He disappeared without a trace.
Gone to who knows where.
Lost in a sea of people.
Who will never understand.
Maybe he isn’t just lost, though.
Fuck, what if he’s dead?
“Hey, have you seen Lyric?” I ask when I manage to get beside Maggie, one of the few people who aren’t afraid of me.
Her drunken gaze lights up as she scans me over from head to toe. “Hey, sexy. I feel so special. You never come to parties.”
The stocky guy she’s with gives me a nasty look, like I’m trying to cramp his style. But one good thing about my intimidation factor is when I retaliate with a dirty look, he backs off.
“I thought I’d come and see what this whole thing was about,” I lie. “But I need to find Lyric and check in on her. I promised I would.”
“You are so good to her. I wish I had someone like you for myself.” She trails her fingers up and down my stomach then flattens her palm against my chest.
As memories prickle at the back of my mind, I almost shove her.
Breathe, just breathe.
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
Into the light, out of the dark.
To the life with Lyric.
Where no one can touch you.
Break you apart.
Where you don’t have to see or feel.
What was done to you.
What destroyed you.
I inch out of her reach, and her hand remains suspended in the air as her brows dip.
“Look, I really need to find Lyric,” I tell her, stuffing my hands into my pockets to keep from pushing her away.
Her face bunches up as she frowns. “The last time I saw her, she was heading into one of the bedrooms with William.”
My heart hammers inside my chest, my eardrums ringing louder than the song. “Where is this bedroom?” My voice comes out sharper than I mean to, but seriously, what the hell is Lyric thinking going into a bedroom with William Stephington?
Maggie points her finger toward the back of the house. “It’s back there, down the hallway.” She swigs a mouthful from the cup in her hand. “God, Ayden, you need to chillax. She can go back to a room with a guy without your permission.”
I scowl at her then start shoving through the crowd, roughly pushing people out of my way. It takes me a few minutes to get to the hallway Maggie pointed to, but I manage. The first door I open is a closet. The next is a bedroom, but it’s empty, so I try the next one. And the next. All are vacant, except for the last one, which has a couple occupying it. They’re going at it like rabbits, and I get an eyeful before I get the door shut.
What the hell am I doing? If Lyric is back here doing something with William, then what? I’m going to walk in and tell her to stop? Then she would get pissed off at me, and honestly, I don’t think I could handle seeing her doing that with a guy.
Giving up on the bedrooms, I spin back around and make a path for the kitchen again. Halfway down the hall, my phone vibrates from inside my pocket. I pause to fish it out and exhale a breath of relief when I see the text is from Lyric.
Lyric: U didn’t by chance come to the party, did u?
Me: Yeah, I’m here right now. Where r u?
Lyric: In the bathroom.
Me: Okay, meet me in the kitchen when u come out.
Lyric: I can’t.
Me: Can’t what? Meet me in the kitchen?
Lyric: No, come out of the bathroom.
Me: R u sick?
Lyric: No.
Me: Then what’s wrong?
When she doesn’t respond, I grow anxious.
Me: R u hurt?
Lyric: Kind of.
Me: Lyric, where the fuck r u?
Lyric: I’m in the bathroom on the second floor near the start of the hallway. But, Ayden, u don’t need to come up here. I’m fine.
Like hell I don’t.
I knock people out of the way as I storm back through the kitchen and toward the massive spiral stairway that coils to the second floor. Different scenarios play in my head as my mind goes wild, trying to figure out what happened. With Lyric, it’s hard to say. The girl is a freaking daredevil, but for some reason, I’m betting this has to do with William.
The top of the stairs is much quieter and less populated. Only a group of seven or eight are lurking around, drinking and smoking, including Sage.
“Hey, do you know where the bathroom is?” I ask him as he takes a deep hit from a joint.
He coughs smoke in my face as he exhales, passing the rolled up paper to the next guy. “Sorry, about that,” he says as I fan my hand in front of my face. “Yeah, it’s the fifth door down, but I wouldn’t bother. Some chick’s been locked in there for like an hour.”
I’m off before he can even finish his sentence, rushing past doors. When I reach the fifth one, it’s locked, so I bang my fist against the heavy wood.
“Lyric, open the door. It’s me.”
A beat goes by before I hear the lock click. I push the door open and step into the dark, narrow room. Moonlight trickles in from the window above the bathtub, highlighting Lyric’s silhouette.
“Why the hell do you have the light off?” I feel around on the wall until my fingers brush against the switch. I flip it on, blinking against the bright light.
“You were right,” Lyric says, only her voice sounds so wrong, like it’s excruciating to speak, which might be because she has a swollen lip. “I’m way too trusting for my own good.”
My lips part in shock at the sight of her. Her cheeks are enflamed and one of the straps of her dress is missing, as if someone ripped it off. The front has fallen down, too, so I can see the top of her bra. Her blond hair is tangled around her pained face and mascara and tears stain her cheeks.
She cups her hand to her cheek. “God, my face fucking hurts.”
That yanks me out of my trance.
“What the hell did he do to you?” I pause when her fingers drift to the hem of her dress.
God, no. Please don’t let it be that. I don’t know if I can handle that. It’ll be too much, and I need to be able to handle this for her.
“Did he …?” I can’t even say it aloud, as I’m pulled away to a different time, place, life that binds me at the wrists and slices my flesh open.
I don’t want to remember it.
Please.
Don’t let me remember it.
Right now.
Ever.
She shakes her head, hugging her arms around herself. “No, he didn’t get that far.”
My breathing comes out ragged as I battle to stay calm. “Where is he?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably icing his balls.”
I cock my head to the side. “Huh?”