Page 57 of His Obsession
I turned back to the bar, swallowed Alek’s favorite drink, then placed my elbows on the bar and observed their anger-fed motions with scowling faces. Were they talking about me? Did they know? Is that why Alek said what he did? I wanted answers to so many questions, but I needed to be out here. I had to follow through.
“Let’s go screw like rabbits on the dance floor,” Lucy shouted out over the music. I twisted with a big smile and embraced her. It was so comforting to have her back with me, even though I was scared for her right now. I missed her so much.
Lucy ignored her date, I couldn’t help but stare at mine. We were in our own world, down here on the dance floor. The last month didn’t exist at this moment. At least that’s what I wanted to believe. Our hands swayed in the air, bouncing to the bass like we were raising the roof. The overpowering music vibrated my ears, the dazzling lights made me squint, and my senses were on alert, on the darkened dance floor.
People bumped into one another, but there was no sign that they cared. Everyone plastered smiles on their faces and swayed back and forth. I noticed a slightly pretty man dancing a path between people, talking to some as he moved about the floor. I studied his movements, almost in a trance, until he stood before me and opened his palm like a clamshell, hiding the pills that sat inside. I looked at Lucy, wondering if she saw what I did, but she was bumping her body to the beat and rubbing her butt against another man.
“What is it?” Curiosity, my number one nemesis.
“Molly, it’ll make you happy,” he uttered, his feet never stopping its rhythm.
“My name isn’t Molly, but I could use a happy pill,” I jested.
“Chew it, it’ll hit you faster.” His grin and head-nod evoked images of Cheech and Chong in the car when they were high as a kite; only it wasn’t Ecstasy they were using.
“Nah, I’m good, thanks.” There was no way I would fly high right now. Not when I needed to be on my toes, alert and aware.
“Suit yourself.”
His shrug was two-seconds delayed, proving I made the right call. If this had been a different time, I would have probably taken him up on his offer. I had only smoked marijuana before, and I would have been more willing to try the happy drug. The pill's little smiley face made it seem so harmless. It's a common club drug, I had been here enough to see people high on it—amongst other things—that man included. I turned back to Lucy, pulled her from the man she was dry humping, and continued our dance, enjoying the feel of familiarity again.
It wasn’t long after my encounter with the pretty man that my heart felt like racehorses trying to break through my chest. Maybe it was the dancing. We had been out here for quite a while and hadn’t taken a break.
My skin ran slick with sweat, and shivers broke out on my body—something didn’t seem right. Nausea rolled through my gut as if I was sucker punched, and I felt my meal trying to fight its way up.
I grabbed Lucy. “I’m going to puke.” I pointed towards the restrooms. “Bathroom,” I said, not able to get the words out any faster. I turned away before she responded.
“Hurry back.” I heard her holler as I tried running through the crowd.
I weaved my way to the back of the club, bumping into people and stepping on their feet. My foot hit another, and I tripped, almost falling on my face. A rough set of hands belonging to a big husky man grabbed my shoulders and put me back on my feet.
“Careful, you almost got trampled to death,” he said.
I noted his strong southern accent. I pressed my hand over my mouth to coerce my body not to give in to the undeniable urge to upchuck. This was bad; I couldn’t puke all over these people—I’d die mortified. The room spun. The feeling I get when I have had too much alcohol, only I knew this time that couldn’t be the case.
I pressed forward, making it to the women’s restroom. I shoved open the door, finding the closest stall without a second to spare. My stomach expelled its contents like a snake regurgitating its food when it felt threatened. It was violent. My stomach clenched, my muscles screamed from strain, the acid from my stomach mixed with the liquor felt like claws dragging down my esophagus.
A century went by. At least, that is what it felt like when my stomach stopped turning itself inside out. It exhausted me; I felt plastered, and the room wouldn’t stop spinning. The stars that penetrated my vision wouldn’t disappear. I stumbled my way to the sink, my face close to smacking the white porcelain, as my legs gave out.
This wasn’t good.
I was in trouble.
I pulled out my phone to call Alek. I knew I wouldn’t make it back to where he was without passing out. The screen was blurry, and I rubbed my eyes, trying to blink away the fog, but it wouldn't lift.
I fought my heavy lids, forcing them to stay open. I stumbled out of the door, falling to my knees when someone pulled me to my feet.
My brain hammered against my skull, wanting to break free from its confines. He draped something dark across my shoulders, and I flinched when something covered my head. A hat, maybe? The slight pressure of the hat intensified the tension in my head.
“Let’s get you someplace quiet, doll.”
Ihated being down here. I would rather be in my glass cage, free from prying eyes. There were other things I preferred to be doing right now. Instead, I had to sit here, staring into the crowd while three men sat in my basement, chained to chairs, waiting for me.
Jake finally tracked them down after the shooting. Apparently, they bailed, and when Tonk found them, two were partying with hookers while the other drowned his unknown sorrows in a bottle of rum. They were my ticket to The Old Man. I just knew it.
Tonk, Jake, and I sat in the VIP booth watching the girls dance like freaks. Liz was cagey but softer than usual. It flew up red flags for me, but I suppressed them. Maybe she was just happy to finally be out of the house; perhaps it was because she was going to fulfill that secret of hers.
Jake alerted us of a bank transaction for a bus ticket that she purchased online a few days ago. Why she would want to go to Kansas was anyone’s guess. Nothing was in Topeka for her—I checked. I hoped my plea last night would be enough to persuade her from trying anything. If that didn’t work, hopefully, my warning did.