Chapter 44 (Side Story: Flin 3[fin])

Lily's voice could be heard resisting the trio of horny teenage boys. My relaxed hands curled up into fists. I had to do something. I got up out of my seat and headed over to the fuckers. Using violence in this situation was something that no one would condemn. I passed the small tables and chairs that separated me from the perpetrators. Beth, from the kitchen, looked at me with worry. I gave her a knowing glance, assuring her that I wasn't about to run away. Once I got close to them, I said, "What's all the ruckus?"

The three boys looked at me and said, "N-nothing, sir. We were just playing." Well, at least that's what I heard. All of them spouted nonsense at the same time.

Lily looked at me with her blue eyes and exclaimed, "Grandpa!" My eyes bulged. Did she know who I was? That's...great! She hopped over to my side and led me back to my table. I patted her on the back and gave the trio an icy stare. I'll get them soon enough.

Lily and I sat down at the booth that I was sitting at earlier. There was some awkward silence between us before she said, "I'm sorry for calling you 'grandpa'! I didn't know what else to do in that situation!"

A little part of me felt a little disappointed, but I smiled warmly and said, "That is quite alright, Lily. I'm just glad I could be of help." Lily nodded her head with a big, wide smile. I asked her a question, "Who and why?"

"Huh?"

"Who were those boys and why are they doing what they were doing?"

Lily hesitated before saying, "They were just my friends; we were just playing around." She nervously twitched and fiddled with her fingers. I internally laughed. That was exactly what my son used to do when he lied. He was an honest man; something that I should have learned from him.

I slid my hand over hers and calmed her down. "Lily, I know that was a lie."

She looked up at me with wide eyes. She slowly let out small tears before bawling with her head in her hands. Those bastards! What could they have done?! I offered her my handkerchief, and she used it to wipe her face and clean her nose. She, then, slowly started to speak in between sniffles, "They...know...about my...mom..."

"Esmerelda? Know what about her?" my interest was piqued.

She looked at me with swollen eyes and said, "I...shouldn't be telling you...this. But, my mom is an addict. We're also from the middle sector, so if they told everyone in school I would be expelled as soon as the headmaster hears about this."

"Since when?" She looked at me with confusion. "Since when has your mother been using?"

She sniffed and said, "Ever since my dad died."

"What?! You were only an infant!"

She cocked her head in question, "How did you know that?" I paused. Damn it. I made a mistake. I was about to say something when Beth came to my rescue.

"One of everything on the menu! Is now on your table." She hoisted up three large white containers. They had coolers, heater, and anything else that would keep the food in there in perfect condition. They even followed me around in the air as I walked from side to side. Beth added, "Just make sure you take everything out of them before you go inside your house. After, let them out the window or door, and they'll come back on their own!"

"Thank you, Beth," I said. She probably thinks it's for her quality service. Which it was, but it was also for drawing Lily's attention away to the enormous amount of food that was in front of me. Beth strutted away to serve another customer, and I asked Lily, "Would you like me to take you home?"

Lily looked back at the trio of teenagers on the far opposite side of the diner. She then looked back at me and said, "Sure."

I walked her out the diner's sliding, metal doors and pointed her to my car. She didn't say anything about the poor old thing; she carefully monitored the floating boxes into the backseat and sat in the passenger. I'm about to get in when I see the last of the boys going into the bathroom. It's time. Looking at the diner's bathroom, I said, "Lily, sweety, I'll be right back, okay? I need to use the bathroom." I tossed her my keys and continued, "If anyone weird comes up to you, lock all the doors and hit the center of the steering wheel, okay?"

"Okay."

I head back into the diner.

***

Beth greeted me, "Hello again! Did you forget something?"

"Don't worry about it, Beth. I just needed to use the restroom." I waved her off. This was the perfect opportunity to get exactly what I want. I can't waste it; time is of the essence.

I picked up my pace and made it before the bathroom's solid blue door. I could see the trails of white tiles coating the floor. I pushed open the door and let myself in. The bathroom had five urinals and three stalls. It was impeccably neat compared to others I've seen. On the opposite side of the toilets, I see five mirrors with discrete sinks lined right below them. Where were the boys?

I squatted down a little to see three sets of shoes in one stall. It was the handicapped one. I could hear the whoosh of the toilet flushing with an abundance of toilet paper stuffed down its throat. It gurgled and spattered until it made a weird cry for help. It was almost as if it was drowning. The boys were laughing freakishly loud as the water in the toilet began to flood. They raced out of the stall only to confront me. I ignored them and washed my hands to see what they would do. The boy with the red shirt said to me, "Hey! 'Grandpa'! You didn't see anything, you got it?!" He tried to mock Lily's voice when he said 'grandpa'. I still ignored him. He shouted this time, "Oi! Are you DEAF AS WELL?!! SAY SOMETHING, YOU OLD BASTARD!!" This kid was annoying and obnoxious. I put soap on my hands and massaged it all over my hands. I ignored him. The boy in the red commanded the boy in the blue to do something. The boy in the blue and yellow shirts followed and advanced closer to me. I stole glances at their distances in the mirror. The redshirt yelled again, "We're going to teach you a lesson that you should have learned long ago! GET HIM!"

With that, the yellow and blue shirt boys lunged at me. I chuckled. A bunch of high school hooligans versus a grandpa. That would be a nice title for the front page. As soon as the two boys got a foot away from me, I instantly turned to face them. Their fists were about to collide with my chest and thigh when I lunged forward at them and used my fingers to stab them in the eyes. They screamed and fell to the ground. They both screamed in unison, "IT HURTS!!!!"

I replied, "That would be the stab."

"IT BURNS!!!!!!!!"

I cleared my throat, "That would be the soap." I turned back to wash my hands completely.

While the two duds were rolling on the ground, the red shirt looked at me and looked at his minions. He yelled at them, "You're USELESS!!!" He then turned to me and said, "Do you know who my FATHER is?!" I sighed. He's probably one of those kids who thinks he can do anything he wants because of his family. Well, I'm going to put him in his place. I slowly walked over to him, emphasizing each and every step. I made sure my steps echoed distinctly in the bathroom. His body started to twitch. He jittered, "W-what do you think you're doing?!!"

I rolled up my sleeves. "Finishing the job."

He stammered even more, "D-d-don't y-you know w-who my father is?!!"

I was five steps away from him. He backed up all the way against the wall; he turned around to see if there were any trap doors that could provide a kind escape. But, he wouldn't find one. There was absolutely nothing that would prevent me from bringing hell. "Yeah, I know who your father is."

He turned to face me with a smug smile. "T-then, y-you should stop and b-beg for forgiveness on y-you knees. Maybe, I'll think about forgiving you!" He became a little confident at the end. I smirked.

I closed the gap. We were around the same height; I was short, to begin with. I parked my head next to his ear and said, "Your father is an incompetent bastard who couldn't even teach his own son proper manners." The kid's smug smile morphed into an expression of absolute terror.

*BAM!*

I smashed his face into the ceramic-tiled wall with my fist. He didn't even have the time to scream in anguish. His body flailed like a noodle and melted to the ground. The wall had a trail of blood coming from the large head-sized crater. I looked at his face. It was mute, serene, and terrified. Not sure how that's possible, but it looked like it to me. I gave him another kick in the stomach. He whimpered like the dog he was. I dragged his so-called friends near him and washed my hands. The water that they flooded out of the toilet was about two inches. The cold water soaked them and their bloodied bodies and made the entire bathroom flush with a crimson brilliance. I left.

***

Beth was still cleaning the tables when I got outside. She gave me a friendly wave, and I gave her a bright smile. She was a nice woman, but I wouldn't ever come back here again. For obvious reasons.

I walked outside to face the now afternoon sun. I walked towards my car and found Lily propped on the hood. When she saw me, she jumped off and started to apologize. I told her it was okay and got inside the old wagon. She came inside too. She asked me, "Why did you take so long?"

I thought of a way to answer this. "When you get to my age, your body starts to...relax a little more than it should." I started the engine.

"Flin, is that blood on your shirt?"

I slowly looked into her curious eyes and they looked at my white undershirt. There were drops of red blood that were beginning to brown. "No, it's not blood! Our lives aren't that exciting! It's just some leftover ketchup that Beth smeared on me when she tripped. Don't worry about it!"

I think Lily bought it because she changed the topic and started to talk about her school life. I shifted the gear into reverse and stepped on the gas. Nothing happened. Fuck. I guess today morning was the last time my baby would work. "Lily, let's get ourselves a taxi."