Page 45 of Something Tattered
Wow, that was a first. Even the clowns hadn't been hysterical. I was just about to ask for details when, across from me, Cassie muttered, "Oh, crap."
I leaned forward. "What's wrong?"
She pointed past me. "Look who's here."
Chapter 22
I turned and spotted Derek, barreling through the back entrance. He looked like a man on a mission, assuming the mission was to kill someone and hide the body.
Next to me, Joel said, "Let me out."
I was sitting on the end of the booth, with Joel squashed in beside me. My gaze remained on Derek. "What?"
Joel gave me a nudge. "Isaid, let me out."
"Why?"
"You've gotta ask?"
Derek's angry gaze bounced around the room, as if he were searching for something – or more likely someone – in particular.
I felt myself swallow.Me?
From the look on his face, I sure hoped not.
I looked to Cassie. "Do you think he's here for the party?"
"I don't know." She gave Derek a worried glance. "You'rethe one who said he wouldn't show."
I looked back to Derek, only to feel myself freeze. He was staring straight at our booth, looking angrier than ever. Almost before I knew it, he was pushing his way through the crowd, heading in our direction.
Next to me, Joel muttered a low curse. A moment later, I felt movement beside me and turned just in time to see him shoving himself up and jumping onto the table. His heel bumped an empty daiquiri glass, and it fell sideways – not breaking, thank goodness, but making me nervous, just the same.
I stared up at him. "What are you doing?"
Ignoring me, he stepped across the table and jumped casually onto the floor.
My mouth fell open. "Are you leaving?" With all the drama, I guess I couldn’t blame him. In fact, I decided, maybe that was the smartest thing. "On second thought," I said, "that's probably a good idea."
Joel gave me a look. "The hell it is."
Now, I didn't know what to think. Unsure what to do, I slid out of the booth to stand beside him.
He asked, "What are you doing?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "The same thing you're doing, I guess."
His jaw tightened. "Sit back down." He paused. "Alright?"
Before I could even consider it, I heard Derek's voice, calling out over the distance. "Hey! Asshole! I hope you like jail, because you're fuckin' going!"
I whirled to look. Suddenly, I couldn’t see Derek at all, because Joel had moved to stand in front of me.
Confused, I peered around his back, only to realize something that I should've picked up on earlier. The way it looked, Derek had been yelling at Joel.
My stomach clenched. Derek was one of my oldest friends. And Joel was – well, I didn't know what he was exactly – but I definitely didn't want trouble for either one of them.
I shifted forward and tried, unsuccessfully, to put myself between the two guys. But no matter what I did, Joel moved with me, blocking my path, even as Derek continued to plow forward.
