One Night, One Scar

The club was my last option. Honestly? I didn’t want to be here. Not really. The music was too loud, the lights too low, and the people too… everything. Everyone was laughing, grinding, losing themselves in the bass like it could erase whatever haunted them. I wasn’t here for fun. I was here because staying home felt worse. The place reeked of sweat, perfume, alcohol, and desperation, the kind of desperation that wrapped itself around your throat, but you kept dancing anyway. Vortex was made for people who wanted to forget. And tonight, I guess I was one of them. But unlike them, I didn’t come here to flirt or get laid or drown in free shots. I wasn’t here to dance until my feet gave out or pretend I was fine. I came because two hours ago, my ex sent me a video that shattered the last little bit of me I didn’t even know was still intact. I was on my couch when it happened. Blanket up to my chest. Phone in my hand. Staring at a stupid picture of us that I hadn’t deleted even though I told everyone I did. Derrick. He used to be the love of my life. The guy I thought I’d grow old with. The one I gave everything to even the parts of me I never showed anyone else. Then he cheated. Lied. Left. That was three weeks ago. Three weeks of nothing. No calls. No texts. Just a sick kind of silence that screamed louder than words. And then, out of nowhere, my phone lit up. His name. On my screen. Like a curse. For one stupid second, my heart jumped. I thought maybe… maybe he missed me. Maybe he wanted to fix things. Maybe this was an apology. But nope. You were never enough for me anyway. This is what you couldn’t give me. There was a video attached. I wish I could say I didn’t open it. That I was strong enough. But I wasn’t. I tapped it. And what I saw… God. It made me sick. It was him. Derrick. Naked. Grunting. His hand in some girl’s hair. His voice whispering all the filth he used to say to me like it was special. And then he looked at the camera, looked right at it and he smiled. Like he knew I’d see it. Like he wanted me to. My whole body went cold. I dropped the phone like it burned. My hands were shaking, my mouth dry, and my chest it just wouldn’t move right. I felt like I was going to throw up. But I didn’t. I just sat there, blank. Numb. Cold. And now, here I am. In Vortex. Downing tequila like it owed me something. I didn’t want to feel anything. Not guilt. Not rage. Not heartbreak. Just… nothing. And then I saw him. He didn’t walk in. He appeared. Tall. Broad. Dressed in all black like he was born to ruin someone’s night or maybe save it. His shirt clung to his chest like it wanted to, and his sleeves were rolled to reveal tattooed forearms that made me stare longer than I should’ve. His eyes? Dark. Intense. Quiet. They didn’t flirt. They didn’t ask. They just watched, steady and unshaken, like he already knew he had my attention. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t even trying. But I couldn’t look away. “One more shot, then we’re gone. I swear,” Tessa said beside me, nudging my arm. I blinked. “I’m fine.” “You’re wearing eyeliner but no foundation. That’s not fine. That’s emotional code red.” I laughed, sort of. It was weak and brittle. “I said I’m fine.” “You keep saying that, but your voice cracks every time.” She wasn’t wrong. Tessa had been with me through all of it: the betrayal, the breakdowns, the wine-glass-smashing nights. She’d seen me at my worst and still showed up anyway. She didn’t push. She just flagged down the bartender again. “One more. You’ll either cry or pass out. Let’s see which.” I tried to smile at her, but it didn’t stick. And then my phone buzzed. Another message. I looked barely expecting something dumb. Maybe someone from Tessa’s ‘check-on-Selena’ group chat. But it was him. Again. Derrick. My hands froze. Thought you’d enjoy the encore. Now you can watch how it’s done. And another damn video. I opened it. I don’t even know why. Habit. Hope. Some part of me still hanging on to pain like it meant something. It was worse than the first. Longer. Louder. He said things to that woman… things he used to whisper in my ear. Only now it wasn’t sweet. It was cruel. Like he knew he was destroying me. And again the smirk. The laugh. Like it was a sport. Like I was a joke. I slammed the phone on the bar and my whole arm shook. “Sel?” Tessa leaned in, her face panicked now. “What is it?” “I… I can’t” I stood. Stumbled, honestly. “I need to forget. I need to do something reckless. One night. That’s it.” “Selena, slow down” But I was already moving. Away from the bar. Away from her. I didn’t know where I was going. And that’s when I crashed into him again. Up close, he was worse. Worse in a good way. Dangerous in that way, that made your knees weak even if your brain screamed run. He didn’t flinch when I stumbled. He just looked at me calm, quiet, steady. “Are you okay?” he asked. His voice was rough. Warm. Like something I wasn’t supposed to hear but did anyway. I wanted to lie. Say yes. Say sorry. Move past him. But something broke open in me and I said, “No. Not even close.” He didn’t push. Didn’t ask for more. He just nodded once, like he understood everything I wasn’t saying. “I’m Jace.” “Selena.” “No last names?” “Not tonight.” He smiled slow and real. “Fair enough.” “Come on,” he said. “You need air.” Tessa appeared seconds later, eyes sharp as blades. She stepped between us like a shield. “Everything okay here?” I blinked. Tried to speak. Couldn’t. “She’s not okay,” Jace said, his voice low. “But I’m not here to hurt her.” Tessa narrowed her eyes. “I’ve heard that before.” “I don’t lie.” She studied him. Long and hard. Then she looked at me. I wasn’t crying, but I wasn’t fine either. I must’ve looked wrecked. Exposed. But not numb. “Sel… if you want me to stay, say the word.” I looked up at her and whispered, “I think I need to do something reckless. Just this once.” She hugged me tightly and said in my ear, “Okay. But only because I trust you. If he does anything, just call me. I will show up swinging.” “I know,” I whispered. She stepped back and glared at Jace. “You hurt her, I’ll bury you.” “I won’t.” Then she kissed my cheek and left. And just like that, I was alone with a stranger. The cab ride was silent. He didn’t ask questions. I didn’t offer answers. I didn’t care where we were going. I just knew I couldn’t go home. Not to that apartment. Not to that bed. Not to that phone. Jace lived in a soft, quiet, spacious, clean home. No clutter. No mess. Like he didn’t let anything in he couldn’t control. The moment I stepped inside, I felt out of place. Like I was tracking mud into a gallery. “You live here alone?” I asked. “Yeah.” He washed his hands in the kitchen. Then turned back to me. “You coming?” I followed him up the stairs, my heart trying to crawl out of my chest. His bedroom was simple. Dark. Masculine. It smelled like sandalwood and something else I couldn’t name expensive but not fake. I stood there, unsure. He shut the door behind me. “You sure you want this?” I thought about Derrick. About that video. About how I didn’t want to feel used ever again. “I don’t know what I want,” I whispered. “I just know I don’t want to feel broken anymore.” He stepped forward, slowly, like he didn’t want to scare me. His fingers brushed my jaw. “I don’t do pretends. If you say stop, I stop. If you change your mind, the door’s right there.” My breath hitched. “But if you stay,” he said, “I’ll make sure you remember what it feels like to be wanted.”