Page 53 of Life of the Party

“Mackenzie?” Charlie’s voice. I screamed again as Brad’s hand clamped back over my mouth. His eyes were red as they glared crazily down at me. His breath was hot and sour with beer. He grasped a handful of my hair and yanked my head back unmercifully; tears sprang in my eyes and I gasped in pain, my body slackening in submission.

“Shut up. Shut up.” Gone was the nice, funny, polite boy that invited me to the party. He had transformed into some drunken, disgusting, lust-filled monster. Cautiously, he looked up as the footfalls came closer. My sight was dimming, I had no strength left at all. I could only hope they would find me in time…

And then, the crushing weight was lifted from me. My ribs ached as I sucked in a full breath; my bones throbbed in relief. I lay on the ground, completely stunned, gasping in breath after breath of the sweet night air.

“Mac!” Charlie knelt beside my head. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

“Yeah…I…” I couldn’t talk. I opened my mouth, but no words would come.

“It’s okay. Breathe, Mac. Just breathe.” She did up my jeans and my belt, pulled my sweater back down over my torso. Her touch was cool and soft, gentle in comparison to Brad’s rough, sticky hands.

“Brad…?”

“He’s gone. They’ve got him.” I could hear the hostility in Charlie’s voice; in the distance cursing and moaning and the dull, bony crack of knuckles hitting flesh.

“Can you sit?” Charlie wondered. Gently, she put her arm beneath my neck and gingerly tried to raise me up. I wanted to cooperate, but the moment my position changed, my poor head throbbed abominably. I winced, leaning against her, shuttingmy eyes as waves of pain racked over me.

“You’re okay, baby. We’ll go home soon, okay?”

I don’t know how long we sat there. I wavered in and out of consciousness until Charlie’s voice, suddenly loud in my ear, startled me aware.

“The guys are back,” she informed me. Her voice rose as she spoke, not to me but to whoever was approaching. I heard their shoes crunching on the gravel.

“I think she hit her head pretty hard. Thank God we got here when we did.”

“Let me see.” Zack bent down in front of me. I could barely make out his face, but his nose ring glinted slightly in the dim light, his blonde, mullety hair a halo around his head. Gently, he felt around my face and scalp. “It doesn’t seem too bad, but we need more light to tell for sure. Can she get up?”

“Can you get up, sweetie?” Charlie put her arm around my back. I nodded weakly and tried to find the strength to command my muscles. My arms gave out as I pushed against the ground.

“I got her.” A voice, gruff but unmistakable, found my ears. I almost couldn’t believe them. Before I had a chance to react, two strong arms had wrapped around me, picking me up as if I weighed nothing at all. There was such comfort in their strength. He pressed me close to his chest and I wrapped my stiff arms around his neck and burrowed my face into him. Grey’s warm, delicious masculine scent wafted over me, and tears of relief flooded my eyes. My entire being shook. I could feel the trembling contrast against his hard steadiness.

“Shhh…” He whispered, though I hadn’t made a noise. “Shhh…”

And then we were moving. He held me gingerly and closely, I could tell he was trying extra hard not to jostle me at all. I shut my eyes and listened to his heart beating against my ear, too shocked and stunned to comprehend much but the feel of his strong, warm arms around me and the sweet smell of his breath against my face. Nothing else could have soothed me more.

Grey placed me gently in the backseat of the car. Once everyone was in, Charlie switched on the interior light, and they all turned to look me over.

The bright, blinding light made me squint, my skull throbbing in protest. Charlie’s brow furrowed with concern as she gazed at me; Zack frowned in inspection. Their worry was touching, but there was only one expression I wanted to see. His countenance had been impossible to discern outside in the darkness, and now I looked up at Grey with cautious wonder.

His blue eyes searched my face with earnest, sweeping for injuries, his jaw tensed, his mouth set in a grim line. My heart fluttered, despite everything, at the anxiety I found reflected in his handsome face. He did care about me. He had to.

“Her pupils don’t seem dilated.” Zack decided. “But it’s early yet.”

“Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?” Charlie worried.

“No.” I shook my head. It took some effort to speak. “We can’t go to the hospital. I just did a bunch of blow.”

“Her mom’s a doctor,” Grey explained for me. “She doesn’t want her to find out.”

“Right…well, what should we do then?”

“Can I have a smoke? Where’s my purse?” I took a breath, searching for my bag.

“Here.” Grey lit a cigarette and handed it to me. I inhaled deeply, the smoke burning down my raw throat, the cigarette shaking in my trembling fingers.

“Let’s go back to your house, Charlie,” Zack suggested. “We’ll keep an eye on her, and if anything gets worse, we’ll take her in.”

Charlie eyed me worriedly. “Mac, if anything happens to you…”

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