I nod, smiling. “Cool. And noted. No touchies.”
Felicity walks down with me, hitting up the bar as I walk into the bathroom. It’s empty, and I’m fine with that, because I really need to take a whiz. I head into the stall and do my business, flushing the toilet and moving to open the door, but as I do, three women walk in. I peek out of the crack in the door. I can’t see everything, but I can see enough.
“The pickings are slim tonight,” mutters a short brunette.
The taller brunette whines, “Where are all the hotties? I really need to get laid.”
When the third woman speaks, I perk up. I perk up, because I know that voice. The tall, slender redhead utters, “Oh, please. None of the men here are good enough to even look at me.”
The redhead is Portia. I shake my head at her comment. She said me, not us. Her poor friends.
The shorter brunette smirks, “You’re just sore because that guy who works here gave you the brush-off.”
The taller brunette asks, “Who cares if he has a girlfriend? I’d still hit that.”
Portia sneers, “The girlfriend shows his taste. I don’t want him if he chooses to be with a woman like that. He obviously has low standards.”
The fucking mole! I bite my tongue and ball my fist in an effort to not go out there and show her a thing or two about manners.
The short brunette grins. “But he is rich.”
Portia pauses. “Well, there is that. And he would be nice to look at, for a while at least. But to deal with him, I’d have to deal with his kid too.”
My heart races as my anger singes my insides.
The tall brunette asks, “What’s wrong with that?”
Portia makes a face, her lip curling. “I don’t know. She’s retarded or some shit.”
I don’t know how it happens, but the stall door opens and suddenly I’m on top of Portia, clawing at her face while pulling her hair. As she squeals, I hiss out, “You fucking bitch! You goddamn whore! She’s just a little girl!”
Portia shrieks out, “Get security!”
Then, we’re alone. I throw her to the ground, standing. Panting, my body shakes with rage. The inside of my mouth tastes of metallic rust and I know I’m bleeding. I look down at a shocked Portia’s red-marked face and utter a hushed, “You’re disgusting. You’re nothing but a pig.”
The doors to the bathroom burst open. Nik, Max, and Asher all rush in to see me looming over Portia.
Max looks at me in confusion. “What the fuck?”
Portia looks over at them and shrieks, “She attacked me!”
I can’t tell him. If I tell him, he’ll be devastated.
Nik sighs. “Are you kidding me? A bitch fight? Fuckin’ hell, Helena.”
Ash looks over my shaking body and states, “Something happened.”
He always knows.
I look over at Max then Nik. “I’m sorry.” I walk out of the bathroom and somehow end up back upstairs.
When Nat looks over at me, smiling, her face turns shocked. She jumps up and rushes over to me, searching my body. “What happened? Lena, tell me what happened!”
But I can’t. She walks me over the bar, sitting me down on a stool, and a glass of waters appears in front of me. Nik stalks over to us, looking pissed with a capital P. He booms, “I don’t believe this. You hit her! After I specifically told you not to touch anyone!”
Max comes up behind him. “Shut up, Nik.” He kneels in front of me, looking up into my eyes. “What happened, cupcake?” I don’t answer, so he asks, “Did she bait you? What happened?”
Nik rolls his eyes. “She baited you and you fell for it. You realize she’s planning to take us to court, right?” He grits his teeth and roars, “Fuck!”
Nat glowers at Nik. “Don’t you fucking dare, Nikolai! My sister would not have touched anyone unless it were necessary!” God bless Nat for sticking up for me. Unfortunately, in this case, she’s wrong.
Asher adds calmly, “I think we should give her some room and shut the fuck up.”
Max sounds frustrated. “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what happened. What did she do, Helena? Talk to me.”
Tina appears by our sides. “What’s going on here?” She peers over at me, stunned. “Lena, honey. Your lip is bleeding.” I know it is. I can feel it throbbing like a bitch.
Mimi speaks from the sideline. “I think Ash is right. Give her some room.”
But Nik is too pissed to hear any of it. “I’ll tell you what. How about Helena tells me what the fuck happened, and then I’ll leave her alone?”
Max stands and gets in his brother’s face, jaw set. “Shut the fuck up, Nik. You’re not my boss. You better remember that.”
Nik’s face distorts with anger. “Your girl causes shit not ten minutes after I put my faith in her. Her fuck-up is your fuck-up.”
Nat, Tina, Mimi, and Lola all bite out, “Hey!” at Nik’s rude comment. I’ve never seen him so angry.
Tina approaches him and speaks softly. “Honey, calm down. She’ll talk when she’s ready.”
Nik straightens and looks up into my eyes. “She’ll talk now. What happened?” Nik can be a seriously intimidating guy.
Nat cuts in, “Fuck you, Nik!”
Nik turns on her. “Of course you’re sticking up for her. I need to know what happened.” My gut coils.
Mimi steps in front of Nik. “We’re all friends here, remember?”
Nik sniffs, “Some more than others.”
That was a cheap shot. My blood boils. I close my eyes as my chest heaves. Tina gasps in astonishment. “Nik! What has gotten into you?”
He steps closer to me, angry eyes trained on mine. “What happened?”
I open my mouth, but all that comes out is, “I-uh—”
Nik grits his teeth and asks again, “What happened, Helena?”
Max growls in threat, “Take one more step towards her, Nik. I fuckin’ dare ya.”
I close my eyes. My body thrums. My chest heaves.
Nik asks again, near yelling, “What the fuck happened in there?”
I stand so fast my stool hits the bar with a bang. Hands shaking, I stand a foot away from Nik, looking up into his rage-filled eyes, and thunder, “She called Ceecee a retard!” I’m mortified as the angry tears trail down my cheeks, my body shaking with fury. I lower my face into my hands to hide my weakness and whisper, “She called Ceecee retarded.”