As soon as I stepped out into the concession area I had come in from, there were more loud shouts. People sprinted past me. Some shoved against others in their pursuit and alarm flared inside of me. Whatever Natalie and Kate had been doing, it didn’t compare to what was going on there.
“Where the FUCK are they?!” a guy shouted over the rest.
There was movement from the crowd around him. A wave of people pressed back. A girl tripped next to me, but I caught her and held her up. When I saw it was one of the girls who had left their friend inside, my hand let go as if scalded. Then I turned back. There were more shouts and curses.
The same guy yelled out in a low baritone, “I’ll rip them up! I don’t care about no goddamn restraining order. Let go of me—”
Another wave went through the crowd. People were pressed against all sides of me and I gasped for air.
“No!”
“Get him!”
“Stand down!”
“Fuck you all—”
A hand grabbed my arm and I reared back, ready for a fight. Then I saw Kate’s somber gaze. She tugged me behind her. When I didn’t move, she yelled in my ear, “They wouldn’t want you here. Come on.”
I shook my head.
She snorted in disgust and let go of my arm. Then she shouldered her way to the back. A part of me wondered if I should’ve gone, but then three people slammed against me. I went down. As I was about to hit the floor, I grabbed for the nearest arm and gritted my teeth. I used all my strength to keep myself upright. I would’ve been trampled under the crowd if I went down. A girl cried out in pain, but I didn’t care. Then I turned and started to shove my way back through the crowd.
As I progressed past a hallway, there was a shout. I squashed myself against the wall as a line of police men sprinted past me. They were dressed in full swat gear. It wasn’t long before screams and wrangled cries filled the air. I knew they were pushing their way towards the guys in the front, whoever they were.
Police whistles screeched in the air and I winced. The high-pitch was painful to the ear, but I kept pushing backwards. I didn’t know their school and the only exit I knew to get to my car wasn’t an option, so when I found an empty hallway, I stopped and leaned against the lockers. Then I bent forward and gasped for air.
Holy hell.
I gasped for more breath. My arms trembled. My knees shook. I slid to the ground. I couldn’t hold myself upright.
I couldn’t contain my hands. They were violently quaking. As I pressed them to my face, I flinched when one nicked my eye. I shoved them underneath me. They couldn’t hurt me if I sat on them. After awhile, a long while, I was able to sit there and calm down.
My breathing evened out and my limbs no longer shook, as much.
Then I looked back up.
The hallway was dark and I was alone. I couldn’t hear any sounds from whatever had happened and I slowly pushed myself back to my feet.
As I tried to find my way back, I kept getting lost and I cursed. Who knew their school was so big? And then I caught a whiff of popcorn. Relief flared inside of me. It was so tremendous, my knees almost buckled to the ground. But I gritted my teeth and followed the smell of that buttery popcorn haven that I never enjoyed until that moment.
Popcorn was my new best friend.
As I turned the last corner, the sight of the concessions stand was a sight I had to stop and appreciate. Then I shouldered it back, lifted my chin, and walked past the crowd that still remained. Some women were crying. Some girls were sobbing to their friends, who seemed just as shaken up. Most of the men were talking animatedly to their friends, with rough hand gestures, and their voices grew as their stories progressed.
With an odd sense of humility, I tried to slip past them.
I would’ve been successful if Kate hadn’t come out of the women’s bathroom. She stopped short as she saw me but shoved her hands in her front pockets and rolled her shoulders back. She wore another thin top that showcased the bra underneath and her ribs. It ended an inch above her jeans.
I half expected to see abdominal muscles, but was surprised when I saw soft skin instead.
She leaned back a step and looked up and down. “Mason and Logan went crazy when they heard you were here.”
“What?” My body started tingling, not of the good sort.
“Yeah.” She tilted her chin up and gave me what might’ve been a smile. It looked detached to me. “They couldn’t get out of the locker room. Cops kept them barred in, but when they were let out and we saw ‘em, I told ‘em that I tried to get you to come with. Mason went ballistic. Logan too.” Her eyes raked me up and down. Her entire demeanor was so cold. “You didn’t tell them you were coming?”
I shrugged. Something in me fell away and I grew numb as I faced off against this chick. “There’s one thing I keep thinking about.”
She kept a blank expression. She didn’t bite.
I forged ahead anyways with a dead feeling inside of me. “Why do you care so much?”
Her eyebrow lifted now. But she still wore that pouty look with her lip and her hands stayed in her pockets.
And an anger I didn’t know I possessed wrangled up inside of me. My hands jerked out to grab the back of her neck. I wanted to bash her head into the wall as I had done with Jessica, but I clamped down at the last second.
She jumped back. Her eyes went wide in alarm. She watched me, warily.
I expelled a violent breath and tried to calm myself down.
Her eyes kept looking me up and down. I knew she was on alert.