Hello my lovlies~ Wonderful to see you again! I want to thank those who have review and can't wait to hear the results of this chappie! So get to it! :)
"Ok, I think I'm going to stop now. If I don't I'm going to pass out in an ally somewhere and that'll be the end of me. You'll see me on the news or something." I giggled out, setting my second glass of beer down and spinning around on my barstool. The people had thinned out quite a bit and now there was only about ten of us who stayed late into the night. My black hair, bless it, had miserably fallen from its bun and now hung loosely over my shoulders in long waves.
"Hey! Rocco!" I heard multiple people say. Turning around I saw a tall man with long black hair and an equal mountain man beard to match. He wore a long black coat and had a smile that stretched from ear to ear.
"Hey Doc, give me a beer!" He yelled to the bartender. Oh, so that was his name. Doc. It fits I suppose. "And who is this nice young lady?" Rocco came over, taking my hand and kissing the top of it gently, earning a scoff from the other men in the bar.
"This is our lass Celestia, Rocco. She had her first drink ever today." Murphy chimed in, more excited about me drinking than I was. I admit, beer was good, but I don't think that'll it'll become a habit. I like it, but not that much. Maybe on a special occasion or something like that.
"Did she? You two must be proud of yourselves then!" Rocco sat down beside Murphy as I got up. I had probably overstayed my welcome and was intending to leave but Murphy hand on my stomach stopped me.
"Where ya goin' Celestia?" He asked, blowing smoke from his mouth up into the air, eyes glimmering like they never had before.
"Don't I need to leave? Its one-thirty the bar is closed isn't it? I don't want to overstay my welcome and cause trouble or anything."
"For the love of-get over here. You're more than welcome! Right Doc?" Murphy pulled me back into my seat and slung an arm over my shoulder, pulling me close to him and he down the rest of another beer. I felt heat dancing its way up my neck at such close contact. I'm not sure what was with him or if he was this touchy will all women, but it was strangely nice. They way he would pull me in close for a few moments before letting go and giving me the space I wanted.
"Y-y-yea. It's nice h-h-having a woman s-stay for a l-l-little w-while." Doc sputtered out. But he added some choice words at the end that literally made me jump. I would have fallen out of my seat if not for Murphy holding me down. On the inside I screamed what the heck was that! But on the outside I could only compose myself to the best of my abilities. Poor man must have a condition.
"Don't mind Doc, he has a way with words every now and then." Murphy mumbled out, taking a drag of his cigarette and blowing out multiple smoke rings in one go.
"I see." True I did enjoy the company here at the bar, but in all seriousness I needed to go. Tomorrow was Saturday so I didn't have to work, but I was about to fall over from exhaustion. We had been at this bar since eight, and it was nearly two in the morning now. I need sleep!
"Guys it's been fun and I want to do it again soon, but if I don't leave now I'm spending the night here, asleep in a booth somewhere." I pulled away from Murphy and stretched my arms upward, popping my back in several places and making my shirt rise up a bit.
"Hey Connor! There's another one!" I lowered my arms, making my shirt fall back down into its proper place, but Murphy lifted the back to show Connor another one of my little secrets.
"Seriously lass, how many have ya got?" He wondered, reading the cursive name of my sister across my lower back. "You're really sending us for a loop, eh Murph?"
"Aye. You're like a puzzle that we keep findin' pieces too." Murphy joked. I smiled before a yawn escaped my lips. My eyes squeezed shut and I fought the urge to rub them. I'm pretty sure that black eyeliner smudged all over the place would look anything but fabulous.
"You want the truth?" I asked while craning my neck from side to side, popping it as well.
"Aye." They answered in unison. Such a close bond these two have. It's almost scary how much they think, act, smell, talk, and drink alike. I can only imagine them as young children. They must have been a handful. "I have three more tattoos that you haven't found yet. And I'm not telling you where they're at."
Their mouths hung open in shock while I began walking away, intending to grab my pea coat and head home. "Food for thought!" I shouted back to them. The remaining men began to wave and yell their goodbyes but I immediatly felt fear grip at my heart. I backed up, not wanting to be anywhere near the three men than just entered the bar.
It's like I couldn't get away fast enough. "Move girl. Out of way. You have no business here." The largest of the three men had a thick Russian accent that rang like a deep baritone down my spine. I most definitely did not need to be told twice to move and get out of the way. I scrambled back over, literally wedging myself between Connor and Murphy, who by the way hadn't noticed the three giants that hovered above them and the rest of the group.
"Murph, Connor..." I mumbled out, trying to put as much space between myself and the Russian giants as possible. I don't know what it was about them, but they were terrifying to me. The way they looked at me, reminded me of...
"What do you want?" Rain poured down from the sky and I found myself breathing hard, my hand placed over my chest while my other fumbled in my purse for something to keep this man away from me.
"Don't be scared now, I'm not going to hurt you. Just have a little fun, that's all." It had been an everyday thing for me, to walk home from school. I could usually do it in about fifteen minutes, but the rain had started to pour, making me take a shortcut behind a building. I could practically see my house across the large road. My porch light was on, but the rain was so heavy it just made everything a blur and the light a larger than life ball of colors.
I ran right into him. Right into the solid chest of some low-life creep that got his kicks from people like me. Helpless high school girl who wanted nothing more than to be left alone. His eyes bored into mine, like he was trying to read my soul, breath tickling at my lips.
"Leave me alone!" Finally I had found what I was searching for in my purse. I jerked out a can of mace and sprayed the man in the face. He fumbled for a few moments and backed up, giving me the opportunity to run away. Or so I thought.
"No! Let me go! MOM! DAD! SOMEONE HELP-" I felt my hair being pulled back and the man hit me hard on the back of the head, making me blackout and hit the cold concrete below.
I woke up to a strange room. I was lying on a bed. My feet and wrists were handcuffed with a long chain connecting them to a separate corner of the bed. And then he walked it. His eyes filled with a smolder that could never be satisfied. "You're going to pay for what you did to me brat."
"Please..."
"Celestia. Celestia, are ya ok lass? You spaced on us." Murphy had apparently been waving a hand in front of my face, trying to regain my attention while Connor made a sad attempt to talk with the Russians. Murphy's eyes suddenly grew hard and he maneuvered himself to where he was standing in front of me. He backed me up against the bar, lifting me up by my butt and setting me down on top of it. Wow, at least buy me dinner first.
"What are you doing!" I hissed out, clearly not understanding his actions. His face was serious and he glanced over to Rocco, watching as his drunken buddy dug himself into a hole with no chance of escape. "Get behind the bar with Doc and don't come out until I get ya. Go." Murphy lifted my legs upon the bar and literally pushed me across it, making go whether I wanted to or not.
I hopped off and stood beside Doc, watching in horror as Rocco was suddenly punched in the face and sent flying into the floor out cold. But then, to my amazement, Connor began to talk fluently in Russian. Where the heck did that come from! What Irish man also knows Russian! And even better, what set of Irish twins knows Russian!
The three Russian men looked at each other in equal amazement, not sure how to comprehend the sudden change to their mother tongue. In all the shock Connor and Murphy managed to take a drink, downing the last of their liquor before tackling the largest Russian to the ground in a flurry of limbs and curse words.
Suddenly all the men in the bar were nothing more than wrecking balls that slammed into their nearest opponent. I could hardly keep up with where Connor and Murphy was, let see if they were okay or not. I looked beside me to see Doc punching the air, egging them on.
"Don't do that! They'll really get hurt then! What if-" My words were cut short when a large brandy bottle was sent flying my way, hitting me hard on the side of the head. Doc immediatly grabbed my head and pulled me down to the floor along with himself, trying to avoid another collision.
"A-a-are ya ok, lass? Y-y-you're bleeding." Doc pulled a rag from a small container and handed it to me. I took it immediately and began to dab at the blood. The bottle managed to hit me hard enough to cause me to bleed from under my right brow. I held the rag there and applied pressure, trying to get the bleeding to stop.
"Alright that's enough! Everyone stop!" I heard someone yell. Doc stood up and saw that the three Russians were lying on the ground, bleeding in several spots on their bodies. Doc gave out a small sigh of relief, happy that his bar didn't take more damage than it had.
"Connor, where's Celestia? I left her behind the bar." Murphy walked over to the bar and hung his head over the side, peering down at me as I held the rag to my head. "You're jokin' me!" Murphy jumped over the bar and kneeled down in front of me, taking the rag from my hands and inspecting the wound himself, gently skimming his fingers near the split. I gave a small wince of pain as his finger brushed over the cut.
"Come on, it's no big deal. Just a little scratch, that's all." I told him, standing up and looking at my surroundings. "Wow, you guys did a number." I mused out. Clearly I wasn't happy about the whole fighting thing and had gotten a nick in the process, but now that I look at the aftermath it was kind of funny. Things that you only see in movies. Bottle were smashed everywhere, glasses were strewn across the room, and the places smelled of fresh wine even more than it had before.
"Celestia, you're hurt." Connor pulled me from around the bar and I saw the faces of the men grow hard. "Which one did this ta ya, lass?" Connor did the same thing his brother did, inspecting the wound and looking at the three Russians when he was done.
"Like I said, it's no big deal guys. Things happen. Besides I don't know who threw it." I attempted to make the boys feel better about the whole thing but it only seemed to make them angrier.
"Well Connor, this one was their leader, so I say that he should be the one punished. Don't ya think?" Murphy said, jumping behind the bar once more and returning with some rope. Rope? Why did Doc even have rope in the first place!
"Aye. Can't let our little Celestia's wound go unpunished, can we lads!" Connor riled the men up and before I could object they hoisted the large Russian man onto the bar. He lay belly down and they proceeded to tie his hands and feet to the bar, making it where he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
Murphy pulled me over to him and wrapped his arm around my waist, leading me to the front of the group so I could see the punishment of my 'enemy'. Connor lit himself and Murphy a cigarette just as the large Russian man woke up. Connor doused the Russians backside with some alcohol before dropping a match, setting his bum on fire. He screamed out in pain, only making the bar giggle and laugh like a bunch of kids.
"Well, I believe that'll do it then! Come on, we'll walk you home Celestia. It's awful late." Connor and Murphy both gave their goodbyes to the remaining people of the bar while I grabbed my black pea coat from the front, sliding my arms into the sleeves and buttoning it up quickly before the chill crept in. We exited out the front door and the cold nipped at my skin immediately, turning my nose and cheeks red. My breath ghosted in the air before disappearing as fast as it came and I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"You guys don't have to walk me home, you know." I blurted out, secretly happy that they insisted but I don't even know how far away they live. It would be a waste of time to walk me and then themselves. I don't want to burden them.
"No problem really. It'll make us feel better knowin' you were safe in your home anyways. Right Murph?"
"Aye."
I gave off a sigh and continued to walk to my apartment, the boys quickly behind me. We chatted about several things ranging from how proud they were about my drinking and how the took great pride in embarrassing me thoroughly with the fact. I told them that it truly had been one of the best birthdays that I had ever had and before we knew it, we were standing in the hallways of my apartment building.
"So this is where ya live?" Murphy said casually, flicking his cigarette out and open window and looking down hallways to make sure no one was there after our little spat at the bar.
"Yup. Home sweet home. Why don't you come in for a bit and warm up. I'll fix something hot to drink." I said, digging in my back pocket for the lonely key to my apartment.
"We might just take ya up on that offer, lass." Murphy mused, glancing a quick look to his brother before we three stepped into the darkened room of my apartment.