"I promise Mrs. Hudson. I'll take special care of Taylor." James had come to pick me and Madison up a couple of minutes ago, but my mom was determined to make sure he was a good influence. James had been exactly what every parent should be looking for, polite, funny, and downright charming, but my mother still wore a wary smile that made me think that she thought otherwise. Still, she bid us farewell, shutting the door gently behind us.
The minute the door shut, James slung his arm around me, hugging me close. Madison eyed me, a concerned look crossing her face. She had expressed to me earlier that James and I were moving quite fast, considering he was already treating me like his girlfriend before we had ever gone out on a date. I had tried to explain to her that some people were just like that, and that I had no problem with his protective manner. She hadn't been convinced, calling him "possessive and frightening". I suppose some people just wouldn't understand.
He led the two of us to his truck, me and Mads sliding in to the backseat. James looked back at us, his eyebrows furrowed, and said, "Taylor, come sit next to me." He patted shotgun and waited for me to clamber over the seats. It was far from graceful, but James seemed fairly amused by it. Shaking his head, he laughed, grinning at me.
"Very ladylike, Taylor." He chuckled and started the car. As I buckled my seatbelt, I felt my phone buzz in the pocket of my leather jacket. I text from Madison appeared on the screen, and tapped it with my thumb to open it.
"Don't you think that was kind of rude? The way he needed you to sit next to him? He's acting really possesive." It read. I rolled my eyes, irritated. For the past two days, all Madison could do was complain about James.
"He's not being possessive he's being nice. Just because you've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean you need to ruin my chances of getting one." I typed back angrily. I shoved the phone back in my pocket. I didn't want to hear or read what else Madison had to say.
"So. Where exactly downtown are we going?" I asked James, who was currently rifling through radio stations. He reached over and grabbed my hand, rubbing his thumb over my palm. The gesture was sweet, leaving my hand tingling.
"There's a club downtown, for teenagers only. I thought it'd be pretty pumped up, it being Friday and all." He said, glanicing at me and smiling. I nodded, trying to act as though I knew the place. I looked back at Madison, grinning, but she stared past me, her eyes cold and intimidating.
It was an awkward twenty more minutes before we got to the club. James let us out and went to park the car. It was extremely busy, so he said it might take a while to find a good spot. Madison had seemed to have forgiven me, to a point, as we strolled into the club. The inside was ablaze with lights, and smelled of sweat and perfume. Dozens of girls had flocked onto the dance floor, flirting and coercing random boys.
We headed to the much more mellow bar, and ordered a couple of nonalcoholic cosmos. We sat there for a bit, taking in the scene, before a tall, handsome guy approached us.
"You ladies looked a bit lonely. Thought I'd come join you. What's up?"
We soon found out his name was Paul, his boyfriend worked the bar, and that he was a Virgo, rising. He was nice, and it was refreshing to be able to hold a conversation with a guy without him hitting on Madison. That was always how it worked with guys. I had grown accustomed to it in a way, so Paul, even if he was gay, had taken me by surprise. We chatted with him for a little longer, before I noticed James standing across the room, staring at us. He looked upset.
Getting up out of my seat, I set my cosmo on the top of the bar, and walked over to James.
"Everything okay?" I asked, genuinely. James reached for my wrist, grasping it tightly.
"Who's he?" He whispered ferociously through clenched teeth. As he spoke, I tried to wrench my wrist from his hand, the gold bracelet I had been wearing piercing my skin.
"His name is Paul, he's just a friend." I whimpered, before attempting to pull my wrist back. "James, you're hurting me,"
He threw my wrist down and began to storm over to the bar.
"Stay there." He barked menacingly, turning around to glower at me. He continued over to the mahogany bar, shoving Madison aside. Seeing me, she rushed over. She began to wipe away the tears that had come rolling down my cheeks. Looking down, she noticed my wrist.
"Oh my god." She choked out. "D-Did he do this to you?"
My wrist was covered in small red pinpricks, each of them topped with a drop of blood. A bruise was beginning to form, creating an outline of fingerprints around my wrist. I could barely make eye contact with Madison as I nodded my head yes. She embraced me, pulling me close to her, rubbing my back.
It was then that I heard a resounding thud, as James punched Paul across the face.
