Scarlett The Devil's Daughter (2 page)

I can hear voices outside my
door and recognise the shrill tones of my sisters. Despite what
Luna told me about their day I know my father only too well. Their
day at the spa was possibly orchestrated for an ulterior purpose.
That's all we are to him, pawns in his chess game of life. They
will have some sort of mission to carry out as do I, although I
have yet to find out what exactly.

Settling down for the night I
put it all out of my mind and just concentrate on the banal
dialogue of some movie that is on and I soon drift off to
sleep.

As I sit behind my brother Ash
on his motorbike I am looking forward to the day ahead. I managed
to stay cocooned in my room all night and just grabbed some cereal
from the kitchen when it was empty this morning. I had intended on
making my own way here but Luna had caught me when I was leaving
and called Ash to give me a lift. I don't mind him as he keeps
himself to himself like me. We hardly ever speak and I notice that
he just does what he is told to do. Come to think of it considering
they're my family I know very little about them.

Once his duty is done he speeds
off, probably on some other mission for my father and a strange
feeling of excitement grips me as I walk up the steps to the
bar.

The television is once again
highlighting some game or another and there is loud music playing,
filling the bar with loud angry tunes. I see Dylan clearing tables
and he smiles as he sees me coming. "Hey Scarlett, good to see you,
you came back for more I see." I flash him the briefest of smiles
and he grins at me. "One day I'll see the full force of that smile
of yours if it kills me. I know it's in there somewhere." Raising
my eyes up I look around me. "Drake's in the kitchen if you're
looking for him," he says cheekily. My face flushes bright red
because I realise that was exactly what I was doing. Defensively I
retort, "In his dreams. No I was just wondering if we were moving
on to phase two of my training." Grinning he comes over and hands
me a notepad and pen from his pocket. "Here you go, phase two
complete." Taking it from him I snort. "Is that it? Your training
course leaves a lot to be desired." Laughing he moves away and says
over his shoulder, "Well it's not rocket science darlin." Despite
how annoying he is I like Dylan a lot. He is easy going and
friendly, the complete opposite to my family. How I wish my
brothers were like him and Drake.

I put my bag away and head back
to the bar. I start to busy myself with clearing the tables and
keep an eye out for anyone that may want to order something. Before
I even see him I know that Drake has entered the room. It's as
though we are connected and I can feel where he is before I can
even see him. Looking up I catch him watching me and rather than
look away he smiles good naturedly and says, "Hi Scarlett." Once
again I just smile briefly and carry on with what I'm doing.
However I am conscious of every move that he makes and almost can't
concentrate when he is around.

I throw myself into the job in
hand and after the first couple of hours I have fended off the
hands of several semi drunken customers and taken several orders.
The tips are good and I take great satisfaction in adding mine to
the jar that is kept behind the bar. We will all share them at the
end of the shift which is only fair really.

Before long Drake shouts over
to me. "Hey Scarlett, why don't you take a break? You can grab
something to eat in the kitchen if you like. Mac will sort you
out." Suddenly I realise that I am famished and smile gratefully.
Mac is the chef for want of a better word and soon fixes me up with
a burger and fries. I sit eating it whilst I watch him work. He
doesn't say much which suits me fine but I enjoy seeing him
working, it's quite nice to have some company for a change. As I
grab a coke Dylan comes in and flashes me a grin. "It's getting
busy out there, looks like we're in for a good night." I quickly
jump down. "Sorry Dylan, I'll get straight back to work." He
reaches out and puts his big burly hand on my shoulder and pushes
me back down into my seat. "Relax darlin, you finish up here. You
work really hard and deserve a bit of a rest. Anyway most of the
current customers are here for Drake anyway so we may as well give
them what they want." He laughs as he sees my confused expression.
"My little brothers got a bit of a fan club so to speak. They're
out in force tonight; it's entertaining to watch though." His words
annoy me. The thought of other girls around Drake irritates me and
I don't know why. It's not as though we are even friends let alone
anything else, why should it bother me?

I give it another ten minutes
and then grab my apron and head back out to the bar. Dylan wasn't
joking when he said there was a fan club here. There must be a
dozen girls at the bar all vying for his attention. There is more
make up and false extensions here than I have ever seen and they
are all making the most of their considerable assets as they battle
with each other for his attention. He appears to be lapping up the
attention and catching me looking he grins mischievously. I pull a
face and look away, suddenly the need to clear tables is
overwhelming. I can't help it and flick my gaze back to the scene
at the bar. I notice a girl leaning on the bar looking at him with
a flirtatious look thrusting her chest towards him. She has long
blonde hair and is beautifully tanned. Her cut off shorts leave
nothing to the imagination and her T shirt is exposing her chest. I
hear her giggle and say, "Come on Drake, you know that all work and
no play makes Drake a dull boy. Take the night off for once and
show a girl a good time." Seeing me curl my lip in disgust Drake
laughs loudly. Seeing him look she swivels around and catches sight
of me. Shock registers in her eyes as she notices my apron and she
says in a shrill voice, "I never knew there was a job going here,
why didn't you say, you know I would have been interested?" Drake
grins, "Nothing to do with me darlin, my father does the hiring and
firing around here." I see her eyes narrow as she looks at me and I
turn away. Girls like her are everywhere both here in this town and
at home. They're all the same and my sisters are no different. I
keep away from them as much as I can; they make me sick with their
fake smiles and fake everything else. All that matters to them is
landing the number one guy around and being seen with the right
crowd, well they can keep it; I have too much self respect than to
join in that sort of party.

Ignoring them all I carry on
with my work. Occasionally I catch Drake watching me which sends
shivers down my spine. He certainly affects me and it is extremely
distracting.

As I come out of the
kitchen with an order I can see the girl standing in front of me
looking annoyed. "Miss, can you come to the rest rooms please.
They're disgusting and I cannot possibly use them in the state
they're in." Looking at her in surprise I nod and head towards
them. I only checked about twenty minutes ago and they were fine
then. Being the only female member of staff means that I am
responsible for the replenishment of the ladies facilities. Not a
great job but somebody has to do it. However when I go inside it is
obvious that they are fine. I spin around to leave and see the girl
blocking the exit. She narrows her eyes and looks at me with a
sneer. "I've seen you looking at my boyfriend and I don't like it."
Wearily I raise my eyes. "Your boyfriend you say, and who would
that be?" Her eyes flash and she approaches me. Without warning she
reaches over and grabs my hair and twists my head around slamming
me into the mirror. The force of it causes it to break and I feel a
sudden pain as the sharp cut slices my head. "Stay away from Drake
you little slut. I know your sort, a piece of low life scum bumming
around in bars to make ends meet. Well for your information he's
taken so back off sister." I can feel the rage building inside of
me and know that there is nothing I can do to stop it. Quick as a
flash I elbow her sharply in her stomach and as she relaxes her
grip I twist around to face her. The rage is now consuming me and I
can feel the fire in my eyes. Her expression changes to one of
disbelief followed instantly by one of fear. I grab hold of her arm
and twist it until she cries out in pain. I let the fire burn
within me and it transfers to her body until it consumes her. I
watch her pain and her eyes dilate and the fear overtakes her body.
I can see everything within her and I use it against her. I can
feel the fire in my eyes as I direct them towards her. "Just a word
of advice
sister
know who you're dealing with before you pick a
fight. For your information Drake is not your boyfriend and I am
not interested in him. If I was I wouldn't let a piece of trash
like you put me off either. Now I don't like to get angry and you
have brought my inner devil out which annoys me. The only thing
that is stopping me from sending you straight to hell is the fact
that I'm working and I kinda like my job so if you know what's good
for you you'll leave this place and never come back, got it?" Tears
are now running down her cheeks and she nods. I can feel the pain
in her as I hold her in my grip. She is no match for me and she
knows it. In disgust I release her and follow her outside as she
runs from the room. There is a crowd of her friends waiting outside
who look at us in stunned disbelief. Before she can leave however
the exit is blocked and I sigh heavily as I see who it is. Filling
the doorway is the intimidating site of my army of brothers all
clad in their trademark leather jackets, their eyes flashing with
menace. You could hear a pin drop in the bar as they look at the
scene in front of them. The girl runs towards Caleb shouting, "Get
her Caleb, she attacked me for no reason. I need you to sort her
out." Suddenly he laughs loudly and is joined by my brothers. The
girl looks totally confused until Caleb says, "Well Morgan, I see
you've met our sister."

Morgan pales and looks between
us all blindly. Her friends look away and there is a tense silence
in the room. Looking at my brothers I say wearily, "What are you
doing here?" Caleb laughs and his eyes flash with excitement. "We
were sent to check on you, although by the looks of things you've
got it covered." They move to the side and Morgan races outside
closely followed by her friends. Once again my brothers laugh and
then head towards the bar to get a drink. I notice that nobody
looks at them as they pass and I can feel the fear in the room. I
push my hair back from my face and realise that I am bleeding.
Sighing I head off to the rest rooms to see to the cut.

When I come out I see that my
brothers are still here. They are quite an intimidating sight and I
wish that they would leave. Before they see me I duck into the
kitchen. Mac looks up as I enter. "You alright honey, things got a
bit fraught out there for a minute." Nodding I sink down on to a
chair. He pushes a glass of water towards me which I accept with a
grateful smile. Before he can say anything we look up as Drake
comes into the kitchen. His face is thunderous and I feel suddenly
nervous. He comes over and looking at me intently reaches a hand up
to my head and traces the cut that won't appear to stop bleeding.
Taking a hanky from his pocket he holds it to my head and applies
pressure. He sits down beside me and then says gently, "I'm sorry
Scarlett. I should have known that Morgan would go after you. You
didn't deserve that." I feel in total shock. He is looking at me so
kindly that I feel strangely vulnerable and tears well up in my
eyes. I am not used to people being kind to me and it takes all of
my resolve not to dissolve in a heap in front of him. Instead I
just blink and shrug. "It's ok. I probably shouldn't have lost my
temper either. I hope that I haven't driven your customers away."
Drake snorts in disgust. "Those are customers that we can do
without. What did she say to you?" Lowering my eyes I say quietly.
"That I was to keep away from you because you were her boyfriend."
He laughs incredulously. "Is that so? Well maybe in her dreams but
having her as a girlfriend would be in my worst nightmares." I
choke down a laugh and he tilts my face towards his and I can see
his eyes twinkling as he says, "That's better; I knew you had it in
you." I can feel myself blushing and push him away. Smiling he says
gently, "You know you should smile more often. It totally
transforms you and I kind of like it." Before I can answer Dylan
pokes his head around the door. "You ok Scarlett? Sorry to ask but
I'm dying out here." Drake looks cross but I jump up. "Yes I'm fine
thanks, I'll be right there." Not looking at Drake I race outside
and notice in relief that my brothers have gone.

My shift continues as if
nothing happened and I soon ease back into it. It certainly is a
busy evening and it takes all of us just to keep everything going.
We don't stop and it is with considerable relief that we close the
door after the last customer leaves. Dylan cashes up and hands me
my share of the tips. "It was a good night, thanks Scarlett. Sorry
it was a bit difficult earlier on." Shrugging I pocket the money
and turn to leave. Dylan grabs hold of my arm and looks at me with
concern. "Are you ok Scarlett? It's just that you don't ever show
anything and that's not good." I see his eyes filled with
compassion and it causes a lump to form in my throat. I am not used
to kindness and I react to it badly. Snatching my arm away I scowl
at him. "I'm fine. Not everyone wants people knowing their
business; some of us like to keep ourselves private if you know
what I mean." I feel bad as he looks at me with disappointment.
Then Drake appears and sensing the awkward atmosphere comes over
and nods to Dylan to leave us. As soon as he is out of earshot he
says sternly. "That was un called for. He was only being kind. You
know not everyone is after something, people can care without
wanting anything in return. Sometimes it helps to talk." Feeling
ashamed I manage a small smile. "I'm sorry, you're right I'm such a
bitch. The trouble is you can see what stable I am from. There are
not a lot of laughs at home that's for sure and talking about ones
feelings are seen as a sign of weakness where I'm from. You sort of
develop a thick skin after a while." I am surprised when a smile
totally transforms Drake's face. His eyes sparkle and I am totally
mesmerised by them. "That's better Scarlett. I knew you could do
it. By the end of the Summer we won't be able to shut you up." I
can tell that he is joking and relax with a small laugh. Suddenly
he looks more serious and his eyes hold mine and I can't look away.
He stares at me for what seems like forever and then says softly,
"There's something about you Scarlett that I can't work out. You're
not like any other girl that I have ever met." I hear the sound of
a motorbike outside which shatters the moment. Shrugging I look
down. "Yeah well you probably wouldn't want to meet a girl like me
anyway. Trouble follows me wherever I go, it's quite a lot to
handle." Quickly I leave before he has a chance to reply. I see Ash
waiting for me and take up my position behind him on the bike. He
hesitates and turns to look at me saying gruffly, "You ok?" Looking
down I wrap my arms around me defensively and snap, "Why wouldn't I
be?" He turns around and starts the bike and once again I feel bad.
As we head off I feel so alone.