Page 20 of Bluebird

Dawn returned from the kitchen first. “Right, you get up there and do your thing, Miss,” she ordered, nodding her head up towards the stage.

I attempted to protest, as my set didn’t start for another half hour, but she hushed me. I knew better than to argue with her. I would save that for Luke.

As I started my set, Luke took my place behind the bar, working on his last night off. It was infuriating. I was managing just fine and had been the entire week he was gone.

Nate still hung around, and appeared to be content chatting to locals and listening to me sing. He didn’t give me grief about my singing anymore, not since the party at Leroy’s.

Luke didn’t make eye contact with me until my last set was over. I packed up my gear and marched to the bar.

“What was that about?” I demanded, as Luke handed me a glass of water. I took a sip and waited for his response.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, avoiding eye contact by wiping down the counter top.

“Why can’t I work behind the bar? I’m actually pretty good—”

Luke let out an angry growl that stopped me mid-sentence. Our eyes finally locked and I flinched under his infuriated gaze. “This isn’t for you, Natalie. I didn’t ask you to play here so you could learn how to work a bar.”

My hackles went up and I mirrored his anger. “I wish you would stop making decisions for me. I’m not a child anymore!”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. I’m just trying to help you focus on what you want.”

My teeth clenched together. “How do you know what I want? I don’t even know what I want!”

A few people turned around, but luckily the background noise was enough to drown us out.

His voice lowered, but the anger endured. “Yes, you do.”

“Yeah, well I definitely don’t want this!” I yelled, slamming my glass down on the counter.

I quickly found Nate and asked him to drive me home. Although he was mid-beer, he clearly sensed something was off and left without question.

It wasn’t until I was safely tucked away in bed that I let my first tears fall.