A/N: Hello, readers! This is a preview of a fanfic that has been two years in the making! I do not want to say too much, so I hope that you enjoy!
Dead. That was what the bar was: dead. Not a single person occupied the bar, save for the bartender. She didn't seem to mind the lack of company; she was too engrossed in the book in front of her. She expected the bar to be like this on a Sunday. Not many people wanted to be seen heading into the bar on the Sabbath day.
Another minute ticked by on the clock. The bartender's brown eyes briefly drifted away from her book to check the time. Four minutes to nine. Four more minutes and she would close up. She wanted to close up earlier, but her manager insisted that the patrons were waiting for the sun to set before coming out. It had been an hour since the sun set and still no one came.
She closed her book and stuffed it in her purse. 'It'll take four minutes to close up,' she decided. She took the time to tie up her black hair. The back of her neck was sticky with sweat. It was a good thing she opted to cut her hair only a few days ago. It helped with the hot Tennessee weather.
She gave the counter a quick wipe as she made her way around the bar area. She tossed the rag into the sink and began to turn off the lights. She hurried to the door in the off chance that a customer would come through last second. Flipping the sign to close, she opened the door and shut it behind her. She was in the middle of locking the door when she heard, "Hey, Olivia!"
The woman turned around upon hearing her name. She fought back the urge to groan and managed to come up with a smile.
"Hey, Garrett! I was just closing up, but if you want a beer I can go and grab you one and just put it on your tab."
Olivia gave a silent prayer that he would decline. She knew if he accepted her offer that one beer would turn into two and then a few more. Then she would have damned herself to a Sunday night at the bar, alone with Garrett. And that was the last thing she wanted, to spend the rest of the night with him; he seemed to have a crush on her.
"Nah, it's alright. I don't wanna trouble you." He continued to walk to her and stopped beside her. His blue eyes watched as she finished locking the door. "I actually just wanted to thank you. For finding my ring."
The fake smile remained on Olivia's face. "You're welcome."
"No, really, thank you," Garrett said, falling in step with Olivia as she made her way to her car. Fortunately, she parked right in front of the bar. "You don't know how special it is to me. It's like I can't live without it." He gave a laugh. It started out as a small laugh, then it erupted to a howling laughter. Olivia gave a small chuckle. Garrett was weird like that. It was obvious he was always high or drunk, maybe even both. It was one of the reasons why her brother didn't like her around him. Actually, her brother just simply hated Garrett.
If Olivia had to be honest, Garrett was an okay guy. He was nice, a bit weird at times, mumbling things under his breath every now and then, but Olivia never felt threatened. As far as appearances went, a lot of the girls she knew were attracted to him. He had the bright blue eyes and the dirty blond hair which he usually wore in messy spikes. It didn't take too much for him to charm them. Olivia seemed to be the only one not to fall for his charms. She took pride in that. However, it was in her nature to see through people's charms. It was always in the back of her mind that those charms were hiding ulterior motives. Yes, she was cynical like that.
"It really was no problem," she said above his laughter. It was a statement that she meant. Finding his ring really hadn't been a problem since she was the one who stole it in the first place. During one of his visits to the bar, she was able to swipe it from him while she distracted him with alcohol and a little flirting. Her brother warned her many times about conning Garrett, which she did many, many times before, but he seemed amused when she shared her new piece of jewelry.
"He's gonna go crazy when he finds out his ring is gone," her brother told her. Boy was he right. Olivia's plans of pawning off the ring were derailed by Garrett's obsession of finding his ring. It seemed that the night it went missing, Garrett stayed in the bar turning over every table and chair and going through every single nook and cranny of the bar. He refused to leave the bar until it turned up. Olivia had no choice but to give it back. Of course, rather than owning up to stealing it, she claimed that the location of the ring came to her in a dream. Garrett believed her.
"I swear, you're like a psychic," Garrett exclaimed.
"I wouldn't say that. I just like to call it…a gift." 'At conning people,' she thought to herself with a smile.
"So can you help me with something else?" Garrett leaned on the hood of her car, much to her dismay. He saw her reaction and confused it an unwillingness to help. "I can pay you! Whatever you want!"
Those words always appealed to Olivia, however, she knew better than to agree off the bat. She needed details first. "With what?"
"See, there's this guy that I owe and rumor has it that this guy is looking for something in particular." Garrett crossed his arms and shrugged. "Maybe you can find it on my behalf and I'll no longer be in his debt." Olivia mulled it over. There still was not enough details.
"What is he looking for?" she asked, already thinking of who she could contact for a forgery or a duplicate of whatever this guy needed.
"I, uh, I don't know. Which is why you have to go to him and find out." Olivia gave an amused laugh.
"And you can't go to him because?"
"He might kill me on sight," Garrett said, his face serious. "But he wouldn't kill you! You're no one to him, so you'll be fine." Olivia began to shake her head. The word 'kill' was enough for her.
"It sounds like trouble to me. I'll pass." She began to unlock her car, hoping he would get the hint.
"I can pay you whatever you want! No amount is too high! I can even get you a new car! You've been wanting a new car, right?" Olivia took that second to glance at her old car. The paint was fading and driver side door handle was broken off. To open the door, Olivia had to either keep her window open so she can reach into the interior door handle. Then she looked at Garrett. Even though he looked like he belonged in a homeless shelter, he was always able to pay off his tab at the bar. Not to mention the reward he gave Olivia when she 'found' him his ring. She had no idea how, but she was sure Garrett had some deep pockets.
"Why can't you just pay him?"
"He's not exactly interested in money." Garrett ran his hand through his hair. Then he rubbed the back of his neck. Olivia knew this was a sign of him hiding something.
"What is he interested in?" Garrett shrugged. "And where is this guy exactly?"
"Mystic Falls," he quickly and confidently answered.
"Mystic..Falls? Are you high off your ass right now? I have never heard of a Mystic Falls." Olivia started the procedure of opening her car.
"It's in Virginia."
"Garrett, I am not going to Virginia to meet a guy who I don't even know." Olivia got in her car and shut the door. Garrett got off her hood and appeared at her window.
"Virginia is only 7, maybe 8 hours away," he said through the cracked window. "It's a day's worth of driving!"
"No, Garrett. I'm sorry." Olivia started the engine, threw the gear in reverse. She pressed on the gas and…nothing. She could feel the tires spinning, but her car remained in the same place. She looked up at Garrett who had now placed his hands through the crack of the window and was holding onto her car. "What-Garrett, let go!" Olivia didn't believe that it was Garrett alone that was stopping her car from moving.
"Come on, Olivia, you gotta help me out, please!"
"I said no!" She pushed on the gas some more. Her engine roared and she felt her car move an inch before stopping again. Garrett still was holding onto her car. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.
"I can do this all night, Olivia. Just agree to help me and I'll let go."
Olivia looked around. The bar's parking lot was deserted and the other businesses on the small stretch of road were all closed. No one was around. She glanced at her purse that kept only her wallet, cellphone, and book. Nothing that would help. Her mind quickly went to the gun under her seat. Her brother had placed it there and told her it was in case of emergencies. She thought this might qualify as an emergency.
She quickly reached down.
"That's not going to do anything," Garrett told her. Olivia held the gun by the barrel then used the grip to hit Garrett's hand. It was enough to get him to let go. Without hesitation, Olivia stepped on the gas and her car sped backwards. She threw the gear to drive and began to peel out of the parking. She screamed as Garrett suddenly appeared in front of her car.
"I was hoping you wouldn't make this difficult," Garrett said. He went around to the passenger's side and opened the door. That was another thing wrong with her car: the passenger door never locked. In a flash he was in the car. Tossing her purse and the gun in the back, he pulled out his cellphone.
"Let's try this again. You are going to help me, understand?" Olivia didn't answer, she couldn't answer. "Because if you don't, I will kill you brother."
Olivia's eyes widened as Garrett brought up a picture on his phone. It was of her brother, tied up and unconscious on the floor.
"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" Olivia finally agreed. Garrett flashed her a smile. It was the only time she found him to be cute. That wasn't the case now.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the preview! Be on the lookout for the first chapter which I will upload in the first week of January!