Scarlett The Devil's Daughter (8 page)

Drake was right the bar is busy and it takes
all of us just to keep things ticking along. It still annoys me to
see the different groups of girls that plague the place, mainly
just to hit on Drake and Dylan. I still get groped by the men and
just suck it all up, I have lost my temper once here and I am not
going to do it again. Occasionally a customer gets a bit too keen
and a couple of times Drake and Dylan have jumped in and warned the
guy off. As we work away the three of us in the bar and Mac in the
kitchen I realise that I feel more like this is my family than my
own. I am grateful that my father found me this job, whatever his
reasons were for it. I am sure that he didn't know at the time just
how much I would love it here.

It's only after the lunch time rush that I
remember the paperwork. Calling Dylan over I say, "Whilst it's
quiet Dylan I'll get the paperwork for you to sign." He follows me
into the office and I explain what I have done. When we come to the
Insurance form I wonder whether or not to say anything but throw
caution to the wind and take the plunge. "Dylan, I'm sorry to pry
but I couldn't help notice that you have only ticked the cover for
contents and public liability. Do you have cover for the rest
elsewhere?" Dylan immediately looks worried and I feel bad for
mentioning it. "It's all we can afford at the moment. The premium
was so high that I had to make the decision to go with the cheaper
cover. I'm sure it will be fine though as we are extremely careful
and check everything over and over again before we leave." As much
as I can see his reasons I am not sure I agree with them. "What
does Mr Anderson think?" Dylan looks surprised. "I don't pay him
enough to think. He just pays it all and does the tax returns."
Suddenly Drake opens the door and says, "Mr Anderson's here for the
paperwork, shall I send him through?" Dylan nods and then sighs.
"Thanks Scarlett. I couldn't have done this without your help. At
least it's one job done." I give his arm a squeeze and leave him to
it. I want to help them so badly but don't know how. One thing I do
know though is my father can spot a good thing when he sees it and
it won't be long before they buckle under the pressure.

I busy myself out in the bar and wait for Mr
Anderson to leave. A plan has begun to form in my mind and it is
going to take all of my cunning and manipulation to pull it off.
About an hour later I see the door from the office opening and I
quickly dash out and start clearing a nearby table near the door. I
hear him call out goodbye to Drake and count down until I know that
he will be near me. As soon as I know that he is there I swing
round with my tray and the contents fall all over him. He looks at
me angrily and I look at him apologetically. "Oh I'm so sorry sir,
I didn't hear you coming. Please let me help you." I take my cloth
and start wiping his jacket that has taken the brunt of the
contents of the glass that was balanced on the tray. "Its fine
miss, don't worry accidents happen." I play along saying, "No no I
feel so embarrassed you must let me at least help clean your
jacket." As I place my hand on him I concentrate all of my energy
on reading his mind. It is like a computer download and doesn't
take long. Pulling away he smiles and makes for the door. As I
watch him go Drake comes over laughing. "That was hilarious. For
some reason I can't stand that man, he gives me the creeps. Seeing
you pour warm beer all over him made my day." I laugh as he kisses
me and then swings me around playfully. "What's going on?" Dylan
comes out of the office and looks at us with amusement. "Scarlett
just drenched Mr Anderson, you should have been here." Dylan grins.
"He's always been a bit wet behind the ears anyway." We all laugh
and carry on with our work. However my mission was accomplished as
I think about what I learned from our contact. The trouble is
nobody can know what I found out, there is too much at stake. No I
will have to figure this out myself.

The next few days pass without incident. I
have managed to keep all contact with my family to the minimum and
have just enjoyed spending time with Drake and Dylan. The threat of
the fight is still looming and the subject has remained off limits.
Every time we ask Dylan about it he closes up and refuses to
discuss it. Both Drake and I know that he could get badly hurt and
we try to talk him out of it at every opportunity.

I know that he is training for it though as
Drake told me that he gets up really early and heads for the gym.
He also works out after work and I am worried that he isn't getting
enough sleep. Marius on the other hand needs no training, although
working out at the gym is part of his daily routine. My father has
a state of the art gym installed at the house and my brothers take
full advantage of it. As the day approaches both Drake and Dylan
are becoming increasingly worried.

One lunch time I look up and see Layla
coming through the door. I haven't seen here since she worked the
shift and I smile at her warmly. "Hi Layla, it's good to see you
again." She smiles and her face lights up. She certainly is
beautiful and has a wholesome innocent quality about her which
makes you instantly warm to her. I feel curious about her
relationship with Marius. He never says two words and yet when I
saw them together he obviously adores her. Maybe she is the chink
in his armour. "Hi Scarlett, it's good to see you too. Um is Dylan
around?" Nodding towards the office I wipe my hands and open the
door and shout. "Dylan, visitor." He comes out and instantly his
face lights up as he sees who it is. They move along the bar and
soon their heads are together and I can see her speaking animatedly
to him. He doesn't look too pleased and then she puts her hand on
his arm and it looks as if she is pleading with him. I am
distracted by a customer and when I next look up she has gone.
Dylan comes over to me and I can tell he is upset. "What's up Dylan
are you ok?" He looks down and sighs heavily. "Layla tried to talk
me out of the fight. She said that I haven't got a hope of winning
and that Marius is determined to keep his unbeaten record. She said
that she was worried for me and that my family couldn't afford to
lose another member and this place would suffer if I was injured."
Reaching out I squeeze his arm. "You know that she's right don't
you Dylan. There must be another way to raise the money." His eyes
look weary and looking up he looks broken. "I don't know what else
to do Scarlett; I've run out of ideas. I want for Drake to go to
College so badly. He shouldn't have to give up his dream for this
place. The trouble is if I sell up we will still have nothing after
the debts are paid." Suddenly I have an idea but I am not sure that
he is going to like it so decide to keep it to myself. "Listen
Dylan, you must do what you think best, things will work out I just
know they will. Go with your gut instinct as that is normally never
wrong. You only get one life and it is up to you to make the most
of it. Listen to what people are telling you and then either do as
they say or go with what your heart is telling you. Sometimes they
are the same thing, only you know that." Dylan looks at me with a
stunned expression. "How old are you Scarlett?" He says jokingly. I
punch him on his arm playfully and he laughs. Then to my surprise
he hugs me. "Drake's a lucky guy, you know that?" Laughing I nod
but add, "No, I'm the lucky one."

At the end of my shift I walk with Drake to
his grandparent's house. This is now becoming our routine and I am
growing to love the place as much as he does. Most of the time
spent there is just making out with him. Seeing him all day and not
being able to be close is torture for us both. It is only in these
few snatched hours that we can talk and get close to each other. I
watch him as he plays his guitar and sings me a song that he has
just finished writing. As I watch him play I am mesmerised. His
voice is so soulful and he looks at me with such love as he sings.
I am not used to seeing emotion and it makes me want to guard what
we have with my life. He stops and places the guitar on the floor.
Reaching out he pulls me into his arms. "I love you Scarlett, I
just wish that I could take you to the finest places and buy you
the best of everything. All you do is work and I feel bad that I am
not treating you right." I stop him talking by kissing him. Pulling
away I smile at him happily. "I have all of those things already
Drake and they mean nothing to me. All I want is here with you and
this means more to me than going out and having things bought for
me. Money can't buy what we have and what you give me is more than
I ever thought I'd get from anyone. I love you too Drake, you are
everything that I need."

We spend the rest of the evening cuddling up
on the couch and just hanging out. Reluctantly though I soon have
to leave. I don't want to give my father any excuse to take away my
bike so decide that I should at least put in an appearance at
breakfast.

As I ride home I think about everything that
is going on. There are so many balls in the air and I know that it
is up to me to keep them all in play until it all comes crashing
down. One thing I do know is that I must try to keep my father from
discovering what I am thinking of doing. That will be the most
difficult part of this whole thing.

When I get inside the house I make myself go
into the kitchen where I can hear voices. Usually I scoot off to my
room but I am now on a mission and need to set things in place. I
have to stifle a giggle when I enter the room as I see Luna
gyrating madly to some music that she has on that she is listening
to with her headphones on. As she sees me she tears them off of her
head and runs over and hugs me tightly. "Scarlett honey it's good
to have you home for once. Come in and I'll make you a drink. I'm
making my hot chocolate specials, loads of whipped cream and
marshmallows." I smile at her as she replaces the headphones and
sets about making the drink. I wander over to where my brothers are
watching the game. It is unusual to find them all here so I know
that this could be my only opportunity. They look at me with
disdain as I sink down on to the couch. I don't say anything and
just grab hold of the drink that Luna gives me. I make myself watch
the game and think about how I am going to approach this. After a
while they start talking about the fight. Caleb says, "I can't wait
for the fight bro. Make sure that you do your worst. I've got a bet
on you flooring him in the third round." Ash laughs. "Make that two
of us. I mean have you seen the guy, he would go down if you just
looked at him in the wrong way." They all laugh and I sit and
listen intently. Marius shrugs. "I'm not gonna lie it's gonna be
the easiest fight I've had in a long time. Depends how bored I get
I suppose. I might just string it out for my own enjoyment."
Listening to them revelling in the thought of someone else's pain
makes me feel sick. They're all disgusting and I am ashamed that
they are my brothers. I still sit there with a bland expression and
then Caleb notices that I am quiet and looks at me with a sneer.
"Careful guys we have a traitor in our midst. I'm guessing she's
routing for the other guy, I mean word is she's tight with his baby
brother. What do you say little sis, where are your loyalties in
all this?" I look at them all blankly and just take a sip of my
drink before I reply. "I have no loyalties. I am out of here soon
and just passing the time. It won't bother me who wins. I'm not so
sure that Marius will escape cleanly though." They all laugh loudly
and Marius scowls at me. "What are you talking about? I could beat
him with my hands tied behind my back." I pause for effect and then
fix him with a steely gaze. "I'm not talking about beating Dylan.
We all know that is inevitable. You may win the fight but you could
lose your girlfriend in the bargain." I watch Marius as my words
register. A flash of alarm passes across his eyes which is
instantly replaced by one of anger. "What do you mean?" He says in
a low threatening voice. I shrug my shoulders and look indifferent.
"All I know is that she came to see Dylan today and tried to talk
him out of the fight. She is scared that he will get hurt and she
cares for him." Marius snaps, "Don't be ridiculous of course she
doesn't care for him. You don't know what you're talking about; you
should stick to washing dishes instead of psychoanalysing my
relationship." I stand up slowly and stare at him with a hooded
expression. "Listen I am just telling you what I saw. Also when she
worked that night in the bar she didn't want paying. There is
something between them that goes deep. It's only a matter of time
before you mess things up with her and then guess who will be
waiting to pick up the pieces? What is it our father says, oh yes,
knowledge is power. Well I am providing you with the knowledge;
it's up to you how you deal with it." Caleb snorts. "As if Marius
cares about upsetting his girl's feelings. There's an endless
supply waiting to take her place so who cares what she thinks?"
Marius stays silent and I turn to face them all and look as if I
have just had a thought. "You know this could all work to your
advantage you know." They look at me with animosity but I can tell
that I have their attention. Moving back I sit on the edge of the
couch and narrow my eyes. "From what I understand if you knock out
the first opponent another one takes his place, is that right?"
Marius nods and he looks at me keenly. "Well if I were you, I would
knock Dylan straight out with your first punch. That way Layla will
think that you've done it for her out of the kindness of your
heart. It would then show the next contestant and the audience that
you are not to be messed with. The rest of you put bets on a first
round knock out and so everybody's happy. Anyway like I said, it
doesn't matter to me either way." I jump up and move away. It's a
gamble that will hopefully pay off. If I'm right and Marius does
care more for his girlfriend than he's letting on then Dylan may
just be spared a beating. His pride may suffer but that will soon
be forgotten when the next stage of my plan comes into effect.