8. Savvy
Savvy
I reach up for the stack of glasses on the top shelf, biting back a wince as the bruises along my side throb in protest. The cool metal of the glasses presses against my fingertips, but before I can fully grasp them, I sense movement beside me.
Todd - the bartender - steps in, his larger frame close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating from him.
He doesn’t say anything; he just reaches up effortlessly and takes the glasses from my hands, his gaze flickering down to the dark smudges peeking from beneath my blouse.
My stomach twists. I yank my shirt down, forcing a quick smile as if that will erase what he’s already seen, then step back, eager to put space between us.
“Thanks,” I mutter, hurrying out from behind the bar before he can ask me anything.
It’s not the first time he’s noticed my bruises, and I doubt it will be the last time.
He’s asked me about them many times, but I always give him a dumb excuse.
I’m clumsy. I bumped into a table. My skin bruises easily.
Yeah, he wasn’t buying it either, but there wasn’t much he could do if I wasn’t willing to talk about it.
I decided to take five minutes and go outside; the fresh air - at least as fresh as it can be in the middle of the city - helped settle me.
There is a lull in the restaurant right now, but it’s Friday, so I just know tonight is going to be busy.
My body aches all over, but taking off is not an option; my uncle would never allow it.
Fuck, I hate calling him that, but he insists .
My uncle opened Gino’s - not even his name, by the way; it’s Greg - a few months ago and not so politely asked me to work here.
For free. He says it’s the least I could do after he took me in when my dad ended up in a coma after a car crash.
At least he lets me keep my tips. Very generous of him.
It sucks even more because I know for a fact the money he used to fund this place came directly from my dad's estate, money that was supposed to be used to ensure I was taken care of.
When I mentioned it one night, I got backhanded so hard I almost passed out.
Then I was tossed to the floor and repeatedly kicked all over until I passed out.
Woke up the next morning on the kitchen floor with a split lip and bruises all over my body.
Pretty sure he kept abusing my body for a good amount of time after I was knocked out if the cigarette burns on my arm were any indication.
I don’t remember getting those but fuck they hurt the next morning.
I learned quickly to keep my mouth shut and just do whatever Greg said after that.
Not that it did me any good.
My mom, who I hadn’t seen since I was five years old, originally volunteered to step up and look after her precious baby.
The allowance she would get each month surely had nothing to do with it.
She would also have limited access to my trust fund if she could prove any funds used would benefit me in some way.
Shockingly, that didn’t last for more than three months.
Her boyfriend, a forty-something-eye-year-old junkie named Karl, moved into my childhood home right along with her and proceeded to show me way too much attention for her liking.
She called me every version of the word slut she could come up with, including some creative ones I had never heard before.
“What the fuck are you doing? ”
I woke up to my mom yelling. She stood in the doorway to my room, looking furious.
It took me a second to register the second person in my room; but once I did, I had no idea how I hadn’t noticed him immediately.
Karl lay in bed next to me, his lower half covered by my sheets.
One of his hands was under my shirt, his thick, disgusting fingers digging into my skin so hard that I wouldn’t be surprised if he drew blood.
Panicking, I yanked away from him with such force that I ended up on the floor with a hard thump. I continued to back up as far as I could until I found myself on the other side of the room, my back against my bathroom door.
“Mom, please get him out of here,” I begged her from the floor.
Her eyes flickered between me and Karl before settling on me, venom in her gaze.
I have no clue why I thought for even a second she would take my side in this.
The slap across my face firmly cemented the fact that, in her eyes, this was my fault.
“You little whore,” she hisses at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and pulling me up until I was at eye level with her. “You disgusting worthless piece of shit. Are you jealous of me? Is that why you’re seducing my boyfriend?”
Slap
My head twists to the side from the impact, and I catch a glimpse of Karl smirking from his spot on my bed. He now knows he can do whatever he wants and it’ll be my fault. The thought terrifies me.
Slap
“Hand over your phone Savannah. I don’t want to see you or hear a peep coming from this room until I figure out what to do with you .
As soon as they leave, locking me in, I hurry to barricade the door with whatever furniture I’m strong enough to move. I know it won’t keep him out for long, but I’ll at least know if he tries to get in.
I spent the rest of the night rotating between throwing up until my stomach was empty and scrubbing myself raw in the shower, desperate to feel clean. I grabbed some pillows and crawled into the back of my closet when the sun started appearing.
I would never be able to sleep in that bed ever again.
I was stuck in my room for over a week without anyone checking in on me.
If I hadn’t had my en suite bathroom for water, I probably would have died of dehydration.
I doubt I would have died from starvation at that time, but it was nice having the snacks I always hoarded for movie nights or late-night gaming sessions.
On the eighth day, my mom finally spoke to me from the other side of the door, only to tell me to pack my things because she was sending me to live with her sister. I would have asked her why she wasn’t the one leaving, but that would have led to a fight I would end up losing.
On day nine, I was taken from my room and driven to the airport.
I wasn’t even given a minute to say goodbye to my dad, who was in the small garden cottage at the back of the house, attached to machines keeping him alive.
Mommy dearest didn’t want him in the main house, so she left him there with a couple of nurses on rotation to care for him.
Doctors have explained that the chances of him ever waking up were next to nothing, but I wasn’t ready to give up on him yet.
Threatening to have him taken off life support was also my mom’s method of blackmailing me into keeping my mouth shut about Karl.
I knew a court would never allow her to make that decision, even as my guardian, but that wouldn’t stop her from just doing it.
She had easy access to him, and she was spiteful enough to switch off the machines and worry about the consequences later. I just couldn’t risk it.
“It’s just eleven more months, Savannah,” Mom said, tilting the rearview mirror so she could apply a new coat of lipstick.
“When you turn eighteen you can do whatever you want to. Just stay the fuck away from me, and Karl and your dad will be just fine and keep enjoying his little nap.” She starts chuckling at her joke, and it takes everything in me to keep my mouth shut and the tears locked away.
“Tell anyone about how you tried to seduce poor Karl and the deal is off. Do not test me.”
I give her a crisp nod and exit her car, going around to the back where Karl is waiting with my suitcase.
“I am very disappointed we didn’t get to spend more time together, Savvy,” he glances at me, his gaze dropping to my chest. “Maybe I can convince your mom to let you come visit for Christmas. Won’t that be fun?”
I grab my suitcase and turn to head into the terminal but not before he grabs a handful of my ass.
“Just a little something to remember me by.” He whispers in my ear, and I shudder.
He is so disgusting. I beeline for the sliding doors without looking back once.
Hopefully, things will be better in North Carolina.
Spoiler, it wasn’t.
My phone pings with a message, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Greg: Stop staring at the fucking sunset and do your job.
Great, the creep is using the security cameras to spy onme.
Savvy: On my way !
I pocket my phone and head back inside, busying myself with getting everything ready for the evening rush.
The place starts filling up quickly, and it comes as no surprise that we’re understaffed.
There is a line of people waiting at the entrance, and the hostess is nowhere to be found.
I walk over to the bar to ask Todd if he has seen her, and he rolls his eyes toward Greg’s office.
“She snuck in there about ten minutes ago.”
I hissed out a breath, knowing exactly what that meant.“Thanks, Todd.”
“Do you have time to get them seated? I would, but it's only me and Jason behind the bar.”
I wave him off and head toward the entrance. I can’t really say no anyway; any extra work that needs to be done is my responsibility. Greg made that very clear. All my tables had just placed their food orders, so I had a few minutes before I needed to check on them again.
I check reservations and show people to their tables, promising that their waiter will be with them shortly. I rush back outside. “Sorry for the wait-” My eyes connect with Oliver’s green ones, and I lose all train of thought, simply watching the color drain from his face when he realizes it’s me.
We stare at each other for what feels like hours until a voice next to him pulls my focus away.
“Are you going to help us?” an annoyed voice asks. My eyes snap to the pretty blonde standing beside Oliver. She smirks at me before wrapping her arm around his waist. “My boyfriend made the reservations. It’s under Fritz.”
“Welcome to Gino’s,” I say with a fake smile plastered on my face.
“One second, please.” I turn and rush to the back where the restrooms are without a second thought.
I know Greg is going to be pissed, but no punishment he could devise would compare to the ache I felt seeing Oliver with another girl.
His girlfriend.
I push open the door and head straight for the sink to splash cold water on my face. I stare into the mirror and glare at my reflection.
This is all my fault; I was an idiot for thinking I could just walk back into his life after a few months and expect him to have waited for me. Of course, he moved on; he had no way of finding me, and I made sure of that.
A foolish part of me thought that us being a scent match would make him wait for me, at least for a little while.
But here we are, a month later, and he already has another girl hanging all over him.
Maybe that night didn’t mean anything to him, and the things he said were all bullshit or just in the heat of the moment.
I alternate between anger and sadness until a knock interrupts me. I whine, annoyed by the distraction, but then Oliver walks in, looking ridiculous yet sexy in his suit and tie.
I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but then the sexy jerk cuts me off. “Fuck Savvy, I’ve missed you so much.”
I can’t contain the whine that escapes from my lungs or the tears spilling from my eyes.
His words should comfort me, but they're clouded by the image of seeing another girl clinging to him.
My body ached; I was both mentally and physically exhausted but seeing him with her was just too much.
I crumble to the floor, wishing I could wake up from this nightmare.