Page 28 of Thorns and Ashes
He hangs up the phone, and I slam ours onto its receiver, feeling more like my old self than I have in months. My blood is still boiling hot, but I’m riding on a sense of empowerment after putting that lawyer in his place and hopefully ending his and my father’s incessant calling.
Ainsley casts me a sideways glance as she enters another order. “You’ve got this look in your eye that reminds me of a crazy bull ridin’ uncle I had growin’ up. You alright?”
I pile the firefighters’ orders onto a tray and whip around, a smile plastered to my face as I walk by her and toward them. “I’m peachy.”
I place everything in front of the group as they mutter their thank yous, and I’m about to walk away when Levi sputters out his coffee like it’s personally offended him. It’s obvious his actions are nothing more than theatrics meant to piss me off, but I’ve had enough.
“Let me guess,” I say sharply, tucking the tray under my arm and popping my hip. “You hate this one, too.”
“How is it that you manage to make each cup of coffee worse than the last?”
“Have you ever considered that I’m not the one with the problem, and maybe it’s actually you who wouldn’t know a good cup of coffee if it hit you in the face?” I look around the cafe, waving my hand. “No one else seems to have an issue here.”
“As if they would tell you if they did,” he snorts. “So sad, the spoiled rich girl doesn’t know how to make a decent cup of coffee, and now it tastes as bitter as she is.”
Gasps sound from around his table, and now his smug smile is on full display. Clearly, someone’s been filling his head with stories about me. I should have known it was only a matter of time. Fine. I know how to play this game, too.
Only, I know how to play it better.
“You think you know me?” I lean over the table and shove the tray that was tucked under my arm flat against his chest until he’s pushed straight back in his chair and our faces are inches apart. “You don’t. But I know exactly who you are.” My eyes sharpen, and I lean in closer until my lips brush against his ear. “You’re the guy who walks around here making everyone near you miserable because your fiancée thought you were someone worth saving,” I whisper.
He flinches, so I press the tray harder against his chest as I tilt my head back to look him in the eye.
“And I think it’s a fucking shame that instead of taking the second chance that most people never get, you’re spitting on her sacrifice and walking around here being the biggest bitch this town has ever seen. And that’s saying something since, as you must now know, I’ve lived here my whole life.” I use his chest and the tray to shove myself upright, lifting an eyebrow as I straighten, daring him to challenge me.
No one at his table moves. “Did she just call him a bitch?” Mark whispers, but to whom, I’m not sure. My eyes are locked on his jade-green eyes as they flash with rage.
“I hate you,” he growls out.
“No. You don’t. You hate yourself. And until you start acting like someone worth saving, I don’t see that changing.” I rip the receipt out of my server’s book and drop it in the air, allowing it to float down to the table. “Your month is up. Pay at the front when you’re done.”
I stride back to the counter, so damn proud of myself for putting him in his place, finally stunning him into nothing more than a pathetic comeback. He hates me?Boo-freaking-hoo.Join the club. I’m sure by now they have T-shirts. I’m almost there when someone screams, and the little kid from earlier falls out of his chair and collapses on the floor right in front of me.
“He can’t breathe!” the little girl he was sitting with screams, sounding absolutely terrified.
I’m still frozen in place, shocked, and not sure what to do as the kid thrashes on the floor, clenching his throat. Everyone around looks to each other, wearing matching expressions of panic, but without hesitation, all of the firefighters rush to his side. Without thinking, I pull the little girl into my side and hold her as she cries, both of us scared and equally as helpless as we watch, silently praying he’ll be okay.
Chapter Seven
Levi
“Ihate you,” I growl out, unable to think clearly as the rage, guilt, and panic caused by her words flood me all at once.
“No. You don’t. You hate yourself. And until you start acting like someone worth saving, I don’t see that changing.” She rips a piece of paper from her book and lets it go midair. “Your month is up. Pay at the front when you’re done.”
I don’t bother looking at it. I’m still seeing red as she walks away. Callie warned me. Or at least she tried, but when do I ever listen? Beautiful like a rose, but she has thorns, she said. Iwastrying to piss her off, to get her to stop looking at me with sympathy like everyone else. I didn’t anticipate that I’d push her too far. Guess now I know what those thorns feel like.
You’re spitting on her sacrifice...
Is that what I’m doing? Is she actually right, and am I even willing to admit it if she is?
“He can’t breathe!” A little girl’s scream pulls me from my thoughts, not just any little girl, it’s Violet, Tom’s niece.
My whole crew is up from their seats, immediately jumping into action.
“I’ll grab the AED, just in case,” Maria shouts, running out the door.
Before I reach the boy, Tris already has a crying Violet in her arms, comforting her even though she looks equally scared. My knees hit the ground, and I quickly run through my primary assessment.
