Page 17 of Voices

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Page 17 of Voices

I didn’t see what happened, but I heard the commotion and then his mouth. Matt is with me, and when we get to Dean, we stand on either side of him.

“Emo boy here was trying to skip the long ass line. I’ve been standing here for ten fucking minutes! So, I made sure he knew he belonged in the back. It’s not my fault he tripped over his own feet. Fucking loser.”

He spits at the guy curled in a ball on the floor.

“What the fuck is your problem man? How do you know he was trying to get to the front of the line and not to grab a snack or something from the front?” Matt asks.

“Who cares! I was here first. He belongs in the back of the line.”

“I think you need to leave, Dean,” I say to him while looking at the guy on the floor. He’s not moving except for a slight tremble in his shoulders.

“The fuck did you say to me, hockey boy?” He puffs out his chest like he’s trying to intimidate me. He may have more muscle than me, but I’m taller.

Stepping up, I look down my nose at him, about to put this asshole in his place, when Matt nudges my arm and tilts his head towards Julie, the manager. Backing up, I smile at Julie as she walks over.

“What’s the problem boys?”

Turning to Dean, I cross my arms over my chest and wait for him to tell Julie he’s causing problems.

Of course he doesn’t say anything, just glares at me. Rolling my eyes, I turn to Julie but stop when I notice the guy on the floor is shaking harder.

“Hey, are you ok?” I ask as I walk towards him.

He curls his legs more and tightens his arms that are covering his head and wrapped around his middle. As I crouch down, I gently place my hand on his arm.

“No, no, no. Please. I-I’m sorry.” His words are a low whisper.

Looking back at Matt, he’s following Julie who’s escorting Dean out of the shop. Good. Matt may be a goofball, but he knows when to be serious and use his size to get assholes like Dean to do what he says.

“He’s gone,” I say, looking back down at the guy on the floor. He doesn’t move.

“Here, let me help you up off of the floor.”

I reach for his shoulder to encourage him to uncoil but the moment my hand meets his shirt, he lets out a whimper.

“It’s ok, I won’t hurt you. Dean is gone and won’t be coming back. I’m pretty sure Julie just banned him,” I say with a soft chuckle.

He slightly lowers his elbow and looks around. When his eyes land on me, I suck in a breath. Fearful golden-brown eyes look up at me.

Fuck. It’s Charlie.

His eyes are wet and he looks scared out of his mind. I slowly reach out and move his hair from his eyes.

“Hey, beautiful,” I smile softly at him. “You’re alright now.”

It takes him a second like he’s processing my words, then he slowly starts to sit up. But he only gets halfway when he falls back to the floor, grabbing his ribs.

“Shit.”

“What’s wrong? Did that son of a bitch kick you?” I’m seething. What the actual fuck is wrong with Dean. Who kicks someone when they’re down? Literally.

He shakes his head, taking shallow breaths. “I tripped over my own feet and hit the corner of the table. It’s my fault. I lost my footing. I-I’m fine.”

His fault? How the hell is being bullied his fault?

He slowly rolls to the side and uses his elbow to sit up. He winces as he reaches for the table and tries to pull himself up. I quickly get to my feet and help.

I smile at him, but it falls when I notice blood dripping down his cheek. “You’re bleeding.” I grab some napkins from the table beside us and go to gently wipe his cheekbone, but he flinches back.