Pieces Of Heaven (Heaven & Hell #2)(13)

As I place the plates in the bin, I feel him come up behind me. He rests his hands on my hips like he's done it a million times before and says, "I'll be back tonight. What time do you finish?"

Turning in his embrace, I place my hands on his and peel them from my hips. "I have no idea. Why don't I send you a text when I'm almost done?" I lean up on my tippy toes to kiss him lightly on the lips.

The bells over the door chime, alerting me to my first customer. "Now you need to leave so I can make some money." I turn to start another pot of coffee.

I don't see him leave since I was busy serving the two tables that came in. By the time the morning rush finishes, it's ten and I'm gearing up for the lunch rush. I grab my phone out of my pocket.

Seeing that I haven't missed any calls or texts, I then open Facebook and check my notifications. Scrolling through, I notice it's all garbage. Doing what I always do, I click over to Lori's page to see her pictures, to see if something has been added or if anything has changed.

Last thing on her wall was a message from me asking her to call me and then another asking if anyone has seen her. I start scrolling through her photos, noticing how she changed from a happy, smiling kid to a sullen one with troubling friends. I can't help but wonder where the fuck I went wrong.

Grabbing a glass of water to calm the tears clogging my throat, I click on Facebook Messenger and send her another message.

I miss you so much, and I want you to come home. I'll come and get you, just tell me where you are.

I press send and see that all my other messages to her haven't been read. I still can't help but hope that she'll see them. Hope that she sees them and calls me, that I get her back.

"Oh, isn't this just fucking cozy?" I hear said from behind me. I turn around on the stool, and I'm face-to-face with the naked woman who showed up in Mick's kitchen. This time she is actually wearing clothes. Nice, fucking fancy clothes. Tight jean capris that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. A beautiful peach-colored shirt hangs off one shoulder, with thick bracelets on one wrist while the other is adorned with a Rolex and a diamond tennis bracelet. Her big wedding band nearly blinds me.



       
         
       
        

"Excuse me?" I ask her, noticing that Phyllis practically came running out from the back with Roy on her heels.

"You heard me. So you think because you work for this woman you can worm your way into Mick's life?" She sneers then laughs. "Honey, do you know how many poor waitresses have been in and out of his life?" She crosses her arms under her breasts, the movement pushing them up high on her chest.

"I have no idea who you are, and I have no interest in knowing you. Now, if you'll excuse me, my break is over." I try to walk past her when she reaches out and yanks my arm sharply, causing my head to jerk back.

"You listen here, you white trash bitch," she says as I rip my arm out of her hold. "He's mine. Has always been mine, always going to be mine. So you should know you are fucking with the wrong person. I'll make your sad, sorry life even worse."

Having heard enough of the shit she is spewing, I pick up my warm coffee and throw it right in her face. I hear gasps from all around the diner. I didn't realize that we had an audience. An audience that also now consists of Jackson, who just walked in.

"What the fuck?" she screams as she grabs napkins to clean her face off. She turns to look at Jackson. "Did you see what she just did? I want to press charges." She demands while wiping her chin before any more coffee can drip onto her shirt.

I shrug my shoulders at Jackson. "I was testing a theory," I tell him.

"A theory? What theory? That you're crazy and assaulting me?" she shrieks.

"The theory was to see if you would melt with hot water." I move closer to her. "I can see that my theory was wrong. My bad."

She lunges toward me, but Jackson stops her in her tracks, looping his arm around her waist.

"You bitch!" she screeches while trying to squirm her way out of his hold.

Looking around, I see many of the regulars trying not to make eye contact with me. I've always been the outcast, but not this time. "I may be a bitch, but you're straight up crazy. What did you think would happen when you came in here? Did you expect me to slink away? Did you think I'd be scared of the likes of you?" I laugh humorlessly to let her know that she hasn't gotten to me. "I may be white trash, but you, well, you're just plain fucking trash. Yesterday's garbage. You want to press charges? Do it. But who do you think is going to pay my bail?" I ask her so she sees where I'm going with all this. "Oh, yeah, I see you're getting it now. That's right, honey, Mick will bail me out. My knight in shining armor. The same guy who tossed your naked ass out to the curb when you showed up begging for his attention." 

"He didn't toss me anywhere. I can call him right now. Who do you think he'll choose?" She breaks free of Jackson's hold as she smoothes her hands down to straighten her now rumpled outfit.

"I could kill fucking Chris for giving her my new number!" Our heads both whip toward the door to see Mick standing there. His breaths come in harsh pants, almost as if he ran here. Looking past him through the window to the parking lot, I see that he didn't even close his car door.

He walks straight to me, his eyes raking me over to make sure I'm okay. They stop briefly on my hands as he notices they're shaking. His nostrils flare, and his angry eyes burn furiously as he turns to her. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?" He seethes.

"Bab-" she starts before Mick raises his hand to silence her from saying anything further.

"Jackson, I want this on record that she came in here to harass Marissa. I want to get witness statements," he says, and Jackson nods in affirmation. He looks back at her, totally disregarding the crocodile tears running down her face. "This is the last time you breathe the same air she breathes. You see her, you walk the other way. You don't come into her life, or mine." His tone is serious and leaves no room for discussion. She doesn't miss how he takes my hand in his and intertwines our fingers as he brings my hand to his lips. The shaking stops as I soak in his strength in this moment.

"This isn't over, Mick," she spits out like a spoiled child. She whirls around to grab her bag and then stomps out of the diner.

My eyes scan the room quickly before I look down at the floor. It takes Phyllis two beats before she claps her hands and calls out to everyone in the diner. "Drinks on me! Who wants more coffee?"

"Are you okay?" Mick asks me, worry obvious in his voice.

"I'm okay. I'm just going to need a few seconds." I leave for the bathroom. Before I can close the door, a hand covers mine, preventing me from shutting it. Mick's gray eyes greet me.

"Mind if I join you?" Not waiting for my reply, he closes the door and locks it.

"Can I say no?" I ask him as he leans against the door.

"You can, but I won't take no for an answer. I'm so sorry, honey." He reaches out to tuck some loose hair behind my ear. "So fucking sorry that I brought that into your life, into your job." His hand gently cups my face, and I turn it slightly to kiss his large, calloused palm. "I swear I will do everything in my power so that she never does that to you again."

"It's not your fault, Mick. I mean, other than dating a fucking psycho but, hey, we all make mistakes, right?" I attempt a joke to lighten the moment.

He laughs at me. "Yeah, she is one mistake I wish I could go back in time and undo." He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close. "Did you really throw hot coffee in her face?"

"It wasn't hot, just warm," I tell him sullenly as I face-plant into his chest, his calming scent filling my nose and working its magic. "How did you know?"

"Jackson had me on speakerphone the whole time."

"Great. Three days on the job, and already people think I'm trash. I should just quit before they take it out on Phyllis."

"You will do no such thing. You'll go out there with your head held high because you did nothing wrong."

I draw in a deep breath and slowly exhale. "I guess I have no choice now, do I?" I shove him away from the door and make my way out, seeing Phyllis and Roy quietly talking. "Phyllis, I'm really, really sorry about that. I promise I will pay for any damages."



       
         
       
        

"No need to pay me for anything, honey. In fact, you just got yourself a raise. Been wanting to hit that woman for a long ass time. I think that was even better." She smoothes down her apron. "Now go on out there. You have customers waiting to be served. And you"-she points to Mick-"better take damn good care of what you have here." She looks pointedly between the two of us.

He doesn't reply verbally, just nods his head, and follows me out.

The rest of the afternoon and early evening pass uneventfully, thank God. I get through the rest of the day on the knowledge that I get to search for Lori tonight.