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Jacob’s thick eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “She doesn’t know? So, you’ve been silently suffering their abuse? Didn’t peg you for a masochist, kid.”
I didn’t think that about myself. Of late, though, there were a lot of things I was forced to face about myself. “Things are...complicated,” I said in a quiet voice.
“Guessed as much.” Jacob’s expression stayed grim. “I’ll cover your shift this evening. If you want to go home, you can.”
His offer was extremely tempting. I’d like nothing better than to go home and bury myself under the blankets.
But, no. Even if I did that, it would solve nothing. I’d still be coming back to school tomorrow and the same things would repeat once more. There was no running away from it. I could only grit my teeth and face whatever else they threw at me.
“I’m fine, really,” I said. “Working hard will take my mind off things. Besides, it’s kind of late now. Mostly faculty and Ph.D. students would be coming in. I doubt they’d bother me.”
Jacob exhaled a long breath. “I hate it when kids act all mature.” Getting to his feet, he clapped a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I’m going to miss you when you’re all done with school.”
He sounded grumpy but his words made me feel slightly better. A small smile lifted the corners of my lips. “You never know. I might not get a job and end up stuck here for the rest of my life.”
“Nah,” he said, walking away. “You’re one of those kids who’ll be going places.”
I went into the room in the back that functioned as the staff lounge. Stuffing my bag into a locker, I took off my jacket and donned my apron.
Walking out, I went to the dining area and took my place behind the counter with two other servers.
There seemed more people than usual this evening. To make matters worse, there was a whole table filled with jocks and their cheerleader girlfriends. They’d even put together three tables to make enough room for their party.
“Table 10!” Kelly, my younger co-worker, shouted as she slid a large tray on the counter before me. She looked frazzled already and hadn’t even looked at me.
I bit my lip. The jock team was at table 10.
Suddenly, I wished I hadn’t rejected Jacob’s offer to take a break. There was no way they’d pass out on teasing me.
I looked toward Ahmad, a foreign post-grad, who worked with us. He was busy piling up sandwiches on a tray.
I glanced at the steaming cups of coffee before me. There was no way I could delay and risk them getting cold.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up the tray and walked out.
“Oh, my gerd! Look who it is!” A high nasal voice shouted out.
“It’s Carrie,” said one of the guys, flashing me a broad grin while the rest of his friends burst out laughing. “Didn’t know you worked here.”
I doubted whether he even knew I existed before today. Deciding to stay quiet and get this over with, I quickly handed out their drinks.
“Don’t ignore me when I’m talking to you, bitch,” the guy who called me Carrie snarled. With a sudden move, he slapped the tray hard.
I barely had the opportunity to balance the platter.
The tray tilted, making the saucers slide one after the other, and crash over my forearms. Hot, steaming coffee splashed on me, soaking my sleeves.
“Oww!” I gasped, feeling the hot liquid burning my skin.
“Clumsy bitch,” someone mumbled.
A few cups fell out of the tray and shattered on the floor.
The noise and swearing quickly attracted everyone else’s attention to me.
Mortified, I didn’t even know what to do first. Should I run and do something about the burn or should I be quick and clean up the mess? Or did these assholes expect an apology first?
Before I could decide, strong, unrelenting fingers clutched onto my wrist. I stared down at a cruel, mocking face. “I like how you look when you’re in pain,” said the young man, his gaze darkening as they raked all over me. “Why don’t you come with me after your shift’s done.”
