by Riley Storm
She could see warmth in him now, a warmth and depth of emotion she’d never known while he was simply sitting drinking at her bar. There was more to Kal than just a silent drunk.
Of course I’ve always known that, haven’t I? From the way he says please and thank you every time, to the generosity of his tips. There was always something about him. Something different.
Yet behind all that, past his outer smile and laughter, she could see more. A tightness in the corners of his eyes, and a mouth that seemed like it was used to being more animated than it was now.
Kal was holding back. He wasn’t entirely himself, she could see it now, now that she was actually looking for it. The pain that he held within, that he kept carefully bottled up.
Anne suddenly felt an urge to reach out and touch Kal, to look him in those eyes and tell him that it was okay. That whatever he was holding onto, it wouldn’t last. That he would move on from it. She wanted to tell him that he deserved better.
She didn’t do any of that of course, it wasn’t her place to say that, not without knowing what it was he was dealing with. But the desire was there. Anne wanted to make him feel better. To heal him.
“Um,” Kal said, clearing his throat and looking away.
“Listen,” she said, breaking contact, looking down at her hands and wringing them tightly, as if that would rid her of the sudden bout of nerves infecting her every muscle. “I just wanted to tell that, uh, I’m thankful. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. For helping me with this. For the money you’ve so generously and unnecessarily given me. Without it Kal, I don’t think I could ever have done this. I never would have reopened.”
“Well that wouldn’t do,” he said. “I need my favorite watering hole back up and running.”
She looked down, reminded of his drinking again. “Right.”
Kal eventually picked up on the fact she wasn’t trying to joke around, but to be serious with him. He shuffled his feet slightly and took a deep breath, like he was preparing to say something heavy.
“Things really are that bad for you?” he asked softly.
For a moment, when she didn’t immediately respond, Anne thought he was going to reach out and touch her, take her chin or rest a hand on her shoulder. It just felt like one of those moments. Was that his hand twitching? Was he fighting back from doing just that?
“Yes,” she said heavily, working hard to keep her voice even. This wasn’t the easiest subject for her to talk about. She preferred to avoid it entirely if she could. “I don’t have much money left. Certainly not enough to fix this. Before you offered to help I assumed I would just close up, sell it and then move on again.”
She looked up, meeting his eyes again, but pulling her gaze away before things got too tense.
“You aren’t from Five Peaks,” Kal said slowly. “Are you?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No I’m not.”
Anne didn’t go into detail, and Kal understood that. He didn’t ask her where she was from, or what she’d been doing for the past two years that had run all her savings down.
He also, thankfully, didn’t ask her what possessed her to buy a bar, instead of just applying for a job at one. That was a decision Anne still couldn’t understand, couldn’t figure out for herself. She’d driven past the sign, and something had called out to her. Told her that this was where she should be.
Boy, if I ever find out what part of me suggested that brilliant idea, I’m going to cut it out and burn it. Never listening to that side of me again, that’s for sure.
But she was here now, and it had been done, so Anne was going to do her best to make it work, to make it profitable.
“I’m going to help you get this place back up and running,” Kal said.
No, he didn’t just say it. It was more like a pronouncement. A vow.
“Kal…” she started to say.
“No, I’m serious. I’m going to help you. Your vision, my hands-on. We’ll turn this into a place that can provide you with that stable income you’re looking for.”
“How did you…?” she gasped.
“You’re going to be proud of this place,” Kal said, placing his hands on his waist, looking around the currently ruined bar. “Yup. This is a place where you’re going to be comfortable staying.”
Anne frowned to herself. Why did Kal care if she stayed, or if she and Liam moved on? What stake did he have in that?
Not that she would object, she supposed. It would be nice to have a place that Liam could come to call home. That he could stay in for more than a few months at a time. All the moving and the failed attempts at finding where she belonged, it was really wearing on her son, and Anne knew it. She could see it, in his dismissal of everything. He didn’t get attached or take interest in their new surroundings anymore, because he knew they would just move again soon.
Anne wanted that to change. She wanted to give him what she hadn’t had growing up. A stable home, a comfortable home, where everything he needed was provided for him. It gnawed at her to know that sometimes he went without.
She’d looked at the money Kal had given her, and wondered if she could split some of it off, for her own, personal uses. To buy him some new clothes, maybe a nicer meal. It would be a misuse of funds, and so far she’d stopped herself. But it was tempting. Liam deserved it. Despite all that he was dealing with, he was a good kid. A really good kid.
“I’m going to start hauling this outside,” she said, breaking the silence. “I think I’m better suited to doing that, than working the tools.”
Kal grinned, recognizing that the serious moment was over, and they were back to work. “You got it!”
She picked up one of the studs and started heading for the back door where they had been dumping all the debris so far.
It was good to see Kal like this she realized. Sober, not drinking. Smiling.
What was going to happen once all the work was done though? Would he still be like this, or would he go back to the dark, brooding drunk that she’d known before?
Anne simply didn’t know, and she dreaded finding out.
Chapter Eight
Kal
He pulled up to the bar, a jaunty tune on his lips as he whistled along.
The radio was off, the song only in his head, but Kal didn’t care. The sun was shining, he was up early again and had even gone for a jog before leaving his vault.
A sour taste filled his mouth at the reminder that he was currently living out of his treasure vault, too ashamed to go back home to his clan. Kal sat in the truck, pursing his mouth over and over again as he dealt with that mood, pushing it aside. Now wasn’t the time for him to be gloomy and down.
Now was the time for him to be happy and excited, looking forward to the day. He was going to spend it with Anne again, and he was extremely excited for that. There was something about this human that put him in a better mood. It was infectious, and he couldn’t explain it, but every time they were working in close quarters yesterday, he’d found it hard to stop smiling.
When the end of the day had come around, both of them tired from working, and Anne needing to attend to Liam, he’d packed it up and headed out, saddened at their parting. Still, he’d assured himself that they would do it all again the next day as well. There would be lots more time to interact with her.
“I’m back!” he said, pumping his fist.
He’d gone elsewhere the night before, another bar in town. There weren’t many to choose from in a town as small as Five Peaks, but Kal had managed to find one that wasn’t inhabited by Mikey or any of his cohort. The last thing he wanted was to get into another fight with them. It was unlikely he’d get so lucky and the owner wouldn’t call the police.
It still surprised him that Anne hadn’t done that, but he didn’t question his good luck. She’d given him a bit of grief about his injuries, but when he’d shown up the next day none the worse for wear, she’d accepted his word that the
y had looked far worse than they appeared.
Also she seemed distracted, so he hadn’t had to fend off any questions about where his cuts were and why he didn’t seem to have any bruises. Kal wasn’t sure what it was that had kept her attention off that, but he was grateful for it.
There’s a lot to be grateful for lately.
His upbeat mood hadn’t faded as fast as he’d expected either. A few rounds into the evening and Kal had decided he simply wasn’t interested in drinking as much. So he’d gone home early. Something had changed in him, though he wasn’t entirely sure what it meant just yet.
“Maybe I’ve found my new career in construction,” he said, laughing to himself as he shut off his truck and hopped out, eager to go inside and say hi to Anne.
He approached the front door. The plastic tarp over the front window billowed and snapped as he approached. They’d put it up to prevent people and wildlife from entering the bar. It bothered him that the first night it had been open; the place had been exposed.
“Ooo, mail,” he said, looking at the plain white envelope wedged into the door crack.
Plucking it free he turned it over to see who it was from.
His heart skipped a beat.
“What the hell,” he whispered, reading the two words scrawled across the front.
Kal Aterna.
He looked around wildly, as if the person who had delivered it would still be there. There was no one of course, and as his brain calmed from the initial shock, he thought about it more analytically.
It isn’t from Anne. She doesn’t know my last name.
He’d purposefully avoided telling her who he was at first, wanting to avoid the questions that would be likely to come with it. Now that he knew she wasn’t from Five Peaks though, he supposed he cared less. She wasn’t likely to even know the name, let alone want to ask him a billion questions about his reclusive family.
Yet all that was moot, because if she hadn’t put it there, someone else had. Which should be impossible. Kal hadn’t seen nor talked to anyone since that fateful day when Viko had thrown him out of the Guard. He’d purposefully fallen off the grid in respect to his family and come into Five Peaks, staying anonymous and not checking in with anyone.
But someone had found him. That was unnerving, but not necessarily disastrous. After all, he was only trying to maintain a low profile for his own sake. Nothing he was doing was illegal or would get him in trouble. Still, he’d hoped to remain off-grid. He’d barely been texting anyone, and never letting them know where he was. Just ensuring they knew he was still alive.
“What was so important you had to come find me and deliver this in person?” he muttered, ripping at the envelope, curiosity overwhelming anything else.
The handwriting of his name seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. That stopped mattering the second he read the quick, messy message scratched onto the single piece of paper the envelope had held.
Watch your back. Everything not as it seems.
Kal went cold, his blood chilling.
That was not at all what he’d expected. A taunting letter from someone who disliked him maybe, rubbing his punishment in. A note from Logan, his clan leader perhaps, asking him to stop drinking and come back. Those were things he would have expected to see written there.
Not this. An anonymous warning.
What wasn’t all that it seemed though? What were they trying to warn him against? Or about?
“Morning Kal!”
He jumped and spun round with a cry of surprise as Anne called his name from behind him.
She backed away, eyes wide. “Whoa, easy there big fella. Everything okay up there?”
He smirked at her tall-joke, unable to help himself.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” he said, clamming up, trying to button down his emotions. “Where were you? I thought you’d be inside.”
“I went to go get us coffee,” she said. “I, um, I spent a bit of your money on it. I hope you don’t mind.”
Kal scoffed. “Not at all. That’s your money, spend it as you see fit. Coffee is an important staple.”
“I know,” she said, handing him a paper cup with a green logo. “It’s been far too long since I’ve had any.” She took a sip of hers and sighed.
“That was a big sigh,” he said, trying not to think about the letter in his hand. “Just how long has it been?”
“Months,” she said wistfully. “Months without it.”
“You poor soul,” he said, then frowned. “How long were you gone?”
“Fifteen minutes maybe. Why?”
Fifteen minutes. Kal looked up and down the street again, on rooftops, in the few windows of the cars parked on the side of the street. Not very long at all. Whoever had placed the letter there knew that she was gone, and that he would find it first.
“Hey what’s that?” she asked.
Kal looked back at Anne, saw her pointing to the envelope.
“This? Junk mail,” he said with a tight smile, crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket. “Just junk.”
Anne lifted her eyebrows at him. “Sure,” she said after a moment. “Whatever you say Kal.”
She laughed and used her now free hand to get her keys and unlock the front door so they could go inside.
“Months since you’ve had coffee,” he said quietly, trying to change the subject again as they entered the dimly lit bar. “I know you said things were tough, but I think you’ve been holding back on just how bad.”
Anne hesitated, turning to face him.
Chapter Nine
Anne
What do I tell him?
The thought bounced around her mind for all of a nanosecond before she opted for the only possible answer.
The truth.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Yeah they have. Ever since we left, since I left…well it’s been hard.”
She didn’t want to get into her ex-husband. That wasn’t a topic she enjoyed, nor was it ever fruitful to bring up. It was best if she just left it, and him, in the past, where they belonged.
If only it was that simple.
“You’re tough,” Kal said into the silence that followed. “I have faith in you, you’ll come out of this stronger.”
Anne gave him a smile, trying not to let it be filled with the sadness she felt within. “Thanks. But if I’m honest, it’s not me I’m worried about Kal. I can take care of myself, I can handle this, handle everything that’s been going on. It’s Liam that I’m really worried about.”
“Your son?” he asked.
Nodding slowly, she took another long sip of her coffee, feeling the warmth trickle down her throat. She’d missed it so much!
“Yeah. He’s been having a really tough time of it you know. The constant parade of new apartments, new schools. At first he slowly stopped making new friends, getting really cynical every time I brought it up. Asking me why bother, when we’re just going to move again. But then it started to get worse.”
“Worse?” Kal asked.
Anne nodded again, not trusting her voice for the moment. Instead she drank some more coffee and headed deeper inside, eager for a chair.
Kal found the switches for the lights and flicked the ones over the bar itself on—they were the only set that hadn’t had at least one damaged or destroyed in the fight. With the tarp in place now, the natural daylight coming into the bar was greatly reduced.
“Yeah. He’s getting into fights with other kids. Failing most of his classes. All sorts of talking back to his teachers.” She chewed on her lower lip. “He’s only ten, Kal. What happens when he becomes a teenager and puberty sets in? I need to give him a stable life before then. I don’t want him going to jail!”
She feared that’s the track he was on already, although he never acted like that with her. The two of them were close. Liam rarely gave her attitude, and instead seemed to seek love and affection from her more. Perhaps because she was the only bit of stability in his life, or maybe because h
e was only ten. She wasn’t sure.
“I’m sure you’re doing your best, Anne,” Kal said slowly. “You aren’t to blame for any of this.”
Anne sighed. “Except, Kal, I kind of am.”
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “You’re a good woman. Anyone with half a brain can see that. A good woman and a good mother doing her best in a tough world.”
Anne blushed at the compliment, looking down at the floor. She felt her cheeks heat up and hoped the dim lighting wouldn’t show too much redness. She’d always been self-conscious of the way her blushing extended all the way down her neck and upper chest. With the shirt she was wearing today, Kal would be able to easily see that all.
Why do you care what Kal thinks? For all you know, he’s another one in the long line of men you’ve made bad choices in. He could be the cause for you leaving Five Peaks.
It wouldn’t be the first time she’d done something like that. Except this time there wasn’t anything going on between her and Kal. He was just being nice, helping her get things fixed after he’d played a big part in breaking them in the first place. That was it!
“Thanks,” she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, not sure what else to say now.
“Besides, you’re in Five Peaks now,” Kal said. “You won’t have to leave here. The people are good, mostly. Those jerks like Jake and Mikey are definitely the exception, not the rule. It’s a good place. A place where those who don’t have anywhere else to belong, can find a home.”
There was a tightness to his voice that she’d never heard before as he spoke. Anne wondered if maybe he had firsthand experience with that?
“Are you from Five Peaks?’ she asked, curious. Now that she thought about it, there was so little she actually knew about him! He was still quite a mystery to her.
“Yes,” he said, finally taking a seat on the stool next to her. “Born and raised. I just know the effect it has on its people.”
“Ah.” Anne smiled, locking eyes with him. “Yeah, I suppose I have met a couple of good people.”
Kal smiled. “Like who?” he asked, never breaking eye contact.