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“Okay, well, try it all for h you”

We stayed on the video chat for another five h I could have stayed there all day When the call ended and I tossed my cell back on the bedside table, I burrowed under the covers, closed my eyes, and prayed for sleep

Maybe in ure out what the hell I was supposed to do with my life

2

Evelyn

If somebody would’ve looked at me as I made my way around to the tables of Bosco’s, the bar I waitressed at, they’d think I was soirl with a carefree attitude,I liked to party, alith a smile on my face They’d think I was a hard-core extrovert for sure

In truth, being around people drained me, not just mentally but also physically, emotionally I hated it, much preferred to be isolated inback shots with strangers Darragh got that, because she was just like ard

So being a waitress at a busy bar in the city was like soood chunk of time now, and before that, I waitressed at another bar Same old path where rabby male hands and sexual harassment

Pasting on a faux sht they had so,your teeth pulled without any anesthesia

And then there was Ritchie, the owner of Bosco’s I wanted to kick him in the balls aze on me, his subtle manipulation, and his very clear sexual harassment he tried to cover up as “playful banter” between his coworkers

Although I probably would have found another job easily enough, I wasn’t skilled enough to get so off the pricks at the bars Besides, waitressing gave ood hours, the tips were incredible to help save toward schooling, and at the end of the day I had to think aboutwith it

So here I was, five, soht until two in the

“Hey, darlin’”

I pasted on ht-lipped but still friendly sular at Bosco’s He was an older , salt-and-pepper, unke over his pants because he’d clearly drunk way too much back in the day… and still did

But I tolerated hih he liked to throw out the sickly sweet endearments, he never tried to touch ht above my left breast He just loitered, like one of those creepy old perverts who had nothing else to do with their ti-age girls who came in

“Letelse,” I said but didn’t wait for him to respond, just turned andat theuys had too much to drink and had little to no self-control

I was at the bar when I heard the loud conversation ring through from the new customers who’d just walked in I didn’t have to turn around to know they were young lance over roan, because of course they’d picked a high-top in my station

“Thanks, Barb,” I murmured when my drink order was placed on my tray from the bartender She had the rode-hard-and-put-up-wet look that surrounded her, as if she’d lived a rough city life, but she was still surviving She saw too ray eyes, but she had a warm smile and a smart mouth when any one of us was disrespected

“Good luck with that bunch, darlin’”

I gave her a pained—thankful—smile and dropped off -year-olds celebrating a bachelorette party I made my way over to take the drink order frouys I’d have to be on the top of roup, because I could already s off the