A/N: It has been ages since I've written anything so this is more or less an attempt to get back into writing. I had lost my passion for it and was on the verge of just abandoning everything, regardless of whether or not it was finished, but I started seeing a doctor earlier this year and was officially diagnosed with depression. After a few sessions things started to finally get better so I thought I would try to keep the momentum going and start writing again. If anyone has been reading Desperado, my Walking Dead fic, you'll be pleased to know that I am working on chapter 10 and have 6 pages currently written. My hope is to have it completed & posted in the next few weeks.
Chapter 1
"Fuck my life and everything in it! Doc, pour me something tall and strong and keep 'em coming until last call. Don't you dare think about cutting me off before then!"
"Bad day?"
It was a familiar voice with an Irish lilt, the body that it belonged to carefully slid onto a stool next to me, his right hand holding a half-lit cigarette, and in his left was a beer. His voice is usually a welcome but tonight was different. Tonight was just one of those nights where things started off bad and just got worse.
"Fuck off MacManus, ain't in no mood for your shenanigans."
Doc came back to where I was seated with a tall mixed drink, sliding it into view. My hand touched his for just a moment, causing the elderly man to stop in his tracks. I retracted my hand and fished around in my pocket for the last bit of money I had to my name until my next paycheck came.
"Keep the change, Doc."
He nodded and made his way towards the end of the bar where a small group of college kids had flagged him down for refills. I lifted the glass to my nose and the first thing to hit me was the tequila. That sweet old man always knows how to help me drown my sorrows. Taking the straw out and setting it aside, I picked the glass up, tipping it back to allow whatever it was Doc made slide past my lips. The tequila wasn't anything to write home about, you could buy it in any store and he was probably just looking to get rid of it since the bottle on the shelf was only about a third of the way gone.
"Wanna talk about it?"
There was that voice again, pulling me back to reality when all I wanted was to slip away into my thoughts. I took another sip of my drink, allowing the tequila to burn a little on the way down, then turned my head to the side and allowed the crick in my neck to pop.
"Why do you even give a damn about what's going on? You've never cared before."
"I care, you just never seem ta be receptive ta letting someone care about ya."
I shook my head and tipped the glass back, finishing off my first drink and pushing it towards the end of the bar. Doc was back in front of me within seconds with a fresh glass and some rather strange advice that will probably sink in come morning while I'm recovering from a hangover. From the corner of my eye I watched him pull a pack of cigarettes out from his left coat pocket and a lighter from his right pocket; the thumb and forefinger on his left hand pulled the cigarette from the pack, shoving it between his lips, then creating a barrier from any breeze that may threaten to blow the flame out from the lighter that he lit in his right hand.
"C'mon, tell me what's going on with ya, can't just keep it in 'til yer ready ta burst. That's what makes people go crazy." He titled his head back and blew the smoke upwards just as the door to the bar banged open against the back wall.
"I hope that's your brother and not the asshole that's had me in a foul mood all day."
"Hey, barkeep! Let me get a beer and for the lady the fruitiest thing you got on the menu, maybe a cosmo if you got the stuff."
I groaned in near agony as I let my head bang against the bar top several times as the asshole slid onto the other stool next to mine, his hand found its way to my back and began rubbing across my shoulders. I did the best I could to shake his roaming hand away from me but it only earned a laugh.
"Ya mind getting your hands off my girlfriend? Not really in any mood to be kicking some sorry fuck's arse tonight."
"Girlfriend? Give me a break; how much did she pay you to say that? Or did she offer to suck your cock because she ain't got a job no more?"
"We'll talk about that later young lady," he said, pointing a finger in my face, "Doc d'ya mind giving Dolly and Duffy a call? This one's not gonna end pretty and we'll probably be out brawling on the street here in a minute."
The asshole took his hand off my back but not before letting his fingers linger over my shoulder, making me cringe one more time. Turning in my seat, I watched him climb off his stool and shuck his coat off; as he passed it to me for safe-keeping, he pressed a quick kiss to my cheek and a promise that he wasn't gonna get locked up tonight.
"Fucking jerk's probably never been in a fight before in his life. Back in a few."
The two men stood in the middle of the room, the place growing quiet as everyone looked on in anticipation already knowing who the clear winner would be. Behind the lone MacManus brother stood a small army, ready to fight should anything befall their fearless leader; behind the asshole was the door he walked in and where two detectives of the Boston PD would soon be walking through in a matter of minutes.
"I asked ya nicely ta take yer hands off my girlfriend and instead ya make lewd remarks at her expense. A lesser man would just let someone like you get away with shit like that but I'm not that kind of man. Now, you can apologize on yer own or I can make you, what's it gonna be?"
"Why the fuck would I apologize to a whore? Ain't my damn fault she's throwing pussy around and fucking every cock she sees."
He sighed, almost defeated about the choice he was forced to make. He really didn't want to get into a fight tonight since his hand was still busted up from the last one he got into with his brother plus their boss had been coming down on them hard about missing a lot time in the last few weeks. That was my fault though, I wanted them to be at work but they were both insistent on being by my side as I went to one doctor's appointment after another trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
"Last chance, won't be asking ya again," his cigarette hung in the corner of his mouth as he waited for an answer.
"Fuck y-"
The asshole never stood a chance as a fist collided with his face, sending him stumbling backwards over his feet into the arms of two Boston PD detectives that just walked through the door. Their attention was drawn from the man with a bloody nose to the one that was earning a round of cheers and applause.
"This drunk fuck hit me! I want him arrested for assault!"
"Told ya ta apologize ta me girlfriend. Honestly, didn't yer Ma ever teach ya not ta call people names?"
I looked on as Duffy hung his head, shaking it a bit while rubbing the fingers of his right hand over his eyes. A deep sigh escaped his mouth as he lifted his head back up, trying to decide the best course of action.
"We really should be taking you both down to the station tonight but we won't on the condition that she take your ass home and you never show your face in this bar again. We see either one of you again tonight you're coming with us, clear?"
"Hey man, I didn't do a damn thing wrong here! That fucking Mick put his hands on me and I wanted his ass locked up, you hear me?! Do you know who the fuck I am?!"
"Buddy, I don't care if you're the fucking Pope, just go before we change our minds." Dolly turned him towards the door and gave him a not so gentle shove.
"Before we turn the two of you loose, what happened tonight?"
I handed the coat back to its rightful owner and explained to the pair of detectives, in not so many words, exactly what they wanted to hear, making sure to leave out some details because I knew I'd have to fess up later when we got home. Once they were satisfied with the answers they got from us they continued the interview process with Doc, the college kids a few seats down, and the rest of the Tuesday night regulars.
"Doc, you may wanna just close up and call it a night. Two of your favorite patrons are going home for the night and if this guy is who he says he is, he'll be back ready to cause more trouble until we throw him in a cell for a few hours."
I thanked both Dolly and Duffy as I slid off my stool wondering what I was going to do about a job and health insurance since now I was out of both. This was a job that I really needed and the health insurance was needed just as badly with all the problems that I had going on. With that rug being yanked right out from under me, any hope I had to figure out what was wrong went completely down the drain.
My hero wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side, and planted a quick kiss to the top of my head. I knew he could feel the worry and anxiety radiating out of every pore in my body but yet he still had the confidence to whisper in my hair "we got this." Together we walked out of the bar, checking over our shoulders to make sure no one was behind us. When we were certain that we were alone, we hung a left and headed towards the place we called home with his brother.
I was hoping the walk would last longer than 10 minutes but then again I couldn't wait to curl up under our blanket and hide away from the rest of the world, even if it was only for the night. He held the door open just long enough for me to enter our building first, the metal banging against the frame snapped me out of my thoughts.
"C'mon, we're almost home, just a ride on the lift and we're there."
I nodded and walked into the elevator, listening to the gears grind to life as we made our way up to the fifth floor. Like he said, we were almost home. I still find that to be a foreign word, "home." It was something I've never had before, something I've longed for, something that seemed almost unattainable before he and his brother came crashing into my life.
Time seemed to move in an instant – one second we were on the lift and the next I found myself curled up in our bed, wrapped in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably as the weight of the day's events came crashing down around us.
"What happened today?"
"Got to work five minutes late, which wasn't that big a deal but you know me, I don't like to be late. After that things just seemed to take a turn for the worse; I got called into the boss's office and was told that I was being fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker. I told her that it wasn't true, that I had been seeing you for the last four months, and that whoever was making those claims needed to tell the truth. She didn't want to hear it though. She got on the phone and told her secretary to 'let him in' and that's when Aaron came strutting in like he owned the place. He sat down in the chair next to mine and started rubbing his hand against my thigh, putting on a show.
"I was already being fired for something I didn't do so I shoved his hand off and slapped the shit out of him as hard as I could. Security came running in before I had time to bash him over the head with the chair."
"At least you still got us; we need extra hands at the plant and I might be able to pull a few strings to get you started either tomorrow or the next day. Not sure what we'll do about insurance but helping you get a new job is a step in the right direction."
"I guess, but we both know that it's not what I want to do. This was a job that I really liked and because of Aaron, I'll never be able to work another job like it. I didn't want to say anything before but he's been texting me all day about how he's already called every bank within 15 miles to make sure I never worked in the finance industry again."
"Why would he do that? Doesn't make much sense ta me."
"I wouldn't sleep with him, I wouldn't go out with him, I wouldn't go anywhere or do anything with him. I've got you and your brother keeping me on my toes at every turn. But I think what pissed him off and sent him over the edge is when he heard me telling one of the other girls about what we did a few weeks ago in the confessional; Aaron thought that he could have me in a moldy, musty utility closet until I bit his hand."
His fingers dug into my shoulder at this confession and his breathing picked up a bit; I could feel his body grow rigid and if I didn't know any better the tranquility I usually find in his eyes were turning into a sea of trouble.
"Just before I walked into the bar the doctor called me and wanted to do another round of blood work and another ultrasound; they still haven't been able to rule out cancer and when I told him that I just lost my job and insurance all he had to say was 'sorry, maybe we can get you on a payment plan.' At this point it feels like I may as well do everyone a damn favor and just eat a piece of lead later tonight."
"Hey!" he pulled away and forced me to look at him, "don't you ever fucking say that again, ya hear me? We'll figure this out, understand? I know yer scared, I know ya want answers. Hell, we want answers too but talking about killing yerself won't solve a damn t'ing. You've got me, you've got me brot'er; we're yer family and we've got ya. I know it feels like yer at rock bottom right now but t'ings will work out in da end."
He swept his thumbs under my eyes, wiping away the tears that wouldn't stop as the endless possibilities of what was wrong with me ran rampant in my mind. Eventually, all I could do was cry myself to sleep. His hands roamed over my back, comforting me as best as possible until he was able to fall asleep himself. We stayed in each other's arms until well past dawn and by that time his brother found his way home from work, passed out in his bed with his boots still on his feet.