Beautifully Broken (16 page)

Johnny’s was beyond packed
with left over concert enthusiasts and random drunken people. We gradually made
our way through the packed bar to a small table in the back. I offered to get
the first round, feeling as though I owed it to them for all that they had
endured tonight. I slid unnoticed, past the couple of ladies trying their
hardest to get Johnny’s attention.

Johnny was only a few years
older than Theo. He had dropped out of college to take over the business when
his mom and dad decided that Florida was a better fit for them, not
Connecticut. He wasn’t bad looking by any means. I could understand the appeal
of a guy his age, owning a bar and being 100% single. He was tall and skinny.
His blonde hair sat chin length and his piercing emerald green eyes added to
the surfer appeal, he already had going on. He never paid any attention to the
girls who came into the bar. He told me when I started working, that he never
dated the customers and I would be wise to follow his lead. I never worried
about it; I couldn’t fathom the thought of being attracted to
anyone
who
hung out at Johnny’s. I knew exactly what I wanted and none of them could
measure up.

I slid into an empty space
that opened up, right in front of him. I smiled a genuine smile for the first
time that day. “Hey Johnny, can I get three shots of Absolute, two Blue Moons
and a vodka cranberry?”

“That’s a mighty tall order
for such a short little thing,” he laughed as he finished wiping down the bar
with a rag. “You betcha doll,” he turned with a wink to fetch our drinks. He
looked back over his shoulder while pouring the beers; “you bring that dip shit
boyfriend of yours tonight?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.
“No. We just came from the concert. He took off earlier with some friends that
he ran into.” In all actuality, I knew who he had really taken off with and I’m
pretty sure Johnny sensed it as well.

“Ah, I see. Who you here
with?”

“Hannah and Theo came with
me. They’re over at the back table. I offered to get the first round. I’m sure
you’ll see them in a few minutes when we need refills.” I grabbed one of the
drink trays we rarely used, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to heft the plethora
of drinks back to the table on my own.

He wiped the spot on the bar
he had spilled some of our shots. “Sounds good doll, but you know your money is
no good here. Now get going, before I change my mind.”

“Thanks Johnny.”

I turned to walk back over towards
my friends. I didn’t think it was possible but the bar was beginning to get
even more crowded than it had been just ten minutes ago. I raised the tray
above my head and slid in between and around nearly every body around me. I sat
the tray down and divvied up the shot glasses in front of me.

“Here’s to the one’s we
love, the one’s we lost and all the assholes in between.” The three of us
laughed before taking our shots. I could feel the warmth of the alcohol
reaching my toes. Tonight, I didn’t want to feel a single emotion but
inebriation.

Six shots, four beers and
one Irish car bomb later, I was well beyond three sheets to the wind. Hannah
and I had made our way onto the desolate dance floor, only to make it more so,
with our inebriated dance moves. My mind had finally stopped over-thinking and
overanalyzing every detail in my life for the time since we had been out. 
My mind was too fuzzy to comprehend how to walk, let alone think about anything
requiring my direct attention.

Hannah tapped me on the
shoulder, letting me know she was going to the bathroom. I nodded and continued
swaying with the music. Half way through one of my twirls I caught sight of
Theo heading towards me. He looked quite serious but I didn’t care. His strong
hands softly grabbed my arms once he made his way over to me. I was caught off
guard and instantly my body stiffened under his touch.

“Sorry Bennett, you know I
wouldn’t hurt you.” His hands let go of my arms and flew into the air. “I think
maybe we should get going soon.” I saw the look in his eye and I knew he wasn’t
to be argued with, so I nodded my head in agreement.

Theo grabbed a couple
bottles of water from behind the bar before returning to the table. Hannah was
still in the bathroom and I was hoping she was feeling okay. Theo instructed me
to drink my water and I did as he asked, without question. I was in no mood to
argue with anybody, whether the argument was heavy or not. I sat looking at
Theo, wondering if he planned on being with Hannah forever. I knew it was none
of my business but I figured someone deserved forever. Hannah was an amazing
girl. She was absolutely beautiful, had a one of a kind personality and she
really seemed to love Theo.

I thought to hell with it, I
was going to ask him. I opened my mouth to speak, when I caught a glimpse of
Raylon’s tattoo covered arm pushing through the onslaught of bodies. My eyes
opened the size of saucers and it didn’t get passed Theo. He turned his head
just in time to catch Raylon, before he lunged at me.

“Not so fast there killer.
Just leave her be for the night.” Theo was tucking Raylon’s arm up behind his
back effortlessly.

“Fuck you, Theo. This
doesn’t concern you. Let me the fuck go!”

His words were slurred and I
could only imagine how much alcohol he had consumed. My mouth was extremely
dry. I was willing myself to say something, anything to defuse the situation
but I was at a loss for words. Alcohol clouded my thoughts and judgment,
preventing me from looking him in the eye.

Theo tucked Raylon’s arm up
with a bit more force this time. “Dude we have all had too much to drink. There
is no reason for you to come in here, demanding she listen to you. Let’s walk
home and cool off a bit, huh?” My eyes were pleading for him to not let Raylon
take me home.

Hannah emerged from the
bathroom looking rather pale. I guessed she had been throwing up because she
looked like she was going to fall over. I reached out and guided her to the
chair next to mine. I slid one of the waters to her, nodding for her to drink.
We only lived a few blocks from the bar, so I was all too willing to huff it
home. Hannah gave me a questioning look and I shrugged my shoulders.

“What the hell is
he
doing
here?” As she pointed her bottle in Raylon’s direction she sent water sloshing
all over the tabletop. Theo immediately interjected before Raylon could get
snippy with her.

 “I was just getting
ready to take him home Babe. You ladies going to be okay walking a few minutes
behind us?” His genuine concern sent waves of jealousy rolling through me.

I nodded and tucked Hannah
under my arm before gathering our belongings. I waved my good-bye to Johnny
while passing the bar to leave. I saw the look of concern on his face but I
didn’t stop to try to put his mind at ease. If he only knew what would be
waiting for me at home, anticipating my arrival. The cool night air smacked me
in the face like a cold glass of ice water. I wasn’t expecting it to be this
cold already, although I had no idea what time it was.

Hannah mumbled a few words
under my arm, before she started slipping down the side of my body. I quickly
adjusted my arm underneath her to support her dead weight better, but I was
struggling to make it a few feet. I squinted through my drunkenness to see how
far ahead Theo and Raylon were. I couldn’t see them anywhere and panic shot
through me. I spun my head side to side, glancing in every direction trying to
find them. Hannah was all but passed out now and I was getting worried that we
wouldn’t make it home.

I reached into my purse,
trying to find my cell phone. We didn’t live in a bad neighborhood but I had
been working at this bar long enough to know what lurked around at all hours. I
felt the smooth metal between my fingers, breathing a sigh of relief. I dialed
Theo’s number faster than I thought possible. After three rings, he finally
picked up. He sounded completely out of breath and agitated.

“Bennett…. Ben…Bennett. Where.Are.You?”
I heard panic in his voice and Theo rarely, if ever panicked.

“Theo calm down. We’re okay,
but Hannah has all but passed out on me and I can’t carry her. I need you to
come back and help me.” He didn’t say anything and when I thought maybe our
call had been disconnected, he let out a loud sigh.

“I lost him Bennett. I have
no idea where he went. We wrestled around for a minute before he clocked me in
the jaw and took off. I NEED to know where you are, now!”

The worry in his voice made
me start to worry. “I don’t know Theo. I think we’re in between 6th and Oak.” I
found myself scanning my surroundings keeping an eye out for Raylon.

“Don’t move. I’ll be there
in thirty-seconds.”

The phone went quiet and I
adjusted Hannah’s slouching position against me. I suddenly felt extremely
unsafe and wanted to run to the safety of my house, even if my house had Raylon
waiting for me.

I didn’t hear him come up
behind me until I was face down on the asphalt. I could taste the metallic
tinged blood under my cheek. The tiny fragments of gravel were already
imbedding themselves into my skin. I slid my hands up to the sides of my face
to push myself up but I was met with resistance. Something hard was digging
into my back, rendering me immobile. The ringing in my ear started to cease as
Hannah’s shrill voice broke into my thoughts. I couldn’t make out what she was
saying, but I could hear the panic in her voice. The only thing I could make
out was Theo, pleading with bystanders to call 911.

I squeezed my eyes shut
tight before reopening them, trying to focus. I was able to lift my head enough
to brush some of the pieces of gravel from my cheek. My hand felt the warm
thick liquid on the tips of my fingers, making my stomach convulsed. My attempt
to push myself up again resulted in the hard object in my back propelling me
further into the ground. I felt a forceful tug on the back of my head and then
my face was slamming into the hard asphalt below me. Tears rolled down my dirt-ridden
face, meshing with the dripping blood. My head collided with the ground one
more time before my world went black.

When I came to, I was disoriented.
Red and blue bounced off of the buildings and mulching trees, making my head
spin. I didn’t attempt to move this time. I simply stayed in the position I had
landed in, flat on my belly. Minutes later, a pair of rubber-covered hands
reached for my limp body, rolling me onto my back. I gasped at the intense pain
shooting through my spine. My eyes tried focus on Theo and Hannah, who were
looking down at me. I didn’t have to ask what happened, I already knew who did
this to me.

I felt Hannah’s dry lips
press against my forehead. Her hot tears were dripping onto my face and I
couldn’t stop my tears that were brimming behind my eyelids from spilling over.
“I love you Bennett. You’re going to be okay, I promise.” The confounded look
on her face, told another story.

“Where is he?” I croaked.

“They have him in the cop
car across the street. I didn’t think he was going to stop.”

I shook my head, willing her
to stop crying. I was going to be fine. Somehow or another, I always survived.
“I’m fine Han.” I tried to smile but my lip was too swollen to move.

“Theo tried to stop him. He
showed up just a minute too late. Don’t hate him Bennett, please.” I couldn’t
understand why she would assume that I would be mad at Theo.

“Hannah I’m not mad at Theo.
Where is he?” I tried to turn my head to the side, but the paramedic was making
my head immobile.

“You can’t move your head
Miss. There was trauma to your spine and we need to make sure your okay before
you go moving around.”

I was growing impatient
still being on the hard uncomfortable ground. I just wanted to go home to my
bed. I
wanted
to put this nightmare behind me. “Do I need
stitches?” I honestly didn’t care if I did or not, but I wanted away from here.

The voice above my head
answered in a hushed tone, “No Miss, but I highly suggest you go to the
hospital to get checked out.”

“Can you please just let me
sit up? I’m fine.” I tried to push myself up onto my forearms but I was met
with resistance.