Fragments

8.9

8.9

I feel dizzy. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no."

I start to walk away but Roman's voice is urgent. "Reesa didn't come home last night. Or the night before. We had a fight about that scumbag Nik and she left. She has to be there, Piper, and I need to make sure she's okay."

My hands start shaking as I grab the cold metal of the van door. "I'm not going in there."

"You won't have to."

As I get into the van, Sasha starts yelling, spilling Cheetos as she jogs towards us. "Don't you think you're leaving me behind. No fucking way." She yanks open the side door and collapses into a single beanbag chair. It's a very weathered shade of red. "Drama is my middle name."

I'm still looking around the old, musty van when I realize Roman's looking at me.

"Oh, this is Sasha."

She sticks out the bag of Cheetos to him. "Nice to meet you."

Roman looks at the bag before shaking his head, turning back towards the steering wheel. If he wasn't so tense, I could have sworn he was about to crack a smile.

"If you don't like Cheetos we have a whole selection of-" Sasha starts digging through our convenience store bag until she sees the look I'm giving her.

"Anyways," I say, trying not to laugh, "what exactly is your plan, Roman?"

His eyes don't leave the road as he pulls into the street. "You direct me to the club. I go in, I bring Reesa out."

"That's not a plan."

"Well no, it's not if you don't direct me," he replies.

I do my best to try and explain to him where we're going. It's not too far from his apartment but I don't remember what it's close to on account of being there at night. I tell him I'll know it when I see it.

"Nik's not going to let you just take her. Especially if she doesn't want to go."

"I have a plan."

"Care to share it?"

He purses his lips before speaking. "Just trust me, okay Piper? I know what I'm doing."

I keep quiet, keep telling myself that I'm not going back in there. My hands continue to tremble in my lap but there's nothing I can do to stop them. With each block we get closer to to the club, closer to that night.

Trying not to think about it is hard. Even Sasha notices I'm uncomfortable when she places a gentle hand on my arm. I meet her eyes. She gives me a small smile and squeezes my arm before letting go. "It's okay," she mouths.

In the day, no one is parked in front of the club. Roman pulls up to the curb and puts the van in park. When he turns towards me and Sasha, his arm resting on the back of his seat, he hesitates. He realizes he's getting us involved.

"Do either of you have your license?"

I shake my head. Sasha raises her hand.

"You can drive?" Roman asks.

She nods excitedly. "Need a getaway driver?"

"Reesa's going to be fighting me the whole way out. And I wouldn't put it past her to roll out of the van." He shakes his head. "Are you sure you're okay with driving?"

I look at Sasha's grinning face. "Yeah, she's sure."

When Roman enters the building Sasha climbs into the driver's seat. "I'd say this van smells bad but honestly all I can smell are my Cheetos." She plops one in her mouth and tilts the bag towards me. I shake my head. "This is the most exciting girl's night I've had and it hasn't even started."

I lean my head against the window and watch the door Roman stepped through. "This Nik guy, he has friends. And a gun." I think about all the things Roman's facing. "He's the one who drugged me and-" Suddenly I stop talking and start getting out of the van.

"Piper!" Sasha yells. "Where are you going?"

"Stay here," I call back. I turn around in front of the club door. "I'm going to find out why."

Inside the club is dark. The whole room is empty, littered with stray garbage. The stage is black and uninviting. My feet echo as I walk towards the door on the right side, the one Adam sent me through to find Reesa that night.

My hand shakes as I reach towards the handle. As soon as I pull the heavy door away from the wall, I can hear the talking.

"And why should I?"

The voice is familiar. My breath catches in my throat as I recognize Nik's voice.

"Because I'm wearing a bodycam. Everything I'm seeing, everything you're saying, everything you've already said, it's all being streamed to a computer right now. If I don't leave with Reesa, and you don't cut all ties with her, I'm sending it to the police."

Roman.

I walk quietly, keeping my steps silent as I make my way down the empty hall. My hand touches the wall as I stop, right outside the room where the voices are coming from.

"I could just shoot you right now."

"Nik, don't." It's Reesa.

"You could," Roman says, his voice even. "But the footage would instantly be sent to the police. Do you think I'm stupid enough not to have someone ready, waiting?"

There's a long pause. "Get out."

"What?" Reesa's voice is shaking.

"I said get out," Nik repeats. "I'm not going to jail for you, sweetheart, now get out!"

There's scrambling and then I'm making my way back, as quickly as I can. This was a mistake. Why would I ever confront Nik? What would it change? It could have gotten me killed.

I'm outside and in jumping into the passenger seat of the van. I'm shaking all over until I meet Sasha's huge eyes.

"It's fine," I whisper. "Everything's fine. I just didn't want Roman to see me." The club door opens. "Now shush."

Sasha puts her hands on the wheel and watches the pair walk towards the van. Reesa's not even fighting. In fact she's hunched over, her arms blue with bruises as she sobs. In the back of the van she slumps into Roman, crying quietly.

"Let's get her home," Roman says.

Roman directs Sasha as we drive through town. The whole way to his apartment I feel like I can't get a hold of my breathing. It's like my breath is stuck in my throat, and I'm choking on it. When Sasha turns off the car, Roman turns to me.

"I'm going to take care of her," he explains. "Are you two okay walking back to school?"

Sasha grabs her bag of munchies and the remaining Cheetos. "Yup." Then she pauses, gently holding the bag out to Reesa.

Despite everything, Reesa takes one and I can swear I see a hint of a smile.

"We'll be fine."

Before we leave, I reach out and touch Reesa's hand. "I'm really sorry," I tell her. She only nods, more tears spilling over her cheeks.