A few long days later and I'm back at university in the same lecture room I sat in every other day. My MacBook sat in front of me with most of the keys missing, I had bought it from Craigslist a few days before starting the course, I paid $100 for something which crashed when I opened Spotify. Considering I barely made notes in my class, it would do for now, until it blew up a killed half the people sat around me.

By the time I got home it was time to get ready for tonight: work at La Lace. I would be the only bar tender tonight and so I expected it to be a busy night for me. The club kept me sane, to say the least. It was my escape from all things serious, somewhere I could just observe and enjoy myself. When I got home Florence was there, obviously, it was 6pm and she finished her audition at 3pm... There was no food in the house when I left and so I expected that she would've gone out food shopping for us but when I go to the fridge to begin making a "slap up" meal for us both before work, I see there's no new food in the fridge.

To say I was annoyed is an understatement. She had all day to go shopping and decided not to when she knew I would be at school for most of the day and then at work during the night? I haven't eaten all day and it now wouldn't be until 2am that I would be able to go to the grocery store and get food. I'm not one to shy away from putting someone in their place but I have to choose my battles.

"I'll go shopping after work so I won't be home until 3am-ish." I say as she makes her way down the stairs to greet me in the kitchen. My comment was meant to make her realise I wasn't happy at the fact I had to do the shopping.

"Okay, thanks." She replies, nonchalantly. I need to breathe before I tell this woman how angry she has just made me. I simply nod and head for the door, taking my car keys and a few shopping bags which, I would just throw onto the passenger's seat. We pecked a kiss goodbye and I left for my work shift with not another word spoken.

Like I expected the club was busy and so was the bar. We served considerably cheap alcohol and so most people just came here to capitalise on that. This meant I was nonstop working until the owner, Claudia pulled me aside.

She was a woman in her early 60s and had been the owner of La Lace way before I was employed. She conducted my interview and by the time it was over it was like we were old friends. She treated me like her daughter and I saw her as a mother... Grandmother even. She had no kids and from what I heard, a very Russian husband who had killed a few dozen and used the club in money laundering... I've seen him once and I could believe those rumours.

(*Types into google* "Old Woman Pub" *Saves Image*... Here is some random woman!)

She pulled me into the back room which didn't carry the same energy as the main area of the club. It was dimly lit by led light strips and had only a few wood tables, a microwave, a kettle and a sink. Other than that, it just had piles of folders and papers which looked unorganised and definitely hadn't been touched in a decade, I had never seen them be moved. A few workers stood around having their small microwavable meals whilst chatting.

"Is everything ok?" I asked, she looked stressed and overwhelmed. We made our way into her office. I didn't know what to expect as I had never been in here before but considering that Claudia was a frantic lady who never stops, the rooms cleanliness wasn't a surprise.

We shuffled into the room; she cleared the fabric chair for me to sit on before she sat on the other side of the desk. She sorted through some papers before pulling a document out which looked freshly stapled together.

"We have to shut down"

My heart dropped.

"We have to shut down? What?" I repeated, confused at her sudden confession and she simply slid me the document. I quickly read over the pages that were in front of me.

I knew La Lace had problems such as a few health and safety risks and that we hadn't IDed anyone the whole time I had been here but the document really exposed the work that needed to be done.

"I can't do the work, I just can't Y/N." She sulked putting her head in her wrinkled hands before sighing loudly. "I can't." She said again when I began shaking my head in disagreement.

"We close in a month, for good. I thought I would let you know early so you can find another job. I'll let the others know once I get the paper work through to sign it away to the bank."

The rest of my shift went by faster than I had hoped. I wanted to saviour the time I had left at La Lace; it was the first job I had been treated well in and I actually enjoyed. It would be destroyed in a months' time. All the memories I had made there... Elizabeth, Florence, Claudia and AJ. All of which I met at La Lace.

I didn't end up leaving the club until 3am, I was sat in my car on the phone to Florence for most of it.

"Y/N I'm not giving you advice, I'm telling you that you're NOT buying your shitty club."

"It's not shitty, it just needs work. How can you just let it be destroyed? I love this place and I want to own it."

"No, you're not owning it" I could hear her sarcastic laughs through the phone. I sat back in my leather seat, head against the headrest whilst one of my arms laid out of the window, tapping on the cherry red paint.

"I can sell my car, my bike even. That'll be more than enough to cover what Claudia would take for it. Then I'll have extra to do it up, get it up and running how I want it. This could work, Flo." I explain to her, eager to persuade her to let me do it. I was like a kid in a toy shop, begging my mom to buy me something shiny.

The phone line didn't stay silent, not even for a moment as her voice shot through the speaker.

"Y/N I said no. Why do this when you can get a psychology degree and be a therapist?! You would make 10x the amount you will probably lose at that shit hole. You're being selfish."

She didn't hold back in telling me how stupid she thought the idea was. She shouted at me like I suggested investing all our savings in to bitcoin.

"If you asked about how my days are, you would know how much I fucking hate that place. I hate psychology. I don't want to be a therapist and I most definitely don't want to talk to you if you're going to be this much of a bitch about something I'm passionate about!" I say loudly down the phone, laughing as I finish my sentence, completely dumbfounded by the way she was acting.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, I'm your fiancée, we make decisions together. You are NOT buying that place and you're most definitely NOT dropping out of university for it. You're being a selfish prick and you best believe that when you're home-"

The phone line went silent as I hung up on my very angry partner. I sat in my car for a few more minutes before starting to drive. I needed to think and my stomach growling wasn't helping that. Our local grocery store was the destination that I parked outside of.

It was practically dark but the street lamps and bright LED signs outside lit up the parking lot. I sat in my car for longer than I should've, emotions welling as I took this moment of silence to shed a few tears. It was built up emotions that I hadn't expressed in a while. Needless to say a few tears turned into music playing in the background as I have a break down.

I turned off my car and got out, grabbing the bags. My bloodshot eyes had no more tears to cry and the air dried the left-over ones onto my cheek. I had changed at the club so the cold air didn't affect my skin but did make my nose and cheeks have a red blush on them, matching my puffy eyes.

A quick minute walk bought me to the entrance where the doors slid open to allow me to enter. The inside was blindingly bright with white lighting but I quickly adjusted as I saw two figures walking towards me. I move to the side to let them pass and before I can begin walking again, I hear my name.

"Y/N?"

I turn around to see who said my name and to my surprise Elizabeth and... her friend who I can't remember the name of but I met the same night I met Elizabeth, stood just outside of the doors with paper bags in their hands.

"What a surprise seeing you here!" Her friend exclaimed, sarcastically. "Not like we drove over her knowing you shop here..." she added which resulted in Lizzie punching her arm "Aubrey!" She hissed before smiling at me as if she hadn't just bruised her friend in embarrassment.

"You're stalking me?" I say, my voice was raspy and broken from screaming lyrics to a few emo songs in my car not too long ago. I had managed to compose myself pretty well, sure that they wouldn't notice my broken state. "Are you okay?" ... Lizzie noticed.

"Mhm" I hummed back with a quick few nods, not looking at her.

"Have you eaten?" Lizzie asked, looking at me with wholesome eyes. I shake my head, pointing towards the store. "That's why I'm here." I reply.

"At 4am?"

"You're also here at 4am" I say, looking to her with a small smile. She laughed and Aubrey shook her head at our exchange. I glanced to her and she gave me a cheesy grin as though she was proud of this interaction.

"We're just getting wine, we have left overs at mine if you want-. You're already here to get food, what am I saying." She stumbled on her words, her head bouncing side to side as she nervously spoke.

"We have wine and left-over pizza. Do you want to join us?" Aubrey put Lizzies rambles into a simpler format. I waited a few moments, looking to the two women. What would be the harm in joining them? I wasn't with Elizabeth alone so I'm not doing anything wrong? Right. I'm just spending time with my ex-lover.

"Yeah... yeah" I say, almost reassuring myself of my answer.

I followed the Toyota Corolla which had the two women sat in as we made our way to Elizabeth's house.