2. Ellie
2
ELLIE
I woke early this morning in my new place – at least in my temporary new place. Wondering whether Jack brought women back here and if he had even washed his sheets since, I’d decided to sleep on his couch the first night.
I’d called Katie last night to check in with her and let her know I’d made it safely. She was happy for me that I got away, but I was sad to be far from her. She had been my only close friend since I moved in with my grandma years ago, and I knew I would miss her. I’d told her about meeting Wade , Ruthie , and Tammy and described Jack’s boring apartment. Before we hung up, we promised to chat often, even if just via text.
Jack’s place was nice and clean. It was a simple one-bedroom apartment, exactly the size I would like to get for myself once my brother was home, albeit with a little more color and character than Jack currently had in his. He wasn’t home much, so that explained the bare minimum furniture, but he didn’t have any photos or art on the wall, and I was a photo fanatic. His walls were all stark white, and while I usually preferred white walls for good lighting in a bathroom, I would much rather have color on the walls in the other rooms. Gray sheets with a gray comforter. No throw pillows or blankets on the couch. The living room only had a gray couch, a brown coffee table, and a giant TV on top of a black console table. The thing that screamed bachelor pad the most, though, was that he only had wrapped plastic utensils and paper plates in his kitchen.
I needed to run to the store and stock up on a few necessities for the apartment before I met Tammy at the pub for my first shift. I quickly showered and dressed before grabbing my keys and headed out the door.
As I exited the elevator into the lobby space, I saw Ruthie typing away at her desk. Ruthie was a few inches shorter than me. She had silvery blonde hair, much lighter than mine, about an inch or two above her shoulders, and bright, caramel-colored eyes. I waved and said hello, and she smiled back at me.
“Hey Ruthie , is there a place nearby where I can get some basic groceries and maybe a few things for the apartment?” I asked.
“There’s a Target and Walmart , both just two miles down the street if that works,” she said quietly.
I found myself wondering how she worked as a receptionist when she clearly was uncomfortable talking with people. Maybe I could take some time and chat with her. I didn’t know anyone else here, so I could certainly use some new girlfriends. Plus , I would be seeing her almost daily for the next few weeks while I lived here, so it would be polite to get to know her a little better.
“Thanks. Hey Ruthie , would you like to get some lunch together sometime or go shopping?” I asked taking a chance. “ I don’t know the area, and I would love to know what there is to do around here that’s fun.”
She stared at me for a few seconds and I realized maybe I had overstepped. She was obviously very shy, so maybe hanging out wasn’t really her thing. I was about to tell her never mind when she spoke up, albeit quietly.
“Umm, okay,” she said with the faintest smile.
While I gave her my number, I noticed a man standing off to the other side of Ruthie’s desk, looking down at his phone. When I listed off my phone number, I noticed the man was now staring right at me. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite figure out how.
“You must be Ellie ,” the man said with his hand outstretched. “ I’m Archer . I’ve heard a lot about you from Jack .”
Oh! Yes , I remembered Jack talking about him and even showed me a few pictures of him when he was home.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you,” I said as I shook his hand.
“If you need anything while you’re here, just let Vince , Wade , or me know, okay.”
I felt like there was some deeper meaning there, but it was likely him just being nice because I was Jack’s sister.
“Thank you. I’ll see you guys around,” I said as I turned and walked out.
Archer seemed friendly and was definitely attractive. He had the Greek God vibe going. Or maybe Italian or Spanish , I wasn’t sure. He had olive-tone skin and black hair that hung a little over his ears and forehead. He was either going for the messy look or was past due to get a haircut.
While Archer was good-looking, he couldn’t hold a candle to Wade .
Jack had talked about Archer , Vince , and Wade a lot. Vince and Wade were in his army squadron, and Jack referred to them as his brothers. Archer was Vince’s cousin or brother or some kind of relative. He hadn’t served overseas with them, but was still part of their tight-knit group. I was happy my brother had them, even if the Army was the reason our relationship was a bit strained.
From what I recalled Jack telling me, Wade was the squad’s staff sergeant and a few years older than my brother, but my brother really seemed to admire and respect him. What he hadn’t mentioned was how good-looking Wade was. Not that guys thought about stuff like that.
When Tammy first brought me into the office to meet him, I was amazed at how handsome he was. He had dark brown hair and stunning milk chocolate eyes.
I’m fairly tall myself at 5’9”, but he easily had half a foot on me. Even though he was out of the military, he clearly did not miss a workout. He had broad shoulders and muscles upon muscles that looked like they were straining under his black T -shirt. I could see some tattoos peeking out from his sleeves and found myself wanting to rip his shirt off so I could see how far the tattoos went.
I shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that, though. He was Jack’s friend, now my boss, and honestly, my track record with men wasn’t the greatest lately. As I made my way to the store, I reminded myself that I just needed to focus on myself right now and apply to schools locally. Not think of how smoking hot my new boss was.
Definitely not.
Maybe if I told myself enough, it would actually sink in.
Maybe.
* * *
After grabbing some new sheets, an extra pillow ( Jack only had one), a throw blanket for the bed and one for the couch, some non-plastic silverware, cups, plates, and some groceries to fill the fridge with real food, I was set. At least for now.
My hope was that over the next few weeks, I could put some pictures of Jack , Gran , and me in some frames around his place, a houseplant or two, and make this area feel a little homier for him. Not girly, but just more like a home rather than an empty place to just eat and sleep.
I pulled my hair into a ponytail and tried to do my best to cover up what remained of my bruises and marks on my neck before heading down to the pub to meet Tammy . As soon as I walked in the door, her loud but friendly voice greeted me.
“Heya, Ellie . Come on over, dear,” Tammy yelled and waved me over to the bar.
Tammy seemed like a super sweet lady from what I could tell. She was short, especially compared to me, with a stocky, muscular build. Her dark brown hair was accented by a few strands of gray, and the slight wrinkles around her eyes suggested she might be in her mid-forties. Yet , everything else about her gave the impression she was ten years younger.
“Let’s get you ready so you can start earning us some big tips. We share them, by the way,” she told me, leaning in. “ I have a feeling you are gonna be making our tip jar nice and full.”
“Thanks, Tammy .” I laughed at her confidence, but I appreciated her faith in me. “ I’ll do what I can to pull my weight around here and help out as much as you need me.”
“Glad to hear it!” Tammy said excitedly. “ Wade told me you can work pretty much any time, any day. Is that correct? Because I make the schedule mostly, and then Wade just approves it.”
“Yeah, I’m trying to save up to go to college, so I’ll take any and all shifts you can give me, both at the bar and waiting tables. I’m not picky,” I said shaking my head.
She showed me around, and then after getting a refill for the only customer currently at the bar, she wiped down the counters and informed me the lunch rush would start soon.
“Are you transferring from another school or just getting started?” she asked, with no judgment in her voice, but I still felt a little embarrassed at how my situation had delayed me going to school.
“Umm…life got in the way a little bit the last year, so I had to put school on the back burner for a bit, but hopefully I can find someplace not too far from here and apply there,” I told her.
Her eyes softened, and she leaned over and put her hand on my hand, where I was restocking glasses.
“Does this delayed start have anything to do with those bruises I see healing on you?” she whispered to me.
My eyes widened as I stared at her. Crap . I guess I hadn’t done as good of a job as I thought on covering them with my makeup. I didn’t know what to say.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You can tell me when you’re good and ready,” she said calmly. “ But if you need me to take care of him, I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, so I know exactly how to kill a man and bury the body where no one will find it,” she said, winking at me and then turning toward the bar back area.
I half-chuckled, not really knowing whether Tammy meant that or not.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.
I tried to change the subject, so I asked her to tell me about herself.
“Not much about me, girl,” she started, shrugging, and I could tell she didn’t like sharing about herself. “ I was an Army brat growing up, and then kept it in the family and went into the Army myself. I used to come here to this pub a lot in between deployments. Got to know Wade’s uncle, and when I retired, he offered me a job. Got good retirement from the military, but I’m not the type of person to just sit around and be lazy all day. Plus , I like talking to people, and a bar is a great place for that.”
I could believe that. She definitely seemed like a talker – and a friendly one at that – though I wondered if she had a boyfriend or kids or anything.
“Well, enough about my boring life. What are you going to school for? Have you decided?” she asked.
I saw what she was doing here. Flipping the conversation so she didn’t have to talk about herself, so I let it go. I understood what that was like, not wanting to talk about certain aspects of my life, either.
“Massage therapy school,” I started to explain. “ I found a few schools that offer a program starting soon, and even with me only taking classes part-time, I could still graduate in less than two years.”
“Girl, you ever need a volunteer test dummy, I’m your girl,” Tammy said as she stopped what she was doing with a glass in hand and turned to me. “ Everything on my body aches these days. Hell , just thinking about all my aches and pains makes my head hurt. I’ll be a great client.”
I laughed as she nodded at me and turned to go grab a menu for a guy who’d just sat down.
“I’ll give you a massage, Tammy , any time you want,” the new customer grinned like a Cheshire cat.
This man sat down at the very end of the bar, and appeared to be at least fifteen years older than Tammy , but friendly.
“As tempting of an offer as that is, Eddie , I know where your hands have been and I don’t want them anywhere near my body,” she said, winking at him and grinning as though this was a joke between them.
He guffawed loudly and clearly didn’t take her rejection to heart.
“I’m just happy it’s you two pretty ladies workin’ behind the bar tonight instead of the usual scruffy ones,” Eddie said. “ I’ll take my usual, Tammy -girl.”
Tammy laughed and must have seen the confusion on my face.
“He’s talking about Corey and Sam , our other two main bartenders,” Tammy explained. “ Sam works here and goes to school part-time. Speakin ’ of which, you may want to ask him about schools if you’re interested.”
“Oh, thanks, I may just do that,” I told her.
She continued while filling a beer for Eddie . “ Corey works here and also at the gym down the street as a personal trainer. I teach a few martial arts classes there, which is how he found this job. Now , let’s get to it. You can start by getting that new customer down there, and then I’ll show you the rest as we go through the day.”
If the rest of the shift was similar to how it began, this was going to be a great job. I liked Tammy already and was looking forward to meeting everyone else. And maybe, just maybe, working a little more with Wade .