4: Ashallia

Ashallia turned down the alley behind Pete's Place, heading towards the back entrance. She'd managed to walk here without seeing anyone she knew, thankfully, and hoped the night would continue that way.

She left her things in her locker, then put on her apron, and tied her curls up into a loose bun. Charlie was the chef on tonight, and he smiled at her as she walked through the kitchen, towards the front of house "Hey Ash, how's things?"

She forced a smile, with just a "Hey Charlie" in response. Charlie was a decent guy, and always friendly to her, but she didn't want to face the questions tonight. After a quick hi to the other kitchen staff, she grabbed an order pad and pen, tucked them into her apron pocket, and headed through to the front, where her heart dropped to her stomach.

Liam and his friends were seated in one of the booths, along with Kacey, who she'd found him with at Paige's party, on Saturday night.

That was when he'd dumped her. She'd been shocked, hurt, and upset at finding her boyfriend on the edge of Paige's bed, with his pants around his ankles and a topless Kacey straddling him. And he'd just laughed at her, told her it was her own fault for not pleasing him 'like a good girlfriend should', and broken up with her right then and there, much to Kacey's apparent delight.

She felt sick. She didn't want to see them here, especially not with Kacey's hands all over him, like they were now. Turning around towards the kitchen, she was stopped by Pete. He was, of course, the owner, and her boss.

Pete smiled at her, before giving her a puzzled look, "Hey, Ash.. you okay? You look even paler than usual.." he trailed off as she shook her head, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards his office in the back. "Let's talk."

Ash was on the verge of tears again, but grateful, as she nodded and followed him. He hesitated and said something quietly to Josh, the other server on tonight, and followed her in, closing the door.

Leaning against his desk, she avoided his eye contact, trying to get a hold of herself. "What's going on, Ash? I've haven't seen you this upset since.." he trailed off again, shaking his head, "Talk to me." His stood facing her, looking concerned.

She took a deep breathe, pulling a tissue from the box on Pete's desk, and dabbing at her eyes before she answered, "I'm sorry, Pete, Liam broke up with me, and I just walked out and saw him there, with her, and.." her voice shook, and she took a deep breathe before continuing, "I'll be fine, I just need a minute. I really need the shift."

He moved next to her and placed his hand on her back, "It's okay, kiddo. Don't worry about him, he never deserved you anyway." His hand moved gently over her back in a small circle, "I'll make sure Josh takes care of them, okay? If you need to hide a minute out back, you just do it, okay?"

She nodded, lifting her head to smile meekly at him. "Thanks, Pete. Sorry again. I'll head out there." He smiled back encouragingly, "No worries, kiddo, I've always got your back, you know that." And she did. Pete and her Dad had been friends since they were kids themselves, and he'd always been kind to her and her brother, Dane, especially after her Dad's accident.

Carefully dabbing her eyes again, she nodded and smiled again, before heading back out. Josh gave her a warm smile in greeting, before Pete grabbed his attention again. She avoided looking over at Liam's table, checking over the open order dockets instead.

Getting the feeling of someone watching her, she turned, noticing someone in the corner booth. It was the only other table occupied this early, and in the darkest corner of the restaurant. A tall, dark haired man was seated there, who she'd never seen before. He looked young, maybe mid 20s, from what she could tell. And he was staring at her.

Josh startled her as he spoke quietly over her shoulder, "Don't worry about that one, he's been sitting there with the same drink for ages. Freaky looking dude." He moved around in front of her, flashing her another wide grin, "I'll take his, and this douche's tables," he gestured subtly to Liam's table, "you can grab the next ones, 'kay?".

She smiled at him, his usual upbeat vibe was as infectious as Alena's. "Thanks, Josh." He winked at her, before heading over to Liam's table. Feeling eyes on her again, she looked back to find the same guy still staring at her, glaring even. 'What the hell is his problem?' she thought, frowning, then moved out of his sight, starting on the usual Monday restock and cleaning tasks, until another table of guests came through the door.