Believe in Me

3

By the time I pulled my maroon Sonata up to the parking lot, Danielle was outside waiting for me. She wore a yellow jumpsuit, large hoop earrings, and a look that told me all I needed to know before I had even made it out of my car. My heart was racing. I had already called Darren's job to confirm he was at work, but they told me that he had been the one to call out tonight. That had meant...

"He's been here for a few hours, according to the bartender," Danielle told me, confirming my thoughts.

It hurt. I knew it was true, but I had to see it myself. I needed to confront him, once and for all.

My heels clicked beneath me, but they were drowned out by the music and my racing heartbeat as I followed Danielle inside. We sat at her table and she pointed out Darren and the girl. Sure enough, she was all over him again. I had already told Danielle what he had told me. She has told me then that I shouldn't have believed him. I knew that, but he was so convincing.

I watched from the distance as the girl got comfortable on his lap. I watched as he smiled up at her. My heart clenched in my chest. That was the smile he was supposed to be giving me. He was supposed to be here with me, not this hair-dyed-black, skimpy whore. I looked around and found Michael and Shawn there too. So they knew, and they lied to me.

The anger was boiling inside of me. What could I do? I could go confront them. I could leave. I could take a picture, send it to him, and disappear. I could dump him here and now.

As I watched her straddle his hips, I stood from our table. I could hear Danielle telling me to stop, but I couldn't stop myself. I was already storming toward them while the skank kissed my cheating boyfriend.

I hadn't even registered what I'd done until Danielle and the security were behind me. It was all a blur as I pulled the bitch off of him by her hair, jammed my heel into his goods, and took an unsuspecting victim's drink and poured it on Darren. I threw the glass at Darren. I was surprised it didn't break. I reached for his beer bottle and was ready to swing when I felt someone grab my arm from behind.

I was seeing a blurry red. The rage inside of me burned so much that it hurt, and I was crying. I was yelling profanities at all of them. At the whore who stole my boyfriend. At my cheating boyfriend for ditching me. At Michael and all his friends for letting it happen. The security guards had to pull me out of there. I screamed at them until my throat was sore, before security forced me to leave.

Danielle followed me out, but she seemed tentative of getting too close. Good, I was in no mood to hear one of her lectures, or to be consoled. All I wanted was to leave.

I wasn't listening to her trying to call me down. I was practically running to my car. I accidentally knocked into someone as I stumbled past, but I didn't care to apologize. I just kept going. I heard Danielle apologize to the person behind me, but I didn't stop. I got in my car, and without another word, I peeled out of there. I couldn't stand being there anymore.

My phone was blowing up with messages and phone calls. In a fit of rage, I threw my phone out of my window. I didn't want to hear any of it. I was done. Done with all of it. Done with him and his manipulation. Done with his lying friends. I wanted to leave, but I didn't want to go home.

I drove for a long time. No music, no phone, no anything. I drove while my thoughts thundered and my heart hammered. I drove while the tears streamed down my face. I drove until I ran out of gas and pulled up at another bar. How convenient. I needed a drink. A lot of them.

I entered the bar, still wearing the baby pink dress Darren told me he loved so much. It was a simple sundress, but the way his eyes had undressed me every time I wore made me--no, stop. I don't want to think about him. This bar was nice, but was smaller than the one they were at. I didn't even catch the name of it. I could tell it was a bar because of the beer logos outside.

I entered and went straight to the bar. The lady behind the bar had a sleeve of tattoos on her right arm, wore a black crop top with Angel wings on the front, and cute dark blue shorts that just barely covered the important bits. She looked me up and down. "You look like you've had a rough date."

I scoffed, unable to help myself. "You could say that." My voice was hoarse, both from the screaming and the crying.

She nodded, as if she understood, and began making a shot. "I don't know what your limit is, girlie, but I hope you got a DD."

Designated driver... I don't even have a phone. But I couldn't tell her that. I just accepted the shot. It was pink with a white cream on top. "It's called a Pink Pussycat," she told me matter-of-factly with a wink. "It'll at least brighten your spirits a bit. But one won't be enough to get drunk."

"Then you might want to mix a few more," I told her before sniffing it. It smelled pretty good. I tapped it on the bar before tossing it back. It went down pretty easy, which I was surprised about, considering I've only ever done frozen margaritas or wine. I'd always expected shots to be stronger and harsher.

The bartender chuckled and nodded. "Got it, so we need to be fucked up." She began another drink, but it wasn't just a shot. I didn't know what all she poured into it, but when she handed it to me, it smelled pretty strong. It was dark, not as pretty as before.

"What's this one?" I asked curiously.

She smiled and told me, "Boulevardier."

The name sounded fancy, so I wondered if it would be expensive. But if it got me the results I wanted...

I took a gentle sip, then recoiled at the flavor. It burned. The bartender laughed. "Yeah, that was my reaction my first time, too, but I've got about ten extra years on you." She said it in a joking way, and in a way it made me feel better.

Another customer called her over and I watched her leave, but not before she told me she'd be back to "keep me company." I smiled, feeling relieved at her kindness. I sipped on the drink some more, trying not to react each time it burned.

"That's a pretty strong drink there, princess."