Page 30 of The Burdens We Share
Miles and Nate start talking about a new song they’re working on and I take the chance to focus on Dallas who is watching the dance floor with no interest in his eyes. I feel slightly guilty considering he wasn’t involved in any conversation with everyone. If I were in his position, I’d probably be feeling a little excluded and shitty. He must feel out of place hanging out with a bunch of rockstars when he has no interest in what we do and nothing in common with us.
“Dallas,” I call out to him and immediately, his face turns to meet my eyes.
I lean in closer to his ear so he can hear me clearly, “We can go if you want.”
He shakes his head, “Doyouwant to leave?”
I shrug, “A little. I’m really tired. But we can stay if you-”
“Let’s go,” he gestures with his head towards the exit.
I push off the couch and rise to my feet and I’m immediately met with the strong urge to pee. Dallas starts getting up and I put a hand up to stop him, “Hold on. I’m gonna go to the bathroom first.”
He glances at my hand and pushes it away, “I’ll go with you.”
I make a disgusted face, “To the bathroom?”
“I’m your personal security, remember? That requires me to follow you around.”
I roll my eyes, “Yeah, no shit. That doesn’t mean you need to hold my hand while I pee.”
He raises a brow at me, “I most certainly wasn’t offering to hold your hand while you pee.”
My lip curls in distaste, “Seriously, can you just wait here? I’m just going to the bathroom and then I’ll be right back. I’ll be fine. This is a public place.”
His nostrils flare and for a moment he just looks at me expressionlessly before he sighs, “If you aren’t back in two minutes, I will go into the women’s bathroom and hold your hand while you pee.”
A laugh escapes me, “Holy shit! Did you just make a joke?”
He’s unsmiling as he stares blankly at me.
I grin at him and bat my lashes, “You wait, Dallas Carter. One of these days, I’ll produce a smile. You can’t deny me forever.” I think my tongue is a little loose and a little too confident from the liquor I consumed because I’ve never had this much gall to speak to Dallas this way. Usually, I just cower under his stare. Right now, I’m meeting him head-on.
“That is highly unlikely,” he frowns. “Now go to the bathroom before I make you leave now and hold it in till we get home.”
My eyes widen and I hold two hands up in defense, “Woah woah. I’m going,” I turn on my heel and shout to Nate that I’ll be back before I head out of the VIP section and to the bathroom.
As I make my way through the sea of bodies, I feel a shiver run up my spine like someone is staring at me, watching me. I’m sure it’s just Dallas and even if it isn’t, I’m a celebrity so I’m sure someone somewhere is always staring at me. I ignore the warning in my stomach as I make it down the narrow hallway off the dance floor and to the bathroom.
I push the door open and find that nobody else is inside. All three of the stalls are vacant so I just push into the middle one. I close and lock the door and quickly relieve myself because I have no doubt that Dallas will barge in here if I exceed my two-minute warning. I really don’t want him to hear me pee.
As I flush the toilet, the bathroom door barges open and crashes against the wall. I assume it’s just a drunk girl or two stumbling inside and I expect to hear laughter or voices of some kind, but I hear nothing. It’s silent.
A moment passes and I hear the click of a lock. Someone just locked the bathroom door from inside. It’s probably just a girl coming in here to puke or cry or something. I reach for my stall door to make a swift exit and give her her privacy when I hear heavy footsteps that I know aren’t feminine.
I pause as the footsteps get closer. My breath catches in my chest as the footsteps stop right outside my stall door. Two large, booted feet come into view and I know right away who’s on the other side. It’shim.
I stop breathing as if my silence will convince him I’m not really in here. Panic sprouts inside of me and I feel like a giant cinder block was just dropped on my chest. I take a step back, but my calf makes contact with the disgusting club toilet. I’m trapped.
He just locked us inside of the bathroom together. He pushes the stall door with force, trying to barge his way inside and I start hyperventilating. He’s going to get through this door and do God knows what to me. “Please! Please stop!” I yelp, fear thick in my voice.
Tears well to my eyes and all of the things I’ve accomplished flash behind my eyes like some kind of highlight reel, showcasing the highs of my life before I hit my ultimate low and possible end. I realize there’s still so much I want to do, so much I want to see. I’ll never see my friends get married, I’ll never see my mom or brother again, I’ll never become the next Cami. I’ll never get to finish the movie. I’ll never get to do any of it because he’s going to break into this stall and kill me.
The door is rattling, and he remains silent aside from a few grunts and groans that escape him while he grows frustratedwith the door lock. A heavy crash sounds and I scream as the door shakes along with the walls beside me. He must be using his body force to break the door off the hinge. I almost fall over, my legs shaking so badly. I hold onto both sides of the wall for support as I sob.
He pulls back and rams into the door again and this time, I watch as the lock starts to give out. If he rams into this door one more time, I’m dead. I scream at the top of my lungs for someone, anyone, to hear me. There’s only one person I need more than ever. Dallas. I have to hope he was being serious about his two minute warning.
My entire body is trembling, sobs wrack through my chest, and I do the last thing I can do before he barges into this door one more time and breaks it down. I scream, louder than I ever have in my life, “Dallas!”
