𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑻 𝑾𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑺 | 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

Chapter Thirty-Four

Evelyn Banks

Rafe is gone the next morning, his bike no longer parked in the front yard when I haul myself out of Sarah's bed to peer outside. It's a relief, at least I won't have to see his face when I'm sober, or more accurately, hung over.

My head throbs as I help Sarah with the clean up, enduring her complaints about Rafe who she claims never helps with the aftermath. By the time we're done, I can barely stand the smell of alcohol and cleaning products, the mixture causing me to grimace in disgust.

"I'm never drinking again" I huff when I finally haul myself out of her car when we pull into my driveway. She waves me off and tells me to text her later before leaving.

The rest of my day is uneventful, I take another shower and spend a few hours in bed catching up on the sleep I've missed out on. By the time I wake up, it's the afternoon and the air has cooled. The sound of my phone vibrating interrupts my day dream and I lean over to answer it.

"You do know we're working in thirty minutes right?" JJ scoffs into the phone when he hears how groggy my voice sounds. I curse lowly as I throw my blanket off and move to find my uniform.

"I'll be ready in ten" I say as I pull off my shorts and replace them with my work pants.

With JJ's inconsideration of the road code and general safety, we make it to the Figure Eight with a few minutes to spare before our shift. It's a busy night, all the tables are full in the restaurant which means JJ and I are split up for majority of our shift, he's waiting tables inside while I work the outer deck.

"This is bullshit. These rich pricks keep calling me over like I'm a lap dog" JJ groans when we finally get a breather in the back. He leans against a counter and I do the same opposite him.

"They're the same rich pricks who tip us enough to keep our bills paid so we just gotta put up with it" I huff, feeling drained myself from having to wait on tables for the last three hours.

The manager calls out for JJ, who makes a face that earns him a snort from me before he slips back into the building. I follow after him, yawning as I try to ignore the slight throb I still have from my previous hangover.

I shift between tables, taking down orders and hauling myself back to the kitchen when I'm stopped in my tracks. I almost bump into a little kid racing to his parents table and I give him a half assed apology as I peer over the heads blocking my view.

A group of guys sit down at one of the only vacant tables left, most are Kooks I'm not familiar with but when I see Topper amongst them, I know to expect that Rafe isn't far behind. I turn on my heel and move back into the kitchen to plead any one else to take the orders.

"Sorry, Evelyn. I'm already stacked with my own right now" My colleague says as I approach her.

I even ask JJ who barely registers what I'm asking before he's dismissing me and tells me to just wear a disguise. I choose to ignore his childish suggestion and decide to just suck it up and take their order myself.

Rafe sits at the end of the table, his attention turned away from me as he talks to one of the guys. I'm sheepish as I approach them, keeping my eyes low before I eventually have to talk to them. I get through two of their orders before Topper starts making a scene and gains Rafe's attention.