The Name Game
"Tonight:
Tell us about two times someone has spelled or pronounced your name wrong
And, because we're none of us perfect, tell us about:
Two times you have made a horrible botch of a name."
The bar was loud, but then again it was a Friday night and the banking crowd had just come rolling in. It wasn't the first time that Josh Holloway had found himself seated at this bar and he doubted it would be the last. The fingers of his large hand were wrapped around the glass of amber coloured bourbon, tilting it towards him so that he could stare at the ice cubes clinking at the bottom. He didn't know what the hell he was doing here. His friends had said that he should get out more, that he deserved to be happy but Josh wasn't sure what the hell that meant in his world any more. What he did know was that he wanted something to take the edge off. He was sick of being lonely and he was growing increasingly frustrated.
He didn't know what the hell Grace was doing and he tried to convince himself that he didn't care. She had come back into his life like a tornado, tearing up every single thing that he knew. Before he knew it she was gone all over again leaving nothing but a 'sorry' and some excuse about how she loved the rat bastard that was beating on her. He didn't understand that.
“Can I buy you another?” that sweet musical voice chimed.
Her familiar smoky perfume was in his nostrils as he tilted his head in her general direction.
“What are you doing here Grace?” Josh asked, twisting his stool towards her.
Jesus, it was like she hadn't even left, she still looked as good as she had this morning when she had torn his heart out. Her silky, dark hair fell across her ivory features shielding her expression from his enquiring gaze.
“My name's not Grace.” she informed him. “It's Sara and we're just two strangers who are trying to drown their sorrows at the same bar.”
“Grace.” Josh asserted, shaking his head with a pained look on his handsome features. “I don't want to play this stupid game.”
“It's Sara.” Grace persisted. “If you want to know the story you've got to play the game.”
The words struck a cord deep inside of Josh and he remembered a time when they were much younger when they had been laying in the back garden of her Nana's house staring up at the stars in the night time sky. They had started playing a game if you were someone else, anywhere else who would you be. He remembered Grace had said that it would never get that bad, why would she want to be anybody else?
“The story?” Josh questioned, his blond eyebrows furrowing in irritation. “Grace, I thought there was a pretty simple reason you went back to that son of a bitch.”
“Call me Sara and I'll tell you the rest of the story.” Grace responded once more, her fingers clasped together as if in prayer.
Josh needed to know the reason she had left. He needed to know what power Will Hamlin held over her, he didn't understand what could have drawn her back into that world of violence.
“Ok Sara.” Josh gave in. “Tell me your story.”