B008GMVYA4 EBOK (16 page)

“You never actually told me how you got a black eye?”
Brendan asked curiously.

This question caught Madison off guard. The blissful
happiness dissipated and she was left searching for the right thing to reply to
him with.  No matter how hard she tried to hide the incident that had
occurred with Phil, she couldn’t escape from it – it always seemed to creep
back one way or another.

“Um, I fell…” she said. Instantly regretting choosing to use
that lie as the words left her mouth - everyone uses that excuse when they had
been physically abused?

Brendan could see through it and Madison knew she had made a
mistake not being truthful from the start.

“You should really be more careful” he said skeptically.

“Anyway, the last time we met you said no awkward questions.
You just broke your own rule” Madison exclaimed, jokingly. 

“Your right” he laughed “But I also said I wanted to get to
know you better”.

Madison’s cheeks burned red again, she was flattered and
excited at the same time.

“So, who’s the guy behind the bar?” he asked.

“Who? Scott? He’s just… a friend” Madison said awkwardly.

His eyes narrowed, he looked back at Scott then towards
Madison again.

“Well…we went for a drink. It was stupid really, I guess he
thought more of it then I did” she corrected.

“Oh” he said a little disappointed “Well, I still don’t like
him”

“He’s a good guy, he just has some issues with taking
no
for an answer”.

“I can see that!” he said, flashing his perfect white teeth
again.

Madison was thrilled; she could barely contain her
excitement. Her whole body urged her to throw herself at Brendan, kiss him and
make love to him. If her legs weren’t still shaking beneath her she probably
would have grabbed him by now and embracing him in a passionate kiss.

“What are you doing here anyway? It’s crazy running into you
like this?” he asked.

“I work here. It’s just something to keep me going until I
get something better, you know, paying the rent and stuff. It’s close to where
I live anyway”

“What time do you finish?” he asked.

“Umm…probably about three or four by the time we tidy up”
Madison replied hopeful.

“Can I walk you home?” Brendan asked, suddenly becoming shy.

He began to edge backwards towards the dance floor.

“Uh, sure” Madison said a little too excitedly.

“Great. See you then” Brendan said before turning and
walking across the dance floor to find his friend.

Madison’s eyes followed Brendan until he was consumed in the
crowds of people. She smiled happily to herself, her heart racing and the
butterflies swarming in her stomach again. She swallowed hard - the few hours
she had left would feel like days if she didn’t get a grip quickly.

Quickly, Madison started tucking glasses from the table into
the plastic glass carrier. Her mind was up in space and her body was floating
underneath the stars. Once she had cleared the table she went back to the bar
to put them into the dishwasher.

“Who was that?” Scott asked angrily

Madison ignored as she filled the dishwasher with dirty
glasses.

“That was Brendan” she spat, once she had switched it on.

She could feel Scott’s hot breath on the side of her face as
he breathed deeply, angered by another man talking to her. Scott infuriated
her, not only did he make her feel uncomfortable and he had become difficult to
work with, but he now thought he had an influence in her life and who she spoke
to.

“What‘s your problem Scott? He’s my friend, not that it‘s any
of your business anyway!” she said angrily, eyeing him.

“He looked more than a friend to me!” Scott shouted.

“So what if he is… You are not my boyfriend and you can’t
tell me what to do. So just fuck off” Madison screamed. 

The words hit him like a kick to the stomach. She watched as
his expression turned from anger to hurt. Guilt dug in her like a knife – had
she been too hard on him? She hadn’t felt anger like that in a long time and
she had never intentionally meant to hurt his feelings, but it was about time
she had made things clear.

Scott lowered his head, his eyes falling to the floor and
his face turning from hurt to sorrow. Her expression softened from anger to
concern, she waited - unsure whether she was going to burst into tears or fly
at her in a rage.  Scott remained still for a moment, he looked thoughtful
and then his features flickered back to anger. He spat something at Madison
which she couldn’t make out over the heavy base line of the song and stormed
out through the gap in the bar. Madison didn’t follow him or watch him storm
across the dance floor, Faye caught her eye before she could look over to
Scott. Faye stood at the far side of the bar, she had been watched the whole
thing... Her wrinkled forehead frowned towards Madison. The two other girls
behind the bar worked busily serving drinks; neither of them seemed to have
noticed the conflicted.

Madison stared at Faye uneasily; she threw Faye an
apologetic look and smiled weakly. Faye rolled her eyes and mouthed the words ‘
go
get him’
. Madison felt her stomach sink, all the excitement she had after
seeing Brendan had down gone.  Reluctantly Madison nodded, placed the
glass carrier on the marble bar and slipped through the gap back out onto the
dance floor. She didn’t see which direction Scott had stormed off in, so she
began to do a sweep of the room. Scanning the faces in the crowd - she couldn’t
see Scott amongst them. So she headed towards the sitting area to the right of
the room, squeezing through the crowds of people that surrounded the sofas.
Madison checked one set of sofas - Scott wasn’t there, so she headed to the
next. Slipping through a gap in the crowd, her foot got stuck on something –
she stumbled, falling forwards and crashing into the coffee table in the centre
of the next set of sofas. A few glasses flew off the coffee table onto the
floor, smashing instantly. Madison balanced herself and straightened up,
looking up she caught a glimpse of the same beautiful crystal blue colour that
had captured her attention earlier. Brendan sat on the back sofa, his arm
draped around the shoulders of a very slim, beautiful blonde. Her features were
waxy like Brendan’s under the multi-coloured lights. Her skin was flawless, not
a blemish insight. Her long blonde hair was curled and flowed down over her
breasts. Her eyes were a green, not as bright as Brendan’s but enchanting,
drawing you in with every glance. Her lips were full and glossed red under
smoky grey eye shadow - she was stunning. Madison couldn’t help but feel plain
and ugly compared to this other woman. Her body was gestured towards Brendan,
the sides of their bodies touching. Madison felt her face fall in horror, all
the colour drained from her cheeks. Her heart stopped at the sight of Brendan
with another woman and she struggled for breathe.

Madison stared at the blonde before her eyes slowly shifted
to Brendan who was watching her curiously. His face also fell as he realised
what conclusion Madison had come to by the sight of the beautiful blonde. He
shot a concerned looked to the blonde and then glanced back to Madison. The
blonde picked up on the tension and began to eye Madison skeptically. 

At that very moment Madison had laid eyes on Brendan with
the gorgeous blonde, the lift had drained from her. She almost felt the need to
crumble to her knees and cry uncontrollably.
Brendan had a girlfriend?
She
had high hope that there was something between herself and Brendan, but now she
felt as if she had been punched in the face.

Brendan shifted uncomfortably away from the blonde on the
sofa, removing his arm from around her shoulders and placing it down by his
side. He rubbed the stubble on his jaw with his other hand, searching for
something to say.  Madison broke free from her daze, she blink several
times and grabbed unbroken glass from the coffee table in front of her.

“I found it” she said awkwardly, holding the glass up in the
air and waving it at Brendan and the blonde.

Brendan’s stopped rubbing his jaw; he stared at Madison in
confusion. Madison urged the ground to open up and swallow her whole, she felt
completely ridiculous for the poor excuse she managed and she now had the
sudden urge to laugh uncontrollably.

“Who’s she?” the blonde asked eyeing Madison.

Madison didn’t stay for a reply; she pushed her way back
through the crowd and almost ran back to the bar. She slammed the one glass she
had collected from the table down on the marble bar once she was safely behind
it and almost buried her head in her hands in embarrassment. Her heart had kick
started but she struggled to breathe through the mixed emotions. She took in
short shallow breaths of oxygen like she was having a panic attack. Her chest
was tight and painful; she rubbed it trying to sooth the pain. She lets out a
quiet whimper, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She wanted to scream
out in pain and collapse to the floor, but her mind urged her to get her
emotions in check – what did she expect, she knew nothing about Brendan.

“Get a bloody grip, you can cry later” she whispered to
herself.

A hand touched her shoulder - she jumped and spun around
quickly. Faye stood behind her, a concerned look creasing her face.

“What’s the matter? Where‘s Scott?” Faye asked.

Madison shook her head. She struggled to reply, catching her
breath. The two other barmaids threw Madison a worried look.

“Nothing… I. Couldn’t. Find. Him” she said, taking a deep
breath between each word. Faye continued to eye Madison with concern. She shook
her head once more fighting back the tears and turned towards the few people
stood at the bar.

Two small circles of crystal blue pieced through the
darkness surrounding the bar.  Brendan stood a couple of feet away from
the marble bar, his expression emotionless – concern flashing brightly in his
eyes. Madison took a few deep breaths, her mild panic attack finally passing.
Brendan had been watched as she struggled to suppress her emotions - struggling
to gain control of them. He didn’t approach her; he just stared deep down into
her. His eyes piecing her flesh, penetrating once again into her soul. Faye
watched from behind Madison, she stared from Madison to Brendan. She signed
loudly as she put two and two together. Brendan broke away from Madison’s gaze
and disappeared back into the darkness of the dance floor. Madison face fell
once again; she stared into the empty space where Brendan had stood. Her hands
shook and the emptiness that had been filled for a very short time crept back.

The rest of the night dragged. Madison didn’t see Brendan
again and she didn’t feel she was likely to considering what had happened.
Brendan had left the club before closing; he had snuck out the back way,
Madison presumed not wanting to bump into her again with his girlfriend. The
way Brendan’s male friend had eyed her when she had first spotted him seemed to
make sense now. He was probably curious as to why Brendan was talking to
another woman when his girlfriend was waiting for him on the sofas.

Madison had spent most of the remainder of the night
shuffling around the bar with a blank expression - feeling sorry for herself.
Faye had asked a few times if she was alright, which of course Madison insisted
she was fine and was only tired. Scott surfaced about an hour after he walked
off in a strop and informed Faye he had been helping in the VIP lounge. Which
Faye thought was a likely story, he was more likely to have gone down to the
cellar and helped himself to a few bottles of beer. Neither Scott nor Madison
had made eye contact for the rest of the night. They walked past each other as
if the other had not been there.

Madison decided to stay behind later after her shift had
finished to help Faye restock the bar and sweep up the broken glass – some of
which she had caused. She didn’t expect Brendan to walk her home after what she
had witnessed, so she thought we might as well kill some time and help Faye.
After all, her mind would only keep her up all night – replying the moment she
had since Brendan with the blonde, his arm draped around her shoulders.

They both worked in silence, Faye wasn’t much of a small
talker and Madison didn’t feel the need to make idol conversation. Once the
club was looking pristine and ready for another night of high-end clubbing,
Madison said goodbye and left Faye to finish cashing up. She pulled her phone
from her handbag and flipped it open. 3.42am it read. She flipped it shut and
placed it back into her handbag. She yawned and headed towards the entrance of
the club. She unlocked the two double doors with the key that was left in the
keyhole and opened the right door. She stepped out into the cold morning air,
the breeze was bitter and it took her breath away, sending a shiver flowing
down her spine. She closed the door behind her and stared out into the empty
street. It was still pitch black and the street was blissfully silent. Madison
couldn’t stop her mind whirling. She felt hopeless after tonight, wanting
nothing more than to curl up in bed and cry for the remainder of the night.
Uncontrollably, her eyes began to well - tears threatened to spill out over her
cheeks. She fought them back, sniffing in the cold air to distract herself.
Slowly, she stepped down the long concrete steps and began to walk down the
pavement home.

“Madison?” said a voice from behind her.

Her heart skipped a beat and her skin started to tingle
causing all the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She span around
turning towards the direction of the voice. Brendan stood in the middle of the
pavement, his forehead creased with concern.

“Are you ok?” Brendan asked, noticing the forming tears and
rushing towards her.  He cupped her face in his hands - his touch was ice
cold. Madison almost flinched away from his icy touch, but she found the cold
oddly pleasurable on her warm face. His skin was soft and his touch was tender.
She imagined Brendan must have been waiting outside the club since closing for
his hands to be so icy cold. A flicker of guilt ate away at her from inside her
stomach. Appreciatively she brushed his hands away from her face, not wanting
to hurt his feelings. It wasn’t because she didn’t want him to touch her that
was something he longed for that more than anything, but she couldn’t get the
image of the blonde out of her head and how she would feel if her boyfriend was
touching another woman behind her back.