She Who Minds

2

As soon as we turned the corner I realized that I had made a huge mistake. The line leading up to the door of the club went the whole way around the building. The music was playing so loudly that I could barely hear myself think. I noticed the ditzy wannabe blondes stuck in line staring Daisy and I down as we were waved into the club. Daisy, in her usual fashion, sticks her tongue out at them before pulling me through the entrance.

I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol and various drugs. Surprisingly, the club didn't seem to contain the usual suspects like those seen outside. Instead, the patrons seemed to have at least some sort of dignity in their movements. I took some comfort in the thought that creepy, old men wouldn't be trying to grab at me like they did in all of the stories Daisy had told me. My attention was turned towards Daisy as she waves a hand in front of my face.

"What!" I practically scream.

"I said, let's go dance!"

I nod my head in response and she grabs my hand and pulls me to the center of the dance floor. Daisy has always been the dancer, and I try to mimic the way that she sways her hips to the music. When the song ends, I say I have to go to the bathroom before making my escape.

I had a habit of hiding in bathroom stalls when I felt overwhelmed, and this time was no different. When I come out, I gaze at my reflection in the mirror. The eyes staring back at me are ones I haven't recognized in years, and I watch as a single tear slides down my cheek.

"It's not often I come across girls who look so sad when they gaze upon themselves," a woman says as she leans against a stall.

My hand wipes away the tear on my face before I whip around to face her, "I'm sorry?"

"Don't be," she sticks out her hand, "I'm Cleopatra."

My hand meets hers and I can't help but notice the strange feeling that suddenly comes over me.

"How strange," I say aloud.

"Yeah, my parents were archaeologists. Call me Cleo."

"It's a nice name, it suits you." I say, taking in her middle eastern appearance.

Cleo smiled at me knowingly, "You have a lot in store for you, but be warned, sometimes the right people are the wrong ones, and the wrong people are the right ones."

I stood there confused as Cleo slipped out the door. There are some weird people in New York City.

The rest of the night went by slowly as I watched Daisy dance with whoever had the guts to approach her. This is what she does, and she's good at it. Daisy had always been the wild one out of the two of us, and I often let her overbearing personality shadow mine.

Someone tapped on my shoulder and as I turned around I was greeted by a boy, no older than I.

"Is it getting hot in here or is it just you?" The boy asked, raising his hand to fan his face.

"Try again," I say, though I'm not sure where the words came from.

"Wow, I thought for sure that one would work on your type"

"Ya know, you're not really helping your case any"

"Sorry, my bad, I'm Will."

Instead of reaching out my hand to shake his, I turn around. That boy has trouble with a capital "T" written all over him.

"Hey, I said I was-" he started, but before he could finish he was cut off by another voice.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," another man's voice said, cutting through the air.

Turning around, I almost forgot how to speak. The man in front of me was handsome enough to start fires with a single look of his green eyes. Not to mention his muscular frame and short, dark hair.

"I'm not leaving until she tells me that herself," Will says, daring to oppose him.

While I could have said something, my brain decided to move my feet instead until I found myself outside of the club alone. I'm not exactly sure what force had decided that I needed to have a bunch of weird encounters on my 18th birthday, but I was not a fan. Glancing down at my phone, I realized that it was almost midnight. Shoot. My mom would be home within an hour. Looking up to see if I could spot Daisy anywhere, I caught a glimpse of her turning the corner with a guy on her arm.

"Perfect." I said aloud. It was like she wanted to know, or needed to know that she was pretty enough by bringing home any guy who charms her.

Someone cleared their throat behind me.

"Need any help?"

I whipped my head around and was greeted by the man who prevented future conflict between Will and I.

"Uhhhh, no thanks."

"I'm sorry about what happened in there, I just didn't think that guy had the best intentions, and you deserve better."

"It's okay"

He takes a minute to study me before speaking again, but the silence was anything but awkward.

"I'm Finian."

"Emmalise," I say.

"Would you like me to call you a cab or something?"

Before I could answer, I heard a scream come from the same corner Daisy disappeared behind. Immediately I run towards the scream only to find Daisy's bag and shoes on the ground.

"Oh my god- Daisy!"

"These belong to your friend?"

I turn to see Finian, "Yes! I don't know where she is and I don't know what to do Daisy has always been the one to hold everything together and now she's gone and she would never ever leave her bag here so something bad must have happened but I don't know what, and, and-"

"Shhhh, don't worry, we will find her," Finian says after putting his hands on my shoulders.

I took a deep breath in a struggle to calm my fears. Okay Emma, think, where did the sound go? My eyes flutter shut as I try to recall the direction the scream went.

"That way!" I say to Finian.

We take off down the street that wraps around the back of the club. My eyes move quickly when I spot one of Daisy's heels lying broken on the ground. The white fabric now stained with dirt and something red. I force myself to take another breath, focus Emma, you have to find her. We continue to the end of the alleyway, heads darting left and then right. It is this moment when I spot a girl limping and being partly carried by a man.

"Hey," I shout out before running towards the group, "Let go of her!"

When my hands reach towards the man I am suddenly overcome with anger that before I know it I'm shoving him away. Now I am dizzy, and my head spins like a merry-go-round. A surge of energy seems to burst through my brain until it's all I can see. There is a crackling, almost uneasy feeling in the air. To some, it could be described as an extreme pressure point, but to me, it just felt like home. This was my last thought before I collapsed.