Chapter 1: Girlfriend fiasco

Joe tried to steady the plates in his hands, but as he took a step forward, everything came crashing down.

This was the third time he had broken the plates this week, but it wasn’t his fault. The slippery tiles in the kitchen area and his shoes, which were slowly falling apart, were to blame.

“Joe!” The sound of his name being called made him turn back sharply. His eyes landed on his boss, Mr. Smith.

“You fucking bastard!” Mr smith yelled as his hands moved towards Joe’s cheeks, hitting him across the face. “How many times have I told you to be careful, huh?”

Joe tried to defend himself, but at that moment, he felt another slap on his face, harder than the last.

His face stung, but not as much as the pain he felt as he took a step forward.

He had stepped on a piece of the broken plate, and it penetrated his shoes.

Joe swallowed the pain, turning to look at his boss. “I…I will clean it!” He said.

“You better hurry up. People are waiting for their orders.”

Joe nodded his head, watching his boss walk away. Once he was out of sight, he bent down to remove the glass from my shoes. Then, he proceeded to clean everything up.

The task was a bit difficult because Joe was heavily bleeding, but he managed to push through.

Immediately he was done, he headed to the back room to collect another plate of food.

“Send this to table 9.” His colleague said. “Dexter has attended to table 10 already.”

He nodded without saying a word, walking as slowly as possible to avoid falling again.

When he arrived at the table, his brows furrowed. He didn’t expect to see—his girlfriend—Rosie.

His steps slowed as he approached her. He noticed she wasn’t alone. She was searing next to a tall, blonde man

“Rosie…” Joe called out. “What’s going on here?”

The man leaned back in his chair, his smirk widening.

“What’s it look like, kid?” The man wrapped an arm around Rosie’s shoulders as if claiming her at that moment.

“That’s my girlfriend,” Joe said.

“Rosie, what’s happening? Who is this?”

The man chuckled.

“Your girlfriend?” He turned to Rosie. “This poor guy thinks you’re still his girlfriend.”

“Joe, let’s not make this more difficult than it needs to be.” Rosie finally said.

“Difficult? What are you talking about?” Joe asked.

Before Rosie could respond, the man leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

“Look, man. How can a guy like you,” he gestured dismissively at Joe’s uniform, “afford a girl like Rosie?”

Joe’s face burned with humiliation, but he stood his ground.

“I work hard,” he said firmly. “I’ve always worked hard to take care of Rosie. I may not have much, but I give her everything I can.”

The man scoffed, “Everything you can? What, a few bucks here and there? Some cheap dinners at fast food joints. You’re out of your league, buddy. A girl like Rosie deserves better. Someone like me—Aaron.”

“Rosie,” Joe ignored the guy and turned to Rosie. “Is this really what you want? I love you. I’ve always done everything I can for you.”

Rosie sighed as if she were tired of the conversation already. “Joe, I’m tired of being with you. You’re barely scraping by. You can’t give me the life I want. You spend so little money on me… What am I supposed to do with that?”

Joe felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He had worked so hard and saved every penny he could to try to make her happy.

He even neglected his own personal needs just for her.

“I… I thought we were happy. I thought you understood that I’m working towards something better for us.”

She shook her head. “I want more, Joe. I want to be with Aaron now. He can give me the life I deserve.”

Aaron smiled smugly. “That’s right, kid—Rosie’s with me now. I’m a much better man than you’ll ever be. So why don’t you drop the food, like a good little server?”

Reluctantly, Joe set the tray down on the table. Aaron leaned forward, taking a bite of the food Joe had just served. His face twisted into disgust.

“This tastes terrible,” Aaron spoke loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. “What kind of garbage are you serving here?”

Before Joe could react, Aaron took the plate and threw its contents all over him food splattered across Joe’s uniform, and gasps erupted from nearby tables as everyone looked in their direction.

Joe just stood there frozen.

Aaron sneered, tossing his napkin onto the table.

“Clean it up, server,” he ordered.

“That’s what you’re good for, isn’t it?”

Tears stung the back of Joe’s eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

He bent down, grabbed a towel from his apron pocket, and started cleaning Aaron's mess.

His hands shook as he wiped the food from the floor.

Rosie said nothing. She didn’t try to stop Aaron, and she didn’t defend Joe.

She just sat there.

Finally, Joe stood up.

Aaron leaned back in his chair, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

“You know, kid,” he said. “you should probably quit this job. It’s not like you’re good at it anyway.”

Joe took a step forward, as he was about to take another step he tripped over a chair leg, and fell hard to the ground, hitting his head on the plate.

Aaron stood up, towering over him.

“Look at you,” he scoffed. “Pathetic.”

Joe stayed on the ground, clutching his injured arm, his breath coming in slow, painful gasps.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything.