With Hearts to Hear| ✔

|Prologue|

The air was still, in the packed restaurant nobody dared to move, not even breathe. The silence so thick, you would hear a pin if it were dropped; it was stifling but Rachel didn't care. The man stared at her half-shocked half angry; not that Rachel could bring herself to care, he deserved what he had gotten. 

Elliot, the manager of the restaurant suddenly came rushing over, apologising profusely as he pushed past Rachel. The man was half-way to a tomato, either in shock that Rachel had the nerve to do what she had done, or embarrassed that she had. 

"I'm so sorry, sir!" He handed the man another napkin to clean the red wine from his head, shirt and lap, shooting the waitress a deadly glare over his shoulder. "Let me help you get cleaned up!"

"No, I want you to fire her! That bit- idiot ruined my new trousers." He spluttered. Rachel didn't even bother holding back her scoff, how convenient of him to leave out the part where he had been harassing her for the better part of an hour; but apparently his trousers were worth more than her personal space, consent and dignity. 

"Don't worry sir, I will deal with her." He assured the customer, "Please, your evening will be free of charge for this." 

He bowed politely, turning around to face the woman behind him, a withering glare pasted on his face. "You, my office. Now."

Rachel supposed she shouldn't be surprised. She was after all, to those who knew her well enough, good for nothing but trouble. Since she was a girl, she had been a fiery spirit; the only person who knew how to deal with her had been her father.

Had been, past tense. 

She waited, trying not to care as Elliot stormed into his office looking as if he might erupt. His whole face red, almost turning purple with his anger. Surely, Rachel couldn't help but think, that was not normal. 

Or maybe in her life it was; she had seen that face countless times, from countless managers over the last 2 years since she had been let go from her first job as a waitress in some café in town called 'Pressed'. Admittedly that time it wasn't because she had been a handful, it was just because she had stopped showing up.

Poor Elliot didn't even get a chance to speak before she pulled off her apron, chucking the material at him. She wouldn't give him the chance to throw her away; she wouldn't let anyone else leave her, not when she could leave first. 

"Yeah yeah, I get it, I'm fired. Save it. I didn't want to be here anyway."

***

Rachel tried to ignore the tell tale burning at the corners of her eyes. She hadn't particularly liked her job, the pay was shit, and well there was nothing about it should have made her upset. Maybe she wasn't upset about losing her job, maybe she was upset because she felt as if she hadn't deserved to lose her job. The man after all had earned a glass of red wine thrown at him when he decided that he was entitled to touch her in a way she didn't want to be touched. 

Or perhaps she was upset that she was stuck in the same place that she always was, going nowhere, with nothing. Not that all that was entirely true, there were some things she had going for her Rachel supposed. 

She clambered up the stairs to the apartment she shared with her on-again-off-again girlfriend of almost 4 years; technically is was Natalia's apartment, but since they were together, Rachel supposed it was hers too. It was more of a home than it was with her mother and new step-father; now that was a situation that made her both uncomfortable and unwanted. 

As much as she loved her mother, Rachel still felt as if she had betrayed her baba by getting remarried. He had only been dead for 5 years for goodness sake! And the smug face of her new perfect husband, with his perfect kids, in their new perfect home. God it make her itch just thinking about it.