Chapter 3 All I have

I've been banging on Olivia's door for ten minutes when it finally flies open. Her roommate stands in front of me with bed-head and no pants.

"Do you need something?" she snaps.

"No. I've been knocking for ten minutes for fun." I roll my eyes and push past her into the apartment.

"Who are you?" the woman is almost shouting.

I face her and raise an eyebrow. "Really?" I pull the framed photo off the side table in the living room and show it to her. "I'm Olivia's best friend. When's the last time you saw her?"

A half-naked man stumbles out of the bedroom.

"Everything good, babe?"

"My roommate's friend is here." Her voice is a groan.

The man chuckles and pulls her into a hug from behind

"It's fine, babe. We'll have some fun when she leaves. Make up for the disturbance." His eyes travel the length of my body. "Unless you want to be our third."

"Ew," I say at the same time Olivia's roommate turns on him.

"What?" she asks.

"Joking. I'm joking!" He holds his hands up in mock surrender as she slaps his naked chest.

I clear my throat, trying to pull their attention back to the issue at hand. "When's the last time you saw Olivia?"

The roommate shrugs. "I'm not sure. You know the police already questioned us. You don't need..."

I'm not listening to her though. I'm too busy staring at the photo I pulled from the side table. Olivia smiling, me rolling my eyes. Olivia's hair was in braids that day, tied into an updo on top of her head. I always used to joke about how hot my best friend was. We took this our senior year of high school, back when we planned on going to college together. Back before her mom got sick and she had to stay in San Antonio Hell. Now she's gone and as far as I know, nobody's putting effort into finding her.

"Hello?" The woman extends the end of the word. "Are you even listening?"

"No." I slam the photo face down on the table. "Sorry, I zoned out."

The woman rolls her eyes. "Like I said, I don't know anything about Olivia anyway. We mostly kept to ourselves and I'm busy right now so if you could just..." She giggles.

Her boyfriend is kissing her neck again.

I let out a long breath through my nose. Breathe. I walk to the kitchen where a phone sits on the counter and grab it.

"Unlock it," I tell the woman, extending it to her.

She does, despite looking annoyed and skeptical.

I add my number to her contacts. "I don't expect you to remember my name so I'm under 'roommates Friend'. Will you please call me if anything comes up? Even if it seems small?"

The woman is in the middle of an eye roll.

"She's all I have," I continue. "I don't have family... Only oli. Please."

The girl lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, okay. I'll call you if something comes up."

"Thank you." I walk past the handsy couple and the stench of morning breath and B.O. and let myself out.

Back in my car, the engine groans as the heater tries to function but she's a city car now. She's not used to weather under sixty degrees. Not to mention, I don't remember the last time I had the car serviced. I've been in the parking lot for too long. Tears push at my eyelids but I don't let them fall. Not yet. Not until I know Olivia's gone for good. I switch the car into reverse. I don't want to stop my investigation here but I have to go to Dirty Dawgs. I told Amelia I needed to start as soon as possible to pay for the hotel room. Tonight's my first shift so as much as I want to drive to the hospital where Olivia mom is being held, I steer the vehicle to the town bar I was never old enough to go into before.

I park in the dirt lot in the back, hoping to hide my car from the main road. The less people who know I'm here, the better.

"Okay," I say to myself. "Can't be late on my first day." I take a deep breath and climb out of the car, not letting myself think too much until I'm pushing through the door in the back, into the small kitchen. It smells like the oil they use to fry up wings and floor cleanser. It's clear why as I slip on the slick checkered flooring and catch myself on the counter. Amelia's here already, glasses perched on her nose while she reads through some mail.

"Hi, Amelia." I force my politest small-town smile.

She looks over the paper at me. "Sophy! Welcome in! Glad to have you on the team." She pulls me into a hug that takes me by surprise. I've never had a boss hug me before. "It's slow tonight. Perfect for learning."

She takes me to the front and starts with the easiest tasks first. Cutting limes and lemons. Pouring cherries and olives into a tray. "We don't get a lot of fancy drinkers out here. Mostly Bud Light but it's good to have general knowledge about drinks. You ever done something like this before?"

I lie. Just a little. I worked as a server in the city. The restaurant had a bar so that counts, right? Besides, I can't imagine anyone from San Antonio causing an issue I can't handle. Susan goes over the basics. Checking I.D. Keeping the bar top clean. Closing out a tab. After a couple of hours and a few test customers, I'm confident I can handle whatever's thrown my way.

Until Axel walks in.

I want to crawl into my own skin and disappear. My fight or flight is on high alert and my body is desperately telling me to run. Axel hasn't changed a bit. A white guy with brown floppy hair, a mustache that makes my skin crawl, eyes void of emotion, and hands stained a permanent shade of black from working on cars all day.

He lets out a low whistle. His upper lip twitches under his brown mustache. "Sophie Lawin." He extends the vowels in my name.

I force my best customer service smile. "What can I get for you, Axel?" I pretend to wipe down the bar top to avoid his stare but I feel his eyes on me.

He places both hands on the bar and leans his weight forward. "Does your dad know you're in town?" He shakes his head. "Nah. No way he knows. He'd mention it to me." His voice is as low and gravely as I remember.

"You still drink Blue Moon?" I ask. "We've got it in bottle or can."

He reaches across the bar and grabs my wrist. "Don't you ignore me, girl." His lip curls over his teeth.

The bar is silent. The other customers stop drinking to stare at us. The drunk laughing and light conversation is gone as people wait for the drama to unfold.

I don't cry out. I don't flinch away. I keep my voice dangerously low. "Let. Go." I order, maintaining his stare.

He throws my arm, probably hoping to jostle me but it doesn't.

"Do you want a beer or not?" I repeat.

"Give me a Blue Moon." He sits on the stool in front of me.

I'm glad I have to go to the back to get his drink. I don't want him to see the tremble in my hands. Once I'm back behind the bar, I pop the top of his beer and slide it to him.

He slams a twenty in front of me.

"I don't suppose you want me to keep the change," I say.

He doesn't laugh, only takes a long drink of his beer. "I knew you were a bitch like your mother but I never thought you'd have the gall to come back to San Antonio without telling your old man."

I clear my throat and slide his change across the bar.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can get for you." I'm on my way to the woman at the other end of the bar waving me down when Amelia catches me by the arm.

"How "bout you take off for the night, Sophie." Concern makes the wrinkles on her forehead deepen. I want to tell her I'm good but I've heard her tone before. She's not asking.

My shoulder's fall a little. "Amelia, I'm sorry. I swear I didn't start anything with him. He came in here-"

She holds a hand up. "I know how he is, sweetheart. But I don't need my regulars taking off because the environment is hostile. The bar's under water as it is."

My expression falls. Of course she'd take his side over mine. I'm just the Lawin girl who ran away as soon as she could. Axel's part of this town. Even if he is an asshole.

"Sure, Amelia." I'm not going to beg her to let me stay. I still have my scholarships covering everything at home. I only need this job for my hotel. What's the worst that can happen if she fires me? I'll have to go home. Without Olivia. I can't let that happen.

I practically run through the kitchen and out the back. I walk through the parking lot fast, hoping Olivia doesn't try to cut me off on my way to the car but something stops me dead in my tracks. A noise, a small groan comes from the dumpster. Behind it, to be more precise.

I hold my pepper spray ready as I take slow steps toward the dumpster. Something groans again. This is such a bad idea. But I can't stop walking toward the sound. My brain is on overdrive trying to talk myself out of investigating the noise. But what if it's Olivia . What if she broke out of her abductor's house and made her way back here? No, that's stupid. Why would she come to Dirty Dawgs? It's probably just some kids giving blow jobs or-

"Oh my god," I say out loud even though there's no one conscious to hear it.

Hazel is curled up in the fetal position next to the dumpster. Blood drips down her face and makes her nearly unrecognizable.

"Hazel!" I crouch next to her and shake her shoulder.

"Hazel, wake up." But no matter how hard I shake her, her eyes won't open.