Page 71 of Scarred King

“Is he here?” she asks, rubbing her red eyes.

“No,” I lie without a blink.

“Elena,” tears flood her eyes. “He is not answering my calls or messages and I can't find him anywhere.”

I peek at the staircase and then pull her towards the counter. She sits down on a barstool and I ask Charlie for a bottle of water. He looks at her with pity and says nothing.

“Johanna,” I say firmly, “you're ruining your life. You don’t come to school, and when you do, you fall asleep and—”

“I just need some powder,” she cuts me off, sips some water and puts the bottle down on the counter. “That will fix me.”

“Are you crazy?” I raise my voice. “You sound like a junkie!”

“I am not an addict.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “I am just having a hard time. I'm worried about Tommy. Maybe something happened to him?”

She stands up and walks quickly to the round table.

“Where is he?” she asks Liam and smooths down her wrinkled skirt.

I move my head from side to side, trying to signal him not to tell her anything.

“He’s upstairs with a girl,” Liam replies indifferently and I'm shocked.

“What? That's not possible,” she stutters and turns around to me. “Did you know this?”

“Yes,” I lower my head in embarrassment. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I can't believe it!” she bursts into heartbreaking sobs. “Why would he do that? He said that he’d never met anyone like me, that he…” she chokes and can’t continue talking.

“All men think with their dicks,” Ralph grins. “His dick probably found a replacement for you.”

“Ralph!” I silence him angrily and Johanna cries harder. “Let’s sit down,” I try to pull her back, but she pushes me away and runs towards the stairs. Liam lets out a short whistle and the huge bouncer standing by the staircase moves and blocks her path.

“Get her out of here,” he says to me coldly and I’m trying to figure out what to do. She is standing there in tears, begging the bouncer to let her through.

I walk over and hug her. “Johanna, let’s sit down. Drink some water, calm down and go back to the apartment to get some sleep. Things will look much better in the morning.”

“I need some powder,” she mumbles and turns to me in a daze. “Elena, I must have some powder.”

“Stop!” I yell and shake her. “Pull yourself together. You’re a brilliant physics student, not a street junkie.”

One of the twins comes over and pulls Johanna towards her. “Come on, sweetie, I’ll take care of you.” She hugs her and strokes her head. I watch in horror as she takes her to the restroom and the door closes behind them. I'm still staring at the door helplessly.

After a while, the door opens, and Johanna emerges smiling. “I told you that would fix me,” she winks at me and goes to sit with the twins. I want to go over there and slap her, pull her outside by her hair, but this is all too bizarre even for me. They're whispering and giggling together and when a short man with glasses walks in, they explain something to her, and she moves to sit at an unoccupied table.

“What are you doing?” I shout and go to her in panic. “Get up!”

“Go away,” she says angrily. The man in the glasses notices her, smiles and approaches her. I turn around and run to the round table.

“Liam, please tell the bouncer to kick her out.”

He turns his head to look at her. “Is she a minor?” he asks dryly.

“But…” I look at him in despair.

“Then it’s her decision,” he states and goes back to his business.

“Don’t be like that,” I beg. “You know this isn’t the place for her. You know that she—”

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