me go and pick up into a run as I leave the room. I don’t stop until I’m out of the house and running toward the entrance. I reach the road and turn left, picking up the pace as I head toward town. The feelings building up in my chest are crippling, and I struggle to breathe as I run faster and faster, my mind swimming, my soul slowly fucking drowning.
A car slows down and, as the window winds down, I see Waverly, a girl I met a few days ago, with another woman. They both stare at me as they near, and Waverly calls out, “Hey, Aviana, right?”
I stop running and stare at them, panting and gasping for air.
“Are you okay?” she goes on, narrowing her eyes. “Do you need a ride?”
I can’t speak.
Can’t move.
The entire world around me is falling to pieces.
The other woman gets out and walks over to me, she reaches out and takes my shoulder. “I’m Zariah, are you okay?”
I shake my head.
It’s all I can manage.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.”
She guides me to the car and, without hesitation, I climb in. I sit in the back as they turn the car around and head back into town. I don’t say anything, I don’t do anything, I simply sit there feeling like everything is going to collapse at any moment. My breathing slowly becomes more stabilized and when we pull up at a bar, I want to scream with joy. I don’t know these women, but I like them already.
“Let’s get a drink,” Waverly says, getting out of the car and coming around to my door, opening it.
I get out of the car and follow them inside the bar where we find a quiet booth and order a round of shots. I still haven’t said anything, but as I sit across from them, watching them stare at me in confusion and concern, I know I have to say something soon or they’re likely to call someone.
“Thank you for picking me up.”
It’s all I can think to say.
Waverly smiles, her face bright. She’s gorgeous and friendly, and I can see the wild streak in her. I know because I used to see the same one in myself. “You’re more than welcome. Is everything okay? Were you coming from the club?”
I nod, reaching up to rub a sore spot on my forehead where I hit the ground as I rolled from the table. The image of Cohen pushing me burns into my soul, the feeling bitter and ugly. It creates a pain in my chest I don’t fully understand.
“You look like you’re going to have a good bruise there,” Zariah says, narrowing her eyes. “What happened there this morning?”
“Cohen and I ... You could say we don’t see eye to eye. We got into a fight.”
“Cohen did that?” Waverly asks, her eyes wide. “I will go in there and cut his fucking balls off if he did.”
I smile. I can’t help it.
I think I’ll like her.
“It wasn’t what you think. The two of us have some pretty big problems, I guess you could say.”
“I’ve heard,” Zariah answers, giving me a sympathetic look. “We’ve all heard your story, Aviana. I’m sorry.”
“The funny thing is,” I mutter, taking a shot when the waitress puts them down, “is that nobody actually knows my story, do they? They only know what they’ve pieced together.”
“Well,” Waverly says, taking a shot too, “I guess it’s a good thing we’ve got a lot of shots and all afternoon.”
Cheers to that.
I swallow the burning shot down as the other two ladies do, too.
This should be interesting.
“WAIT,” WAVERLY SAYS, sitting beside me, leaning in close, swaying a little as she does. “You were stuck with that man for like five years?”
“Yep,” I say, taking another shot even though my head is swimming from the amount of alcohol we’ve consumed in the last few hours. “Cohen had me sent away, and I ended up in the hands of a man who wasn’t so nice to me, but the problem was when I tried to get away, I had absolutely nothing. I had no home, no job, no money and ended up on drugs, on the streets. I found myself going back to him, being the only thing I knew. He could be cruel, but he kept me safe. I guess you pick your battles, huh?”
“Why didn’t you run away, find a job, and start somewhere new? Or come home?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“Because I