The dark moon rises

Chapter 2

Amelia POV

I have 20 minutes before I have to leave for work. I’m sitting looking at myself wondering what the hell I should do with my hair. It’s far too long and I need to get it cut but I don’t have time. I’m looking after my nana. My brother helps out by sending money to pay for the house and my other brother stays here with us. If he’s not working, he’s usually out trying to get laid by whoever will give him the time of day. So it’s left to me to make sure Nana is taken care of. It’s the least I can do. She took care of us when our parents died and the thought of her going to an awful nursing home kills me. I couldn’t do that to her. I decided to stick it up in a messy bun. It will do for now.

“Can you give me a lift on your way to work?” I popped my head into my brother Milo’s room and asked.

“Where’s your car?”

“I went for a drink after work and couldn’t drive it home” I gave him my puppy dog eyes and pouted, “please!”

“Fine.” He huffed at me.

After Milo dropped me off at my car, I made my way to work. I work as a fitness instructor during the day and as a waitress/barmaid at night. Today I had a yoga class followed by some personal training. Most guys don’t like having a female trainer, but the women love me. I have some fantastic clients who give great tips at Christmas. I love my job, well, my day job anyway. After my last client had left, I headed towards my car in the parking lot. As I approached it, I noticed something attached to the windscreen. I have seen far too many horror films to know to check around to see if anyone was going to jump out of a van and grab me and to look inside my car to make sure no one was hiding inside.

Nothing.

The parking lot is completely empty. No one is hidden in my back seat. I take the envelope and get in my car fast, locking the doors and driving off. I will see what’s inside when I’m safely at home.

“Dinner is ready,” Nana shouts as I walk in. Perfect. Nana is still as sharp as a tack. She has episodes, though, where she screams about seeing things that aren’t there. Growing up, she used to tell me she had a gift of communicating with the dead. I didn’t buy it, but a lot of people did and paid her well to get readings from departed loved ones. Maybe doing that messed with her head a bit now.

“So, what are you doing tonight?” I asked my brother as he walked in dressed to impress.

“Got a date.” Typical. My brothers are both good-looking guys. They both have beautiful auburn hair whereas I have blonde hair, but we all have blue eyes. Milo took a lot of pride in his appearance and worked out a lot, he takes good advantage of my family discount at work.

“God Milo, you smell like you showered in beer!”

“Work meeting.” He replied, not really bothered by what I said.

“Make sure you wrap it up, Milo. I don’t want great-grandchildren.” Nana blurted out, making me burst out laughing.

“You know me better than that Nana,” Milo said, kissing her on the top of her head as he walked out of the house.

“Ok Nana, I’ve got to go get ready” I stood up from the table, quickly washed my plate and cutlery and kissed Nana on the cheek.

•••

“Hey check out the hottie at table 24.” Nina was shamelessly staring at whoever the hottie was. I looked up from the drink I was making and couldn’t believe it. It was the guy from last night and this morning. The one Zoe was with.

“Zoe’s sloppy seconds,” I said to Nina, making her scrunch up her face.

“Ewww… actually I wouldn’t mind.” We both started to laugh.

Thankfully, his table wasn’t in my section, the bar I work in. We each have a section we work and he was sat in Melissa’s section. I tried to avoid looking at him, but I could feel his eyes watching me whilst I worked and it was getting me flustered. I was used to guys hitting on me all the time it comes with working in a bar and not to brag but I think I’m quite attractive, I have long blonde hair and light blue eyes, I’m tall and take great care of my body so I have curves in all the right places, but this guy was something else. He was extremely good-looking, like supermodel/Hollywood movie star good looking. The fact I knew he was watching me kept having me mess up stuff as well, like drink orders or table numbers.

I was walking across the bar, not paying any attention to where I was walking with some menus for a table, when I bumped into something hard, knocking all the menus onto the floor.

“Sorry about that!” I didn’t see who it was. I bent down and started to pick the menus up, cursing myself for being so clumsy tonight.

“I'm sorry. I thought I would come to say hello.” It was him. I recognized his voice from this morning when he introduced himself.

“Are you stalking me?” I snapped my head up and glared at him. He had the audacity to look amused with me.

“No, just merely in the right place at the right time.” He smirked at me. He had a cute dimple on his right cheek when he smiled. His five o’clock shadow made him look roguishly handsome. I realized I was staring at his mouth and cleared my throat.

“Excuse me, I have to get back to work.” I looked into his eyes. Beautiful emerald green eyes that I could stare into for the rest of my life looked back into mine, making me hold my breath. God damn it, he was sexy as hell.

“Of course, don’t let me keep you.” He moved to the side to allow me to pass by. As I walked past him, I got a whiff of his aftershave and he smelt bloody amazing. I gave myself a mental slap across the face and got back to work.

“What did the hottie say?” Nina bounced over towards me.

I glanced over my shoulder and found him still watching me.

“Not much.” I shrug.

“He keeps looking at you. It's so fücking sexy.” Nina fakes fanning herself causing me to giggle. “Hey Milo’s here.” Nina taps my arm and motions over to the door with her head.

Nina has the biggest crush on Milo and he constantly brings his dates in to flaunt it in her face. I think he secretly likes Nina as well. He just won’t admit it. I'm not sure if it's because she’s his little sister's best friend or not, but I'm sure these two will figure it out soon. I walk over to him and give his date a once over. She is pretty but not as pretty as Nina. Nina looks exotic with her olive skin, long brown wavy hair, and brown eyes. The girl is a natural beauty.

“Hey what can I get you both?” I smile at them and wait.

“I’ll have a Cabernet Sauvignon!” she dismissively waved her hand at me as if I was a fly she was shooing away. I looked at my brother and raised an eyebrow at him.

“And you sir?” I dragged the sir out.

“Just a beer please Amelia.” his date shot him a look when he said my name, b.itch you have no idea.

“I'll be right back.” I walked away and got the drinks for them ready and placed them on the tray so I could carry them. Walking over, I could still feel his eyes on me and I didn’t know if I should be flattered or creeped out. Who was I kidding? I was flattered.

“Here you go. Milo, I’ll see you later on.” I kissed my brother on his cheek and walked away with a huge smile on my face, listening to the b.itch he was with.

“Who the fück is she?” she screeched at him.

“My baby sister!” he replied in a dead tone. My brothers are super overprotective of me and they don’t let anyone get away with saying s.hit about me.

“Hi do I know you?” I look up from the glasses I’m drying to see a very pale but still quite good-looking man. His grey eyes look like they have seen a thousand years. He’s dressed in a very expensive suit and it looks good on him. He has his brown hair styled to perfection and his rugged jaw is peppered with a five o’clock shadow.

“No, I don’t think so.” I reply and smile at the man.

"Can I get you something?” I ask when he doesn’t walk away. He looks at me with real concentration, like I might disappear if he looks away. I shift slightly, not liking his attention.

“You look so familiar to me.” His eyes bore into me and I feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Amelia, what time do you finish?” Milo asks from next to the man. Thank fück for overprotective brothers. The man glances at Milo and glares at him, a glare that says if looks could kill, you would be dead right now.

“Excuse me,” I say and walk over to my brother. “In an hour. Will you wait?”

Milo looks the man up and down and nods his head.

“What happened to the date?” I'm hoping the man will leave now I'm talking to someone else.

“She called my sister a bítch, so I told her to leave.” I wish my brother would see what was right in front of him. “I saw a few guys from work over there. I'm gonna go say hi but I'll be staying when it's closed up, ok.” The man finally walked away from the bar and left.

“Thank you, Milo.” I watched him walk over to some guys standing around. He reaches them and one of them pulls him into a bro-style hug. As he moves, I see Hayden standing in the group. His beautiful green eyes meet mine and I blush. I actually blush. Milo is saying something to the group when I see that Hayden is talking to Milo. Hayden looks at me and Milo turns around at the same time to look at me. I stop like a deer caught in headlights. What the hell are they looking at?

“Earth to Amelia!” Melissa bangs on the bar, making me shít myself.

“Fück Melissa!” I grab my chest to steady my racing heart.

“Who’s that an old boyfriend?” She points her head towards Milo and Hayden.

“What! No! I just met him. I think Milo works with him.”

“Good, so he’s not off the table then.” She smiles wickedly at my brother and his friends. Melissa is obsessed with Milo but because Nina likes him, she hasn’t made a move. Girl code.

“I’m gonna take this to the bin!” I pick up the tub of empty bottles and make my way toward the back entrance of the bar. It’s a really dingy back alley, but it has the bins for the bottles and general waste. I tip the tub of empty bottles into the bin and turn to go back inside, but stop in my tracks. Someone is standing under the streetlight just near the back door. They are dressed fully in black, but I can’t make out a face. I stand there looking at this person. He could just be drunk or he could be a crazy ax murderer wanting to make me his next victim. He is just standing staring at me. I finally found my voice.

“Are you ok?” Don’t want to make the crazy ax murderer mad by insulting him.

The door swings open and relief floods me.

“What the fück are you doing, Amelia?” Nina, my savior, shouts at me. I look towards the spot where the man was standing, and he’s gone. Thank god.

“Some creep was standing over there staring at me.” I point towards the spot and she pops her head around the door to look.

“Come on before he comes back…. Do you think I can stay at yours tonight? I don’t wanna go home on my own?”

“Slumber party!” I sing. I love my slumber parties with Nina, especially since we can now drink. She loops her arm through mine and we walk back inside, making sure to double-check the door is locked behind us.

Melissa rings the bell for the last orders and me and Nina start the wipe down of tables and collecting the empty glasses. Milo is sat in deep conversation with the sexy and mysterious Hayden. God, I need to stop looking at him. He’s been with Zoe so god knows what he caught off her.

“Hey Amelia, do you want a hand?” Milo shouts across the almost empty bar.

“No, but if your new friend wants one more drink, he better hurry up and order. Nina is coming back with us as well, so we need to swing by the supermarket so I can pick a few things up.” He groaned loudly at me and turned back to talk to Hayden. They seem close. I wonder if he knew him before tonight. Milo doesn’t usually get along with people he’s just met. I'll ask him later.

“Goodbye, Amelia. It's been a pleasure to see you again.” The deep and sexy voice of Hayden shouts across to me.

“What do you mean again?” Milo asks, looking at me and then at Hayden.

“Your friend there is very good friends with Zoe,” I say snarkily. Milo looks at Hayden and shakes his head.

“Dude really?”

“She’s an old acquaintance, nothing more. I was merely making sure she got home ok,” Hayden said defensively.

“Why the walk of shame this morning then?” I raise one eyebrow, waiting for his reply.

“Were you keeping an eye on me, Amelia?” He raises an eyebrow back at me.

“No, I just happened to look out the window and saw you sneaking out of Zoe’s with your tail between your legs. Look, no judgment from me. Zoe is a nice girl. She’s been around the block a few times but she’s ok.” I don’t know why I’m even talking about this with a complete stranger. It's not like I’m ever gonna see him again and if I did, it would only be as his waitress.

“Nothing happened with Zoe. She was upset and I made sure she got home ok and fell asleep. That’s all.”

“It’s none of my business Hugo.” I know it was a bítch move to get his name wrong, but he is really getting under my skin and not in a good way.

“Hayden!” He says pointedly. Nina and Melissa are watching our interactions from across the bar and Milo is sitting smiling like a fücking goofball.

“What?” I really am feeling bítchy now.

“My name is Hayden, not Hugo.”

“Your name is of no relevance to me, Howard. If you're done, we need to lock up.” I stand with my arms crossed, waiting. I can hear Nina and Melissa giggling from behind me and see Milo actually gorping at me.

Hayden looks at me with a smug look on his face. Fück he knows he has gotten to me. I don’t know why I let him. It really isn’t like I will ever see him again. He grabs his jacket off the back of a chair and walks out.

“See you tomorrow Milo. Goodbye Alice!” What a jerk. And what does he mean by seeing Milo tomorrow?

“Let’s go home, you ready Nina?”

“Yep,” Nina grabs her stuff and passes me mine.

“Melissa, do you want us to walk you out?” Milo asks.

“Thanks Milo, I'm ready now.” Melissa grabs her coat and bag and we walk her to her car and make sure she gets in before we head to my car. Milo moans about it being too messy and smelling too girly whilst Nina sits looking at him through the mirror. We make our pit stop at the supermarket first for some cheap wine and chocolate and then home where me and Nina spend the night laughing and chatting s**t about Milo. I can’t stop thinking of Hayden, though. He keeps popping up in my mind.