Then There Was You(110)

Chris nodded. “Yeah.”

She pointed toward the window. “She’s prolly inside. Deuce can’t keep his hands off her.”

Chris stiffened beside me, bristling with anger. “Thanks,” he said flatly and pulled me toward the front door.

The bass of the music thumped in my chest the moment Chris opened the door. We waded through a sea of plastic cups and long neck bottles, searching for Alexis.

Making our way to the kitchen, we hoped we’d find her quickly. Sifting through the hazy shroud of exhaled chronic that lingered above our heads, I heard the clinking of glasses as a small group was playing a game of Quarters on the kitchen table.

Suddenly, someone stepped in front of us. “Yo, you lost?” the guy asked.

“Nah, man,” Chris shrugged. “Just looking for Alexis. You seen her?”

“There’s no one here by that name,” the guy said flatly, obviously unwilling to help.

Chris wasn’t fazed. “Maybe your boy Deuce can help us find her.” He stared the kid down, unyielding.

The dude glared back, stepping toward him. “Sorry. No one here by that name either.”

Chris’s eyes darkened. “Look, kid. Don’t fuck with me. I’m here to get Alexis. Now you either point me in the right direction, or you and your buddies can all find yourselves stuffed in the back of police car by the looks of this little shindig you’re throwing.” Chris pinched his finger and thumb together, held them to his lips, and inhaled as if he were smoking a joint.

The guy’s face hardened. “You threatening me, asshole?”

Chris stared him down. “Nope,” he deadpanned.

After an intense moment of clenching fists and twitching jaws, the guy finally relented. “Down the hall,” he said, flicking his head in that direction. “You might find her there.”

“Thanks… pal,” Chris said sarcastically, patronizing him with a friendly pat on the shoulder.

We made our way down the hall. That’s when I heard it… the quiet whimper of Alexis behind one of the closed doors. I knew it was my daughter. I knew the timbre and tone of every noise she’d ever made her whole life.

Chris froze beside me. I could feel the intensity of his rage radiating off of him. “Mother fucker,” he breathed, barreling forward.

Flinging the door open, he burst into the room with no holds barred. I barged in behind him. All I saw was Alexis’s hair against the wall with another guy trapping her there. The guy’s hands were on either side of her head, and he was leaned in like he was going for a kiss. In an instant, the guy who was pressing my daughter against the wall was lying flat on his back on the floor with Chris’s forearm against his throat.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, asshole?” Chris growled, shaking with intensity.

Alexis ran toward me in a disheveled mess. “Mom!” she cried, collapsing into my arms, sobbing against my chest.

“Get off me,” Deuce hissed through his teeth.

“What did you do to her, mother fucker?” Chris snarled, pressing his arm harder against Deuce’s throat.

“Nothing,” Deuce choked.

Restrained rage exuded from Chris. After all, this kid looked like he was still a teenager. Otherwise, I didn’t think Chris would have held himself back like he did. “Oh yeah? Well, that’s not what it looked like. Now did it?”

“I didn’t do shit.” Deuce’s breathing was labored under Chris’s weight.

Chris released the pressure a little on Deuce’s throat. “You better hope and pray her story matches yours.” He glanced toward us huddled in the corner. “Did this punk hurt you, Alexis?”

Alexis shook her head. “I’m okay,” she whispered.

With one final shove against Deuce’s neck, Chris drove his point home. “You’re lucky,” he said through clenched teeth.

Releasing Deuce from his grasp, Chris stood up and reached out to Alexis. “You okay?”

She barreled into him, eager for security in his strong arms. He wrapped his arms protectively around her and glared at Deuce who was still lying on the floor, catching his breath.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said as we made our way back outside.

“What about Olivia?” I asked as we settled into the car. I’d climbed into the backseat beside Alexis, who was distraught and trembling.

“She’s spending the night with Briggs,” Alexis said, still very shaken up.

Shocked by Olivia’s complete lack of judgment, I blurted, “So, she brought you here and left you at the party by yourself so she could spend the night with her boyfriend?”

Alexis grimaced, wiping away the smudge mascara beneath her eyes. “It’s complicated, Mom, but basically… yes.”