Page 15 of Storm the Night

“Yeah, alright. Let’s go mosey. I’ll see you guys there in five-ish minutes.” Kai’s wasn’t that far from the house, and I was sure they were all at the club house which also was maybe a seven minute drive. The night had gotten more interesting.

Chapter 11

Calliope

The girls were hilarious and fun. I felt really at ease with them. We sat and ordered some food to hold us over until the DJ started. When the server cleared our table, we were left with just our drinks. Since I had been on meds, I opted for water while the other girls each had margaritas. They understood why though.

Finally, the DJ started to play some music and the bar dimmed the lights a bit. It was crazy how a place could transform so easily to feel like we were in some place totally different. Lily looked over at me and said, “Wanna dance?”

Her question made me nervous. I hadn’t danced in years. Did I even know how anymore? “Um, I don’t even know if I know how.” I laughed and she smiled.

“Girl, it doesn’t matter. It just matters that you are having fun.”

She was right and I was having an amazing time. Just then, Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar came on. Love is a Battlefield always makes me want to lose myself. Lily grabbed my hand and Stella, Harlow, and Mika stood up with us and we went to the dance floor.

The employees moved tables aside so that the middle of the room right in front of the bar was the makeshift dance floor. I closed my eyes and got lost in the lyrics of the song and just the feeling of freedom I was feeling in that moment. My arms were in the air and my body was swaying to the beat that felt like it was thundering in my chest. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had danced.

With the sound of music deep in my ears, I started having flashbacks with each word Pat Benatar sang. Like photographs, moments of Colin’s cruelness came flashing back, especially just before he left on his work trip. I could feel the tears welling behind my eyelids and I was afraid that if I opened them, the dam would break, the spell would be broken, and I would be a mess in the middle of the bar. I just wanted the good feelings back but all I could see was the night Ryder found me. Colin smashing my head into the window.

Suddenly I felt masculine hands grab my hips and that’s when I freaked out, flaying my arms like I was trying to get away and screaming. “Calliope! Calliope! It’s ok. It’s me, Lily. Ssh.”

“Hey! Don’t touch her. What the fuck is wrong with you. You didn’t even ask her if she wanted to dance.” Mika was in the man’s face that grabbed my hips.

“You crazy, bitch. What’s the matter with you? It was just a dance. You’re as crazy as she is.” The man said.

That’s when we heard a man’s voice, “I’d suggest you apologize to the lady.”

“I’m not apologizing for shit. These two bitches are crazy.” The stranger said.

The music was so loud and before I could register what the asshole said, the other man punched him in the face, knocking him out cold on his ass. “Hey Felix, get this asshole out here.” Mika yelled to someone that looked like the bouncer.

When I looked up, I saw Ryder walking toward me. “Hey, are you ok?” I shook my head no but couldn't form words because I could feel the tears starting to come again. “This was too soon. It’s ok. Come on. I’ll take you home.”

I nodded to him but then quickly turned to Lily and Mika. “I…I’m sorry. I thought I was ready.”

They both hugged me and said, “Don’t worry about it. Go with Ryder. All our guys are here. We’ll check on you tomorrow. You’re in good hands.” I half smiled and turned to walk out with Ryder.

Chapter 12

Ryder

We walked into the bar to see some guy in Mika’s face yelling at her. I scanned the room and finally found Calliope. Lily had her arms wrapped around her. Something happened. When I went to say something to Country, he had already introduced his fist to that guy’s face.

I quickly went to Calliope. “Hey, are you ok?” I asked her. She just shook her head no and looked like she was on the verge of falling apart again. “This was too soon. It’s ok. Come on. I’ll take you home.” She said something to Mika and Lily and then we left.

It was quiet the whole way home which as I mentioned before, wasn’t far from the house. Once inside, I had her sit on the couch while I got her some water.

“Tell me what happened, Grace.” She looked up at me as I handed her the glass of water.

“I was just um…I was just dancing, and we were having a great time. I was lost in the music and suddenly there were flashbacks that were going off in my head. They were of different times when Colin hit me or yelled at me. The final one wasthatnight, when he smashed my head into the window. That’s when I felt hands grab my hips and it freaked me out. I started screaming. And well, you know what happened after that. Now, I’m just embarrassed.” She started crying again.

“Hey. Hey, sweetheart. It’s ok. You went through some crazy shit. Not just that night but for years. It’s going to take a lot of time to overcome that. I think you’ve been in survival mode for so long that now all these emotions are hitting you.” She just nodded and wiped her face with the tissue. “I’ll never tell you what to do but think about talking to someone. It might help. I did.”

Her eyes went wide. “You talked to a therapist.”

I nodded at her. “I had to. After the first time my mom tried to kill herself, I was really messed up about it. Took it on myself, blamed myself. Like, there was something I should’ve done to help her more before that. Talking to someone has helped me work through that and process it. I think it’s why I handled tonight’s situation with her so differently. I handled it a lot better than I did before.”

“You’re remarkable, Ryder. I’ve never met anyone like you.” She smiled through her puffy eyes and cheeks from crying and wiping her face. She looked like a little kid.

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