My gaze landed on a guy I know all too well, even though I don't recall a time I actually had a conversation with him directly. I know him.

Know his voice, know what a fucking asshole he is.

Know that he's sick in the head.

Does his brother know about his antics?

Is he a part of the mayhem?

Those are only a few of the thousand questions that will always lay unanswered in the back of my head.

Just like the billion other questions that still find a way to swarm my head, where do they still find the space, is another question and mystery that will always stay unsolved.

I take a deep tattered breath, as I stare at his familiar figure, hearing him laugh again at whatever the guy next to him said.

That laugh.

"Mmm, you did good on this one." I hear a voice close to me, but I am too disoriented to see who is talking.

It's fine Parkers here. Parker will fix it.

"Don't touch her, she's mine." That's Parker's voice, I love his voice, I want to laugh maybe I do.

"Touchy are we?" The voice chuckles.

And goodness that chuckle it chills me deep to my bones, it's not a nice laugh, it sounds villainous, evil in a way difficult to describe.

"Mhmm, but that doesn't mean you can't watch."

I get out of the unwanted memory that is so vivid but so there, by Ryver's voice.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah sorry," I say shaking my head feeling bad, I can't look over there again, I just have to hope that he won't come over here anytime soon, or at all.

Won't see me or recognize me, he probably doesn't.

I swallow the bile that seems to be rising in the back of my throat, anxiety grips me down, practically begging me to let the panic attack settle in.

What if Parkers here?

He can't be.

What if that now that he isn't here, it will be worse?

What if he sees me?

What if--

No, no, I feel the walls begin to close in the room losing every inch of space that accommodates it, making it suffocating.

I didn't want to leave Ryver's side, but I also can't ruin his night.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," I say, trying not to sound antsy.

"Do you want me to--"

"No," I cut him off, "I'm fine, I just need to go to the washroom."

He nods, and tells me to keep my phone close if I need him, then tells me the directions to the bathroom.

Luckily, it's in the opposite direction of where I had seen David.

I should be fine.

Once I'm out of eyeshot of Ryver I let my tears slip, and my hair falls in front of my face to cover up the mess I am in.

Every chaotic emotion I had masked for Ryver's sake slips away when I know that no one will see me.

To my relief there isn't a line to the bathroom, there's no one at all.

So I quickly slip into it, without any commotion.

I lock the door then slowly slip down the door, and watch as the room begins to take a ride of its own, spin, spin.

Everything is spinning, a large tornado that I'm stuck in the middle of with no chance of escape, and my only source of hope is to let it drag me away, to fall to its demand without a fight.

So I do.

I let all the self depressing thoughts take the wheel, I let the panic, the worry, and everything else take control, hoping it let me off this crazy ride soon.

Time passes, when the world seems like it should be sane again, nothing is spinning around its axis, all that's left is the blurriness of everything, but that could be because my eyes are still clouded with remaining tears.

I check to see the time and see I have gone for a little over ten minutes.

I rush to get up and fix myself up. Ryver will be worried.

I flinch at the sight of my ruined makeup, the state of my face is simply bad.

I'm relieved I placed a small tube of foundation, mascara and lipstick in my jacket pockets, it's something I've grown used to doing, they're all small enough to fit.

Since I had bought them, specifically to keep with me anywhere at any time.

You never know when you might need them.

I fix my makeup as fast as possible and check my phone again. I see a text from Ryver.

Crap.

Where are you?

Are you ok?

I call him, deciding it's easier than explaining in text my fake excuse.

"Hey," I say into the line fidgeting.

"Where are you?" I can't hear him fairly well considering the ruckus in the background, but I still manage to get what he said.

"Sorry I got lost, I'm coming back right now," I say into the line.

"Okay," I can hear the relief in his voice by the simple word, I feel an odd sense of relief myself.

We say goodbye, and hang up.

I open the bathroom, fully intending to run back to the living room.

But my plans go down fast when I notice someone standing leaning on the opposite side of the door.

"Ensleey," A voice says with a sleazy smirk playing across his lips.

~~~~~~~~

A u t h o r s N o t e

Thank you so much for reading!

Also a big thank you for reaching my story to 11k reads, it means a lot!

-R.E