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“Oh, he didn’t tell you he came and saw me last week? Told me to stay away from you.” Dallas scoffed.
“Then you should do that.” Grabbing my drink, I stood up from the table. Mackenzie followed in suit. I could feel Dallas seething behind us, and when we turned the corner towards the side doors, she cleared her throat.
“Do you want to fill me in?” She waved around her broadly.
I covered my face. “Not really?” When Mackenzie glared at me, I groaned. “Okay, okay. Let’s go outside.”
I looked behind us, making sure Dallas hadn’t followed before I set my mostly empty glass on the table. Mackenzie did the same, following me through the door and into the side alley. It was the spot most of the smokers went for their nicotine fix between shots, but when it was empty, I was relieved.
“You and Drake, huh?” she accused before the door had even latched behind us.
I shushed her, looking around. “Okay, yes, me and Drake, but please don’t tell Brys. We will. We just haven’t had a chance.”
“When did it start?” she asked. I couldn’t tell if she was more excited about it or disappointed I hadn’t told her before.
I scrunched my nose and chewed at the inside of my cheek. “Um… after the wedding.”
Her eyes grew wide with excitement, and she started to do her happy dance, but before she could respond, the door opened and slammed shut again. Dallas stormed across the parking lot with two of his friends behind him.
“I wasn’t done talking to you,” he snarled, close enough to me that I could smell the whiskey on his breath.
I stepped back, waving Mackenzie off when she tried to step in. “I was done talking to you, though.”
When I turned around to walk away from him, he grumbled something unintelligible. The sudden sharp pain in my scalp caught me by surprise, causing me to yelp in pain. Dallas had grabbed onto the loose ends of my hair with his fist, and he wrapped the strands around his hand until he could yank hard enough to pull me back towards him.
“Do not walk away from me when I’m talking to you.” His voice was vicious and slightly slurred from the several drinks he’d likely had.
He yanked again, and I screamed. The sound bounced off the brick walls of the building next door and echoed through the quiet alley. Inside, the music would be too loud for anyone to hear me, and I started to wish that someone would need their next cigarette sooner rather than later.
I stumbled backwards, falling against Dallas. My legs buckled, and when my left ankle rolled, I almost fell to the ground, but his hold on my hair kept me on my feet. I cried out when he tugged again.
“Dallas, let go of me!” I shrieked. “You’re hurting me!”
When he covered my mouth with his free hand, I could smell the nervous sweat on his palm. I tried to turn my head away from him, catching Mackenzie’s eye. She was frozen in place, her eyes darting between me and the door to the bar as if she was torn on going to get help or staying in case I needed her there more. I tried my best to signal for her to get help using my eyes and a slight jerk of my head before Dallas pulled me back again.
His hand over my mouth made it difficult to breathe. I knew from growing up with an older brother that the more I moved around, the harder it would be for him to contain me. I thrashed, hoping it would throw him off enough to let go.
It didn’t.
“Stay still,” he demanded through gritted teeth.
I turned my head enough to brace my teeth around the fleshy part of his palm, and I bit down. He hissed, letting go of my face and hair and stepping back. At his recoil, I turned around. Dallas glared at me, and when he lunged forward, I balled up the nervous saliva in my mouth and spat. The glob of spit landed against his cheek, and he bared his teeth.
He was seething, but I didn’t expect the movement of his hand. He reached out, swinging his arm until the same palm I had bitten down on met the soft flesh of my cheek. It stung, and my vision blurred with tears and an angry red film.
The pain in my cheek could be felt in my mouth, and my teeth ached. My neck felt tight, and I resisted the urge to touch my fingertips to my face. I knew I wasn’t bleeding. When Dallas lunged for me again, there were heavy steps behind us.
“Hey, are you okay?” the stranger asked, stopping Dallas in his tracks.
He looked at me and then at the stranger. “Yeah, we’re good,” he said. “I was just leaving.”
Dallas stormed away with his friends right behind him, and Mackenzie rushed towards me. She brushed my hair behind my ear, touching her fingers to the tender spot on my cheek. I winced. “Are you okay?” she whispered. Her face was laced with concern.
“I’m okay.” I smiled in hopes of reassuring her, but the movement caused pain in the side of my mouth. Great.
The stranger that had interrupted us approached from the side with his phone in his hand. “Are you sure you ladies are okay? Do you want me to call someone?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m already calling someone.” The man nodded and walked away, looking back over his shoulder as if to make sure we were really okay.
