Chapter 5: Night Shift

                                    

                                          


                          
      "Alex, you can't go into work, you just got knocked out!" Lauren's voice squeaks, her voice always squeaks when she's nervous. 
                          
"Babe, I'm fine." I rest my hands on her shoulders "I've gotta make more money and since the nights already been ruined, you can relax with your book or put on your show and I'll be back soon, I don't have to do dishes when I get called in."
                          
"But..." Lauren brushes her hand over my eye. "I'm so sorry, Alex." She rests her head on my chest. 
                          
"Sorry for what?" I shake my head, she can be so ridiculous sometimes.
                          
"I should have gone with Veronica when she went to find Aaron." She wraps her arms around me "I put you in an uncomfortable positon and I'm just really sorry."
                          
"Baby," I cup her  face in my hands and gently push her back enough to see her eyes, they're big and misty and her bottom lip is curled under in a pout. 
                          
"You didn't do anything wrong." I tell her "and I don't care if I don't know how to fight, I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you even if it means me getting hurt." 
                          
"I don't want you to get hurt." She whimpers. 
                          
"Would you do anything you could to protect me?" I ask already knowing her answer. She nods.
                          
"Then let me do anything I can to protect you." I swipe a tear off her cheek with my thumb. "I'm really okay, it looks worse than it is." I assure her. She doesn't look like she believes me but she also doesn't look she's going to cry either. 
                          
"You have to go to work?" she asks. I nod and kiss the top of her head.
                          
"You know we could use the money." I cradle her head in my hands, she nods but she's still not happy. 
                          
"It's just..." she sighs "you're hurt, because of me and I just want to make sure you're okay." She's so hard on herself sometimes. I wrap her in my arms and ignore the ache in my wrist. 
                          
"I wanted to protect you." I tell her firmly "I wanted to do that for you because it makes me happy, okay." I kiss her nose "So if it makes me happy, you want me to do it, right?" I ask her kissing her left eye. She nods, her eyes still on my eye. 
                          
"Then it's not your fault at all." I kiss her other eye, "okay?" 
                          
"Alright." She sighs but turns a small smile on me and tiptoes to press a kiss to my nose. "but take it easy tonight, please." 
                          
"That, I can do." I give her another squeeze before letting her go. Worry put tiny creases between her eyebrows but she's smiling. Everything is okay if she's smiling. 
                          
"Have a nice night." She waves to me "I'll see you at three."
                          
"I'll see you at three." I peck a final kiss onto her lips before heading out and to the right. Lauren loves this apartment because it's on the bottom floor and right at the front so it's like we have a house. 
                          
      I rush in through the doors, the parking lot is slammed, the restaurant is crowded and my hand and face are aching. 
                          
"Alex!" Matt looks relieved to see me "good man, good man." He points at his eye "who gave you the shiner?" 
                          
"Some guy at the club was coming onto Lauren and wouldn't back off." I shrug it off like it was no big deal, like I didn't need Aaron to come save both of us. 
                          
"She alright?" Matt stops his rushing around, he looks genuinely concerned. Matts a good guy though, usually a fair boss unless he's this crowded and has this many call offs.