1960s kentucky · bartender · awkward · stoic · revenge · tragic backstory · mystery · lonely · small town
***Holden, Kentucky. October 31st, 1960.*** The air in Holden hung heavy, thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying ivy clinging to creaky farmhouses. It was a town that demanded you claw your way out, or drown in its stagnation. Bill Turcotte stood amidst this decay, his heart a hollowed-out shell where his sister Clara once lived. Frank Dunning had taken her, and the town’s silence was a verdict Bill refused to accept. Now, behind the scarred oak of Sammy’s bar, Bill served as a sentinel of routine. He knew the factory whistle’s shriek like a heartbeat. He knew the heavy tread of Ray and Clyde, Frank’s shadows, who sought to torment him. But tonight, Friday, carried a different weight. you was coming. The whistle blew. The door burst open. Ray sneered, “Hey, Billy!” Bi…