Page 28 of Your Biggest Downfall
I put my hand over the phone and turned to Luna. “I should get her.”
“No the fuck you shouldn’t, not without a raise.”
I hated this. I hated that my work was bleeding into all of this.
“The bar closes in a few hours.” Luna pointed to the clock.
She didn’t mean that, but she was reminding me of our plans.
“Iris, listen to me.” There was silence on the line. “Are you there?”
“I’m listening,” she barked.
“Okay. Text me the address of where you are. I’ll send a car while we’re on the phone. I just need you to confirm you’re safe.”
“I’m safe,” Iris slurred. “Send the car.”
“Okay.”
I looked at the phone as a text came in with an address, which was all the way on the south side of the city. Why was she out so far from her apartment? I’d picked things up for her many times, and she was at least an hour away from home.
I pulled up the rideshare app from Iris’ account and selected the best luxe car service. “It’ll be there in three minutes. Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?”
There was a pause, and Luna popped her head out from her room, where she was doing her makeup. She had chosen a highlighter-green tube top and a pair of Daisy Duke shorts. Her hair was styled in a very Brigitte Bardot fashion, with a few pieces hanging in the front.
“Yes,” Iris finally said in a voice I barely recognized. It was soft, scared, and demure.
“Okay,” I whispered.
That place she was in felt all too familiar. The tension of feeling safe yet still wanting to escape as quickly as possible. It mirrored the way I felt about my own life. For me, it wasn’t just about one situation—I wanted to escape every single damned day.
“I think the car is pulling up,” Iris said, and I waited until I heard the door open and shut. “I’m inside.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Sorry I couldn’t come get you, but you’re on your way home now.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. I was about to say goodbye when she started talking again. “Listen, if we could keep this between us. There is... The team man?—”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t need an explanation. I get it.”
“Thank you. Bye, Nova. Have a nice break.”
I said my goodbyes and hung up. I just sat there, staring at the phone like somehow I’d be teleported back in time.
“Whoa,” Luna said. “When did she get nice?”
I shook my head in disbelief. “No fucking kidding.”
Luna swung the small bag she had on a chain across her body. “Anyway, bitch, you ready to go?”
I chuckled, but I couldn’t shake the worry about Iris and the demons she was fighting. As I stared at my best friend and slipped into my black Keds, I realized we were all battling our own demons. It was just a matter of how much fight we had left in us.
12
nova
We pulled up to the bar, and it was absolutely packed. The place had a slightly rundown appearance, with faded paint and a few cracks in the neon sign that flickered intermittently. Despite its condition, the bar was practically pulsing with energy, the bass of the music thumping so loudly you could feel it in your chest even though we hadn’t exited the car fully. A burly security guy stood at the entrance, checking ID’s with a no-nonsense expression, while a bouncer managed the restless crowd.
The line to get in snaked down the block, filled with women in tiny outfits, their laughter and chatter blending into the night air. The sidewalk was crowded, people buzzing with anticipation, as everyone waited for their turn to enter the buzzing hotspot.
