planned.” David tells Charlie as I clear my tables. “Of course this happens on the last night they’re here. God damn it, I could lose my job for this.”
“Dave, I don’t think they’re going to replace you because an ass assaulted one of your coworkers.” Charlie frowns at me. Him and Camila seem to be the only ones who fully understand how terrified I was. My hands shake as I stack plates on a tray, and Camila hurries with her tables to help with mine.
But Scott and his roaming hands are the last things on my mind. Jake and Emmet are leaving. I try to imagine my life without them but it seems bland and colorless. The first two guys who’s ever made me feel alive, made me feel anything, are going back home to the other side of the country.
I have to see them one more time.
Chapter Eleven
I work an early shift the next day, counting down the minutes until it ends. David pulls me to the side during a lunch break and apologizes for his reaction last night. His peace offering is letting me leave an hour early and I gladly accept it before he has time to reconsider. I turn my section over to Sophie early and leave while it’s still light outside. I make the long journey to the shops downtown, battling bitter cold weather while holding my gloved hands to my face.