I sat down at the bar in my usual spot. “What’s up with you? You’ve been coming around a lot lately.” Bill was already filling up a glass for me.
“Nothing.”
“You’ve been saying that for the past three weeks.” He placed the drink in front of me. “You’re really starting to make a dent in my tip jar… especially since you never pay me.”
“Sorry. Things have been a little… rough lately.”
Bill raised his eyebrow in question. “Tell the truth. You finally fell for a girl again, didn’t you?”
“Shut up.” My fingers tightened around the glass. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You know, it’s not healthy for you to keep everything bottled up inside. One of these days you’re going to explode.”
“Why don’t you serve some of the other customers or something?”
Bill sighed, but eventually left, refilling the drinks for a couple at the end of the bar. They had their heads close together and their fingers intertwined. I looked away quickly, my stomach tying into a knot.
I had to break this curse.
I had to get back into the business, but every time I tried to pick up a woman, Amanda always came to mind. She was haunting me and I didn’t know how to shake her. I downed my drink and stared at the empty glass, seeing my own reflection.
She had done something to me. She had changed me. For once, it felt like I had found something worth fighting for and I let it slip right through my fingers.
“Do you want another?” Bill asked.
I pushed the glass in his direction.
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened?”
I sighed, knowing he would keep nagging me. “If I tell you, will you leave me alone?”
“Maybe.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what it is. I’m not sure how she’s different, she just is. The last girl I was with, Amanda, she discovered my ruse. You remember Penelope? Well, she was at the party we went to. The next thing I know, she throws her drink in my face and pulls out the jewelry I had snagged from Amanda’s home. Of course, I was instantly labeled a thief and Amanda threw her drink at me too before running out.”
“Ouch.” Bill frowned. “What did you do?”
“That’s the thing. This wasn’t the first time a girl realized that I’m not so nice, but usually, I just let them go and move on to the next one… but with Amanda, I chased her. I actually wanted her to forgive me, to give me a second chance so I could try and be a better man.”
Bill laughed. “That’s a first.”
I glared at him. “But, she hates me now.”
“Have you tried calling her? Knocking on her door? Maybe if you tell her the truth – and I mean the truth, not the lies you come up with – she’ll believe you. Tell her about Melissa.”
“No, she wouldn’t believe me. She’ll think anything I say is a lie. Trust me, you didn’t see the look on her face. I broke her.” I finished off my second drink, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading through my body. Lately, alcohol was the only thing that could get me through the day. It was starting to become a problem.
“Hey, it was just a suggestion. I know you’re not the most honest of people, but you got to start somewhere. Even a simple ‘sorry’ might help you out.”
“No. She made it very clear that she never wants to see me again.” I shook my head. “All these years of using women has made me into such a jerk… Was I always like this?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.
“You’ve always been kind of a jerk,” Bill said with brutal honesty. “But, you were never out to hurt someone… at least not until Melissa broke your heart.”
I got up suddenly. “Stop talking about her. She broke my heart, sure, but she didn’t destroy me. I’m not some pansy who gets his heart broken and lets it ruin his life, okay? Screw her. And screw you too.” Angry, I was about to walk out when I spotted a head full of beautiful blonde hair.
I couldn’t be sure, but it looked just like her. I stood there for a moment before I stepped forward.
“You’re a real jerk, you know that?”
“Well, at least I’m not some fat broad who’s out to leech her ex-husband’s hard-earned money. You’ve always been a failure, haven’t you, Amanda? That’s why you married me because you knew you’d never be able to get a good enough job to get you the life you wanted. You’re just a conniving bitch. I should’ve left you a long, long time ago.”
There was silence between the couple.
My blood started to boil. I was going to kill that man for talking to her like that. Without thinking, I marched up to the table and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.
“Hey, what the fuck is your problem, buddy?” He said, trying to push me away.
I pulled him even closer until our faces were only inches apart. “You will apologize to her, right now,” I growled.
“Apologize?” He laughed. “Why would I apologize to that stupid cow?”
Unable to control my anger, I put him down, only to punch him as hard as I could. He went flying into the chair behind him. The cheap wood splintered and cracked under his weight. Before he could get up, I lunged at him, swinging my fists at his face. “Don’t you ever – ever – talk to her like that again.” I was losing control, my rage taking over, turning me into a monster.
There was blood everywhere. I think even a few of his teeth went flying across the restaurant floor.
People were starting to gather around us, looking horrified, so horrified that no one dared to even try and pull me off. It was like the whole world was in a state of shock at the sight of my brutality.
Finally, Amanda grabbed me. “Stop! You’re going to kill him!” She yanked on the back of my shirt, nearly choking me.
I got up, about to take her face into my hands, when I realized they were covered in another man’s blood. “Amanda…” Our eyes locked. “You can’t let him talk to you like that. Look, I know what I did was terrible and that you’ll never forgive me, but you can’t let yourself be verbally abused like that… You deserve so much better. You’re beautiful, smart, successful… you’re the most amazing woman I’ve met in a long, long time and I was a fool for ever trying to take advantage of you. You got to believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you. It was a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life…”
She looked like she was about to say something, but just then, a pair of officers had stepped into the restaurant. Roughly, they grabbed me, pulling my arms behind my back. I was handcuffed right in front of the only girl I was trying to impress. If she didn’t hate me before, I had no doubt that she hated me now.
“You’re under arrest.” One of the officers said as they towed me out. “You have the right to remain silent –“
“Yeah, I know. I know. I have the right to remain silent, anything I say can be used against me. Something about lawyers. Don’t waste your breath. I’ve heard it all before.”
The officer, however, continued to drone on like some kind of robot. I looked over my shoulder to find Amanda standing at the doorway, looking at me. I couldn’t read her expression, but it almost seemed like she felt sorry for me. I was just glad she wasn’t babying that bastard of an ex she had. The mere thought of him speaking to her in that manner made my blood boil. I know I did her wrong, and I was angry at myself for doing it, but he had taken it too far.
Amanda wasn’t a stupid cow. She was gorgeous. Smart. Successful. She was everything I ever wanted in a woman and I had thrown it all away in my stupid vendetta against women.
The officer pushed me into the back of a cruiser. I lowered my head in shame. It wasn’t the first time I had been arrested. I had a habit of losing my temper. I’ve ended up in a jail cell plenty of times. After a bar fight or after a fit of road rage, but never before had my actions felt so justified.
That guy deserved it. He deserved every last punch I gave him for even thinking of insulting Amanda.