He shook his head, jaw tense, and looked away from me, “Yeah, ok, Malibu. Whatever you say.”
I opened my mouth to snark back but was distracted by Maria coming up behind me. She hugged me as best she could and said, “Y’all ready to get this show on the road? Or are you just gonna stay here and make moon eyes at each other?
I sputtered. Jackson rolled his eyes. Diego chuckled. I threw the door open and climbed in, shaking Jackson off when he reached for my elbow. My next step made me wish I’d taken the help—my heel caught, and I stumbled forward, arms flailing like a drunk chicken. Then heat. A big hand on my hip. Another at the small of my back. Steady. Firm. Unmistakablyhim.The contact froze me in place. The world went quiet. I could’ve sworn the whole damn car tilted with us. I turned, breath catching when his eyes met mine—dark, unreadable,dangerous.For a moment, neither of us moved. Not until his thumb brushed asliver of exposed skin, feather-light. I shivered, tore myself away, and practically dove into the back seat.
Diego eased Sally out of the drive as Mom stood crying in the driveway, waving us goodbye, and Dad was taking a million pictures. I waved awkwardly to them and Maria blew kisses. She and Diego eased into a natural banter and I remained turned to the window, back to the man beside me. Neither one of us spoke a word until we got to the downtown hotel. When he climbed out first, he turned to help me out. Blatantly aware I was being a petulant child, I shooed his hands away and he threw his arms up, completely exasperated with me, then watched in cool amusement as I nearly fell on my face.
I made my way over to Maria who held her phone out to me. “Take a picture of me and Diego in front of Sally?”
I snapped the picture, but when I went to hand her phone back, she passed it to Diego and pulled me to her side. I stood a full head over her, but she tucked herself under my arm and said, “Us, next. You’re not getting away that easy.” I couldn’t help but smile as Diego took several photos of the two of us. Maria, resplendent in her gradient gown. And me. I didn’t look like a naive beauty queen anymore. Tonight, I was something new. Not the girl I used to be. Not the girl who got hurt. But something that bloomed from the ashes of both. Someone who was content to be her friend’s backup dancer, instead of center stage. I was more than happy to trail behind her as she eagerly pulled Diego towards the conference center turned ballroom.
The room was beautifully decorated, I had to admit—even for a public school whose halls were clad in peeling, faded linoleum. A banner hung above the entrance, fairy lights draped along the top. I craned my neck to read it:“A Night Between Worlds—Welcome All Fae.”Inside, more fairy lights cascaded from the ceiling, like iridescent droplets of rain. A refreshment table, styled to resemble clustered tree stumps, held bowls of punch,bottles of water, and glittering trays of snacks. Silk flowers littered the floor and the whole room was cast in a soft glow.
Music was already thrumming through the speakers that lined the room. Couples danced, and others mingled in corners. Maria pressed a kiss to my cheek and all but dragged Diego to the dance floor. I smiled softly, watching the way he was incredibly gentle with her. Ever mindful of her comfort, and the baby’s. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jackson head over to where Rodney and Dalton were hanging with a few other football players. I grabbed a bottle of water and made myself comfortable on the green, velvet-clad chairs. Glaring at any would be dance partners who found the balls to come up to me until they slunk off with their tails between their legs.
After a few songs, Maria disentangled herself from Diego. He went towards his friends, and she headed towards me. She reached for me, pulling me to my feet, and said, “You can’t think I’m going to just let you sit here all night? As beautiful as we both look, let’s rock this dance floor.”
I smiled, playfully bowing and gesturing towards the open space as the DJ put on some catchy pop tune. “You are damn right. Lead the way, Your Majesty!” She laughed, and I let her lead me into an empty spot on the crowded floor. We twirled around the dance floor, laughing so hard our sides hurt. It felt good—free,even—to just be girls for a night instead of broken things pretending to be fine.
Just as my feet began to ache something fierce, Maria stopped and pulled me close so she didn’t have to shout over the music. Her face was pink, and there was a faint shine to her forehead. “I gotta go get some water before I pass out.”
“Um, yeah, that would definitely not be a good idea. Diego would lose his shit. I’ll meet you over there. I gotta pee!” She waddled off to the refreshment table, and I headed out the room. Bathrooms were just down the hall. I was touching upmy makeup when a shrill scream split the air in two. My hair immediately stood up on end, and abandoning the small clutch I had brought with me, I ran as quickly as I could back to the ballroom. Having spent most of my life in heels of various sizes, I could still move fairly fast in the fuckers. As I got closer, I could make out the sounds of a fight. Pushing through the crowd, I dodged two guys who went down in a tangle of fists. I squinted in the dim light, realizing it was one of the football players and a guy I had never seen before.
Finally at the center of the mess, I looked around erratically for Maria, hoping I was wrong. But when I caught sight of her tear-streaked face, I knew I wasn’t. We ran to each other, and I enveloped her in my arms. Fucking Jesse. And he had brought friends. I glanced one more time at the fight, realizing that not only had Diego stepped in, but so had Jackson, Rodney, Dalton, and half the football team. Jesse and his buddies were vastly outnumbered. The guys had it handled, so, keeping Maria tight against my side, I began to usher her out of the room. Diego had left the keys in the car, and I was beyond grateful that I had trusted my gut.
We had barely made it halfway towards the door, when Jesse blocked our path. I had never met him before, but I recognized him from pictures and there was no mistaking the way Maria cowered against me. I pulled her even closer before practically spitting my words at him. “Move. We’re leaving.”
His laugh was cold and cruel, and I recognized this as a different kind of evil I had never faced before. My heart thudded in my throat, fear clawing its way from where I kept it shoved deep down. He took a step closer, grabbing my arm so tight I knew it would leave a mark, and trying to wrench me away from Maria. “Little dove thinks she can keep my kid from me.Myfucking kid.”
I refused to let go, even as his grip on me became painful. And then suddenly, Jesse wasn’t in front of me anymore. Jackson was. Jesse hit the floor, groaning, and Jackson stood over him with that lethal glare. I backed away as Jackson shielded us with his body and snarled, “Touch her again and I’ll make sure you don’t get back up.” He glanced at me, and I just stared at him until he jerked his head towards the door.
It felt like it took years to get across that parking lot, but once I had Maria settled, I ran over to the driver’s side and jumped in. Sally’s tires shrieked a protest as I peeled out of the parking lot. Maria was still crying, and I kept one hand on the wheel as I used the other to reach for her. I pretended not to notice just how badly I was shaking. “It’s ok, we are going to go home. Daddy will take care of it. Jesse won’t dare come near the house. It’s ok.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince, me or her. I drove even faster, eager to be in the safety of home. Several police vehicles flew past us, sirens blaring. I noticed Maria flinch at the onslaught of sound and squeezed her hand again. I couldn’t stop fucking shaking.
I pulled into the driveway and Maria remained frozen in the passenger seat even after I parked. As I helped her towards the house, I realized she was also shaking like a maraca. My mom called from the living room, “You girls are home super early!”
As she turned to face us, her face fell. She rushed towards us, and I was surprised when she got on Maria’s other side, helping me support my friend as we all but carried her to the couch. “David! You better get down here!” My mom’s shout was almost immediately followed by the thundering of footsteps. I was still standing, hovering over Maria who huddled on the couch, her pale complexion a violent contrast to the bright colors of her gown, like a cruel taunt.
I turned to my dad as he entered, and something in my face had him crossing the room in three quick strides to embrace me.I began to shake in earnest, the subtle tremors evolving into a full-blown earthquake as adrenaline ravaged my body. He held me tight, running soothing hands down my back, and said, “Tell me what happened.”
Maria looked up at him and spoke for the first time since we left the dance, “Jesse. He showed up, like he said he would. Had a bunch of his friends with him.” Her lower lip trembled and she buried her face in her hands as she sobbed, “He ruined everything.” My mom sat on the couch beside her, pulling Maria into her arms.
“I never should’ve left you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
Maria looked at me, eyes red and makeup smeared. “It’s not your fault. What were you supposed to do? Wear a diaper so you stayed glued by my side? If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. I ruined the night for everyone.”
“That’s enough girls. No more apologies from either of you. The only fault lies with that son of a bitch.”
I expected my mom to correct dad’s language, but she simply frowned and said, “Your father is absolutely right. This is not on you. And that boy is going to be in a cell by night’s end, you mark my words. I will drag him there myself.” Her pretty face was flushed pink in anger and, distantly, I remembered that my mom had responded similarly when I had confessed what Scott Lauren had been doing. I had forgotten her anger, her fire, when she had decided to start a clean slate in Georgia. She had swept it all under the rug the second we started packing, deciding for us all that it was done and over. But she hadn’t stopped to ask if the rest of us were ready to move on. As the shaking subsided, I saw my mother in a whole new light. It wasn’t that she didn’t care; it was that she just didn’t know how to be real.
My dad left the room to make calls, and not even thirty minutes later a deputy and August Mills showed up in the livingroom. Maria and I gave our statements and then promptly ran upstairs to hide in our rooms. She kept trying to apologize to me, and I kept shutting her down. I wasn’t mad. I didn’t blame her. How could I? She was just someone who was trying to stay standing in the face of a hurricane. I knew how that felt. I helped her out of her dress, and she helped me out of mine. We both cried, lamenting the loss of what should’ve been a perfect night. At some point, it grew late and Maria eventually fell into a fitful sleep in her bed, so I snuck out quietly to mine.
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, but sleep just wouldn’t come. Not after all that shouting, not after Jesse’s hand on me; not after Jackson stepping in like that. My arm still ached, and my brain wouldn’t shut up. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that room. Still shining like it hadn’t caught onto the ruination of the evening. And the way Jackson had looked at me, like I mattered. I hated that it made my chest hurt in some confusing, impossible way. I tossed and turned, trying to decipher the millions of thoughts racing through my head. But nothing was working.
Before I could fully process what I was doing, I slid my feet into a pair of slippers and grabbed my keys from the dresser. As I headed downstairs towards the front door, I froze at my dad’s voice.
“Just where do you think you are going, bug?”
I turned slowly to find my dad standing with his arms crossed and frowning at me, Mom at his elbow and watching me with a look I didn’t quite understand. “I just…I dunno. I gotta make sure they’re ok.”
