“Lil, there’s a shit ton of people here,” Rose hissed. “It’s not a good idea.”
“I’m fine,” I snapped.
I walked away before she said anything else, but I could feel her eyes boring into my back as I reached the wall that would lead me to the archway that connected to the back hallway of the club. I knew it was taking all of her willpower not to follow me, but I really hoped she wouldn’t. Ever since I’d begun seeing light again, the restraints I’d been living with for years had started driving me insane. I wanted to be able to go to the damn bathroom on my own. I wanted my sight back so I could learn to drive, and cook, and watch a fucking movie.
I breathed a little sigh of relief as I reached the archway that led to the hallway and bedrooms. There were rarely any people back there outside of the ones that I’d known since birth. The members weren’t real willing to let outsiders go sniffing around in their shit, and they kept a lot of shit in their bedrooms that they weren’t willing to bring home with them.
After knocking—a lot—I went inside my dad’s room and the bathroom connected to it without any trouble. I wasn’t sure where my parents were, but thankfully they weren’t inside. I’d never walked in on them, but there had been a couple of close calls that I’d rather not remember or repeat. Their bathroom was always clean, though—my mother’s doing—so I always felt safe going inside. I wasn’t about to use one of the restrooms that the guys shared out in the hallway. Men were disgusting creatures and their bathrooms were usually vomit-inducing.
As I made my way out of the bedroom, I ran my hand along the wall on my left as I absently counted my steps. It was around fourteen and a half steps between my parents’ room and the archway, but I only made it ten before an arm was wrapped around my waist and lifting me off the floor.
It startled me so badly that I didn’t even scream.
Chapter 5
Leo
“Dandelion,” I said cheerfully as I spun her around in a small circle. “What’re you doin’ here?”
I was drunk. Plastered, if I was being honest. And damn if it didn’t feel good.
“What the fuck, Leo,” Lily gasped as her nails dug into my forearm. “Put me down.”
“Ah, don’t be like that,” I said, setting her back on her feet. “We’re at a party!”
“You’re drunk,” she snapped, pushing away from me.
Her brows drew down in confusion as she reached tentatively out to her side until her hand met the wall.
“Feelin’ good, yeah,” I answered, even though it hadn’t been a question. “What’re you doin’ here?”
“You already asked that.”
“And you didn’t answer me.”
“I would have if—” she paused and her nostrils flared. “Where the fuck am I? Which direction am I going in?”
I realized then that I’d totally disoriented her when I’d swung her around. Whoops.
“Same direction you were headed when I found you,” I replied uncomfortably. “About three steps from the main room.”
“Thank you,” she snapped, taking a step away from me.
“What?” I asked obnoxiously, irritated that she was walking away from me. “You still pissed about that Cecilia shit?”
“Are you joking?” she asked, turning her head toward me.
“Well, somethin’ crawled up your ass.”
“You just picked me up out without giving me any fucking warning!”
“You knew it was me,” I protested, lifting my hands palm up, even though she couldn’t see me. “Come on, it ain’t like you didn’t know.”
“Actually, I didn’t,” she hissed, turning completely around. “There’s a bunch of guys here that I don’t even know, but since I was back here I wasn’t paying close attention!”
Her arms flew out and one almost hit me in the face as she gestured, making me grin.
“Well, shit. You know it’s me now.”
“Whatever,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Did you need something?”
Her eyes were pointed right at me. I knew she couldn’t see me. I knew it. But lately when they were pointed in my direction, it felt like she was looking at me. No shit. More and more, it seemed like her eyes were focused instead of staring into nothing.
“Just sayin’ hi,” I replied, stepping forward to I could throw my arms around her shoulders and turn her back in the right direction. “Wasn’t expectin’ to see you tonight.”
“I’m surprised you aren’t holed up with some skank,” she said snarkily, making me chuckle.
“Nah, that was an hour ago.”
“Ew!” She tried to pull away in disgust, but I pulled her tighter against me as I ushered her forward.
“What? You don’t want any skank rubbing off on you?” I asked jokingly, scrubbing my hand up and down her bare arm.
“That’s fucking disgusting,” she replied, finally yanking herself away from me.