Page 143 of Life of the Party

But then Grey strode up.

He was smirking as he pushed through the crowd to meet me. I looked away from Riley and watched him come, my dark eyes wide, anxious. Finally, finally Riley tore his gaze away, turning instead to glower at the man who was slowly coming toward us.

“Riley…” I warned. But it was too late.

If before Riley had been a locked box, now he was an open book. His brow furrowed with anger, his eyes glared with fury, his entire body tensed as Grey slowly sauntered over.

“What have you done to her?” Riley demanded, his voice low, controlled.

“What?” Grey looked honestly confused.

“What have you done to her?” Riley bellowed, loud enough to draw attention. People began to spread out, to give them room, the crowd tensing in anticipation of a fight.

“What are you talking about?” Grey glanced at me once and then back to Riley, like he really didn’t get it. I bit my lip. I wanted Riley to stop. I needed Riley to stop. For whatever reason, Grey still found me beautiful. I didn’t want him to see me…I didn’t want him to look at me differently…

“Stop it, Riley!” I demanded. I was powerless behind the bar; they were too far out of my reach. Panicked, I pushed through my co-workers and burst onto the floor. “Stop it!”

Riley grasped me by the wrist and hauled me over. It hurt; he was grabbing the exact place I’d cut myself earlier. I winced.

“Get your hands off of her,” Grey warned. I’d never heard him sound so…threatening. I looked up into his face, his handsome features hard and deadly serious, and felt actual fear for Riley. I tried to pull my hand free from his vice-like grip.

“Stop it, Riley! Please!” I pleaded.

Grey’s jaw clenched. “I mean it, asshole. Let her go.”

“Look at her!” Riley shouted again. It all happened quickly then. Grey lunged for Riley, at the same time pulling me free of his grasp—but Riley’s hand had been so tightly clenched around my wrist that he tore the white bracelet from my arm. Before the torn pleather had a chance to hit the floor, the fight had come to a standstill.

“Mackenzie?” Grey paused in horror. He saw. He was looking at my arm, at the jagged marks the razor made when it sliced through my skin. His blue eyes narrowed with confusion, with denial, with sorrow. “…What…what happened?”

Tears swam in my eyes. I choked them back. I could have killed Riley at that moment, but instead I turned my back on him. I needed Grey to hear me. I needed him to understand.

“Grey…look, it’s nothing. It’s okay.” I insisted. I couldn’t tell if he could hear me or not, it seemed like he was in shock. His blue eyes stared at nothing. His mouth was open with dread, as if he were struggling to process it all. And then it happened.

His jaw tensed, and he looked at me. His eyes traced over me, from my head to my toes, and they filled with anguish. With the worst kind of suffering. He took in the gaunt fragility of my shoulder blades, the boniness of my face, the scrawny legs sticking out from my skirt. At the cuts on my arms, the tracks in my elbows. Grey looked at me with horror, his gorgeous blue eyes wide with dismay.

He was still gaping at me as Riley’s fist slammed into his face.

That shocked me out of my stupor. “Riley, no! What are you doing?” I lunged in between them, expecting the worst. But Grey didn’t fight back. Riley got up and shook his fist in pain, staring furiously at my boyfriend levelled on the floor. I pushed him back as hard as I could, but I barely managed to move him an inch.

“Get out of here Riley!” I shouted. “Get out of here!”

“You’re coming with me.” He decided, grasping my arm again. “Its okay, Mac. I’m going to get you out of here.”

“No!” I panicked again. I couldn’t leave Grey now. He had to see…I needed him to see that I was okay. “No!”

The bouncers were quick to step in. They were always around, blending into the shadows, waiting for a fight caused by some cocky jerk getting rowdy. They grabbed Riley and hauled him away from me. The moment I was free I ran to Grey’s side. He was standing again, a welt across his cheekbone where Riley punched him. He wouldn’t look at me. He was like I’d been earlier, a robot, on automatic pilot as he turned and pushed through the crowd.

“Grey?” I ran to catch up with him. “What’s the matter?” It was a stupid question. I knew the answer. I just wanted him to speak to me, to acknowledge I was there.

“Everything.” His voice was flat, emotionless.

A sob caught in my throat. “Am I really that hideous?”

“No.” He stopped in his tracks, shaking his head. His eyes burning with sincerity. “You are beautiful.”

“Then what—”

“This is my fault. It’s all my fault.” He started walking again, and I had no choice but to follow him. I didn’t know where he was going until he headed up the stairs that led to the back of the stage. The other guys were there, completely oblivious to our drama, prepping for their next set.

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