“My name doesn’t need to be on it,” I spit out.
She laughs that overly sickening laugh she has. “Tell her, Paige. I don’t move for anyone." She flips her hair over her shoulder.
“You better move for her, Carrie. She’s not in the mood to tolerate your bullshit tonight and, truthfully, neither am I,” Paige says standing firmly beside me. Shane and Logan are watching nervously. Troy stands up but doesn’t move. He’s not sure what to do.
“Please, you think I’m worried about the trashy girl who thought she deserved someone like Rocco Matthews?” She’s trying make me upset by mentioning his name. She has no idea who she is dealing with.
“Turns out, Carrie,” I start to say leaning over her and placing my hand on the table in front of her. “He just might be your type after all. Insignificant and not worthy of my time.” Somehow over the loud music, I hear a huge gasp of air behind me. I straighten up and turn around to see Rocco standing there staring at me like I stabbed him. I’m too drunk to control the shit coming out of my mouth. Even though I want to fall apart over seeing him, my face never falters. There is no way I will ever let him know how he has destroyed me. I turn back to Carrie and repeat for the last time, “Now get the fuck out of my seat!” She rises slowly out of the chair glaring at me, then walks away giving Paige a wicked look for fraternizing with the enemy.
The tension is so thick at this table it’s ridiculous. The guys are looking from me to Rocco, then between themselves. I plop down in my seat, put my feet up on the one chair, and finish the drink in my hand. “Paige, you sitting or what?” I ask without turning around. Rocco is still standing there. I can feel him staring at my back.
“Um, yeah. Sure,” she stutters before pulling out the chair on my other side. “I don’t know what to do? Do you want me to have Troy get him out of here?” she whispers. I just shake my head no.
“What are you doing here, Rocco? Thought you were staying home for the rest of the weekend?” Shane asks from across the table.
“Sunshine,” he calls me ignoring his friend. My whole body tightens over hearing him say my name, but I don’t turn around. “Can I talk to you for a second? Please?” Logan reaches over to refill my drink for me. I nod in appreciation. When I still haven’t answered him, Rocco asks again. “Please come outside with me. I won’t keep you long, I promise.”
Hearing him say the word ‘promise’ infuriates me. I just about leap off the chair and face him. “I don’t think I can take another promise from you, Rocco. Paige, I don’t need a break after all. I’ll be out there with Leah.” I storm passed him, drink in hand, never even checking to see his reaction. Screw him.
I push through people a little too forcefully to get back to where I left Leah. “That was fast. Feeling better?” she asks.
“Rocco’s here,” I say.
“What the fuck? Want me to kick him out?” I know she would do it in a heartbeat, but I also know he would make a scene.
“I just want you to dance with me,” I tell her trying not to cry.
“Whatever you want, Lyss.” She sends a look to Erin and Julia.
A few songs later, I feel the anger and disappointment start to fade. My mind pushes away thoughts of the jerk off who splintered my heart into sharp, jagged pieces while the music consoles me. I’ve long forgotten about the revealing costume I’m wearing and dance without restraint. The cool breeze from the air conditioner they turned on for the party is lightly blowing my hair. This sense of happiness and freedom is only temporary. The next song that comes on is a slow song. I start to back away to the edge of the dance floor as my friends start to dance with their boyfriends. A bathroom break is just what I need. When I turn in the direction of the door, I almost run into the solid chest standing behind me.
“Dance with me,” Rocco pleads. I try to step around him, but he blocks my way. “Please, I need to hold you.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I tell him making another attempt to leave the room. Again he steps with me and reaches out to grab my arm. What did he say? He needs to hold me?
“Sunshine, you aren’t getting away without talking to me at some point,” he’s starting to get mad. Guess he’s not used to being told no.
“Stop calling me that and let go of my arm,” I say trying to pull my arm back.
“No. That’s your name. I’m not letting go of anything.” He’s barely containing his temper. “Where’s your necklace?” he asks looking at my neck.
“It’s in the box, ready to be returned to you.”
“It’s yours. You aren’t returning shit,” he raises his voice.
“Rocco, let me go,” I repeat. Another hand rips his hand off of my arm. I didn’t know anyone was aware of us.
“Walk away, Rocco,” Shane warns. He is glaring at Rocco and has stepped in between us. “Don’t do this here and not when you both are drunk.”
“This has nothing to do with you, Shane. Get out of my way before I move you!” Rocco yells.
“Back off,” Shane counters standing firm. It doesn’t look like either of them are going to back down.
“Shane, if this has anything to do with you wanting my girl, I will…” I’ve never seen Rocco so mad.
“The only thing happening here is me trying to stop my best friend from making the second biggest mistake of his life. You made the decision to end it. You let her go. Now you have to leave her alone,” Shane explains as calmly as he can.
By this time, all of my friends have stopped dancing and are now crowded around me. Leah and Paige have planted themselves on either side of me. The guys are trying to stand in front of me, but there isn’t much room between me and Shane.
“Stop making a scene, Rocco,” Shane says turning his back on him. A new slow song has begun. He sees the tears in my eyes that are just seconds from escaping. “Come dance with me,” Shane whispers pulling me away from whom my heart is screaming for.
Our friends follow behind us, filling the gap between where Shane and I are dancing and where Rocco stands glaring. Shane has his back to Rocco, so he cannot see me. I lay my head on his chest and he puts one hand around my waist and the other on the back of my head holding me to him. I’m extremely grateful he is comforting me, but his arms just feel completely wrong wrapped around me. It shouldn’t be Shane holding me. I’m no longer able to contain the tears that are building up. Shane knows I’m crying and he tries to reassure me that everything will be fine. The sobbing gets worse because I know nothing will ever be fine again.
The song comes to a close and the girls swoop in to steal me from Shane. They whisk me off to the bathroom. Bright lights reveal my blood shot eyes and smeared makeup. Paige wets a paper towel and hands it to me. I clean it up as much as possible. Leah has her bag she carries everywhere for situations just like this and fixes my makeup in seconds. Erin pulls out her eye drops and passes them over to me. I actually look presentable again.
“Thanks girls,” I tell them.
“Do you want to go home?” Julia asks getting a look from Leah. “Knock it off, Leah. She’s had a rough night.”
“I’m okay,” I try to reassure her.
“She cannot keep running from him, Julia. He’s going to be around,” Leah snaps.
“She’s clearly not okay. You are just too blind to see it because you’re being selfish,” Julia snaps back just as hard.
“Stop it. Both of you,” I sigh. “Thank you for helping me. You guys can head back. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“You sure?” Paige asks not knowing if she should stay or go.
“I’m sure. Just need to regroup.” She acknowledges me with a small nod and they all leave the bathroom one by one.
For the next fifteen minutes, I try to convince myself to go back into the same room as Rocco. The only reason I think the rest of the night will be uneventful is Leah probably went in there and either threatened Rocco or kicked him out. One last deep breath and I leave the security of the bathroom. The moment I step into the hallway
, I’m wishing I was still safely inside. Standing against the wall next to the bathroom door is yet another obstacle to face. How much bullshit can a girl take in one night?
“There she is. I thought maybe you would hide in there all night,” the bastard says pushing himself off of the wall.
“Go away, Ryan.”
“Would you look at that? She does know my name. At least you’ll be screaming the right one when I get you back to my room.” The look in his eye has me starting to worry. He looks drunk, but I can’t tell. There is only one way to get out of here and he’s blocking it. Behind me is a dead end. I doubt going back in the bathroom would save me.
“I’m not going anywhere near your room,” I make absolutely clear.
“Why not? You think you’re too good for me?” He looks offended.
“No. I don’t go around randomly screwing people. I’m not one of the sorority wenches you hang out with.”
“Ryan,” a voice says from behind him. “Why don’t you go back to the party?” Shane and Logan are walking toward us.
Ryan stops advancing to me and turns around. “I’m just chatting with a pretty girl.”
“That pretty girl is with us, so it would be wise of you to walk away and be very, very thankful it was us who found you and not Rocco,” Logan advises him.
Ryan turns to look at me, “Rocco dumps your ass, so you go behind his back and screw his friends? You are a whore.”
Shane grabs him by his shirt and holds him against the wall. “Apologize. Now.”
When Ryan doesn’t say anything, Logan gets in his face. “You were told to apologize to the lady. Now do it.”
“Okay. Okay. I’m sorry.” Ryan scrambles to stay on his feet when Shane lets him go.
“Tell her you won’t bother her again,” Logan tells him.
“I won’t even look at her,” he says before taking off down the hallway.
Both Shane and Logan are at my side instantly. “Are you okay, Alyssa?” Logan asks.
“I’m fine,” I sigh leaning against the wall behind me. “I can’t go back in that room. I told the girls I would be back, but I’m done.”
Shane puts his arms around me. “I’m going to take her home. Go get her keycard from Leah and ask Troy for the keys to his car. She’s never going to be able to walk all the way back to the apartment in those shoes. I’ll get her out front where we parked.”
“Logan,” I call as he starts to walk away. “Please don’t let Rocco know about Ryan. I just want to go home without another incident.”
“I’ll do my best, but he’ll probably find out eventually,” Logan says softly.
“What the hell am I going to do with you, Kiddo?” Shane says leading me outside. Thankfully we make it to the front of the building without anyone seeing me. Logan eventually shows up with the keys and both Troy and Paige.
“What happened?” Paige asks coming over to me. “You were fine when we left you in the bathroom. You said you were okay.”
“I just want to go home. I’ve had enough for tonight,” I say.
She nods understandingly. “I’m going with you.” She jumps in the passenger side.
I slide into the backseat in between Shane and Logan. “Rocco knows something is going on. We don’t have much time to get her back before he comes looking,” Logan tells Shane over my head. We all stay quiet the rest of the ride. Troy pulls up to the front of the building and Logan jumps out to run through the building to open the door by my apartment. By the time he parks the car, Logan is holding the door open. As we file into the apartment, Logan says, “By the way, Leah cannot take a hint to save her life. She’s a pain in the ass to get to shut up.”
“Did you tell her about Ryan?” Shane asks.
“No. I just said Alyssa wanted to go home,” Logan answered.
“What happened with Ryan?” Paige whips her head around.
“He called me a whore. Shane and Logan scared him,” I answer.
“Girlfriend, you’ve had one shitty night,” she says.
“That is an understatement if I’ve ever heard one,” Troy mumbles.
“It’s the costume. I told Leah I didn’t like it,” I sigh. “Once again I’ve managed to ruin everyone’s night. I’m so sorry guys. How are any of you still talking to me?”
“It’s not your fault. You just have really bad luck,” Shane teases. I hear someone’s phone signaling an incoming text message.
Troy reaches in his pocket and hands Paige her phone. “It’s Leah,” he announces.
Paige takes it and tells us that Leah wants to know what is going on. She texts back how I ran into Ryan in the hallway, she’ll get the rest of the details when she gets home, and to keep it from Rocco for as long as possible. “Alright, you guys. Get out of here. I’m going to get Alyssa out of her costume and cleaned up. Logan, one comment from you and I will kick your ass,” she instructs. He walks out chuckling.
Shane comes over to me and gives me a hug. “I’m glad you are okay. I was really worried when I saw Ryan standing there. That could have been so much worse,” he whispers so only I can hear him.
“I know,” I respond. “Thank you so much.” My tears are brewing again thinking about it.
“Look, Alyssa. I just need to say something and I don’t want you to be upset, okay?” He looks to make sure the guys have left the room and he sees Paige standing over by the door. I nod to him when he looks back. “Earlier, when Rocco said something about me wanting you, I just want you to know it’s not like that. I consider you a really good friend. We all do. I just want you to know,” he repeats. “You are like the little sister none of us had. We all have your back, okay?”
“I know.”
Logan comes back in and gives me a hug, too. He kisses my head before saying, “We’ll check on you tomorrow, Philly Girl. Get some sleep. Call if you need anything,” he says before disappearing through the door.
Troy pokes his head in to kiss Paige. “Shane, you coming? I’m going to go find Rocco. It’s better if he hears about this from us, don’t you think?” He agrees. “Good night, Alyssa.”
“Good night, Troy. Thank you for bringing me home.”
“Anytime,. He pulls Paige in for one more kiss. “You want me to swing by and grab you later?”
“I’m going to stay here,” she tells him.
“Paige, you can go. I’ll be fine,” I say to her.
“Forget it. You’re stuck with me, unless Leah kicks me out,” she winks. I give her the best smile I can.
She follows the guys out and makes sure the door is locked. When she comes back, I am already scrubbing my face in the bathroom trying to get all of the damn glitter off. Paige grabs another washcloth off the shelf and scrubs her face as well. We finish up and head into my room. I find pajama pants that might fit Paige because they are long on me and a big t-shirt. After changing, I blow up Leah’s air mattress and cover it with sheets and a couple extra blankets. Leah even keeps extra pillows around. As soon as my head hits the pillow I start to think about the nights events.
“I just wanted to go out and have fun with my friends. Is that really too much to ask?”
Paige starts giggling. “For you, yes.”
I laugh with her as a tear slips out. “You’re probably right.”
We talk for a little while before my phone buzzes on the dresser next to me. I see a text message from Rocco. Heard what happened. I know u don’t want 2 talk 2 me. Plz just tell me if u r OK. I text back I’m fine then turn off my phone. As soon as Paige falls asleep, I cry myself to sleep. I’m not fine at all.
Chapter Twenty
Rocco
Following my breakdown over watching as Alyssa let the balloon go in the park and the first time back to my apartment, I decided it would be better if I just steered clear of the Halloween party. There was absolutely no reason for me to be chasing her around like a love sick puppy when it was obvious she didn’t want me. Not only that, but I also wanted Sunshine to have a good time with her frie
nds and not worry about me. Shane told me earlier when I talked to him that he was going with Logan and Troy, so I knew she’d be safe. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her. All of that went out the window when I was included in a group text, which I can only assume was accidental. It was a picture of Alyssa, Leah, Julia, Erin, and Paige in their costumes. No fucking way was I going to sit at home while she was walking around a bunch of horny bastards wearing that costume. It didn’t matter how much I already had to drink. I needed to get to her. If a cop pulled me over, I could only hope it was someone I knew and would help me out.
It took me less than thirty minutes to get back to school from my house. I parked my car at the Student Center, since it would be a waste of time parking it by the apartment only to have to run across campus. When I walked in the door, I happened to catch a glimpse of Alyssa walking through the crowd on the dance floor. Guys were parting the way for her and watching as she passed. Someone was seriously going to piss me off tonight. She was headed to the tables set up on the side, so I followed her. By the time I caught up to her, the only thing I could hear was her telling Carrie how little she thought of me. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me hearing her say that, but the look on her face when she realized I heard her was far worse. She didn’t even care that she was tearing me apart.
Alyssa wouldn’t even come talk to me. There wasn’t anything specific I wanted to say to her, but the need to get her out of there was overwhelming. She just walked away from me. I sat there watching her dance. Seeing everyone watch her move the way she did was so much worse than when we were at the dinner last week. The guys at school were just trying to get laid by the hottest girl in the room. It was only a game to them. Unfortunately, I knew how it worked all too well. I’ve played many times myself.
When a slower song came on, I was hoping there would be a possibility she would soften up and dance with me. She didn’t go for it. Inadvertently, I said out loud how I needed to hold her and she looked at me as if she had no idea why. How could she think that just because she let me go, I’d stop loving her? She knew about Vicki and knew I was only trying to protect her by staying away. Shane just about met his death when he interfered prior to walking away with my girl in his arms. My anger immediately subsided when I saw she was crying in spite of Shane trying to hide it from me. Alyssa had to still feel something for me if she was crying. That something would be what I would hold on to for right now until I could figure this mess out.
Forever Altered Page 21