Eddie's PoV

Luckily for me, the doorman let me in without having the wait in the queue that had made its way half way down the main road. He was someone I'd helped out a couple of times with jobs in buildings I'd surveyed and he owed me a favour - so when I walked up to him with a face like thunder, he didn't even ask as he opened the door for me with a smile and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. I offered him the best smile I could muster with my life falling to pieces around me and made a beeline for the bar, sliding onto one of the swivel chairs as if it had my name on it. With my adrenaline high, I barely felt like my ankle hurt anymore but I knew it would catch up with me eventually. Within a few seconds, the bartender had turned round and greeted me with a grin.

"What can I get you?" This young guy, barely old enough to drink, asked me. His chin had just started sprouting what he'd soon class a facial hair and his acne was slowly fading as he got older but he still had the typical high school boy look alongside the fear in his eyes of having to deal with people like me who looked like shit and would probably drink their life away and get rowdy.

"Double whisky. No ice." I said flatly, receiving a giggle from someone who had shuffled beside me to fit into the suddenly exceedingly busy bar area. Maybe this was why the kid looked scared. I leant back slightly to look both sides and saw that the entire place was full, swarming like bees trying to get into their hive. As my eyes scanned the crowd they stopped on the person who had giggled, ready to scowl at them for laughing in the face of my sadness - but my face changed as soon as I'd seen her.

"That bad, huh?" She said as soon as my gaze connected with hers. She was a slim, brown haired woman with plump lips and curled hair, her makeup just emphasising her beauty as she smiled at me through red lips. "The double whisky, I mean. Usually that's the drink of those who hate life right about now." She offered me a smile as her eyes drunk me in just as mine were doing to her. She was beautiful. The black dress she was wearing was tight fitting and showed off her curves, leaving me stunned.

"Heh, you could say that." I responded, shrugging as the bartender put my drink in front of me. I put my hand in my jeans pocket to pay for it but this lady slapped her card into the bartenders hand.

"I'll pay for his." She said. "Throw a vodka and lemonade on that too please, Manny." The bartender lit up at the sight of her, as I'm sure many men did when she spoke to them.

"Oh hey Sara! Sure thing." The bartender I now knew as Manny said as he ran her card through, quickly making her drink as he handed both to her. "It's good to see you back." He said with a cheeky grin.

"You too! I've missed it." She let out a laugh. "I'll catch you later!" She began to walk away but quickly turned back to me. "Double whiskies are good but they don't fix life for you. That's coming from experience." She laughed. "I hope it gets better." And with that, she walked away with her hips swaying to the music. My eyes followed her as she headed across the dance floor to a group of her friends who all cheered when she returned. One of her friends wore a bright pink sash across her body that said "Birthday Girl". She threw her arms around that girl and gave her a hug, talking and laughing for a few seconds before it fell into a more serious conversation. I watched as the birthday girl spoke into her ear to be heard over the loud EDM that was currently playing. Suddenly, birthday girl's eyes were on me for a second. Her lips curled into a smirk as she continued to speak to Sara, who then proceeded to look over to me too. If that wasn't a sign that they were talking about me I didn't know what was. Sara let out a laugh and shook her head, slapping her friend playfully on the arm before she was grabbed by another to dance. The three of them rushed into the middle of the dance floor, the loud thumping bass enough to make the bottles in the bar vibrate. They started dancing stupidly, wiggling around and doing the running man and sprinkler before a new song came on and they all squealed with excitement. I saw the third friend mouth that she loved that song and the three began to dance properly, bodies swaying to the beat. I sipped my whisky, the familiar burn making me shudder before loosening slightly. I tried to look away from Sara and distract myself but every time, I seemed to find her in the crowd once again and watch on as she had fun with her friends. Oh how I wish my life was as simple as that. How I wish my life was anything other than what it actually is. My gaze moved to my drink as i swished the dark liquid around in the glass. Did I really make the right decision? Should I have just seen where Catherine and I went as a couple first before I threw engagement in there? Should we have waited longer to get married? Now I'm sat in a bar full of youths, watching everyone have fun as I sip whisky alone, hoping time goes so slowly that I don't need to worry about going back home. As my eyes roamed the crowd again, I saw Sara staring up at a guy clearly trying to get him to leave her and her friends alone. I could tell he was drunk from here and knew she was trying to be polite as she desperately tried to get him to leave. Her friends were trying to attract Manny's attention but he was so overwhelmed with orders that he'd barely looked up for the last few minutes. Something pulled in my gut telling me I needed to help before this escalated and before I knew what I was doing I was walking over to them, anger on my face as this guy's eyes landed on me.