Matter of Time(Tom Holland Fanfic)

Chapter Nine

Author's Note: Unfortunately, there's not any Tom in this chapter but he'll be back in the next one. Thankfully, there is a lot of Sebastian in this one so hopefully that makes up for it. This chapter is also a bit darker than my previous ones. I just thought I'd give everyone a little heads up. Thanks and please leave a review. 

Lindale, Texas
2005

An old country western song, probably Alan Jackson or Garth Brooks, filled the honky tonk bar although no one was really around to dance to it. It was still early in the evening and the bar had only just opened for the night. The bar was the only one in town and had been for the past few decades. It was a beloved treasure of Lindale since it was the only place anyone could blow off any steam. Unless you counted the diner down the road but the diner was more for the teenagers to hang out at. More importantly, the diner didn't serve alcohol which was why Ethan McCallister was at the bar rather than the diner.

"Another shot of whiskey, Ethan?" Clark, a gruff looking man, said as he gave Ethan a questioning look. Ethan just nodded as he sat on one of the barstools at the bar. The twenty six year old man had a haggard appearance as he stared down at the glass on the tabletop of the bar.

"Yeah, sure." Ethan told Clark and the older man only nodded as he poured Ethan another drink. He slid the glass over to the tired looking man before casting a worried look in the direction of the seven year old sitting beside Ethan at the bar. The little girl with blonde pigtails drew a picture on the back of one of the old bar menus. She hummed as she colored, oblivious to the fact that she was in a bar which was no place for a child.

"Daddy, look it's a pony." Billie McCallister told her father excitedly as she showed him her drawing. A tired smile came across his face as he observed the drawing his daughter had made.

"That's great, darlin'." He told her and Billie beamed at him before she resumed drawing her picture.

"It's just like the pony we saw at the fair. Remember?" Billie told him and he nodded, somewhat distracted, as he then focused on his drink. He raised the glass of whiskey to his lips before downing the drink. If you looked around the area around both Ethan and Billie then you would notice that there was many empty glasses of whiskey.

"Hey, McCallister." Another man in the bar called out. Ethan turned around to look at the man in question.

Buford Cartwright Jr.

The son of the mayor.

Buford was a tall but lanky man with a scruffy beard that had specks of red in it if he stood in the sunlight just right. He and Ethan went to school together since they were children, classic childhood rivals, so they were very familiar with one and other. 

While Buford had once been the good looking quarterback, Lindale's golden boy, his good looks had since faded. A beer belly could be seen, probably from spending many nights at this very same bar, and all the Marlboro Reds he had smoked in his lifetime had tinted his teeth a repulsive yellow. However, Ethan had maintained his boyish good looks from high school with his dirty blonde hair, mesmerizing blue eyes with hints of green in them, and his charming smile. 

Back then Billie liked to say that her father had the smile of prince charming but when she was older she'd grumble about her father having the smile of a sleazy car salesman.

"Hey, Fordy." Ethan said in response. It was clear that the two men didn't like each other but they didn't say as much as they greeted each other.

"Haven't seen you in a while, McCallister." Buford said in a snide tone as two of his goons stood on either side of him. Buford Cartwright was the poster boy for rednecks everywhere. Older Billie never liked that term "redneck" since she didn't like that people associated it with everyone in the south. Not everyone in the south was a redneck. This was common knowledge. However, Buford Cartwright definitely was a redneck if there ever was one.