Chapter 14 Yara
YARA
Three Days Later
He never came.
Not that I expected him to. Or maybe I did but I was lying to myself just like I've been lying to Violet and Noah, smiling when it was appropriate and refusing to talk about the night of the accident.
All they needed to know was that Xavier did everything right.
All they needed to know was that he was the perfect gentleman.
They didn't need to know I had left my heart in that house. They didn't need to know I've been checking the buses leaving town next week, counting the days until my last paycheck.
I wanted to tell them how fucking angry at myself I was. I wanted to tell them I had fucked up, especially seeing as Xavier was nowhere to be found. Ryder was the only one who showed up at the Country Club, but that was it.
Rhett, Ezra, Caleb and Xavier were nowhere to be found, and I didn't want to ask. Violet and Noah would know, but I didn't want to lie to them any more than I needed to, so I kept to myself.
I kept my head down and I ignored the pitiful looks Ryder was throwing my way every time he came to the Club. But it's been three days since I left the house.
Three days since I last saw him and my resolve to stay away was slowly waning.
My reasons started to sound stupid, especially when I lied awake at night, staring at the dark ceiling and replaying those moments we had together.
Was it rash of me to just disappear like that?
Probably yes, and there was no excuse for the way I dealt with it but I knew no other way.
And I was obviously right to leave.
This wasn't a big town, and people already knew I was staying at Violet's, so why didn't he come for me? Had I mattered as much as he said I did, he would've turned this town upside down to find me.
But he didn't.
I already knew it was childish expecting a guy to prove to me he wanted me no matter what, but just once in my life I wanted someone to fight for me. I wanted him not just to tell me all I needed to hear, but to also show me even when things got hard.
Violet got me a new phone, completely ignoring my protests.
My plan was to sneak inside the house and get my old phone, but after that initial fiasco when I came to her place, after crying more than I thought I was capable of, she got out only to come back with a brand new phone and my old number already installed.
There were no messages, there were no calls, and the more time passed the angrier I got.
Angry at myself.
Angry at him.
Maybe I was testing him without even realizing and he failed. He failed so fucking hard I knew there was no going back now. All I could do was move on and leave this place behind.
There were a few towns around Seattle I was eyeing, and if I was lucky, I'd be able to find a job at one of the places there.
Geoff, my manager, already told me he would write me a recommendation when I mentioned I might be leaving in a week's time.
Geoff was one of the good ones, loyal to his staff and not to the people controlling this town, and I knew he wouldn't say a word.
Not that I didn't ask him to keep this between us.
The Club was surprisingly slow for a Saturday, and the few patrons we had were in the age group of my mom and Xavier's dad. None of the younger ones came, and even Violet told me she had something she was going to do today. Noah left town yesterday and I’ve never felt more lonely.
"Yara." Geoff's voice pulled me back into reality, and as I turned toward him, looking away from the mostly empty restaurant, I placed a well-rehearsed smile on my face.
But he wasn't smiling. If anything, he was scowling more than usual, and for someone that looked just about ready to kill people most of the time, this was unusual. My lips dropped down at the sight of his face and the thin line his own lips were set into.
"Is everything okay?" I automatically asked, moving toward him. "Rachel and the kids, are they—"
"No." He shook his head. "They're fine. Everything is fine.
" But everything didn't seem to be fine.
He simply stood behind the bar, staring at me with something akin to concern on his face.
Yet, whatever it was he didn't share. As if waking up from a deep slumber, he shook his head, letting the smile spread on his face.
"I actually have good news for you." I cocked my eyebrow, waiting for such magnificent news to hit, especially since I still didn't believe him.
"You can leave now." I frowned at him. "I mean, if you want to. It's slow tonight."
"But I was supposed to close tonight," I said as I came even closer to him. "I don't want to leave you alone."
Geoff took a deep breath and leaned over the bar.
"Don't worry. I can handle closing. Besides—" he looked over my shoulder at two lone tables on the floor, "—it's not like we're having a full house tonight.
I'm pretty sure I can handle a couple of drinks orders and if I can't, there are still a few guys down by the pool that could help.
" They could, he was right about that, but this was the first time he was letting me go early.
We've had slow evenings in the past as well, and every single one of us had to stay until the end of our shift, no questions asked. So why now?
"Are you sure everything is okay? Is this—" I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was nearby, before looking back at him, "—because of my decision?"
"No!" he exclaimed. "Yara, you've been amazing these last couple of months, and while I'm sad you'd be leaving, I understand that you need to move on and find something else.
I obviously don't know your situation, but you have your reasons.
Honestly, it's your last shift here and I know you still haven't decided which bus you were going to take.
So take this time to really think it through and make a decision.
I just, I don't know." He shrugged. "I wanted to do something nice for you. "
But even as he said that his eyes shifted uncomfortably, almost as if this entire speech was rehearsed. But for what reason?
"O-Okay," I murmured, stepping away from the counter. "If it's okay with you and if I'll still receive my full paycheck, I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to go home and get some sleep."
"Yeah," he chuckled, rubbing his neck. "Sleep is probably a good idea. Get some rest and you can come pick up your check on Monday. I'll be here from twelve, so if that works for you, we can do it then. There's no need to come tomorrow just for that."
My eyes connected with his, but whatever it was he'd been hiding, was none of my business. If he wanted me out of here, then I'd leave. God knew I needed all the sleep I could get, especially after the last couple of nights.
I've resorted to using both the foundation and the concealer to hide the dark circles around my eyes, because sleep evaded me.
It was always there, close enough to reach it, but every time I thought I would fall asleep it would escape, making me toss and turn the entire night without the ability to close my eyes.
My entire body felt heavy and the more he spoke of getting some rest and sleeping, the more the idea seemed appealing to me. Violet told me about this tea she used a couple of years ago when she couldn't sleep and she left it for me, so I could try that as well.
"Alright then," I said, coming behind the bar and stopping just a few feet away from him.
"I know you're not someone who likes hugs, and you're not exactly sentimental, but thank you for giving me a chance all those months ago.
" He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing tightly while he stood frozen. "I really do appreciate it."
I was seconds from stepping away from him, when he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tighter than I held him.
"You take care of yourself, okay?" he whispered in my ear. "Don't let anyone ever tell you what to do." My eyes misted, the unshed tears threatening to spill onto my cheeks. "And always believe in yourself, kiddo. Always."
It meant a lot coming from someone like Geoff.
He had a daughter just a year older than me and a son who was two years younger than me, and I sometimes forgot how difficult it was growing up without this kind of support.
Without parents who would hug you, tell you to believe in yourself and your dreams and who would just support you no matter what.
"Thank you, G," I whispered. "That means a lot to me."
"Right," he mumbled as he stepped away from me. "You may want to hurry up. I know you're catching the bus, and the next one is leaving in ten minutes."
"Shit." I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. "I gotta go, but I'll see you on Monday, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll see you on Monday," he said as I started sprinting away from him and toward the lockers. The good thing was that I only had to change my shirt. The bad thing was the fact that my locker didn't always work how I wanted it to.
Running down the stairs and into the back of the house, I couldn't stop myself from wondering where everyone was.
Saturdays were usually the busiest days, and members of the Club rarely missed the chance to come here and spend it either with their family, their business partners or even their mistresses.
But today it was like a ghost town, even at the lower levels. Was there some sort of festival going on in town I didn't know of?
Regardless, whatever the reason was, it was none of my business anymore.
I didn't have time to think about the fact that this would be the last time for me to come inside this locker room, or that it was the last shift I would ever have at this place.
My hands shook as I entered the code for my locker, and I had no idea what force looked down at me, but it opened on the first try.