Chapter Thirty-Six

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"I'll have a medium soy-milk latte, iced, blended, no foam, two pumps of caramel."

My customer service smile falters as I regard the middle-aged woman in front of me who hasn't even glanced up from her cell phone as she relays her complicated order. My fingers hover over the register screen as I search desperately for the right button. Is soy extra? Is caramel extra? You'd think after two weeks of working here I'd have this down by now.

"Uh," I purse my lips together, pressing what I hope is the right sequence, and nervously read off the amount, "That'll be $7.72."

The lady finally draws her attention to me, and I recoil at the cold look in her eyes, "It's normally $5.45. Did you raise your prices? This is bullshit, I've been coming here every day for the past four years, getting the same order every single time, I'm a loyal customer. You can't treat your customers like this. This is an outrage! Let me speak to your manager!"

"Uh, Max!" I nervously call out over my shoulder, my voice wavering. I'm still not used to the aggression people seem to have no problem showing service industry workers, especially when it comes to their precious coffee.

Max, the college freshman who's been training me for the past two weeks, quickly appears beside me, flashing the woman a very kind, very patient smile, "I'm so sorry for the mix-up, ma'am. No, we have not raised our prices. She's still in training, she just hasn't quite learned the system yet. I can finish ringing you up if you like?"

The woman huffs, sticking her nose up as she regards both of us with disgust, before finally accepting that I've made a simple mistake, "Fine." Her eyes flash towards me and I can see the fire behind them as she remarks, "But don't let her anywhere near my order. I don't want to have to get it remade when she messes it up."

I remind myself that I'm at work, and as much as I may want to, I can't curse at this woman. I just press my lips together tightly and cast a forlorn glance at Max. He nods his head slightly at me before muttering quietly, "Why don't you go wipe down some tables? I'll take care of this."

I nod my head and silently shuffle away, making sure not to even glance in the woman's direction for fear that she may start spitting out fire. I grab the rag and spray bottle from beneath the counter, before rounding it to the sitting area of the shop and spraying down the already clean table tops.

Just another lovely day of work.

At least it's payday, that somewhat raises my spirits. I'm not expecting it to be any life-changing amount of money, but it will be nice to see the fruits of my labor.

My eyes glance at the clock on the wall and I internally sigh when I see there's still an hour left to my shift. My schedule is all mornings, and they really drag on when I'm expected to be here by six in the morning, and can't leave until three, with no lunch break in between.

It's been especially difficult because I feel like I've hardly seen Ghost at all in the past few weeks. Ever since his big news he's been training nonstop at the gym, putting more work into his boxing than ever. He's there training and working out for at least half of the day.

I understand his commitment, but it has sucked. Which is why I'm so anxious to get off work today. It's fight night at The Scrap, and we're all going. Ghost isn't fighting, he's too paranoid about getting injured before Vegas, but it will still be fun to watch.

Best part is, Troy won't be there. After he stormed out of the club that night, he hasn't been around since, and it seems everyone in the group has silently accepted that. I don't know if Ghost talked to them all individually about it, or if they just saw this inevitably happening, but for whatever reason, no one seems particularly surprised. Or heartbroken.

I only reapproach the counter once the rude lady leaves. I'm surprised she goes quietly, and without setting a curse on me for daring to exist. Max passes me a sympathetic smile as I lean tiredly against the counter. With her gone we're the only two here, the morning rush long since over with, so I feel we can speak freely.

"So she's a regular, huh?" I quip, my tone full of disdain.

Max gives a half-hearted shrug, "Yeah, believe it or not, that was one of her less dramatic encounters." My mouth twists down into a frown, and he chuckles wryly before holding up a small handful of change, "On the bright side, we get to split this fifty-five cent tip."

I gasp dramatically and spring forward, "Well that makes it all worth it!"

"Here," He proudly places the three coins in my palm, "I'll even give you my share. You've earned it. Great job keeping your composure. First time I interacted with her I had to excuse myself to the back room to kick the wall for a few minutes."

I chuckle, "All in a day's work."

He smiles, before glancing around at the empty shop, "Well, seems like you'll be able to handle yourself alright out here. I need to go count stock in the back. Come find me if you need anything."

I nod my head at him as he turns and disappears behind the back room door. With a bored sigh I start wiping down the counters in an effort to keep busy. But after just a few minutes of that, I'm already bored out of my mind.

When the bell above the entrance jingles, announcing the arrival of a customer, I nearly cry out hallelujah. I turn to face them with a bright smile, but it quickly disappears when I see who's stepped inside.

Liss.

She's the last person I expected to see here. Or anywhere. I kinda just erased her from my mind after everything that happened. Until this moment, I've never even thought about her.

She seems just as shocked to see me. She's not alone. Another girl is at her side, chatting animatedly about some party that's happening tonight. But the moment Liss and I lock eyes, she seems to tune out the other girl entirely.

They approach the counter and I self-consciously tug at the apron tied around my waist. I look down, brush the hair out of my eyes, look back up, clear my throat, attempt a smile. All while Liss watches me with a peering gaze.

"Hi, uhm, welcome to Frenchie's. What can I get started for you?" I speak nervously, keeping my eyes trained on the other girl, rather than on Liss.

"I'll have a white chocolate frap." The girl tells me, her tone friendly enough.

I nod, and slowly turn to Liss. Her mouth is drawn down into a thoughtful frown, her eyes swimming with intensity. After a brief pause, she slightly shakes her head, as if to shake out her own thoughts, and mutters, "I'll, uh... just a chai tea for me."

"Okay, great." I squeak, quickly punching in the order. I relay their total and the other girl whips her card out and pays, while resuming her conversation with Liss. Knowing they probably won't even hear me, I utter, "That'll be right out."

As I turn to start making their drinks, and they turn to go sit and wait at one of the tables, I hear Liss softly speak to her friend, interrupting her mid sentence, "Hey, can you give me a minute?"

"Uh, sure?" The girl replies with uncertainty.

I hear her shuffle away and I tense my shoulders when Liss speaks again, this time directly at me, "Emerson? Can we talk?"

Slowly turning on one foot, I cast a curious glance at Liss. She's still lingering by the counter, her friend now sitting down at the furthest table, absentmindedly tapping at her phone. The unease in my stomach grows, but I find myself slowly nodding my head and stepping closer.

"Hi, Liss." I state meekly, not really sure what else to say.

She passes me a sad smile that doesn't reach her eyes, "Hi." She utters, glancing down at her fidgeting hands. She takes a deep breath, seeming to wrestle with her internal thoughts before continuing, "I know that after everything that happened, you probably could care less about what I have to say right now. You probably hate me. And you have every right to."

I stay silent as she talks, but in my own mind I realize that I actually don't hate her. Sure, her actions were shitty, and they hurt in the moment. But I'm so happy with Ghost, I really don't care about any of that. I almost wish I could have known a lot sooner, so that I could have ended things with Brody sooner.

With a deep sigh, she carries on, "But, I just want you to know how sorry I am." Her tone is sincere and her eyes seem desperate, "I'm really sorry. I know that doesn't really count for much, but it's been eating away at me for months, and I just—"

"Liss." I speak, cutting her off with a soft smile, "It's okay. I forgive you."

She seems shocked. The look on her face tells me she wasn't expecting it to be that easy. But the shock slowly morphs into relief and she manages a small smile as she breathes, "Really?"

I nod my head, "Yes. I'm not holding any grudges over it. That's all in the past, and frankly, I couldn't be happier than I am right now. So it's all good."

"Wow." She gazes at me, stunned, "You're a much bigger person than I am."

I chuckle lightly, "Thanks. But truthfully, you didn't really cost me much."

Her eyes draw downward again with a furrowed frown, and cautiously she tells me, "Well, about that. I don't know if you already knew this, but Brody and I aren't together anymore."

My mind goes racing back to that night at the beach, when Brody attacked me. I subconsciously reach up to rub my neck, the phantom feeling of his hands makes my chest squeeze. I quickly clear my throat and mutter, "Yeah, I heard."

"It was thanks to everything you said to me." She remarks softly. Her eyes fill with gratitude and her tone is sincere as she utters, "Thank you."

I manage a small smile, "Of course. I'm just glad you actually believed me."

Her eyes glance downward quickly and I watch her hands idly play with the strap of her purse. She almost looks guilty for a moment before telling me, "I didn't want to at first." Her tone is somber, and I can tell she's reliving the memories, "But, I did start to notice little things. And then, one night, things escalated..."

My heart pains for the girl as I watch her try to tamp down her emotions. I know all too well how that feels. I can only be grateful that neither of us have to deal with that behavior and torment anymore.

I carefully reach my hand out across the counter, and place it gently on her arm, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, Liss."

She keeps her face tilted down, sniffling loudly, and when she finally looks back up there are tears glistening her eyes, "I was just, you know, I was so shocked. I'd never seen that side of him before, and I was so scared I didn't even know what to do. I just, I let it happen. And then I felt so stupid and weak afterwards."

"You're not weak." I state firmly, squeezing her arm tighter, "And you're not stupid, Liss. It happened because he's a monster, not because you're human."

Her throat bobs up and down as she swallows hard and softly nods her head. With a quiet rasp she utters, "He acted like it never even happened. The next day he came over like all was normal. I wouldn't even let him past the door. I just yelled at him to leave. I told him that you told me everything he'd done to you. Em, you should have seen him, he looked downright murderous."

My throat constricts again as I think about that night. He was murderous. Who knows what he would have done to me if I hadn't defended myself? He blamed me for his relationship failing with Liss, of course he wasn't going to let me off easy.

"I can imagine." I murmur softly.

"He still wouldn't leave, and I ended up calling the cops." Liss continues quietly, as though she's ashamed of it, "When they showed up he tried to talk his way out of it, saying we were just in a little fight. But I had bruises all over me from the previous night, and when the cops saw them, they knew something was going on. They detained him, and they asked if I wanted to press charges... I said yes."

My eyes widen slightly as she says this. I never heard anything about Brody getting arrested. My mom never mentioned that, and surely she would've heard. Although, knowing Brody's parents they probably paid good money to keep it all under wraps.

"How long was he detained for?" I can't help but ask.

She scoffs, "Barely twenty-four hours. His parents paid his bail and then they offered me money to keep this whole misunderstanding to myself." Her tone drips with disdain and I can see her tears drying up as her expression turns to one of rage, "I told them to shove it. I went forward with the charges, for physical and sexual abuse, but the bastard is disputing it. He's saying it never happened. So now I have to put together a whole case and go in front of a judge. Ideally, they'll find him guilty and he'll have to do some serious jail time. Realistically, his parent's lawyer's will make this all go away and Brody will keep getting away with the same bullshit forever."

My mouth widens in shock. Liss is actually suing Brody? I'm torn between disbelief and awe. I don't think I ever could have had the courage to do that. There were so many times that I regretted not calling the police after Brody's assaults, but realistically I know what would have happened even if I did. They'd tell us to get some space from each other, or they'd tell me to get a restraining order. All it would really do is just ignite Brody's fury even more and I'd be the one to pay.

But Liss, she's braver than me. And I can't help but feel a multitude of gratitude. She's at least trying to do something. She's trying to make Brody pay for his actions. She's trying to keep him from ever doing this again to another girl.

I hope to god that she's successful.

"Liss— that's— I can't believe—" I stutter for the right words, before finally landing on, "Wow."

A small smile graces her lips, and she seems to swell up with confidence at my appraisal, "I'm glad that's your reaction, because there's actually something I want to ask of you. It's a really big ask, and I totally understand if you say no. There's no pressure at all."

"Okay?" I utter, my curiosity piqued, "What is it?"

She takes in a deep sigh before asking in a rushed breath, "Would you be willing to write me a testimony?"

My brow furrows, and at first I'm confused as to what she's even asking. It takes a few moments for my mind to click and the gears to start turning, and my mouth parts open with realization.

"A testimony? Like, of what Brody's done to me?" My voice is strained, my throat dry with the weight of what she's asking.

She slowly nods her head, appearing remorseful as she explains, "I know, it's probably the last thing you'd ever want to do. But, it would actually be a huge thing for our case. I've, uh, I've talked to some other girls that I know Brody has... been out with. And I've got a few of them to write testimonies as well. One of them is even coming to the court to read it in person."

Completely glazing over the fact that Brody had apparently been with more than just Liss in the past four years that we'd been dating, I also can't believe that there's been that many that he's assaulted. Is he just that stupid? Or does he seriously think his actions have zero consequences? He thinks he can just go around knocking down whoever displeases him? What kind of fuckery is that?!

"I, uhm... I don't know, Liss," I stammer quietly, glancing down at my apron as my hands fidget with the string, "That's a lot to dredge up, and I don't know if I'd even be able to get through it all."

Liss passes me a sympathetic smile as she nods her head understandingly, "It's completely fine, Emerson. I mean, hell, I went through one night of torment and can barely speak about it. I can't imagine going through four years of that hellish nightmare. It's okay. I'm sure the judge will get plenty of evidence just from mine and the other girls's testimonies."

The other girls.

A wave of guilt crashes over me, and my mind can't help but think the worst. How many girls could have gone unharmed if I'd been able to do what Liss is doing now and stop Brody? Or at the least get the word out that he's an abuser. I could have blasted him on social media. I couldn't have posted signs all over campus. I could have told just one person.

What was I so scared of?

The answer is simple; I was scared of him.

But, I'm not anymore.

"I'll do it."

Liss looks stunned. She blinks in surprise at me for a moment before beaming brightly, "Really? Em, are you sure?"

I nod my head. My gut twists a little at the thought of sitting down and writing down everything Brody has even done to me, but if it means potentially getting him thrown behind bars, it's the least I can do.

Before I know what's even happening, Liss is throwing her arms around me, pulling me in as close as possible with the counter still separating us. The edge of it digs into my stomach, but I ignore the pain and embrace Liss as well. It's a nice moment, one that I never expected to share with her. But if there was ever going to be something to bond us together, this is certainly it; bringing Brody down.

"Thank you so much, Emerson. You have no idea how huge this is." Liss whispers, her tone slightly choked up.

I repress tears of my own as I mumble, "Thank you for being brave enough to do this in the first place."

After a few more seconds we both pull away. I brush a few wayward strands of curls behind my ear as Liss discreetly wipes away a tear. We both smile at each other, which turns into a tingling laugh. I think I can see real hope shining in her eyes, and I hope my expression mirrors the same.

We exchange numbers and she promises to keep me updated on anything happening with the case. Apparently, the court date isn't for another month, which gives me some time to attempt to write my testimony. She asks if I want to be there to read it myself, but I don't have an answer for that. She assures me it's fine. That whatever I choose to do is up to me.

I'll have to make a decision, but that's for another time.

When we're finally done talking I glance at the time and I'm shocked to see that it's five minutes past three. My eyes dart to Liss's friend who has been waiting, rather patiently, this entire time. All without her coffee she ordered over half an hour ago.

"Oh, my gosh, I never made your drinks." I gasp, but Liss just chuckles.

"It's okay, I think there were more pressing things to worry about."

"Max is going to think I'm completely incompetent." I murmur, but it's with a playful smile.

"Who's Max?" Liss poses the question, but just as she does, the back door opens and out struts my superior.

He glances around, noting Liss and I just standing there, and he seems surprised, "Em, how long have these customers been waiting? You know you could've come to get me if you needed help with the register again."

Liss and I share a look with barely repressed grins, before we both just burst out laughing.

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AN;

It's been a minute, but here's an update for you all. It's been crazy busy lately with all the holidays, but I continue to watch this book grow with new readers every day and I just want to make sure

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