A Light in the Dark

To say that I was a good liar would be an insult to myself. I was an amazing liar, lies poured out of my mouth with every conversation I made, not fazing me at all. Lying was second nature to me, I mean, when you’ve been alone since you were thirteen, you learn to lie, a lot, a lie can either save you or break you. Standing here though, on this dark sidewalk with Tony smiling down at me I couldn’t come up with one decent lie I could tell him.

“Oh, um, sure.” I finally managed to stammer out.

A look of amusement came across his face. “You don’t have to you know, I just figured I’d see you there later, so why not ride together?” he shrugged.

“No, right I know,” I said quickly. “I was planning on going to the diner anyway so it’s fine, I just, I’m used to being alone.” I blurted out, cursing myself internally at how off my game was tonight, though the throbbing coming from my forehead probably had something to do with that.

Something flashed in his eyes but he composed himself before I could make out what it was and he gave me a small smile.

“Well come on, my cars around back.” He said and turned, beginning to head for the small alley that led to the parking lot behind the bar.

“Oh, I was just going to walk.” I said but I found myself following him anyway.

“You know, it’s probably not that safe to be walking around so much in the dark.” He commented, turning slightly so he could look at me.

“I can take care of myself.” I shot back, a hint of anger in my voice.

His eyebrows rose slightly, surprised by my tone no doubt, and a look of confusion flashed across his face before a cheeky grin took its place. He dug some keys out of his pocket and I saw a flash of headlights as he hit a button on the remote.

“Well, now you don’t have to.” He said simply, motioning toward a car a few feet ahead of us.

I paused, his words repeating in my ears. I liked the sound of what he was implying but it also terrified me. Once again, I found myself enjoying the company of this Tony guy and I knew that it was a bad idea. Not just for my sake, but for his as well. He shouldn’t be spending so much time around me, not unless he was prepared for the consequences. People around me got hurt, they disappeared, they left. I was a curse, a bad omen, nothing good ever came out of someone getting close to me. I should do both of us a favor and walk away right now.

“You coming or what?” I heard Tony call just then and looked up to see him standing beside the open door of his car, giving me an amused smile.

I realized I was still standing a few feet away, debating whether or not I should run. It wouldn’t be the first time. I wasn’t sure what came over me though as I found my feet suddenly moving toward his car, taking me closer to him with each step. It was a weird feeling, allowing myself to get close to someone again, I didn’t like it one bit but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel something I hadn’t felt in a long time as I pulled the door open to Tony’s car, climbing inside as he did the same. In the darkness of the small space of this car, sitting next to Tony, I felt safe.

The drive to the diner was quiet, though not awkward but I don’t know why I found that surprising. We had spent almost an hour together last night, sitting at the same table and not once did I feel awkward then either, even though we had been nothing but complete strangers.

He pulled into a spot a few minutes later, cutting the engine and starting to get out of the car. I did the same and we both made our way to the entrance. When we reached the door Tony pulled it open, motioning for me to go first and I mumbled a quiet thank you as I passed him, his arm slightly grazing mine in the small space.

When we walked in, the hostess who usually wore a bored expression, had glanced up, her eyes slightly widening before a small smile graced her lips and she nodded to us. Tony greeted her, knowing her name and I wondered just how long he had been coming to this diner. We both headed toward our favorite booth, though once we got closer, Tony picked up his pace just slightly and plopped down on the right side of the booth, a triumphant smile forming as he glanced at me.

I stopped, giving him a look as I raised my eyebrows, mostly because I had wanted to sit on that side.

“Sorry, but this side has a better view,” he said playfully.

I just huffed a laugh, smiling as I took a seat on the opposite side of him. As I sat down I couldn’t help but think how this view wasn’t that bad as I looked up, for once getting a clear view of Tony’s face in the bright light as it was no longer hidden by his glasses or covered slightly by his hood. He was beautiful. Before I could scold myself for letting those kinds of thoughts enter my head the both of us turned, hearing a familiar voice.

“Well, well, what is this?” Darlene asked, grinning widely as she set down some glasses of water in front of us.

“Effie’s stalking me.” Tony joked, flashing the both of us a smile.

“What?” I laughed.

“Well this wouldn’t be the first time, huh Tony?” Darlene asked, giving him a wink and he laughed and I wondered what they were talking about; had Tony been stalked before? Why? “Anyways, what can I get for you tonight, loves?”

“I’ll just have my usual,” Tony answered and then looked at me.

“Just my hot chocolate, please,” I said quietly, giving her a smile.

"Coming right up," Darlene said and turned to walk away, swaying her hips with every step she took.

“You’re not hungry?” Tony asked.

I turned and saw him staring at me, seeming to be studying me as his soft eyes searched my own. I just shrugged; the truth was that I had been feeling a little nauseous since bumping my head. I’m not saying I was going to lean over and puke at any moment but I definitely didn’t want to chance it by giving my stomach something to reject.

“So how long have you been working at Lucky’s?” Tony asked after realizing I wasn’t going to give him much to work with by shrugging. “I was watching you tonight, you’re pretty amazing you know, I’ve never seen someone handle Luck’s crowd like that.”

I shrugged again. “A little over three weeks, my first night here I had gone there, hoping to get a drink.” I shrugged again.

Tony made a face and it looked like he was deep in thought. “Wait, you’re not that girl who just jumped behind the bar and began making drinks, are you?” he asked, amusement running across his features.

I smiled sheepishly. “Maybe.”

He laughed. “Wow, my friend was there that night, he told me all about it; he said you nearly gave old Lucky a heart attack.”

I giggled. “Oh please, I saved him, he was getting slaughtered by all those people.”

He laughed and looked like he was going to say something but Darlene came back then, setting my hot chocolate down. She gave me a warm smile before turning her attention to Tony.

“So, how was tour?” she asked him and I furrowed my eyebrows. Tour?

He grinned. “Amazing, like always, it’s good to be home though.”

Darlene nodded. “That’s good, it’s good to have you back. How long will you be around?"

Tony shrugged. "Right now it's looks like we'll be home for a while, working on some new material."

She smiled. "Well good, I've missed your lovely face," she gushed playfully and Tony chuckled. "So when are you bringing your friends by again, I could use a little more excitement around here."

Tony grinned. "Soon, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that Mr. Perry," she warned, giving him a stern look before she smiled again and turned.

As she was walking away there was a crash in the kitchen and I heard glass shatter and just like that, I was frozen, the memories flooding my thoughts. The yelling, the pain, the tears, the way I had cowered in the corner as the glass sprayed around me. My mother’s sobbing and my father’s words replaying in my head.

You did this. It’s all your fault.

“Effie?” Tony's voice pulled me away from my horrid thoughts and a small gasp escaped my mouth. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice and face flooding with concern.

“Yeah, um, sorry.” I mumbled, reaching forward and sliding my hot chocolate closer to me, beginning to swirl the straw around.

“Are you sure?” he questioned, obviously not believing me. “You looked so…lost.” He said, struggling for the word he was searching for.

“Maybe I am.” I mumbled, frowning down at my hot chocolate, watching the foam swirl around in circles.

Notes

So I really love writing this story and @Lost in Neverland is making this so much fun for me, good luck on the next chapter love ;)

please comment, rate and subscribe . we love to hear your feedback!!