Sterling

It had been quite the night, and Sterling couldn't wait to be done with it. College kids, freshly off exam season, were animals, and The Snowball's Chance had become their zoo. Sterling had broken up two fights, ejected eight troublemakers, and moped up more bright green melon alcohol than he'd ever seen in his life.

What was it about the holidays that brought out the worst in everyone? he thought.

Thankfully, the night was almost over. The last call had been announced ten minutes ago, and Olly had swapped the Christmas music from booming electronica to dreamy choir covers, making all the inebriated patrons heavy-headed and sleepy-eyed, eager to hurry home to their beds.

Most of the crowd had already cleared out. There were only a few stragglers left... including the girl.

The redhead in the green dress—Alicia's friend. She was pretty, he had to admit, with her coppery curls and green eyes, but he couldn't forget what she had said.

Only truly damaged people get tattoos.

Usually, he didn't let patrons and the pointless nonsense they said bother him. They didn't know them, and they never would—so why get upset? But for some reason, what she had said had bothered him.

If she'd called him a jerk, or an asshole, or a nobody, that would've washed right off. Those were shallow insults, easily thrown at anyone.

But she hadn't said that.

Damaged.

That one cut deep. Maybe it was because that was what his dad always said. Maybe it bothered him so much because she was right. After all, you didn't jump from town to town, picking up whatever job you could and never staying in one place for long if you were well-adjusted.

In the hours since Alicia and her friend had nabbed the first table—a booth—they saw. He figured the girl in green had wanted to get away from him. Now she was sitting there, looking defeated, nursing her second Grinch. He'd cut her off at number two, but that apparently was still too much. She must not drink very often if they were hitting her that hard.

Fortunately, Alicia had a better handle on her alcohol and was keeping her eye on her.

"I'm going to call us a cab," Alicia announced at the table, her volume knob still tuned to shouting over the techno so Sterling could hear her loud and clear.

Her friend in green gave a solemn nod.

Alicia left her there and came to the bar, where Sterling was busy wiping everything down in preparation for closing.

"Hey Sterling," Alicia said, grinning. "Can you call a cab for us? I don't think Celeste is in any state to walk home."

Celeste. So that was her name.

"Sure thing," Sterling said, putting down the rag and reaching for the old landline phone that Olly insisted on using behind the bar.

"I'll do it!" Olly said, coming out of nowhere and grabbing the phone. "Their line is usually tangled up at this time of night, so it'll take forever to get through. So I'll make the call and give you two a chance to catch up."

Sterling wasn't going to complain about that. He hated making phone calls. "Sure," he said with a shrug and turned back to Alicia.

"I'm sorry I couldn't talk much tonight," Alicia said. "My friend really needed me."

"It's okay. The Snowball's not exactly the best place for conversation anyway. I could barely hear myself think over Olly's stupid Christmas Carols...."

"‛Tis the season, jackass," Olly said, giving him a little kick in the butt. He had the phone cradled under his chin, and Sterling could hear the hold music leaking out—more carols. "How's your friend doing?"

They all turned to look.

Celeste looked glum, sitting in the booth all by herself. Without Alicia there, she had turned her attention to a table across the room. Sterling had noticed she had been watching that table all night...

"Not good," Alicia admitted, turning back, her eyes dimmed. She had warm, amber-ringed eyes—the exact same eyes as her brother, Will. She looked hauntingly similar to him, even though she was a very pretty young woman.

"Breakups are hard," Olly said with a knowing nod. "Especially right before Christmas."

"Yeah," Alicia said, sinking down into a stool. "I just hate leaving her like this."

"When is your flight again?" Olly asked.

"Tomorrow."

"If you like, Sterling and I can keep an eye on her," Olly offered

Alicia perked up. "Will you? Oh, that'd be so great—"

"Speak for yourself," Sterling grumbled. He didn't want anything to do with the girl if he could help it...

Alicia's warm eyes fixed on him, and she pouted. "Are you still angry about what she said? Please, don't hold that against her. She didn't mean it. She's not herself. It's been a rough night. Her ex showed up with a new girl and ugh...." She shot a look at the table where Celeste's attention was still focused.

At the table, there was a pretty blonde sitting on the lap of a guy who was looking more than a little uncomfortable. If Sterling had to bet money, he'd say the guy who had done the dumping was the one whose lap was currently occupied by the blonde.

He shook his head. "It's fine," he said.

"Is it?" Alicia said, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. She, like her brother, had a talent for seeing through his carefully constructed walls, and she could probably see how it bothered him.

"Like I said, it's fine."

Alicia sighed and rested her chin on her hand. "You haven't changed, have you? Even after so long. I haven't seen you since...."

Sterling bristled. "Will's funeral. I know."

Will had passed away just over five years ago. It had been a freak car accident on the icy roads that surrounded Winter Grove. Sterling's heart still ached when he thought of the fact that one of his best friends is no longer in this world. He could only imagine it was worse for his sister...

"You just disappeared after," Alicia said, her brows folding together. "Everyone was worried."

"I had to go," Sterling said as if it were that simple.

"That's not much of an answer," Alicia muttered and then sighed. "I wish I wasn't flying out tomorrow evening. Otherwise I'd have the time to extract the real answer out of you." She set her jaw, determined—another thing that was exactly like her brother.

"He'll be here when you're back from Whistler," Olly offered, still listening to the cab company's holiday hold music. "He's staying for Christmas, aren't you?"

Sterling shot Olly a look. "I never said that."

"Oh, please stay!" Alicia pleaded, her eyes brightening. "I'll be back on the 27th and I would love the chance to catch up."

"We'll see," Sterling muttered. He, too, would've loved the chance to spend time with Alicia, but the holidays were always... "If I don't, then I'll come back later."

"I hope you do," Alicia said. "Why did you come back, anyway?"

"Olly needed help, so I'm here to help."

Alicia raised an eyebrow, seeing through him again. "Is that really all?"

"Not quite," he admitted. It was no use trying to hide the truth from her. "I've come to make amends, repay some favors...."

"Favors?" she echoed.

Sterling nodded but averted his eyes. "I owe a lot of people—most of all Olly and your brother."

"My brother?" she echoed again, but her voice had gotten soft.

"You don't owe us anything," Olly interjected.

"After all you did," Sterling shot back. "I owe you and Will my life."

Olly frowned at him. "We didn't do what we did in hopes of getting a favor."

"I know," Sterling said, exhaling. "But that doesn't mean I don't owe you—both of you." He turned back to Alicia.

"M-Me?" she sputtered.

"Since your brother is no longer here," Sterling began, his words slow and even, "what I owe him has passed to you."

Her eyes went wide. "What?"

"You're like a little sister to me," he continued. "So, if you need something, anything—

"Sterling, no," she said, putting up her hand to stop him. "I can't possibly accept that kind of favour. It's too much...."

"Just think about it," Sterling insisted. "You may not need it now, but maybe you will later. And when you do, I'll be here."

Alicia looked ready to argue, her eyes bright with the challenge, but the phone in her hand erupted into ringing.

She looked at the screen. "Dammit," she muttered. "It's my parents." She flashed a look at Sterling. "I'm going to take this and then we're gonna have a talk." She answered the call and wandered off to a quieter part of the bar.

"A favor?" Olly said behind him. "Really?"

"That's why I'm here."

"Wait, are you saying I used my on-my-life favor on you picking up a few shifts at my bar?" Olly said, pretending to look horrified. "If I had known, I would've had you do something useful, like clean the bathrooms."

Sterling chuckle. "It's not a coupon. It doesn't expire. I just meant that I would do anything for you and for Will—and now for Alicia."

Olly's eyes seemed to shine a bit brighter, and his voice went soft when he spoke again. "You big softie. Like I said, you don't owe me, or us, anything."

Sterling shrugged. "I disagree."

"Well, then, my life depends on you wiping down those counters," Olly said, clearing his throat. "Then you can consider your debt repaid."

A customer called Olly over, so he went, the phone's long line trailing behind him.

"We'll see about that," Sterling muttered under his breath as he went back to wiping down the counter. Regardless of what they said, he knew what he owed, and there'd be no convincing him otherwise.

As he continued his work, his eye caught on Celeste. She was still sitting there and looking glum, watching the other table. She was staring daggers at them while taking a long sip of her Grinch. And yet she thought he was the damaged one.

Though it'd been a thought, it was like she had heard him, and she turned to look in his direction. Their eyes met for a second, but he quickly looked away, back down at the counter, as if he hadn't been watching in the first place.

He began to wipe the counter a little harder than needed and tried to push her out of his mind. It didn't matter what she thought of him. After Celeste walked out of the bar tonight, he figured he'd never see her again. She'd head off for Christmas break, and he'd be long gone before she got back. He threw his rag, now dirty, in the bucket under the sink, grabbed a fresh one and went to wipe down the taps.

But as he stood up, he found Celeste leaning across the counter.

He jumped back, startled.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What?" she spat, caught off guard.

"I'm very sorry for what I said," she said, her words slurring together. "I didn't mean it."

He blinked at her. "It's... It's okay."

"No, it's not," she replied, wobbling where she stood. She had to grip the post beside her to stay upright. "I don't think your damage means you're tattooed. I mean, I don't think your tattoos mean you're damaged."

She was definitely drunk.

If she'd brought her drink with her—it was still sitting at the table, half-full—he would've taken it away.

"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking his head. "It's fine."

"It's not," she insisted. "It was mean. I'm sorry."

Sterling wanted to laugh. She was strange but kind. He could see why Alicia was friends with her. "Alright, fine. You're forgiven, okay?"

Her eyes brightened. They were a pretty shade of green, big and shiny and puppy-like, reflecting the rainbow of lights overhead. "Really? You mean it?"

"Sure," he said, wanting this conversation to end. "Now, why don't you go wait for Alicia—"

Behind her, the guy she'd been staring at all night got up from his table. The bubbly blonde on his lap had disappeared somewhere, but Sterling hadn't seen where she'd gone. The guy looked a little relieved, honestly. He walked past the bar, towards the bathrooms.

Celeste noticed Sterling's distraction and spun around to look. She went stiff when she saw it was the guy—her ex, he assumed. She watched him as he disappeared into the hallway that led to the bathrooms.

She swayed in place for a moment before she turned and staggered after him.

Dammit! Sterling thought, rubbing at his face. He knew just by looking that this was bound to lead to trouble. She was too drunk to be making any sort of decent decisions.

She had to be stopped.

He looked around for Alicia, but she was still tied up on the phone, and she hadn't noticed Celeste had slipped away from the table.

It was up to Sterling, then.

He swore under his breath and slipped out from behind the bar, going after her.

He caught up just as she reached the hallway...

Several things happened at once.

First, he saw her stagger to a stop right at the entrance of the hallway.

Second, he heard someone—a guy—call out her name. "Celeste?!"

And third, as he got closer, he saw exactly what had brought Celeste to a halt.

Further down, by the bathroom doors and beneath the brightly-coloured plastic mistletoe that Olly had put up, two people were locked in an embrace—the guy from the table and the blonde. The blonde had her arms wrapped around the guy's neck, pulling him close.

It looked like they had just been kissing...

And Celeste had just walked in on them.

The guy pulled away from the blonde. "Celeste, wait!"

But Celeste turned around, looking ready to run. She only stumbled a few steps before she noticed Sterling blocking her way. Her gaze met his. Her green eyes were shining as they filled with tears. But as she looked at him, something in them shifted. Their depths solidified as if the water was freezing over, ice forming alongside an idea.

"There you are!" she announced, reaching for him. "I've been looking for you!"

Sterling could only stand there as she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.

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