The Price of Falling

Chapter 25

We got through the ID check with our fakes, just like Macy said we would. As we walked into the club, the music was loud, and people were already crowding every available space. Molly was yanking me out to the dance floor before I could protest. Not that I wanted to, because we had pre-gamed before we left the hotel and were all feeling pretty floaty.

"This is the best night of my life!" Molly exclaimed as she moved her hips to the beat and raised her hands in the air. I didn't feel like trying to shout over the music so I just laughed in response to her. As the DJ switched to a Beyonce song, everyone in our group filed to the middle of the dance floor, and Jason brought Molly and me a couple of drinks. I took a huge gulp of mine as I moved with the beat of the music.

As the night went on, we danced about a thousand calories off of our bodies. Conner slipped up behind me at some point, and we had been dancing together for at least an hour before I needed a break. My legs felt like I had run a marathon, so I grabbed Molly's hand and dragged her with me to the bathroom.

"Buddy system!" I screamed over the blaring bass at her when she gave me a questioning glance. She held a thumb up at me to let me know she understood.

When we came out of the bathroom, the music had stopped, and there was a lot of shouting happening. Molly and I walked toward where our group had been, and no one was on the dance floor anymore. Instead, the majority of the crowded club was surrounding a section of the bar. Molly was taller than me, but she couldn't even see anything. The people towards the front of the mob were shouting, "fight!" and the people behind them were trying to shove their way forward. We found Ashley towards the back with her arms crossed and rolling her eyes. I walked toward her, and when I got to her, she pointed toward the center of the crowd, and mouthed "Conner," at me.

My heart immediately dropped to my feet. What was Conner doing at the center of attention? Was he fighting? Why? And why was I so concerned? I shoved my way through the crowd of people easily unnoticed, thanks to my height deficit. Once I got to the front, I saw a tangle of three bodies, Conner being one of them. It was him against two other guys. They looked older than us, and one of them looked much larger than Conner.

Someone screamed, "Stop!" It took me a second to realize it was me screaming. My body moved without permission from my brain, and it was more like I was watching myself from above as I ran over to the scrapping men and tried to figure out which arm was Conner's. I tried to grab at his arm, clawing at him. I hit at the very large guy's back, still screaming "Stop it!"

The bouncer that had checked our ID's came over with another big guy dressed in all black, and one of them grabbed Conner while the other grabbed the bigger guy. My face was wet. I hadn't been sweating this much before. I felt my face and noticed tear tracks. I had been crying?

When you watch movies and they talk about throwing people out of clubs, you imagine a big guy literally throwing someone dramatically out of a door. I never actually thought that was how they threw people out of places. But, it turns out, that's exactly how it happens. I followed--along with Jason, Molly, Ashley, Taylor, Ferguson, Angela, Felix, Macy, and Jack--as the bouncers literally threw Conner and the other guys fighting out onto the sidewalk. Conner stumbled as he tried to gain his footing, mumbling obscenities.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack asked no one in particular. I just stood there with my mouth open and my head cocked to the side, like some clueless puppy.

Ashley came to stand beside me and put her hand on my shoulder. She looked at me for a second. I returned her gaze and tried to ask the question that was burning inside me with my eyes, because my mouth couldn't find the words. What was that?

"I thought he was past this. I thought the anger was just a phase. I thought Juvie would help him," she said, disappointment clear in her tone.

"You thought what was a phase?" I asked her. I had finally learned how to speak again.

"His rage. When his eyes go dark, and he goes to that place no one can reach him," she answered. We both watched as Conner found his footing and he started to walk aimlessly away from the group.

"What do you mean?" I was prying, and I knew it. But at the moment, I couldn't help it. As much as I hated to admit it, Conner was a friend to me at this point. And I wanted to know more about him. About the parts that he wasn't willing to share.

"Look, I know you guys have been spending time together. And I know I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but,"she paused, apprehensive. "But, me, his mom, my parents, his step dad...we've tried everything. I don't know who or what can get him to stop doing this.

"He starts fights all the time. Or he used to. This is the first one I've seen him start in a while. He disguised it as defending my honor this time. I was at the bar getting a drink, and this guy touched me. He had his hand on my waist, and I shrugged away. Then, out of no where, Conner ran up and clocked him."

I just stared at her for a second, at a loss for words again.

"Look, I'm saying this because I've never seen him look at someone the way he does you. When he sees you, the darkness disappears," Ashley admitted. What could I do with this information? That's definitely the last thing I expected her to say. But looking at her, in that moment, I knew I had to try to do something to help. I gathered my courage, and ran past our group of friends, towards the angry boy who was stumbling with no particular destination in mind.

"Hey!" I shouted at Conner. He kept walking as if he hadn't heard me. "Conner!" I yelled his name this time. Still, no reaction.

"Conner Finley Price!" I had finally caught up to him. I reached up to grab his shoulder. He jerked around suddenly, primed for another fight. I backed up a few steps so that I was out of his reach. But, when he saw it was me, he instantly backed down. We were still for a moment as he stared at me, his eyes going in and out of focus. Then, his shoulders slumped, and he crumpled right there in front if me.

"Just go away, Griffin," he snapped. Honestly, I can't say I didn't expect hostility. It's what I would've gone with if I were approached after doing something I'm not proud of.

"No," I responded. There was no way to combat defensiveness but with stubbornness.

"Go. Just go hang out with Molly and everyone else," he lifted his hands and motioned towards where the group was still standing around.

I crossed my arms over my chest this time, hoping to prove my point, repeating, "No."

"Griffin, go!" He shouted, and I jumped, my body reacting to the sudden change in volume. "I'm no good for you."

"What is that even supposed to mean, Conner?" I asked. Why would he say something like that?

"The more time you spend with me, the more you'll realize, I'm not a good guy," he looked up at me with a defeated expression. "It's best if you get away from me before you get too close."

"Conner. What the hell are you talking about?" I was so confused by his admission.

"Get away from me while you can Smithey! You're good, I'm not! It's as simple as that," he said slurring his words.

Then it hit me. He was wasted. Nothing he said was going to make any sense, because he was drunk. "Conner, let's get back to the hotel. Then you can tell me all about how much of a bad guy you are," I said, walking toward him. I glanced up the sidewalk at where everyone had been standing a moment ago, and watched them all climb into Ashley's tank of an SUV. She drove down the street to where we were and parked in front of us. Jason opened the back door and crawled out to help me get Conner into the car. "Come on," I told him, putting my arm around his waist. He looked down at me with the saddest puppy-dog eyes I've ever seen. Jase walked to us and put his arm around Conner's other side. It was a team effort getting him into the car, because the moment he felt our arms around him it was like he could no longer stand on his own. It took even more of an attempt getting him into the elevator at the hotel. All the while, he was mumbling things like, "No good," or "Always screw up."