Shattered

Chapter 21

            When we arrived at the club, it was dusk and there was a small line of people waiting to get in. The bouncer, a tall buff guy wearing a black hoodie and black pants, looked more like a thief than a bouncer and I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't in a very good mood. Fortunately for us, he let us go through without even asking for our ids. I couldn't really figure out why at first and then it dawned on me. It was probably because I was dressed like a slutty school girl. Either way, we had gotten in and Ericka immediately pulled me in the direction of the bar, which was on the other side of a sea of dancing people.
After what seemed like hours, we finally reached the bar and the bartender, an elderly guy with gray hair, hazel eyes, and good looks walked up to us.
"What can I get you two lovely ladies?" he asked.
"You already know what I get. Fix the same thing for my friend here. She needs to unwind," she whispered with a sly smile that I didn't like.
He nodded and turned around to make the drinks.
"You must be a regular here," I said.
"I guess you can say that. It's good to get away from the hospital and house every now and then."
I nodded as he returned with the drinks.
"Here you go ladies. It's on the house."
"Thanks Peter."
Ericka pushed the second glass of clear liquid towards me and I eyed it suspiciously.
"Drink it," she said. "It won't hurt you. It'll just bring out your fun side."
I took a sip and grimaced. I immediately knew exactly what it was from an experience with Delaney when her and I decided to play a game of what she called, 'vodka pong'. Ericka's choice of alcohol was Vodka on the Rocks, but to me, it tasted like rubbing alcohol and smelled of strong nail polish remover.
I could barely swallow the putrid liquid without gagging and she laughed at me before saying, "You'll get used to it. It didn't take me long to get used to it."
I stared at her as she downed her glass before smiling at me. A familiar song began to play. One I knew as Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber and everyone who had been sitting down or drinking jumped up and made their way to the sea of people jumping and singing on the dance floor.
I watched them fall into tempo with the music and throw their hands up in the air as they danced like there was no tomorrow. I jumped when she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my seat.
"Let's dance!"
I opened my mouth to protest, but I was already on the floor before I could. I stood there awkwardly as I watched her dance effortlessly to the beat of the song.
"Come on!" she said smiling. "Dance!"
"I don't dance!" I shouted over the music.
Well, you're going to dance tonight! Loosen up! You're standing there like a tree! Come on! Let the music take over your body. Let it flow through you like the blood coursing through your veins!"
I sighed heavily and listened to the music. It wasn't long before I felt my body starting to sway with the music and I smiled.
"See! There you go!"
I giggled as I spun around before grabbing her hands and dancing with her.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the strobe lights came on.
"Time to get crazy!" she shouted.
I was about to say something back when I saw someone I didn't expect to see. In the dark of the club all I had seen was his high cheekbones and mischievous eyes that were so different than the cold ones I had seen before. He danced like no one was watching, but of course they all were. There was a small space around him as everyone attempted to clear the dance floor while they continued to watch him dance.
My mouth dropped in awe when he spun around and did a backflip before doing a split. Everyone who was watching him let out cries of approval and cheered him on. I could've watched him dance forever, but I quickly looked away when he saw me.
"Do you know him?" Ericka asked in my ear making me jump.
"Yeah I guess you can say that. He's the officer that questioned me at the police station. I know him as Officer Young," I answered.
"He's hot, isn't he?" she murmured. "Just look at those dance moves and his muscular frame."
"He's okay," I said nonchalantly. "Let's go back to the bar. I'm thirsty."
She looked at me with a shocked expression on her face before pulling me back to the bar. I sat down and she folded her arms across her chest.
"What?"
"Okay? His is not okay! He is drop dead gorgeous! If he looks that good in regular clothes, I wonder what he looks like in uniform! I just love a man in uniform."
I rolled my eyes in annoyance before saying, "He's not all that attractive, Ericka. He's cute, but I'm not interested in him. Oh, by the way, he's rather intimidating in uniform."
"Listen, October, I know you and Tyler just had a bad break up, but it's time to move on. You know find someone else."
I glared at her as Peter sat two glasses of a strange blue drink in front of us with a gummy shark in it, but I ignored it.
"Shark Attack! My favorite!" she exclaimed downing the drink and using a toothpick to get the gummy shark.
"Are you saying that I should try things out with Officer Young?" I asked even though part of me already knew that answer.
"Your words not mine," she said grinning.
"He's not my type!" I snapped harshly.
She stared at me and her eyes trailed over to something behind me. A smile spread across her face and she looked at me before pretending to be distracted by something on her phone.
"Well now, that's a pity," a voice sounded behind me and I whirled around to face Officer Young.
"What...what..." I trailed off as I stared at him.
Is it just me or does he look absolutely stunning in this light?
"What?" he said.
"What's a pity?" I finished my question.
"That I'm not your type."
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and turned my back to him hoping he would go away, but to my dismay, he took the seat next to me.
"That's someone's seat," I said quickly.
"Really? Well, that's odd seeing as though I haven't seen anyone sitting here since I've been here and I've been here for a while," he murmured.
I felt a tap on my leg and I turned to face Ericka just in time to see her getting up from her seat.
"Where are you going?" I hissed.
"Oh um, to the bathroom to freshen up," she answered quickly before disappearing into the sea of people, leaving me alone with Officer Young.
"A friend of yours?" he asked.
"Yeah, although I'm not sure if we are friends now," I grumbled feeling my face go hot with anger.
How could she leave me here with him? She's the one who's all teenage-girl-drooling-groupie over him.
"Why is that?"
"What are you doing here, Officer? Shouldn't you be out on patrols, writing tickets, or pulling over drunk drivers or something?" I asked ignoring his question.
He laughed as Peter walked up to him and asked him what he wanted to drink.
"Water is fine," he answered. "And to answer your question, yeah, I should be, but I'm off tonight."
"Oh."
Peter returned with Officer Young's water before turning to me and saying, "Is your Shark Attack too much for you to handle?"
I shook my head and downed the drink without so much as a second thought. Unfortunately, that wasn't the best idea. The drink was extremely sour and I ended up taking his water and chugging it.
"Sorry," I said once I had gotten rid of the sour taste.
He smirked and said, "No need to apologize. I remember my first Shark Attack. I nearly cried from the sourness. I think they use grapefruit, lemon, and lime to make it sour and blue liquor to make it alcoholic."
"A tough guy like you crying? Now that is something I must see, Officer Young," I scoffed shaking my head.
"Please, call me Keith," he murmured.
"Oh, we're on first name basis now, are we? I know what's going to happen next," I muttered.
"And what's that?" he asked.
I bit my lip as a new song started to play. This one, however, was not one I was familiar with. I was about to make a run for the dance floor, but before I could, he grabbed my hand and I turned to look at him.
"Tell me. What happens next?"
I felt my face go hot with embarrassment as I stared into his grey eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound would come out.
Why am I acting like this over him?
"Does it matter?" I asked pulling my hand away from him. "You're a cop, why don't you tell me what usually happens in this scenario. I know you've probably seen countless cases about it."
"Rape and murder?" I didn't answer and when I didn't he said, "I know why you said that."
"No you don't. You think you do," I muttered.
"No, I do."
"Oh really? Enlighten me."
His face became sad and he traced his finger along the rim of his empty glass.
"Well?" I urged tapping my foot impatiently.
"Tyler raped you and threatened to kill you," he answered.
His answer caught me off guard and I choked on my saliva before saying, "He...told you?"
"Not verbally no. He wrote it down in his police report and he seemed to take pride in doing it. I know he hurt you and I honestly don't think you deserved that at all."
I felt my eyes water, but I fought back the tears.
"What do you care?" I demanded trying to sound angry, but my voice came out broken as a burning lump rose in my throat.
He reached up to touch my face, but I veered away from him and he dropped his hand before sighing and saying, "I'm a police officer. My job is to serve and protect. To say the least, I felt as though he was the one who should've been put behind bars. Instead of walking free."
I said nothing and I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Ericka standing behind me looking very pale.
"Ericka? What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't ruin your night, October. I just really don't feel well. I've been in the bathroom throwing up for the past 15 minutes. I need to go home," she answered weakly.
"No not at all. I understand. Come on, let's go," I said not even bothering to hide my excitement. "See you around, Keith."
He nodded and turned his attention back to the bar.
"You are a lifesaver," I whispered as we made our way to the door.
"How? I pretty much ruined your night with Kevin," she mumbled sounding upset.
"It's Keith and my night was getting ruined anyways with him bringing up the past. I'm glad you showed up when you did. I'm ready to go home anyways. I promised my dad that I would be home before 3. Well, I didn't promise, but I'm expected to be home by 3."
"That's fine. I will get you there soon," she said as we walked out to her car.
"Are you okay to drive?" I asked when she got in the car.
"Yeah," she answered sounding rather annoyed now. "I'm sick. Not drunk. There's a difference. Besides, everything I had in my system is probably in a sewer system by now,"
I smiled nervously before saying, "Alright. I trust you. Just get me home safely."
She nodded and started the car before pulling out of the parking lot.