Chapter 2: Screaming
It's three o'clock on Saturday afternoon. There are a handful of old guys at one corner of the bar and a family eating in the dining room but that's about it. The two construction workers that I was talking to just left about 10 minutes ago.
My mom is doing paperwork at one of the small tables in the dining room. She has an eye on the family and gets up every few minutes to see if they need anything before returning to her paperwork. I am in charge of the bar by myself until five when Sugar comes in and we work together for a few hours. I'm done at eight and have plans to hang out with my friends after work.
I'm watching college basketball when the door swing open. I mean really swings open so much so that it slams into the wall behind it. My head snaps over to the entrance. I can see a woman standing there in the doorway. The sun is framing the woman and I can't really she her face. I have no idea why she is just standing there as she looks around the bar quickly.
She steps forward and lets the door close behind her. I know who it is as soon as the door shuts and my eyes adjust to the dim light of the bar again. I smile as she approaches the bar. "Long time, no see." I joke. She doesn't seem amused though. She's still got that damn scowl on her face.
"What?" She questions as she stops behind the row of bar stools.
"Nothing." I shake my head. Apparently her bad mood has transferred from yesterday into today. "You want something to drink?" I don't know what else to say.
"No." She sets her hands palms flat down on the bar and leans into it over a bar stool. "I want to know who it was that decided to throw me in a fucking filthy taxi cab and ship me off into the night." I can hear the anger in her voice and how it raises towards the end of the sentence. She's mad.
"Well, I was the one who called the cab and I helped you out to it once it got here. Did you make it home alright?" I don't really understand why she is standing here so angry. At me, I assume. I did the right thing. She shouldn't have been driving last night. She was clearly drunk. She looks like the top of her head is about to pop open and a bunch of steam will start shooting out.
"I made it home but I don't know if I made it there alright." She fumes. Her fists curl up into balls. "So you are the one who put me in that taxi and sent me on my way." I nod my head cause yeah I just told her that. "I may have made it home and into bed but I have no idea how I got there. I woke up this morning and all I could remember was a lot of drinking and blonde hair and blue eyes." She growls.
I look around at notice a few of the old guys looking at us. My eyes search for my mom and once I spot her she is giving me a look. One that I can only describe as 'can you take care of this woman or do you need my help'. I nod to her that I got it. My line of sight comes back to the dark-haired woman in front of me. "Did I do something wrong? Why are you so mad? I put you in that cab because you were in no state to drive. I don't know where you live and I'm not sure if it was a long cab ride. I could reimburse you if it cost a lot." I offer. I don't really know what she wants at this point.
"I don't want your fucking money." She yells. Her fists go from the top of the counter to her sides.
Everyone in the bar is looking now. I walk around the end of the bar in a bold move and grab her by the elbow and start for the kitchen. "Hey, what are you doing?" She yells and tries to pull her arm out of my hold but I have too strong of a grip on it. I don't answer her and pull her into the kitchen with me. The two cooks turn and look at as when we enter. I give them a look and a nod. They get the hint and scamper off into the break room that is connected to the kitchen.
"Listen-" I turn so that I am facing her head on. "-I don't know what you're problem is or why you come here and start yelling. I did a good thing for you. You should be thanking me instead of yelling at me. You could be in jail for drunk driving or worse. I put you in that cab to save you from that trouble."
She stands there, her arms folded across her chest. That damn signature scowl on her face. I don't know why she isn't yelling back or why she is just standing there. Her fists are still balled up and she could punch me at any second but I don't think that is going to happen. But if it does I think I could take her in a fight. I am bigger and probably stronger. Unless she's a secret ninja, then I'm screwed.
"And another thing- this place is like my home. My family owns this bar and you can't just come in here and start screaming about- I don't even know what. You just can't do that. I am going to warn you this time but if you ever do something like this again you won't be allowed back. You are more than welcome to come here and enjoy our bar or restaurant but I am warning you that if something like this ever happens again you will be banned from this establishment." I tell her in a stern voice. I wouldn't say I am yelling just very firm and serious. "Understand?"
She just stares up at me. She is a couple inches shorter than me and I have to look down slightly to catch her eyes. "Understand?" I repeat.
"I got it." She huffs. She doesn't sound as angry. Maybe a little defeated and still upset about something. But she doesn't seem like she wants to put her hand through the wall anymore.
"Okay. So we can settle this like grown adults." I take a step back to open the door to the kitchen. "Let's go talk out in the dining room." I suggest. I offer for her to go first and then follow out of the kitchen and shut the door behind me.
The family that was eating lunch or dinner or whatever meal it was is gone now. I don't see my mom and assume that she is taking care of the bar while I deal with this. I go over to the table in the corner, the one the farthest from the bar. I pull out a chair and sit down and look up to see the slightly less angry dark-haired woman do the same across from me.
"So, I'm going to ask you a question and you can answer if you want but you don't have to. Why did you come here today?" I decide to keep it simple. I don't want her to get mad at me again. I really want to ask why she is so angry all the time though.
She shrugs and looks out the window that looks out on the parking lot. "I came to find my car. Luckily I remember where I came last night." She turns back towards me but I turn and look out the window. I don't know which one her car is.
"Right. Well, that answers that question then."
"You have more questions?" She asks.
I guess I did just sort of imply that didn't I. I don't want to lie but- "Yes. But I won't ask them." I try and gauge her reaction but she just sits there like a stone.
"Ask them." She nods at me.
"What?"
"Ask them. What do I care. You said I didn't have to answer if I didn't want, so ask them." She says.
I scrunch up my nose. I don't like the sound of this. I don't want to ask a bunch of question and have none of them answered. "Why are you so angry? I mean the two times I've seen you, you have seemed mad."
"Next question." Is the response that I get.
I huff out a frustrated breath. "Why did you come in here today? You could have just picked up your car and left without ever coming inside. I would have never known you were here."
"Next question." She crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow at me and waits.
I don't think I am going to get an answer out of her to any of my questions so I give up on the more complex questions and ask the simplest question that there is. "What's your name?"
She is quiet for a few seconds after a ask and I think that she might be thinking it over. Not that she doesn't know what her own name is but rather whether or not she wants to tell me what it is.
"Santana Lopez."
"Great, Santana, why didn't you want to tell me your name today or last night for that matter?"
She narrows her eyes at me. I think for a second that she might be thinking whether or not she wants to answer like she did with the last question. I watch her and she watches me. It's a little creepy actually.
She unfolds her arms and puts her hands on the edge of the table and leans forward. I think she is about to say something so I lean in closer to her. But as soon as I do she pushes the chair away from the table and stands up. She turns her back to me and walks away.
She gets to the door before I realize that she is leaving. I push my chair out and run after her. "Wait." I yell but the door is already closing. I run over to it and push it open and run down the three steps.
She peels out of the parking lot in a black car and is disappearing down the street before I know it.
I hang my head and walk back inside. I'm not really sure why I am so bummed out. I think part of me wanted to get to know more about the mystery woman. She's seems so angry and I want to know why.
As soon as I get inside my mother eyes me from head to toe. She is asking me questions with her eyes. I slip back behind the bar and my mom is still eyeing me. I grab her by the elbow and pull her through the small door at the back of the bar into the kitchen.
"What was all that?" My mom asks as she shuts the door behind her.
I shake my head. "I'm not really sure, to be honest."
"Well, why was that woman screaming at you? Did you do something to offend her?"
I shake my head again trying to wrap my mind around everything that has happened in the last thirty minutes. "No. You don't remember, do you? She was in here last night. Sitting at the bar, all night, by herself. She seemed angry. She didn't talk hardly at all. I didn't even find out her name until a couple of minutes ago."
"Hmmm." Mom hums. "Strange character."
"Yeah. I don't even know why she was screaming and I asked her but she wouldn't give me an answer. She was really drunk last night and I told her she shouldn't drive and I called her a cab. She seemed to have some sort of problem with that. I don't know why though."
My mom puts her hand on my shoulder. "You did the right than dear. Don't worry about it. You did the same thing I would have done."
"Yeah, but she didn't scream at you." I hang my head.
My mom's hand pats at my shoulder. "Honey, you did the right thing. Don't feel bad about what you did."
"Okay."
"Now, what did you tell her about coming here again?" My mom asks me. I know the answer she is searching for. She wants to know that I warned the woman.
"I told her that if she even come back here and started screaming ever again that she would be banned from the property."
"Good. Now back to work."
My mom starts talking to the cooks, Finn and Will. I go back out into the bar. The first thing I do is look at the clock and hope that it's almost five and Sugar will be here soon and I can tell her all about this weird ass afternoon.
Short chapter i know. This will probably the shortest chapter. I already have a number of chapters written and they are all longer than this. Some much longer.
With that being said i hope you all are liking this so far. I can't quite believe the number of reviews and favorite and followers after that first chapter. Thank you all.