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Twenty One

The lights are blinding as they beam through the fog of the club. I wince at the brightness as I feel the beat of the music vibrating through me. I'm walking behind Tara and Kayla as I feel my nerves rising. The club is so crowded that I start feeling a bit claustrophobic. My heart seems to rise into my throat, stopping the air from going into my lungs.

"Madelaine! Come on!" Tara laughs, turning to face me. When she sees the look on my face, she turns and walks back to me. "Do you want to go? We can go."

I swallow hard and shake my head no, trying to clear my thoughts.

"No, no. I want to have fun. I'm okay. I was just overwhelmed for a second." I give her a small smile and she looks me over before taking my hand and pulling me back toward Kayla who is already on the dance floor.

"Everything okay?" Kayla asks over the music.

"Oh yeah! Let's dance ladies!" I laugh as we all begin dancing. I feel lighter as the song continues to flow through me. I do my best to push the images out of my mind as I grab Kayla's hands and dance with her. I spin Kayla before turning to Tara and running my hands through my hair as I sway my hips to the beat.

After a little longer, we were all hot and ready for a drink.

I followed Kayla over to a booth while Tara went to the bar to grab a few drinks.

"So, are you having fun?" Kayla asks as we slide into the booth.

"Yeah, actually. This has been great!" I smile.

"Okay, three waters for three queens." Tara announces as she hands us both bottles of water.

"Just because I'm not drinking doesn't mean that you two can't." I sigh.

"I have to drive us back." Tara states as she takes a long sip of water.

"And I have a child to go home to later. I can't be drunk when I pick her up." Kayla smiles and also takes a drink of her water.

I smile to myself before taking a drink of my own. I really do have two of the best friends a girl could ask for. I feel so thankful to have them by my side.

We sit in the both and chat for a while. Tara fills us in on some filming details and tells us about taking Chris to our hometown. Apparently, her dad tried to convince him to go camping with him. Tara and I both know her dad would have left him in the woods to "see if he could survive". Yeah, her dad is a little extreme. But, Tara said her mom kept Chris from getting left for dead. Tara's mom is one of my favorite people and I'm glad that she got along with Chris well.

After Tara's spill about home, Kayla tells us that she has put in for a fight in the next few days since the doctor recently cleared her. We talk about her opponent, a girl she has been wanting to get in the ring with for a while. Her name is Michelle and she is the next step to get Kayla closer to winning a Belt.

The table falls quiet for a moment as we turn and watch a brawl the has broken out between four guys near the bar.

"He should've hit him with a right hook." I sigh. Tara and Kayla slowly turn to me with a look of bewilderment on their faces. "What?"

"Someone is violent." Tara scoffs.

"Oh, shut up." I say, smacking her arm playfully.

"Ow!"

"I didn't even hit you hard."

"Uh, Madelaine." Kayla says, breaking up Tara and I. I look over at her and she is staring at the door.

"What?" I ask, turning my head to follow her eyeline.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I can't have one night? Just one night?