My Beautiful Mistake

Chapter Six

"Are you sure I look okay? This dress is kind of short." I bit my lip nervously, trying to pull down the edge of my dress.

We stood by her car in the parking lot nearest to the club about to head to the door.

Evelyn had overdone it. Really. The dress was pretty, I'll admit. It was mid-thigh length, with lacy sleeves and a low v-line. I can't say that I ever wore a dress like this in my life.

Evelyn was wearing an identical dress, except in red and without sleeves. Guess she chose it to match her hair.

She laughed and swatted my shoulder playfully. "You look stunning, Brookie. But, wait, you're missing something. She reached over and pulled my hair, which she had curled into long, wavy locks partially in front of me. "Perfect."

I subconsciously took a look at myself at my reflection in the car window and almost didn't recognize myself. I looked...hot? The thought caused my face to heat up and I quickly turned back to Evelyn. 

"You ready, sexy?"

I gulped. "Yea."

As soon as we entered the club, I knew this was a mistake. It was definitely not my scene. It was loud and full of sweaty people grinding on each other. The dance floor looked like a pheromone-infested orgy. 

Evelyn took a deep breath and grinned. "You smell that, Brook? That's the smell of opportunity. Now, let's go get you drunk."

"Actually, Evie, I don't drink." She didn't hear me over the loud music. I hung back as she walked towards the bar completely forgetting that I was accompanying her. 

I surveyed the scene looking for anything to do that didn't involve getting close to the crowd of sweaty, HIV-ridden people.  I spotted an empty table with two stools and quickly walked to it.

Evelyn must've noticed that I wasn't with her and found me sitting alone at the table.

"God, Brooks. Lighten up. You're at a club. Here." she slid a glass across the table over to me.

"Evie. I already told you. I don't drink."

She sighed. " If you're going to be like this, you're not going to have fun."

She looked so bored, I felt bad about it and decided that one drink couldn't hurt. I grabbed the cup and took a gulp of it before I realized I probably should've sipped it first.

"Ew, what the hell is this?" I put the glass down, repulsed by the flavor of the drink.

She giggled. "It's obvious you've never drank before. I started you with vodka and cranberry juice. Me, on the other hand, I prefer something stronger."

I shook my head and proceeded to drink some more. 

"Don't look now, Brooks, but there's a guy eying you up."

"Huh?" I looked back up so fast I nearly spilled my drink. 

How did she notice someone staring at me in this large crowd of people? 

"Come on. Let's go dance." she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dance floor despite my protests. 

Evelyn really needed to stop dragging me everywhere.

The DJ was playing a lively song with a lot of beats I wasn't too familiar with, but it was definitely catchy. Evelyn was already in tune with the rhythm and swaying her hips to the beats. I decided to just copy her and maybe it would look decent.

After some time, Evelyn was wasted to the point where she was swaying everywhere and went to go sit down for a few. I was already on my fourth drink and dancing like there was no tomorrow. 

The music was intoxicating and soon, my body moved to the rhythm all on its own. It wasn't long before I felt a hard chest push onto my back. A firm pair of hands grabbed my waist and pulled me in closer to his body. 

Alarms started going off in my head as I realized what was going on. I tried to push him off me, but he wouldn't budge, and it didn't help that I was already tipsy and couldn't focus. I felt a hot breath on my neck as he whispered in my ear.

"God, you're sexy." 

"Get the f**k off me!" I said quietly, not wanting to cause a scene and continued my attempt to push him off. 

I tried to kick him backwards, but he grabbed my foot before it even made contact. He gave a deep, throaty chuckle and let go of my foot.

"For someone not looking for trouble, you sure dress like a whore." he grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back between his chest and began to move them slowly downwards. He had his other hand on my midriff moving ever so slowly upwards.

No. 

I felt so sick. He was repulsive and by the size of his stomach, he probably was an old middle-aged dude looking for some action. His touch made my skin crawl. I felt the tears run down my cheeks as I struggled to break free of his grip. 

Images of my mother helpless against my father's assault flashed in my mind.

"Bro, get the f**k off her!"

The grip loosened and I backed away in shock as my assailant was suddenly on the floor holding his head in pain. I couldn't even hear the impact of the punch over the loud music. The people around us instantly moved back and watched as the guy who had just delivered that painful punch stepped towards my assailant on the floor.

"You like to prey on young girls, huh? I bet you have a wife. What would your wife say about that you disgusting piece of s**t?" he looked completely enraged and landed a kick in the guy's ribs.

My assailant howled in pain, and I felt bad for a split second until I realized what he had done to me. He deserved every bit of what he was getting.

The guy dragged him up by the collar of his shirt and held him up against a wall by his throat. He was gasping for air and the blood that was on his broken nose was dripping down his face into his open mouth. 

"If I ever see you near her again, or any other girl in this club, I swear I will hunt you down and do much worse than this. Do you understand me?"

He nodded frantically, still gasping for air.

The guy was still holding him against the wall, unwilling to let go. He seemed out of control. The veins were visible on his forehead and hand and his eyes were intense and furious. If he held on any longer, my assailant could die.

I took a step towards him, about to tell him not to do it, until security beat me to it and were pulling on the guy's arms to loosen his grip. When he finally gave up and let go, my assailant was escorted away by security and hopefully, kicked out of the club. The guy gave me a glance before being escorted away by another officer.

What the hell just happened and where was Evelyn? 

I looked back towards the table where I had left Evelyn and saw her sleeping with her head between her arms. I walked over to the table and woke her up.

"Is it time to go already?" she slurred drunkenly.

I nodded and helped her up so we could leave. I felt shaken up and was avoiding getting close to any guy on her way back to the entrance. She didn't seem to notice this and I didn't want to worry her by saying anything about what had happened. She was too drunk to pay attention, anyways. 

We finally got to the door and as we walked out, I noticed the guy from earlier standing alone by a motorcycle. 

"Evie, get in the car. I'll be right back." she nodded and climbed into the car where she fell onto the backseat.

I nervously walked over to him. I should thank him, right? He did save me from that disgusting pig.

He didn't seem to notice my presence as I walked up to him being that he was engrossed in his phone.

"Hi." I said quietly not looking up at him fully.

He looked up. "Hey. Are you okay?"

I was not okay. A single tear escaped my eyes and fell down my cheek.

"Hey. No, don't cry." he softly cupped my chin, and lifted my head up to face him.

"You're way too beautiful to be crying." 

That only made me cry harder because flashbacks of the guy who was touching me earlier suddenly replayed in my mind.

He lifted a hand and wiped away the stray tears on my face. "No, beautiful. Come here." 

He pulled me in towards him and wrapped his arms around me. I couldn't stop the tears even though they were ruining his shirt. 

"That guy was an asshole. I'm so sorry he touched you like that."

Suddenly, his phone that he had shoved into the pocket of his jeans rung and he let me go. 

He looked at it. "So sorry, I actually got to go. If you want, I can give you my number."

I nodded and wiped the tears from my face. I pulled my phone out from my purse and handed it to him. He dialed in his number and gave it back to me before getting onto his bike.

"By the way, the name's Miles."

It dawned on me that I hadn't even thanked him yet because I was such an emotional mess.

"I'm Brooklyn. And thank you so much for everything today."

He didn't reply. He just winked at me and sped off on his bike.

What a day.