The Cost of Falling

Chapter 6

The empty shopping mall parking lot was a retreat from the chaos; no crowds, no loud music, no sickly sound of fists crashing into flesh-covered bone. My head settled back into a vacant calm. Kelly burst from the car before it had lurched to a complete halt. Conner was out the door after her within seconds. I just tried to block out their argument, unable to process any more emotions at the moment.

"Hey," the tranquil smoothness of Danny's voice warmed me like a sweater.

He handed me a sweatshirt and pushed open the car door. I crawled out behind him, leaving Kyle to sulk in the car alone. I pulled on the hoodie and leaned against the car next to Danny as my arms hugged me.

"So that was fun," Danny teased.

I just shook my head. "How do you stay so calm?"

"Combination of Xanax and boldface lying." Danny didn't look at me; he just stared out at the empty parking lot. He fumbled around his pockets until he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Do you mind?" He continued to avoid my gaze.

"No, of course not."

"You smoke?" He suddenly snapped his eyes to me, scrutinizing my expression.

I squirmed in his focus. "No. I do nothing."

"I don't believe that for a second." For a moment, his crooked smile spread across his face.

Jacob's Jeep and a Ford I didn't recognize screeched to a halt a few feet away from Conner's 4-Runner.

Jacob jumped out, already barking, "what the fuck, Em?"

His words struck me like a physical punch. Was he mad at me? He dragged me to a party of strangers that turned into an MMA fight, and he was angry at me? My entire body stiffened as my pulse quickened.

"Easy there," Danny lazily cautioned as he exhaled his drag.

My eyes lingered on the cigarette tucked between two slender fingers.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jacob's tongue stressed the 'are' in an unhinged, snake-like hiss.

A few of the guys that followed Jacob out of the house tumbled from the second car.

"Hey man, seriously, calm down," one of them advised.

Danny made eye contact and gave a slight nod.

"Calm down? I should calm down? Em, what the fuck is going on? Have you been seeing this guy? Is this why you've been so distant?"

I was still disconnected from the situation as though it were a dream or nightmare. Jacob accused me of cheating in the middle of a parking lot full of strangers. Instinctively, my fingertips went to my temples, trying to soothe myself. Conner and Kelly had paused their argument to join the circle, and Kyle popped open the door so he, too, could listen.

"Jacob, for real?" My voice wavered with the threat of tears.

A mix of sadness and fear filled the space between Jacob and me. The first party outside of our bubble, the first boy I spoke to that didn't sit at our lunch table, and he branded me a cheater.

"I never knew you were such a fucking slut." Before the words even passed his lips, the circle collapsed.

Bodies moving faster than my mind could process, but Kelly arrived first with a vicious slap that echoed off the empty storefronts.

"Oh, snap," Kyle hollered from the car as Danny and Conner both halted their charges.

"You should thank me," Kelly defiantly screamed as Jacob cupped his reddening face in shock. "Trust me; if one of these two had gotten to you first, it would have been a lot worse."