Page 44 of The Genius
“We’re here because Shelly called for my help. You’re lucky, because I was busy watching some good porn, I almost didn’t answer. Good thing I did, though, because sitting outside a crowded bar with drunken men wasn’t the best place for Shelly to flash.” Storm offered Tristan a hand to pull him up from the ground. “There was also the part about her fearing that you were dying that made us hurry down here.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Shelly.” Tristan pointed down to the dress on the ground, now more red than yellow. “You ruined your dress.”
“I had to stop the bleeding.”
When Tristan looked like he was losing balance again, Storm was quick to grab his arm for support. “Don’t look at the dress. I’m taking you home. Where’s your drone?”
Tristan raised an arm and pointed to the right.
“You take Tristan, and I’ll take Shelly,” Marco instructed. Storm lifted a hand to signal he had understood.
“I think I should go with Tristan and make sure he’s safe,” I insisted.
“Storm has him. Come on!” Marco picked up the dress. “You want to keep this?”
“No.” I shook my head and picked up the rolled-up drawings that Tristan and I had been working on.
I was still shaking from the incident and followed Marco to his drone without a word.
“Are you okay?” he asked when the drone took off from the ground.
I nodded but felt anything but okay.
What if Tristan or I had been killed by a stray bullet?
What if Marco and Storm hadn’t come to my rescue?
The severity of the danger I’d been in was sinking in.
“Shelly, talk to me.”
“I’m sorry about your t-shirt,” I said because it seemed like the safest topic at the moment.
“Forget my t-shirt. I’m asking you if you’re okay.”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
He studied me with deep lines on his forehead. “Liar. You’re not fine, how could you be?”
Meeting his eyes, I admitted, “I was scared, that’s all.”
He didn’t say anything, just waited for me to continue.
“I was scared that Tristan wasn’t going to make it, and I was scared of that man sitting next to me, and the other men ogling me.”
“Good.” Marco gave a firm nod. “At least that shows you havesomesituational awareness.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, a bit offended.
“Come on, Shelly, you don’t want to open up the discussion about you having sex with me without my consent again, do you?”
“Just because I’m a Motlander doesn’t mean you get to pick a fight with me. I’m not like the others. I’ll fight back, you know.”
“I’m not picking a fight with you, I’m just stating the facts,” Marco muttered and looked straight ahead. “You practically raped me.”
The fear from earlier, combined with the shame I felt, made me release all my emotional garbage on him. “Take that back!”
“No. If you can’t see what you did was wrong, it’s because you’re lacking empathy.”
