Misprinted Lies (Alice in Chains/Bruno Mars)

Eye of the Tiger

Jess and I were talking and standing in a corner, near the bar. The ball had just dropped for the New Year. She was really drunk. I couldn't even tell you what she was talking about. Lily and Tommy were dancing in the middle of the room amongst other people, mainly everyone we knew. They stopped dancing for a moment. Tommy started talking to her and suddenly her whole demeanor changed.

When she came over to the bar, she ordered two drinks. She looked shaken. At this point, Jess knew I had stopped paying attention to her.

"Lily, you okay?" I asked as she turned back to the dance floor.

"Y-yeah."

She kept walking.

"Bruunnoo," Jess drunkenly whispered in my ear. "I think I need to go to bed."

"Yeah," I laughed. "You definitely do."

I put Jess's coat on her since she lost coordination, before putting on my own. I took a glance over to Lily and she and Tommy weren't dancing. Lily was leaning against a wall and Tommy was standing in front her, just towering over her. He set his drink down on the bar and placed a hand on each side of her. It looked just like the way she describes how her mom used to treat her and back her up against a wall before beating her up. The fear on her face made me panic myself.

They were arguing amongst the loud music. As I grabbed my phone from the nearby table, I saw Tommy completely lashing out at her verbally. He then struck her across the face with his hand, three times. She winced a little and held her hand to her face. My jaw dropped and my heart skipped a couple of beats. These fuckin' drummers. Well, except for Eric.

Lily took her fist and punched him right in the balls, making him crouch down a lot. He was still bigger than she was. She took her elbow and slammed it down on her shoulder. She gave him one last punch to the face and he was down and out.

The music stopped and I walked over to her as Jess trailed behind me. A circle of people surrounded them. One of the bouncers escorted Tommy outside as the other one sat her down at a stool at the bar.

I looked her in the eyes. "Damn girl. That was so badass."

She smiled weakly, pressing a wet rag with ice in it against her bruised eye. We should stop coming to Vegas for New Years.

"Are you okay? Do ya need to go to the hospital or anything?"

"Naw I'm good, just a bruise. I'm probably just gonna head back to my room."

"Come with us then. We were just leaving."

On the long walk back to the hotel portion of the building, we kept talking. She looked surprisingly okay.

"You should be a fighter, like a professional one," I laughed.

"Yes Bruno. I should be a fighter," she mocked, cupping her hands around her mouth to make an announcer voice. "Coming in at five foot three, one hundred pounds..."

"You're only one hundred pounds?" Jess asked. "Lucky. What's your secret?"

Lily and I felt tension building and I was imagining what she was thinking at that moment. She would say that she wished she could gain weight, eating anything she wanted without fear and pain. The only reason why she probably even knows her weight is because she's at the hospital all the time. Otherwise she probably wouldn't even care. Jess was thinking like a model; Lily was thinking like a human. This girl's secret, the secret that I had only told to Phil because she said it was okay, was that she lived in a world of pain.

Lily went to her own room. Jess quickly passed out on the bed. A couple of years ago I would've been staring and checking her out in that tight, sparkly silver dress as she slept. I had stopped doing that as much.

I texted Lily after I got ready for bed, hoping she was still awake.

Me: Sorry bout what Jess said.

Lily: It's okay. I already knew she didn't like me.

Me: Don't be ridiculous. She likes you.

Lily: Bruno are you blind?

I didn't respond for a while. She sent me another text.

Lily: We should pretend to be drugged when we wake up tomorrow.

Me: "Haha yeah we totally should. Tommy didn't hit you before tonight, right?"

Lily: tonight was the first time

Bruno: oh good...I'm gettin' tired. Goin' to bed. Night.

Lily: Night

The next morning I woke up to Jess screaming. The door was open and there was a giant stuffed tiger outside our door.

I almost died of laughter.

"Bruno, that's not funny," Jess said.

I grabbed her by the waist. "Relax, baby. It's just a joke from the Hangover. Lily probably did it."

"That's so stupid."

"There's a jungle cat in the hallway," Lily yelled, coming down from the hallway.

I laughed even harder. I was right. She actually came through.

"I wanted to put it in the bathroom but the hotel staff wouldn't do it."

"Now that's commitment."

She shrugged her shoulders with a smile.

"Sorry Jess," Lily said, turning to her. "I didn't mean to scare you, but it's Vegas. I felt the need."

I'm glad she did it. I'm glad she could still laugh and smile after the bad night she had. I hoped she was feeling better. Her eye and forehead still looked really sore.

Lily went back to her room and joined me and the band to the private dining room for breakfast. She wore sunglasses to hide the bruises, even though we all saw what happened. Although she defended herself, I regretted not following my instincts and stopping it before it happened.

"Where's Jess?" Phil asked.

"She's too hungover," I said. She was also pissed but I didn't mention that.

"I remember my first beer," Lily blurted.

The guys all high-fived her and everyone laughed, including me. Afterward, they congratulated her for her "knock-out" performance in the bar. That prick thought he could push her around but man did she prove him wrong.