Bad Taste (Part I) // Colby Brock

2 - Rebecca

BEGINNING

          My hand slammed down onto my alarm so hard that I thought I had broken it. For one, small, anxious second. And then I remembered that it was a fucking alarm; what purpose did that have living anyways? As I contemplated smashing the device on purpose, it started to ring again, and I grabbed it and threw it. It hit a wall with a loud bang, shattering almost to pieces. I picked my phone up and looked over the messages. A few from old exes who I didn't want to talk to — most of which just wanted a quick bang that they would not under any circumstance receive. I didn't mess with exes, only new guys.  I blocked half of the numbers texting me and found the ones that really mattered, like the one from my sister judging my most recent ex choice.

He had found me here in LA and asked me to coffee to catch up. We did plenty of that in my bedroom that night. But since he had come from my high school, Angela knew about him and wasn't exactly silent on her thoughts about the subject.

"Bite me," I muttered as I threw my phone down on the bedside table again. That, I couldn't afford to replace at a bad mood's notice. But now that I was in a bad mood, I knew I wouldn't be out of it all day. Maybe it would carry until tomorrow; either way, everybody I passed today was going to get a fistful of salt, a prescription of venom, and a healthy dose of glaring.

I got quickly out of my bed with no intention of smiling once today. I showered and dressed and curled my hair, tying the top half of it back with two strands hanging in curls over my face. This was the style I'd chosen and loved for years now. The curls made me look so youthful whilst also elegant, and weirdly ancient. Since I felt extra edgy today, I decided to wear a short black dress that clung to my skin and added some chains around my waist and my neck. My favourite black, thigh-high boots trapped my feet — heeled thickly so I looked much taller than I really was.

I searched myself for anything wrong; anything out of place. I found nothing, almost smiling. But I contained the expression in time to stomp out of my apartment with the same anger in me I'd had the moment I woke up. My boots clicked loudly on the oddly-coloured tiled floors of the hallway. And then my heels clicked against the thin floor of the elevator. And, finally, they clicked across the concrete. It wasn't a click so much as a thud, though, with every step I took.

Keys flung around my fingers as I walked towards my car, planning on getting the hell out of here. My first location: the mall, I needed some time to stare at more dark, edgy clothing and to drink some coffee. My second location: the studio, where I could talk to Jax and hopefully come to a good conclusion, rather than another black eye for him. The mall was only a short drive away, so my brand new car shouldn't have had a single issue....

Halfway to the mall, I realised my gas levels were low — so low that I wouldn't even be able to reach a gas station before it ran out. I cursed to myself, clutching my steering wheel. Despite knowing that it really wouldn't help, I turned in the direction of the nearest gas station. My eyes were fixated on the gas metre, daring it to turn to empty and for the car to stop. It didn't. At least, it didn't until I sort of pulled in. The car stopped, and I wanted to scream. I was right in the entrance.

Four cars were already here, so I never would have made it anyway. It was just frustrating to know that it emptied on me now when I was so close.

I climbed out of my car and flung my foot right into the side of it. For a second, I was scared I'd made a dent, but I brushed it off and slammed the door shut. One foot moved in the direction of the gas station as I turned towards it, intending on reluctantly and likely rudely asking for some help, when my shoulder bumped something. I wasn't sure how somebody was there, but I quickly turned and saw those eyes.

Blue eyes. Beautiful blue eyes, with a strange ring around them. It looked silver, or like an eye dropper had picked out the lightest shade in his eyes and lined the iris with it. It was beautiful, not to mention mesmerising. I felt like I couldn't move; like I was frozen staring at him—because I realised it was a him. And he seemed to be having the same issue because neither of us spoke or moved or even looked away. We just... existed.

Something came over me, and I didn't know what exactly that thing was. It ran down deep, like heartbreak, before seemingly disappearing within a split second. I had no way of confirming if the man in front of me had felt anything, but I could tell that he was freaked out in some way, because he suddenly backed up and turned away. Just like that. He walked to one of the cars in the gas station, climbing into the driver's seat. The nose was pointing at me, so I could see clearly as he sat there, hands on the wheel, staring at the dashboard absently. There were others in the car, their lips moving, but he was lost.

It slowly dawned on me that I was being stared at, and not because my car was blocking the entrance of the gas station parking lot. The most obvious of them all was a blonde man standing beside a white car seemingly filling it with gas. He was blatantly staring, his eyes almost wide.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped out of habit. I didn't like being stared at.

He straightened up, as if he had never been staring at me in the first place. I saw barely a blur as he worked the machine before he abandoned the people in the car to walk towards me. My body turned rigid, annoyed.

"Do you need some help?" he asked.

"No, I need answers. You ignored my question," I growled back at him.

He frowned. "Isn't your car more important?"

I was silent.

He rolled his eyes like he'd dealt with this a million times before. "I just noticed you were in the entrance, that's why I was looking at you," he said matter-of-factly.

I raised a brow. That was a lie.

"So, need some help?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two muscular guys climb out of the same car the weird, freezing guy with beautiful eyes had gone into. They walked up to us cracking their knuckles with grins on their faces. "Do you require assistance, miss?"

"First of all," I started, holding up a single finger, "don't call me miss. Don't talk in that stupid, ridiculous accent. And third of all, does it look like I need fucking help to you?!"

The black man, who had spoke before, glanced at the car and nodded. I motioned my hand at it. They exchanged looks as they walked to the back of my vehicle. I watched carefully, keeping my distance a little until they had pushed the car to one of the pumps. I didn't say anything to my helpers. The blonde one cleared his throat, and I looked at him. "What, do you expect a reward for your kindness? A kiss? Sorry, not gonna fucking happen."

He turned away to his friends with a little smirk before he murmured something I couldn't hear from here. I stomped into the store to pay for the gas I was going to put in my car in advance: I wanted to get in and get out. Blue eyes still appeared in my vision every few seconds, and I wanted to get away from it. I couldn't be feeling like this right now. My life wasn't shit, but it wasn't good either. I didn't need to make it even shittier.

When I walked back out, three of the four cars were missing...