I take a sip from my coke, watching the guy on stage sing a Fall Out Boy song. Since Daniel and Andy left, I’ve just sat and watched the people sing. The waitress informed me that all of my sodas are on the house tonight. I’m on my third and have a full bladder. Once I finish the contents of the glass, making sure nobody can slip anything into it while I’m gone, I scoot through the crowd to the bathrooms. Surprisingly, there is no huge line. There is a girl fixing her makeup in the mirror when I enter. She pops her lips twice before putting the lipstick back in her bag, exiting the bathroom. I open a stall door, making sure everything is ‘clean’. The toilet is flushed and there is no bodily fluids or toilet paper on the floor or walls. Satisfied, with the stall’s condition, I lock the door.

As soon as I’m done relieving myself and washing my hands, I exit the bathroom. A guy enters the men’s room and a couple disappears out the backdoor, lips locked. I walk back towards the loud music and people, clutching my bag. A man who is stumbling and visibly drunk comes down the hallway. Unable to move out of his way as he sways this way and that, I bump into him.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

He looks up and down. His body or mine, I’m unsure of.

“Don’t worry, gorgeous. I know a way you can pay me back.”

Before I have any time to react to the situation, he slams his lips against mine. I can taste the whiskey. I push desperately against him, but he pins me to the wall. ‘S.E.X.’ by Nickelback starts, the words and beat tearing out of the speakers. Talk about bad timing.

The man continues to kiss me, pinning my hands above my head as I struggle to escape. When he makes a stupid move, like letting his lips wander, I take action. I bite down hard on his lip, tasting his blood in my mouth. He pulls back, angry and shocked. I make sure to not let this moment go to waste.

“HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

His sweaty hand clamps down over my mouth, silencing me. The man from earlier walks out of the bathroom, looking at us before giving the man a pat on the back. That’s like a slap in the face to me. He walks out of sight

I can’t get my teeth into a big enough part of flesh. I’m trapped.

“You’re gonna pay for that.”

His breath smells like something that crawled out of a sewer.

I continue to make useless attempts at biting his hand. He brings a knee up between my legs and I try to squirm away. It’s not in a painful way. More like he’s trying to pleasure me.

“Come on, baby. I know you want it.”

I close my eyes tightly, not wanting to look at him. He pins my hands between our chests, allowing him to run his sweaty hand up and down my body. I can feel the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes.

“You want me to touch you. I’m gonna kiss you all night and give you just what you need.”

I shake my head ‘no’. Why me? I don’t want this happening to anybody, but seriously. This is the last thing I need to tack onto my already crappy life.

“Let’s take this party out back, baby.”

He starts to pull me away from the wall but shouting stops him.

“Get off of her!”

He doesn’t let go immediately. Not until he is pulled off of me. I open my eyes in time to see Gavin throw the guy into a wall, his fist connecting with the stranger’s face. Blood leaks out of his mouth. I stand against the wall, frozen with fear and shock. Gavin lands two more punches before letting go of the guy, standing up. He approaches me, reaching into his pocket. He takes out a set of keys, putting them into my hand.

“Out the back door to the left is a set of stairs. At the top is the door to my place. Use the silver key and let yourself in. I’ll be up as soon as I get this trash out of my bar.”

I rush out the door just as Gavin grabs the guy by his shirt.