Fragile

Chapter 13

If I hadn't been in that basement all those years, I often wondered how different I would've been. Would I have been outgoing enough to go to parties? Would I have been smart enough to not get my drink spiked? Would I have ever let myself get as close to Noah Pierce as I did? 

On nights like this one, I felt those thoughts swimming in my brain as I completely detached from the situation. 

That situation, of course, was a very cheery roommate who had convinced me that going to a bar downtown was a good idea. 

So here I was in a black crop top and some shorts that were too short for comfort, being dragged at the wrist by a very excited Kiera. 

"It'll be fine, Fay, most of the guys here are college guys anyway," she insisted. "Just don't take drinks from anyone and you should be fine." 

I wanted to object. I wanted to admit that after the last party, I wasn't really feeling this scenery so soon. The protests bubbled in the back of my throat, but never escaped. Because Kiera didn't know about the incident. Kiera didn't know about my past. Kiera simply didn't know. And I couldn't exactly protest without any explanation, and I wasn't willing to give the truth. 

The bar wasn't rowdy like I had expected. In movies, there were loud drunken men yelling at the TV over sports games and men in expensive suits making bets. In the more expensive bars there would be handsome CEO men drinking scotch. Neither of those things quite fit this bar. 

The smell of grease and alcohol hit my nose first. It was decently packed, more men than women, with fried, greasy foods lining nearly every wooden surface. There was a cheerful cacophony of voices that hung in the air, and while it seemed harmless, I couldn't help but feel suffocated. 

"Come on, I found him." 

I could barely recall that 'him' was a guy Kiera had met in one of her classes. He was a TA who, also an attractive senior. He also didn't seem to mind enabling two girls who weren't of legal age to drink. 

I could barely remember his features, in fact I couldn't quite focus on anything at all. My senses were overstimulated. I found myself knocking back a small shot Kiera handed me, but as if I was watching myself from afar, I didn't feel anything. People jostled around and a few bumped my body, but I couldn't really feel it. I was just standing in a daze while Kiera shamelessly flirted with this TA whose name I had long forgotten, whose face was too insignificant to remember. 

I didn't remember wandering off, but one moment I was next to Kiera and the next I was a wallflower within yards of the bathrooms. I had a cup in my hand of god knows what from god knows where, but I didn't dare take a sip. It just rested in my hand that I could barely feel, attached to a body that didn't feel like mine. 

Until a hand grabbed my forearm. "What are you doing here?" a male voice hissed. 

The sound of the familiar voice pulled me back into myself, and I blinked rapidly. "Noah?" 

He seemed irritated. No, downright furious. His eyes pierced me, and his hand was still holding my bicep firmly. "Why are you here?" he ground out. 

I shivered. I felt a chill creep up my spine. Why was he so hostile? What had I done wrong? "Am I not allowed to be?" my voice shook, and I avoided eye contact before I did something stupid like cry. Now was not the time to be a crybaby. 

Noah seemed to sense my distress because he loosened his grip on my arm, and even though his features softened, the anger still stayed in his eyes. "Did you forget about what happened the last time you went to a place like this?"