Fifty-five: Big mistake

Temperance


The dinner was almost silent after the spat between Adam and me. There was light banter between the others but I kept my head down as everyone ate.

When the waiter comes back with our cards I could hear Vanessa whisper something. I glance at her, curious on why her figure is standing now.

"You know where we should go?" She leans forward, her red lips forming into a smile as her eyes glance between everyone.

"Vanessa that's not a good idea." Ace tells his girlfriend, sending a nervous laugh after his statement.

"What's not a good idea?" Arella stands, wiping herself off and pushing her chair under the table, causing all of us to do the same.

I grab onto Alec's arm, my eyes avoiding my buyer. "We should go to a club." Vanessa finishes her statement against Ace's wishes. I can't help but smirk at her confidence in saying that in front of Adam. As we step outside Adams voice erupts through the air, "You kids can go." It's obvious to say I'm shocked at his acceptance for this.

I'm not one for the party scene but if it means I'll have a break from Adam's glares I will be willing to go. I could let go without judgement. Maybe not all the way. I still have to watch out for the five people that are after me. Sadly. And one of the five is in the restaurant we are standing outside of.

"If anything goes wrong, you know what to do." Adam sighs, waving over a familiar black vehicle that seems to be the car theme of the mansion.

We get into two different vehicles. Adam and Alisha in one. And a few bodyguards. And in the other car is everyone else.

*************

We dance in the middle with several other people. The music hurt my ears, and the lights blind me.

Arella and Salara are at a table taking shots. Alec, Vanessa, Ace, Connor, and Zander all dance on the dance floor with me.

As Alec spins me in a circle I lean my head back, letting my hair almost smack his chest. My eyes open in the middle of the spin, looking past the bright lights.

I can feel my blood stop as I spot the man who bought me. My blood feels like it's going in reverse, rushing out of my arms and legs and into the main part of my body. I stop, pain shooting in my limbs from the fear that shot through me.

He stares at me, a smirk forming on his lips as he lifts a glass up, as if it's a hi to me.

"Hey, I need to tell Zander something. I'll be back." I tell Alec. Before he can say anything, I slip in between two people trying to get to Zander.

When I reach him, I am shaking with fear. I can't tell Alec about my buyer following us. He would shoot him right here and now.

"Zander...." I tap his arm to get his attention. He turns around to look at me. He has a drink in his hand. He doesn't seem drunk, but I can tell he wants to get there.

He has been drinking a lot since Emaline's death. Every time a girl flirts with him, he'd get mad at ignore them. Emaline was his one. But now she's dead. What are you supposed to do when your one dies? There's nothing you can do. I shake my head to get rid of the thought of my former best friend lying on the ground soaked in blood.

"Hey, Temp." He smiles, taking a sip of his drink. "Zander, I need to talk to you about something important." I place my hand on his drink to let him know he needs to put it down.

His loose expression fades into a hard one, letting me know he understands I'm serious. "What is it?" He asks. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know how much he knows. So I let it spill out. "I was auctioned off. And I overdosed before my buyer got to me. Ok, but listen. My buyer was at the restaurant. And now he's here. I think he is following me, Zander." Great job Temperance; ramble your embarrassing life in front of a bunch of strangers who may or may not hear you.

"Does Alec know?" Zander looks behind me at Alec. I shake my head no. "Why?" He asks, frowning.

"He'd kill him. Just watch the guy, and if something is about to happen, then you know what to do." I tell Zander.

I point to my buyer, and Zander nods. I wonder if he has contact with Austin and Vicki. And if they have contact with my father and his dumb whats-her-name girlfriend. Then I get a chill down my spine. I don't want to go with him. I don't want to go with this buyer if he gets to me. I don't want to go back to my father or back to my uncle.

I can't do it. This is too much.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I tell Zander. He nods, and I squeeze myself through multiple people. Whenever my hand touches the bathroom door, relief washes over me.

I step into the bathroom and look at the stalls. There is one closed at the very end. Probably a drunk girl throwing up.

I look at myself in the mirror, trying to calm down. Nothing is going to happen.

I turn on the faucet and run my fingers underneath the warm water. It's always calming to me.

I focus on the water sound, not realizing the door opening beside me. I finally look up when my heart drops as I hear a gun cock right beside my ear. I look up in the mirror and see Erin's reflection, scoffing at me. My mouth drops open, and my legs start to wobble as the color from my face drains.

"Well, well well. Look who we have here." She whispers in my ear. She smells like cigarettes. Like she smokes five a day.

"Cmon, Erin, we need to go." Vicki appears out of nowhere. Erin is her name. Got it.

"How are we gonna get her out of here?" Erin asks, chewing her gum loudly before popping it in my ear. Vicki points to a window. "We need to break it."

Without a word from me, Vicki lurches forward, her fingers snaking through my hair and pulling me towards her. I let out a yelp, my hands flying to her wrist to keep her from pulling hard. She drags me over to the window, my body follows my head as pain shoots through my scalp. She puts my head towards the window. She pulls me back and slams my head into the window. Everything goes painfully black.

*************

Alec

"Hey, where did Temp go?" I ask Zander. She was talking to him last. But now I can't find her.

"Uh, she went to the bathroom about thirty minutes ago. She hasn't come out." He replies, his eyes widen as he realizes that something is definitely wrong. His eyes dart around the room then they linger on an empty seat in the corner in the room. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck." His hands fly up to his hair, and he began panicking.

"What the fuck is happening?" I ask him, pulling his hand away from his hair. Zander doesn't respond. He dials a number on his phone.

"Deion?" His voice is almost trembling as he calls one of our guards securing the building. Keeping us safe.

He pauses a minute before saying something else. "Has anyone come out?"

What is going on? He puts his phone down. "Come with me," Zander tells me. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the crowd. We stop at the door to the girls bathroom, my heart racing in my chest. Why isn't he answering me?

"We can't go in there!" I almost yell at him. He rolls his eyes and pushes open the door. Whenever we get in, my heart drops. There is a broken window with specks of blood around it.

"Tell me what the fuck is going on!" I grab onto the collar of Zander's shirt and slams him against the wall holding him there. Making him grunt from impact.

"She was taken. By the buyer- I- I don't know his name." He is trying to get me off of him, but I push him harder into the wall.

"What fucking buyer?"

"THE BUYER AT THE AUCTION!" He yells echoes around the bathroom. I let him go and run my fingers through my hair in anger. Then without thinking, my hand curls up into a first, and I punch the tiled walls making the tiles break and fall onto the ground.

"Was he here?" My voice is dangerously low. Zander hesitates before answering.

"He was here. And apparently, he was at the restaurant."

I feel my blood turn cold, unable to handle my rage. I turn around, and my fist connects with Zander's cheek. Blood shoots on the wall behind him as he falls onto the sink. I stand in place, staring at him as he regains composure, touching the blood from his lip before looking up at me.

"What the fuck, man!" He yells at me.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" I yell back, trying to keep myself from shooting him. "She didn't want me to." He replies quietly, realizing he messed up badly.

"I don't give a damn of what she wanted. If it concerns her safety, you tell me. Do you really think she is the best person to listen to right now? No."

Now that I'm not with her to protect her.... anything can happen to her...

That is a feeling that makes me want to throw up.