Bitter Pill
Megan's POV
Finally, I thought with relief. The night was winding down, patrons were leaving or being escorted out after puking their guts out or starting drunken brawls. I rolled my eyes as a snooty lady was yelling at the top of her voice about suing us for escorting her out. Lady, you just created work for us, by puking all over the damn furniture. Not to mention the fact that she had complained 3 times to Joe about the substandard service. Even Stacy was annoyed with her. STACY. If it were my choice I'd wring her neck. As I started counting my tips, I looked up when I heard my name. "Steve, still here?" I asked, confused. "His friend, isn't well. I thought by bringing him here, he'd cheer up. It worked,and I can see why he calls it his favorite bar" An accented voice drawled. "Mr T'Challa, you're here too. Hope you guys enjoyed yourselves then?" I asked, cleaning the glasses as I turned my inquisitive gaze onto Steve's blues.
"Oh yeah, great-uh good.. Yeah I had a great time" Steve said slowly, a blush on his cheeks. "Mhmmm " I hummed, pleasantly. "Would you like to settle your bill now?" I asked, bringing up the other half of his tab. "Naah girl, put it on this guy's tab" A kind voice intruded, handing me a card. "Sam! Is that...?"Steve asked, looking shocked and amused. "Mhmm.." Sam smirked cheekily. "Riight...so Mr Anthony S. That's you I suppose?" I questioned, swiping the card, nodding at the newcomer. T'Challa nudged Steve harshly."Oh! How rude of me. This is Sam. Sam, this is Diana. Best bartender in the whole of New York." . I stared at him "Whole N-new York?" I stuttered at the unexpected praise.
"Oh, soo you're Diana." He said slowly, holding a hand out. "That's me I guess." I agreed, shaking his warm hand while narrowing my eyes at T'Challa who was snickering a little. "Stark Industries? You guys are employees?" I asked, giving Sam the receipt. "Something like that" he shrugged. "Alright!" I said, not really interested in this conversation anymore as I caught sight of Rosie crying at the empty VIP section. "So, Diana-" T'Challa started.
"Yeah, uh, nice meeting you, friends of Steve. Welcome back here anytime! If you'll excuse me.." I cut him off, and set my glass down. I waved and smiled fakely at them, waiting for them to turn about and leave. Taking the hint they backed away, speaking amongst themselves quietly. I quickly took off my apron and walked out of the bar towards the VIP section. We were closed so I wasn't worried about potential orders coming in. "Rose? Hey, Rosie, what's up, talk to me."
She rubbed her face furiously, trying to remove evidence of her tears."Nothing, Dee. Everything's fine" She said, a small half-hearted smile on her face. Growing up with my family, I was forced to be more observant than most people- in order to avoid punishment. So when I saw the wad of cash sticking out of her apron, I knew. "You didn't make rent" I stated. "I-"
"Rose, no. " I said firmly, giving her a good half of my tips for the night. "Diana, you can't!" she cried looking like she was going to start crying again. "I earned it. I'll do what I want with it, alright?" I reassured her, ignoring the potential consequences I'd face for not bringing back enough money. "Buy your kids something nice." I smiled gently, standing up. "Thank you, D. Bless your kind heart." She sobbed. "Oh it's nothing Rose. No problem" I hugged her slightly, and made my way to the back room.
"Giving payouts now are we?" A voice sneered. I rolled my eyes at Stacy. "She needed it, alright?" I snapped, taking my bag from the staff locker room. "She needed it" Stacy mocked, going off to tell the other waitresses about it. I sighed wearily, as I realized I had less than an hour to make it back to that house. I stuffed the work shirt into my bag and changed into the shirt I was wearing when I came in. Without as so much as a 'bye' to anyone, I left the bar, the back-alley door slamming on my way out. It was drizzling slightly so I used my hand to shield my head the best I could before beginning my jog home.
"Megan!!" He screamed when I entered the house. "Yes, father?" I said wearily, rain-soaked, tired and fearful. Outside of this house, I could pretend that I had a loving functional family.That I didn't have to fear returning home all the time. That I didn't have to fear the one person who was supposed to protect me. But no more. I was Megan again. Reality hurts. "Come here!" He yelled. I trudged over to the living room, where he sat with a bottle of alcohol, and some breakfast- for himself only. "You aren't late today." He observed. I nodded meekly. "Good...now, hand them over" He commanded, going back to attack his breakfast. I sighed softly, reaching out and handing him the money. He eyed it disdainfully, picking it up and starting to count it. "Hmm. Only 400. You're kind of...short a few hundreds" He said, in a soft voice. I flinched, tensing as he stood.
Without warning, pain exploded across my cheek and I fell to the ground. "Fucking cunt ass bitch. Can't even fucking earn the money. Why do I keep you around huh?!" He screamed, sending his booted feet into my side over and over. "I'm sorry! I tried" I cried, willing the attack to stop. "Try is not good enough! I don't care if you have to sleep with fifty men. I want my goddamn money!" He raged, sending one last kick before he strode over to the door and left for work.
I laid there for a few minutes, crying hard, feeling so empty and lost. My brother, Casey, came down the stairs, took a look at me, and walked back up again. Painfully, with a groan, I hauled myself up, cleared the dishes and went to my room. I set my alarm for 2pm and went promptly to sleep. My stomach ached. And the worse part of it was that I couldn't tell if it was because of my hunger or because of my bruises.
The anger and despair I felt, built up within me. I'd long ago given up on love, companionship, trust, hope. I thought back to the friendship that I saw with Steve, TChalla and Sam. It would be real nice to have true friends you could count on. But alas, seems like I was alone, as always, and that really didn't seem like it was changing anytime soon.
One day, they'd pay.