Page 38 of Shifted

"Aw, thanks. I still think your all-black edgy looks cute, so don't worry." I ruffled his hair as he rolled his eyes, "Alright, lover boy, let's get inside," Bella said, patting his shoulder.

"How was your week? I haven't seen you in 78 hours." I asked as they let us by the line.

"So, you've been counting?" He intertwined our hands with a wide grin, knowing full well I had been, "You wish." We made it to a horseshoe booth across from the dance floor and took our seats. "So what exactly do you do in residency, Reed?" Grayson asked, and Theo stepped away to get drinks.

"Right now, in my rotation, I'm in neuro, so I've been in surgery and consultations all week. It's fun but not my favorite." His arm wrapped around my waist, and as I looked up from them, I saw where his eye contact was.

"Are you seriously intimidated by Theo?" I whisper and turn to Reed’s crimson cheeks. My god, he was. I hate when guys get jealous; it's even worse when they make it evident to the other guy, "He's family, Reed, don't worry." I kissed his cheek and then heard a thud. A tray of drinks spilled slightly on the high top as Theo placed them down. Theo sat next to Grayson as Bella pulled away from his neck.

"Big brother seems a little fussy tonight. Did Mom tell you to be on your best behavior?" she teased, and he didn’t find her comments amusing. "Oh, shut up," he warned, rolling his eyes. “I'm going to go find someone to occupy my time." He sighed, left, and walked into the sea of people.

"He got you a cosmo." Bella handed me the drink.

"What's up his ass?" This time, I looked at Reed in shock.

"Oh, nothing. It's just work stuff. Recently, this deal he's been working on has been dicey, and today, he got an annoying call," Grayson explains, taking his drink off the tray. He has seemed slightly off since we arrived here.

As they continued their conversation, my eyes drifted off to the flashing lights and the sway of people's hips. Theo stood in the middle with some blonde girl. "Hope?" I turned to Bella, who stared at me, an eager look on her face. "Let's go dance!" Before I could argue, she gripped my arm and dragged me out to the floor, leaving the boys behind. She spun me out on the floor as we made our way to the middle.

I think a habit of mine is getting lost in the moment when dancing on the floor. Sometimes, I forget my surroundings when dancing. The music takes me away, and everything around me dissolves.

As reality came back, Bella was farther from me, and a man was behind her. "Come on, let's get out of here." He pulled her against him as she squirmed, attempting to break free. I felt my arms slam against bodies as I pushed past people to get to her.

"Hey! Let go of her!" The raven-haired dick raised his hand to push me back.

"Listen, princess, you don't even know what's going on." I looked at Bella's face. She'd been drugged.

"Hope… what's going on?" She slurred, reaching for her head with discomfort. She’d been drugged without even knowing it.

"Let go of my friend before you regret it." He rolled his eyes, tugging Bella back, ignoring my warning. As he pulled her away, I gripped his hold on her arm and ripped it off, causing Bella to tumble to the floor, falling flat on her ass.

"Ouch."

"You bitch!" The man shouts at me and attempts to push me. My hand collided with the pig's throat in front of me as he stumbled backward; I swept him off his feet. As he fell to the floor, struggling to breathe, I felt two arms collect me from behind as I tried to get to his face again.

"Let go of me!" The arms connected around my chest reminded me of a compress he once used to help me during a panic attack. "Hope, it's me." He whispered as I struggled, "Calm down, you need to calm down." I looked over to Bella to see Grayson beside her and Reed next to the asshat who I just beat the shit out of. The dance floor was now cleared, and the music stopped.

"I always ruin parties, don't I?" I said, and he chuckled against my ear. "Nah, you usually know how to get them started, Hope." Theo let go of me. Now free of his grasp, I was even angrier as I stared at the other guy. "I had no idea you were capable of taking down a 6 '7 male so smoothly, too." I glared at him. I hated this standard, that I was some helpless girl.

"Well, I am." Reed stepped over, rubbing my shoulders, and Theo turned away.

"You alright there, Wonder Woman?"

"Oh, shut up." The man stood slowly, staring off at me. "You're dead!" I yelled at him, and he quickly left the bar, "Fucking prick."

"Wow, Miss Taylor, you have some aggression." I looked back at Reed and squeezed his hand. This was probably not the best way to describe my rage, but now I had a new target after lacking them recently, and this one was personal.

"He drugged Bella and tried to take her; how could I not." Bella sat up in Grayson's arms as he handed her water. She was out of it, and now he was going to take her to get checked out.

"Look, Reed. Can you take me home?" He simply nodded, and we quickly left the bar. However, the lingering stares on me remained. I just had to get out of there before any more trouble or the possible cops showed up.

Reed and I sat in silence on the ride home, not knowing quite what to say. He’s never seen such aggression in me. "What did he say to you?" For the first time in the ten minutes of silence we shared, Reed spoke. "Hmm?"

"The guy, what did he say?" He repeats.

"Well, after I caught him trying to steal my best friend, he told me that 'I didn't know what was going on,' I knew then and there I wanted to kill him. Pathetic excuse of a human." I collected my face in my hands as I shook my head. So many worries raced through my mind, and all the what-ifs kept me preoccupied. I felt like a bad friend for taking my eyes off of her for just one second.

"Are you okay?" Reed looked worried as he analyzed me.

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