Chapter 2

A M A R A

My mouth dropped open. "What the fuck?"

"Amara?" Jake dropped the girl's hand. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've been asleep."

"Obviously not." I looked at the girl next to him. She was short. And she definitely knew about me.

"Don't bother texting me. I won't be home tonight either. Or ever, for that matter."

"Wait... Amara! I can explain," he pleaded.

"I don't want to hear it," I sneered as I jetted out of the bathroom. Texting Ashley was all I could handle right now. I would spare her the details for later.

I immediately drove to Lara's apartment and grabbed her house key from under the front welcome mat.

I walked in and there were wine glasses sitting on the table. This didn't seem like something her family would do, but I guess there were still some things I didn't know about her.

After stumbling around her house looking for her, I decided to go to her bedroom. The door wasn't shut all the way, and I could hear the sound of giggling on the other side. She wouldn't have lied about a boy, would she?

Quietly, I opened the door to her room. Again, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. There stood Lara wrapped in a towel, with my old boss in front of her. His hands wrapped around her waist.

"You're sleeping with him?! The boss I told you about. The one who SEXUALLY HARASSED me?"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

She stayed silent. I laughed in her face and sneered, "fuck you both. I'm done with this."

I exited her building and pulled out my phone. There was one person left who I thought I could call. It was half past one in the morning, and the only way he would answer me is if he was working.

The phone started ringing.

He answered.

"Mara! My favorite bad bitch! Why are you calling me so late? Don't you have work tomorrow?" He jeered.

"It's a long story Seb. I'm assuming you're working tonight?" I asked as I wiped my tears.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I need a place to stay." I sighed, "but if you can't, I understand. I know you're busy."

"Mara. Of course you can stay with me. Some guy rented out the bar tonight, but if you want to chill in the back until he leaves we can go home together," he offered.

Rented out the bar? Who the hell rents out a bar?

"Thank you, Seb. I really appreciate this," I said, ignoring my intrusive thoughts.

"Anytime gorgeous. Let me know when you're here and I'll let you in."

I drove to Tavern, the bar Sebastian worked at. Just as I was about to text him, my phone died. I groaned to myself, remembering I didn't have a charger.

The door was open and I was planning on just running to the back so I didn't disturb whoever rented this place out, but it seemed the world had other plans for me.

I probably looked like a meth-head right now. In the reflection of the glass, I could see my mascara dripping down my cheeks and my black hair looking disheveled.

I cursed at myself.

The door was heavy and when I stepped into view, Seb gave me a confused glance.

I lifted my phone up to show him. He mouthed an 'oh' at me. I noticed the man at the bar. He was beautiful, with dark long hair that fell just above his muscled shoulders. His jawline was sharp, painted with a small amount of stubble, and his nose strong. I could see his eye color, but I could see his eyelashes from where I was standing.

blinked and quickly made my way to the back, my heels clicking on the dark linoleum floor. I made sure to leave a tip for Seb after grabbing a bottle of whiskey.

L U C I A N

"She your girlfriend?" I asked the bartender out of curiosity.

"God, no. I'm gay," he smiled as he poured another drink. "But, if I wasn't, I would definitely want her to be."

I rubbed my temple before replying, "she can sit out here as long as she isn't annoying."

He gave me a small nod and walked to the back room.

I heard some bickering and finally they stepped out. I noticed her face and realized she had been crying. Mascara stained her puffy cheeks, and her crystal blue eyes were tinted with red. She made eye contact with me and her expression didn't change. She was pissed.

Her satin dress clung onto her hourglass figure perfectly and her long black hair fell messy over her shoulders. It looked like she was gripping onto her half-drank whiskey bottle for dear life.

She stumbled over onto a stool on the other side of the bar and stayed quiet, continuing to take swings of her alcohol. The bartender tried to get her to talk, but she stayed almost completely silent.

"Seb just serve your customer. Let me drink tonight. I'll go job hunting first thing tomorrow," she snapped.

Figures. Doesn't like to do anything for herself. She probably dragged all her friends into whatever this mess was.

I narrowed my eyes at them. She looked at me with one of the harshest glares I'd ever seen. "I think he wants another drink."

She was ballsy. I was sure she didn't recognize me. The man she called Seb sighed and turned to pour me another glass.

"Your drink, Mr. Moretti," he offered.

She raised her head, indicating she did in fact know who I was.

"Lucian Moretti, huh?" She queried before taking another sip.

I lifted an eyebrow. "You must be another fan girl."

She smirked and took another pull from her whiskey. "What company do you work for again? I seem to have forgotten."

"Funny." I shook my head. "I think you already know the answer to that."

She set her bottle of whiskey down on the bar and said, "enlighten me."

I almost cracked a genuine smile. For the first time in a while. "That's for me to know and you to find out," I responded as I mimicked her position.

+

"Touché," She said as she started to get up out of her seat.

Her friend, Seb, spoke, "what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm gonna go sleep in my car. I've had enough for tonight. And it seems like Mr. Moretti over here isn't going to leave for a while," she pointed out, gesturing towards me.

As she was walking out she almost tripped and fell. I immediately stood up. I shook off the fact that it seemed like I cared.

"It's fine. I'll leave. She needs to get home." I told the bartender. I took out a couple of hundred dollar bills and slid them to Seb on the counter. "Make sure she doesn't drive."

He nodded and thanked me. She was standing with her arms across her chest staring at me with a blank expression. She didn't show much emotion.

I brushed past her swiftly. Before I stepped out of the door, I turned back to look at her, and shockingly, she did the exact same. Our eyes met for a second longer than they should have before I refocused on the streets and walked to my car.

A M A R A

He smells nice. Seb sent a smirk my way. "That was a lot of sexual tension," he joked.

"Shut up Seb. I'm just drunk."

"Sure babe. Let's go. I'll drive your car back to my place. When you go job hunting tomorrow you can stop back here and drop me off at mine."

"Can we stop at my place first? I need to pack some clothes," I asked. "I don't like dragging you around in all my problems."

"Baby, you know you're never an inconvenience for me. Now, let me clean up and we can go," he assured me.

Sebastian drove me to my apartment. The ride took about 15 minutes, and it didn't look like Jake was home. A rush of relief fell over me.

I pulled out my keys and quietly opened the door. The apartment looked like how I left it.

Quickly, I walked into my bedroom and changed into comfier clothes.

I grabbed one of my bigger backpacks and folded my professional clothes neatly inside, including a couple of lounge outfits and casual day outfits for the time being. I was planning on coming back another day to get the rest of my things.

Just as I zipped up the bag, I heard the front door open and close. "Fucking hell," I grumbled. I was not in the mood for more confrontation.

"Mar? You here?" Jake asked in distress.

I stayed quiet. Maybe he wouldn't check the bedrooms?

Idiot. Of course he's going to check the bedrooms.

I decided to walk out before he could reach me and corner me in this bedroom.

When he saw me he sighed. "Mar, please don't go."

His eyes travelled to my backpack and it looked like he winced, but it was so dark that I couldn't tell.

"Did you just expect me to run into your arms after I witnessed you fooling around with some chick in a bathroom stall?" I shook my head before continuing, "you're out of your damn mind."

He sat on the couch and put his elbows on his knees. His hands were folded and he leaned into them. "You're staying with Sebastian? What's Lara doing?"

"Unfortunately, Jake, you lost the right to know my business," I started as I checked my watch, "less than five hours ago." I made my way to the door and he didn't try to stop me. "Goodbye, Jake. I'll be back to pick up the rest of my stuff soon."

I exited the apartment. After the door latched, I leaned onto it and sighed. I need some sleep.

When I got into Sebastian's car he gave me a 'what the fuck happened in there' kind of look.

"I can't believe he had to audacity to try and beg me for forgiveness," I ranted. "All he ever wanted from me was to be his little side bitch."

"I never liked him, Amara, and frankly, I think he used his career change as a way to feed off your money," Seb retorted.

"You're probably right. He never truly treated me well. I should've known when he started to work all those long hours."

"Well, at least you got out before he could propose," he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Thank god."

Seb did really well for a bartender in Chicago. He had just been promoted to manager. I was really proud of him. He owned a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment about a mile away from Tavern.

+

"Here's your room. Get some sleep, love," he said before kissing my forehead and walking down the hallway to his room.

Almost immediately, I threw my shoes off and went to sleep.