171 Stay With Me

After his discussion with the Old Man Skull, Shawn went to Denise's bar to have a drink as a customer and because it was near his office.

He actually liked the place. It was cozy and not too loud. Denise's done quite a good job in her business.

He ordered the bartender to give him cocktail of different spirits like what Denise had prepared for him before.

He was in a real bad mood when he decided to take a few drinks and calm down a little with the alcohol.

His heart sandwiched in a dilemma about what he should do to make things go his own way. After today's discussion he was certain that this old man would do anything to get his revenge.

'How dare that old man blackmail me like that? He is really very sly.' His lips pursed with annoyance.

'I must be very careful with my plans… there is a lot that needs to be thought and taken care of before I fall for that old man's tricks, I cannot stay with this old man skull forever, and I must free myself from his clutches as soon as possible. But I still have to rely on him for revenging atrocities the Kens have done to me.'

Shawn was deep in his thoughts and was gulping down sip after sip from his glass… with all the thoughts crowding in his mind his eyes darkened… he gripped his glass hard then drank all of its content in one gulp.

He tried to down all the hate he had for him with alcohol. He hated it; all his life the old man had been ruling his world, making all the light of his life being pushed into darkness, making his life full of dark clouds.

Shawn closed his eyes and his own thoughts made him uneasy. He ordered more shots as he stared at his empty glass blankly…

=

Denise was about to go home when saw Shawn outside her bar walking towards the entrance so she quickly walked back inside and hid in a corner where Shawn was clearly visible to her.

Shawn had not informed her about his visit at her bar indicating that he's here just to have a drink that he needed to unwind after the usual hectic work just like most of the customers that come there.

Denise observed him from a distance and observing his annoyed looks and tensed state.

Then she murmured, "What's with his look? Why is he drinking anyway? Is it because I told him that I like him? Is it that bad? Being liked by me made him so annoyed? The heck…"

She got irritated with the possibility that came to her mind.

She remembered that after her confession, Shawn did not say a single word to her neither about his feelings towards her and even during the dinner he acted as if nothing had happened. Instead, he was even colder towards her than his usual self.

Denise's face crumpled as she thought all this and her eyes threw daggers directly at Shawn.

'He looks so annoyed.' She muttered and walked towards the bartender.

"Give me that, I will handle him." She whispered and prepared the cocktail of spirits for Shawn who was in deep thought as he stared blankly at the empty glass once more.

Denise smiled and said wryly, "Sir, here's your drink… Make sure you drink well and enjoy!"

Shawn creased his forehead when he heard the familiar voice then he raised his head and saw Denise's dark face right in front of him and staring at him.

"Why do you want to get drunk? Is it because I kissed you and said that I like you?" she asked with hesitation. She was hoping that Shawn will answer her with, 'I'm just tired at work.'

Shawn let out a dry laugh.

"I really hate your boldness. Do you know that? You always say whatever you want to say and you always do whatever you want to do. I just so hate that…" He said nonchalantly and drank a sip from the drink that Denise prepared.

'Hate? The heck with him.' she hissed silently.

She raised an eyebrow and with a mocking grin she said, "Hate? I don't think you hate me. I believe you are just envious of me? Or rather, I'm sure you hate the fact that I can say and do whatever I want, unlike you, who doesn't have a choice but are a puppet of your so called father and have to follow everything that he says?"

Shawn's face darkened as he narrowed his eyes and looked directly into clear eyes of Denise. "What do you know?!" he countered irritably.

"What do I know? I just know whatever I have seen between you and your foster father… You trusted your so called father so much even after knowing how cunning he is..." She said but then paused before she spurted too much detail.

Shawn jeered, his lips curved with disgusts before he says, "Trust? Who said I trust him? I don't trust anybody but myself."

Yes, that's the truth. He did not trust Old Man Skull from the start. He knew that he was being used only. But he needed the old man too, to survive. Basically, they were both using each other.

He knew there is high possibility that Old Man Skull's side of the story was not correct, that old man is not very reliable but same goes with the Kens, how could he trust them also? A lot had happened and it seemed impossible that the Kens had no role to play in his sufferings? Or are they clean and really didn't know things? Whatever the truth be… Nothing changed the fact that he was alone, forsaken.

He heard Denise speak, "You seem to believe everything he says, like bringing down the Kens. I mean what for? His revenge? Did you really have to get involved in that?"

Denise paused a bit, trying to construct a sentence where she could bring up Shawn's childhood. That way she could help her big bro Ryu bit by bit, by giving advices to Shawn in a vague way.

So she sighed and said, "You're adopted. I mean you're not related with him by blood. You're a grown up man now. Why don't you try to find out more about your past? I mean find your biological parents meet them… something like that."

Shawn laughed and said, "I don't have a family… Find them? I already did. Did that Ken tell you that I was abandoned for a better life by my mother? So I'm bringing them down together with that Old Man Skull."

Denise creased her forehead. She was irritated with Shawn's closed mind so she nagged, "You found them? Then why aren't you with them? What is wrong with you? Abandoned? How can you be so sure? Did you ask them that yourself?"

"You're more twisted than your so called father… Do you know that?" Denise added with an irritated tone.

Shawn gulped down another big sip then stared at her. "Talk to her? Do you think it's easy to approach someone who was not there for you your whole life? Talking to some heartless woman who abandoned her new born child for a luxurious life and rich future…"

Then he leered and said, "And what do you think even if I try to approach her how she will react? And what will I tell her? Should I say it like - Hello, I'm your son whom you abandoned at birth. Did you abandon me or did I leave you that time?"

He seemed drunk already with the way he spoke.

Denise shook her head. She wanted to tell him not to be a coward but then she stopped herself.

Dean told her what Shawn went through and how much he suffered. Denise has started really liking him and his sufferings made her more sensitive towards him, she wanted to console him and care for him. Looking at his face, she felt bad for his emotional turmoil.

It's not good if she would finish all lecturing in one sitting. Little by little she will fill his mind with truth and erase the hatred in him.

She will help him get that courage to fight his fear of rejection by his mother, but right now she should stop because Shawn was no longer in his proper state of mind.

"You look like you have a lot to tell and share with someone. I will accompany you and share all your sorrows and all that you have in your heart… so just talk and say whatever you want to say and I'll listen to you… without any complaint... I will listen to all your talks. Hey! See how likable I am? So you should not hate me but actually like me instead." She said in a jest then winked at Shawn whose face had started to redden due to drinking several drinks in a row.

"By the way, I think you made the wrong move in deciding to drink here. I might be tempted to harass you again once you pass out and who knows if I would be able to restrain myself only up to kissing you or I may move further." Denise giggled as she whispered the words.

Shawn did not respond but continued to drink instead.

He could hear Denise clearly... Deep inside him... He wanted her to stay with him..

He wanted to be with someone who could understand him him enough.

He stared at Denise's beautiful face and said, "How about you stay with me the whole night?"