Grooving to Life's Beat

No Way Back

The crowd was still roaring when Marshall stepped down from the MC booth, his name bouncing off the walls of the club like an echo that refused to fade.

EM!
EM!
EM!

He was glowing from it, from the rush, from the win, from the high.

I clutched my drink, my fingers gripping the cold glass a little too tightly. What now? What do I even say to him? Do I act normal, like I hadn't just watched him down those pills? Do I bring it up? Ask him why? Or should I just make some excuse and go home before this whole night messes with my head even more!

But before I could even settle on an answer, me eyes randomly wondering, I saw Janine, standing at the bottom of the booth.

Something inside me cracked.

She was waiting casually, her blonde waves perfectly tousled, her red lips curved into something just shy of a smirk. When he passed by her, she reached up, fingers grazing his jaw before pressing a kiss to his cheek. Slow, deliberate.

Then, she leaned in, whispering something in his ear, her hand still resting against his chest like she had every right to be there. As a response, Marshall smiled. Nodded. Then, before leaving with a big smile on his face, he whispered something at her ear too.

The jealousy hit so fast, so hard, it felt like someone had knocked the air out of my lungs.

Without thinking, I stood up, my legs moving before my brain could even catch up. I pushed away from the booth, away from the heat of the club, away from whatever the hell was unraveling in front of me. I needed air.

By the time I reached the terrace, the cold night hit me like a slap, but I barely noticed. My thoughts were too loud, my heart still racing for all the wrong reasons. I gripped the railing, staring out at the city lights, trying to steady my breath. This was too much!

Drugs.

Drugs had always been a line I wouldn't cross. A limit I never thought I'd have to face. Something that belonged to a world far removed from mine, a world I read about, heard whispered in cautionary tales, but never, ever expected to find myself standing in.

And yet, here I was.
In love with a man who belonged to it.

A man who could swallow a pill without blinking. A man who could exist in a haze of substances, while I sat here, stone cold sober, spiraling. And that Janine woman, she was always around him, always lingering, slipping into his space like she belonged there. But maybe she did. Maybe I was the one that didn't fit into the picture.

The door behind me swung open suddenly, a blast of music from the club shattering the quiet of the terrace. But just as quickly, it was muffed again as the door clicked shut. A mix of cologne and smoke settled into the air, and I knew who it was before I even turned around.

Marshall.

His presence was like gravity, pulling me back in before I even had the chance to fight it. He leaned against a wall, hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans, watching me with those sharp blue eyes that are driving me insane.

"What's wrong?" His voice was low, edged with curiosity.

I swallowed hard. "Nothing. Just needed some air."

"Right." His gaze didn't waver as he took a slow step forward, the dim light catching the sharp angles of his face. His pupils were blown wide, turning his already striking blue eyes darker, more intense.

I had seen him like this before. That hazy, almost detached look, the way his jaw stayed tight, his movements just a little too fluid, too slow, like nothing could touch him.