Bad Sister

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢-𝚝𝚠𝚘

What's the worst that could happen?

The thought crosses my mind every now and then, my heart sinking to my stomach whenever I rub shoulders with mere strangers.

Is this a phobia?

But I'm okay with crowds. Never have I ever hunched over a toilet seat, spat out  saliva instead of bile because of that. And even now, nausea is clawing at my chest.

I stare at the time on my phone and gulp.

It's only been ten minutes. Yet it feels as though I've enter the pits of doom and all I can do is sit on the cool floor.

It takes me back to the anxiety I felt when I stopped taking xanax.

"I'm sorry ma'am," comes a disembodied voice. "You can't be here."

My head snaps, eyebrows furrowed, just as the words leave his mouth. "Did you just call me ma'am?"

The man scoffs and glances at the crowd on the other side of the bar, a skittish woman almost tooling over it. A big grin is spread right across face, short platinum blonde hair covering the side of her face when she turns.

She reminds me of Piper. The woman with insufferable persistence. My boss, who dragged me here when I was just about to fall into a comfortable slumber.

Damn that woman all the way from hell and back.

I look up at the girl again and she looks just around Maddie's age if not younger. I puff out my cheeks, my pulse racing for some reason.

I scoot under the counter, sinking further into the darkness and massage a hand on my chest.

With a brief displeased look, the man behind the bar with me, shields me from prying eyes and I'm almost grateful.

He entertains the girl. She giggles and he smirks, getting his hands on whatever there is to grab.

He's good with the mixing and shaking, but clearly doesn't know what's around him.

When he's done, he sits down with his back to the bar and I smile and laugh, amused.

"Amazing." He breathes, finally giving up. He nods, a flirty smile curves the corner of his lips.

"What?"

"I didn't think you could smile." He says.

I chuckle at his remark. How flattering.

He shrugs, mouth opening before I can speak. "Not much of a party animal huh?"

Understatement of the year. Feeling the cramps on my ass again, I shift and lift my head to look at him.

Tousled dark hair, dress shirt and dark pants to match. He reminds me of Randall. His dark gaze doesn't waver one bit as he maintains eye contact.

What's the worst that could happen?

I let out a nervous laugh, "More like hiding from someone."

One or two someones.

"Yeah?" He nods. "Me too."

My curiosity is piqued and I can't help but move a little closer to him when a head pops over the bar.

I wonder who he's hiding from.

I'm disappointed by the silence that looms over us for a brief moment. I regret shifting. I regret agreeing to this but worst of all, I can not wait to see Madilyn.

I take a deep breath.

"How'd you get in here?" He suddenly asks. "This is an exclusive party." He laughs, "and you're hiding at the bar of all places."