CHAPTER 13
So this was how rockstars partied. Never knew grinding your hips around some long legs and backside barely covered with shorts counted as a fun thing to do. Maybe I should try it myself? Duke seemed awfully joyful doing so. Yet again we were at Johnny’s bar only this time no one got killed. Yet. Although I wanted, the trip had me left with boiling anger in my veins. Duke kept calling Trent every ten minutes, yelling loudly every time Trent answered. If only I had been in the car with him, I would made sure he couldn’t make another sound. I would’ve cut his tongue out with nail clippers, and yes I was capable of doing so. Once we stopped in front of the bar, I heard Duke laughing loudly. I swear, I was going to break his neck if I heard another ridiculous remark on me giving hand to Trent. It was good I was kind of short on the descriptions of terms he used. No seriously, if anyone knew, I begged you to tell me what was wrong with him? Or better yet, what was wrong with me? Why was I even with them, sitting in a booth, watching bluish smoke rising from the metallic ashtray? Why? The glass of water didn’t even seem too appealing tonight. Just a tasteless liquid to sink my misery in.
"Who’s up for a shot?" Maddox jumped up from his seat, excitement written all over his face. His eyes narrowed as he pointed to me. I shook my head, widening my eyes when his smirk grew bigger. "Just one… Please?"
"Thanks, I’m good…" I raised my glass, showing it was full. Full of something I hadn’t even touched.
"Shadows?" He twitched in the seat next to me, seeing Maddox’s seductive smile. He was quiet all night and I wondered if it was because I was a homicidal maniac and he was the one who hadn’t paid me? My reputation outran me, it turned out I was somewhat famous around the mobs and criminals, tho nobody knew my name. They called me the reaper, flattering I must say, but I didn’t have a scythe, I had something even better. "Yeah, sure… Why not?"
Maddox left with a satisfied smile on his face, leaving me and Trent alone, since Duke was dirty dancing with some girl, Chris was outside having a smoke with the short person who was called Patrick or something, tho everyone called him short-shit. Harsh.
"Trent, I need my money…" Was that the only thing I could think of? Yes, it definitely was.
"You’ll get it… I promise." He took a sip of the beer, looking somewhere ahead of us.
"Your promise wouldn’t mean much if someone left you without a head."
"How’s your wound?" I had honestly forgotten about it, of course, I felt the discomfort in my side, but if I didn’t move too much, it didn’t bother me and everything I had managed to do in the time we were at the bar consisted of me going to the bathroom and spending three long hours sitting and watching drunk people.
"Peachy." I leaned back in the seat, feeling his arm on my neck. He took it off in the same moment when he felt my shudder.
"Sorry…" He mouthed and I noticed he was looking at Duke’s muscular build. The guy shot a short glance towards him, smirking enormously as his hands laid on the girl’s hips. I rolled my eyes on the view. How could he be in such need of self-affirmation? I crossed my legs feeling somehow uncomfortable. "Elle, how old are you?"
"Twenty two…Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked over his reddish cheek. I had hit him good. That’s what you get for pissing me off. Wait, rewind, did he call me by my first name?
"I’m just wondering… Why in the hell are you doing this…" His fingers were sliding up and down the glass neck. What did he mean? What was I doing? Oh, he’s talking about my job. I hoped so, otherwise I would look like a complete fool, not that I cared.
"’Cause I’m insane…" I said like it was too obvious. "And I love money. I could ask you the same question, but I already know the answer, you’re insane too." I smiled my widest smile. His shoulders shrugged as he let out a deep laugh. What was he laughing about? I was being dead serious.
"Maybe you’re right. But I sort of didn’t have a choice…" He sighed. Liar. There’s always a choice, there’s always time to put a gun barrel to your temple and press the trigger. Nobody could stop you, if only you were holding a toy gun. Then it would be a problem, but I guessed, there was always a way to make it into a real weapon. If I needed, I would find a way to put bullets in it and make it able of shooting them.
"Choice of what, Shads?" I raised my head to see Duke’s arm wrapped around a rather beautiful girl. If only she wasn’t drunk, the way she was swaying her body and trying to hold on Duke’s side showed she was in need of only a single shot to pass out.
"You’re doing it again…" My voice was cold, it should’ve showed he was unpleasant here, but no, he just dropped his backside beside me and pulled the girl in his lap. Wasn’t he with the homicidal maniac called Michelle?
"Doing what?" He looked at me in amusement. God, he was too close. I could feel his thigh against mine.
"Eavesdropping." This time I considered breaking his nose on purpose. He really deserved it. I was feeling slightly off track, like I was about to kill everyone who just addressed me. Duke was the core of all my problems, I realized I will have to carry him home, I just hoped without the girl. Duke’s palm ran up and down her thigh. I folded my arms and started biting my lip. I was desperately trying to get away the couple and found myself pressing hard against Trent’s side.
"Easy…" His hot breath shook the strand of the dark hair which had come undone from my pony tail. I wondered how I even managed to make a pony tail out of my long hair. His strong hand wrapped around my shoulder. It was not a sign of showing he was fond of me, he was simply holding my tense body and keeping me from hurting someone. I called it my basic instincts- I was a natural born killer, I saw my prey and I went for it. "He’s always a dick when he’s drunk; there is no need for your hands to get dirty."
"Shot for everyone!" Maddox came with a board of shot glasses on it. This should be fun. Chris and Patrick were still missing and they were four, two of them already wasted. Although, I couldn’t tell if Duke was really drunk, he just seemed off. "And Elle, you’re also drinking!" A tattooed arm extended in front of me, almost hitting my nose with the glass. Fine, maybe this won’t be fun. I shook my head and he pressed the glass against my lips, bending over the whole table.
"No way! My name’s also Elle!" Duke’s play mate slurred out. "Well, actually it’s Elena… But everyone calls me Elle."
"What?" I exclaimed, once my lips parted, Madd poured the content in. The awful taste was everywhere, everywhere! EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE! That was even worse than the vodka I drank. My hand reached for the half empty beer bottle that was standing in front of Trent. Once my fingers were just inches away, he took a hold of the bottle and raised it to his lips. He smirked. "What the hell is it?" I grimaced, eagerly trying to find something to rinse the taste away. Great, Duke had something that actually had color in his glass. And even had a taste. I took a big gulp.
"It isn’t wise to mix tequila with a screwdriver…" Trent mouthed. What was a screwdriver? Twenty two years and this was the first I heard of it. Probably because of the lack of social events in my life.
"You’ve never had tequila?" I couldn’t believe Maddox could get more excited, but I was wrong. "We have a virgin over here!" He shouted, placing his palms around his mouth. If I knew how to blush, I would’ve blushed.
"Not anymore…" Duke chuckled, receiving stares from everyone around the table except the girl who claimed to be Elle. It seemed like she was in her own little world. "I mean… It’s obvious Shads has popped her cherry by now…Of course if no one else has." I thought my eyebrows went so high they even reached my hairline.
"Duke, you should really shut the fuck up…" This was when Trent tensed up, his arm was holding on to my shoulder like there was no tomorrow.
"So it’s true?" He smirked even tho his lips touched the bare shoulder of the dark haired girl. She had a sheepish smile on her lips.
"Can I kill him now?" I tilted my head back as I leaned against Trent’s warm body.
"No! There’ll be no killings!" Maddox raised another shot. Honestly, how more shots had he planned to drink? "D, be quiet…" He pointed a finger to him. Duke shrugged as an innocent smile crossed his face, "We’re here to have a great time. So stop fucking around and take a shot… I’ll fucking hurt you all if you don’t." Another insane person on twelve o’clock. Maddox Miller. Trent leaned forward to lay his fingers on the glass, somehow making me move in a way that got me wincing. The wound was aching. He noticed my pained physiognomy, so did Duke. The mocking smile left his face as he looked over my side. Trent had patched me up when we got outside the venue of their show and I thought everything will be fine, I realized I was wrong when I felt another wave of warmth.
Duke’s slender fingers pressed exactly at the place where the stitches were. His eyebrows wrinkled leaving hardly any space between them. I noticed he was looking on his fingertips, his bloody fingertips. No, please not again, not another stitch, "You’re bleeding…" He murmured. Thank you, captain obvious, I noticed.
I looked at Trent and he understood me right away. He got out of the booth, helping me up. His arm dropped on my lower back as he guided me outside. Something or rather someone stopped us. Please, not now.
"You have to tell me something…" His hand was on Trent’s shoulder. And here he was, the wonderful beast, an angry Duke. Trent jerked his hand off.
"Duke, please…" I pinched my nose in irritation. This was not happening. A scene right now? He wasn’t serious.
"So you better go with a guy you barely know than me?" He raised his voice. I was holding on Trent just not to fall apart, I realized I needed medical attention. But what did he mean? Why would I want to go with him? He couldn’t help me, not now.
"Duke, you don’t know who I am. There’s the difference."
"And he does?" He pointed to my escort who probably was clenching teeth by now. Yes, goddammit, he did. When there was no answer, he gave up, "Of course, Shads always knows everything… You know what? Fuck you both." I didn’t know what was killing me more, the aching wound or his… stupidity?