The Beginning of the End

Dean gazed at his beer, then back at the woman, then to Sark, who shrugged his shoulders, hiding a grin. When Dean was about to glance again at his drink, the woman chuckled and placed her hands in front of her mouth.

'And will you also give me an answer, mister?' Dean wiped his chin and asked,

'Do I look that old for you to call me 'mister'?' Waving her hands, the woman explained,

'Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. It's just out of respect. You don't look old. On the contrary...' She leaned forward, and Dean flinched. Their eyes locked, and Dean was the first to break eye contact. 'You might be around my age, haha. Why did you look away? Am I so...' She raised her hands and clawed the air playfully, 'Scary?' (Sark: Damn if you mess that up, then nothing can save you anymore buddy!) Dean burst out laughing. As he calmed down, the woman snatched his beer, earning a surprised,

'Hey!' from him.

'Well, you didn't give me an answer, so I'll have to find it out myself,' she said and took a sip.
As Dean watched her full scarlet lips leave the glass, he was no longer flustered—more like entranced. But Sark's cough tore him back to reality.

'And, young lady, how is it?' Sark asked, already pouring another beer into a glass. The woman took another sip, then a bigger one, and sighed with satisfaction.

'It's the best beer I've ever had. But I think I'll keep this one. You can have a new one. Is that okay?' Dean simply nodded and accepted the proposal. But the confusion in his eyes didn't fade. He narrowed his gaze at the woman and asked,

'What's your mission? Do we know each other?' Both the woman and Sark were taken aback by the question. (Sark: Who cares?) Dean's hands began to tremble. Images of his ex, cheating on him, the beatings from her new boyfriend, flashed through his mind. He inhaled deeply and exhaled—again, slower. The woman's cheerful expression vanished. She took another gulp, set down the glass, and let her posture slump. A heavy sigh escaped her.

'Problems with your relationship, right? By the way, you can call me Larah.'

'Call me Dean, and that bartender goes by Sark.' (Sark: Damn, why are you getting me involved?) 'Is it that obvious?' Dean asked, referring to his breakup. Sark coughed, suppressing a grin to the point he had to bite his lip. Dean sighed and side-eyed him, then took another sip. Larah followed his example and continued,

'Not obvious. But let's just say... I ended a toxic relationship. So I know how people look when they're in that phase. But that wouldn't have happened...' She briefly glanced at Dean, narrowing her eyes, '...if my first love hadn't dumped me.' Dean's eyes widened. Sark looked just as staggered. Dean pointed at her and demanded,

'You? You were dumped? Wait! Could it be that you were, I don't know, fat back then and had a glow-up?'

'No, haha.' Larah slid her hands down her body. 'I was born pretty. But he still dumped me. I never found out why. I mean I had a good character, though still has one. Well... it is what it is.' Sark had something to do and left the two of them alone.

'Was your first love at least a model?'

'No. He was average—for others, at least. I pay more attention to character.'

'I see. And what happened to that idiot?'

'Don't call him that.' Her eyes locked onto Dean's again. For a beat, everything around them paused—music, the people, everything. 'He was everything... but an idiot.' She clasped her beer with both hands, though they were too small for the glass. 'He went on and found someone else to waste his time with. So did I.' She stared into her drink, and from the side, Dean could see a grin forming. 'Well, that relationship didn't end well, and they ended up meeting in a bar... at night.' Dean gulped the rest of his beer and said with a smile,

'Lucky for them. I hope that man uses that night to correct his mistakes. Dumping you? What an idiot. I mean, you seem kind, full of character. Talking to you feels familiar. So you really don't have any idea why that man dumped you? I mean there must be a reason, right?' Larah stood up and stepped closer to Dean. Her eyes were glowing, her lips twitching as she spoke, 'Why don't you tell me why you dumped me?'

BAM!

Everyone turned toward the door. And then it happened again—someone banged against the door. Seconds later, a man stormed in and slammed it shut behind him. His behavior was already strange, but even more alarming were his blood-stained hands and the wound on his chest, as if an animal had clawed at him...