2. Lauren
2
LAUREN
I threw back the third shot of whiskey and closed my eyes to enjoy the burn as it slid down my throat. Amber and I had been at this for two hours already, and though I wanted to be so wasted I couldn’t stand, I still used good judgment. Especially when hot guys floated our way and tried to pick me up. I didn't need more problems. I already had enough.
"Come on, Lauren, so you were fired. It doesn't mean you can't have a little fun. Maye you'll meet Mr. Right and he'll be your sugar daddy." Amber winked at me and swayed on her seat. She was used to this scene, going out drinking every Friday with our old friend group. I left that scene years ago when my shifts in the ER got too crazy to keep up with the fatigue—when I realized what a horrible example that was setting for Jason.
"Easy for you to say. Your dad still pays your rent. I have to support myself and my brother." In fact, after being canned, I really didn't have the money to be wasting tonight on drinking, but I was so upset I just told Jason I'd be working late. Dad's death hit us both pretty hard emotionally, but I had the added financial pressure of becoming Jason's legal guardian at the age of twenty. He was only eleven at the time, and now barely eighteen, every time something happened to set us back, he blamed himself for being a leech.
How would I ever tell him I was fired? He would dive off the deep end into his favorite drug addiction and spiral out of control again. I couldn't afford another stint in rehab for him.
Amber bumped my shoulder with hers and smiled. "You're too hard on yourself. Just go to your old boss and he'll take you back. You were super great in the emergency room. Your employees loved you." I watched her eyes and knew she was sincere as she gave the compliments, but her gaze was fixed beyond me, probably on some hot guy who was making eyes at her.
"I can't. You know I know that place inside and out. They're barely staffing enough people to cover all the shifts and the budget is strapped. It was probably a relief when I resigned because the person they hired to replace me cost them less money every year." Misery loves company, and I just wanted Amber to sulk with me. I knew it wasn't her way of coping, though, and she would never deign to mourn with me. Not when there were cute men around.
She gave me an exaggerated frown and tipped up her shot glass to her lips, finishing the honey-colored drink. I knew she wanted to be here for me, but with this being her scene, she had a reputation to uphold. Her body language screamed at me that she wanted to dance and get her flirt on, so I nodded, gesturing at the dance floor. "Go on," I told her, and she squealed and kissed me on the cheek.
"I'll be back," she said, glowing now, and then she was gone.
I stared into the empty shot glass, agonizing over whether I could have another drink and still make it home safely. This wasn’t the best part of town, but it was only a few blocks from Amber's apartment. With Chicago’s reputation for rough streets at times, I didn’t figure being drunk was a good option. I had to hail a cab or call an Uber anyway, so that meant being alone in a car with a stranger as it was. I decided to pass on the drink and grabbed my purse to pay for what I'd already consumed, and a man walked up and sat down next to me.
He smelled like booze and cigarette smoke, and it looked like he was on something. His scruffy beard wasn't well groomed. His eyes were glassed over. He leaned toward me with a grin, and all I saw were yellow-stained teeth.
"Mind if I buy you a drink?" he asked, words so slurred I could barely understand him.
"Uh, no, thank you. I'm just paying. I've had enough." Not to mention I wasn't attracted to him at all, and I'd had a crappy day. I just wanted to go home and sulk. Tomorrow, I had a lot of work ahead of me searching for the right job, and hopefully, someone would see my experience and specialty and hire me. I was a fool for thinking switching fields would work. Taking that risk for more pay was stupid. I should have waited out the budget crisis and then just asked for a raise where I was.
"Come on, let me buy you a drink." The man put his hand on my thigh and slowly slid it up toward my hip. His fingers curled around the hem of my green skirt and pulled it higher, and I pushed his hand down.
"No, thank you," I told him again, and this time, I stood and walked toward the end of the bar where the bartender was. I was happy he could appreciate a confident full-figured woman like me, but he was being wildly inappropriate and I just wanted to get out of here. As it was, the fatigue from fighting emotion all day, coupled with the few drinks I had, made my head swim. I didn't need to add this crap to that.
My evasive maneuvers didn’t work, though. Even as the bartender read me my total and I pulled cash from my wallet to pay him, the obtrusive man walked up and stood next to me. His hot, stinky breath dusted my face and I almost gagged.
"I said, let me buy you a drink." This time, his words were not in the form of a question. He was frustrated and pushy and his body pressed against mine awkwardly. The bartender glanced at the man as I handed the money over and locked eyes with me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, and I bit my lip and shook my head no. He got the point really quickly, coming to my aid. "Look, buddy, the lady said no. Now get lost." The bartender put my cash into the register and pulled out the change, placing it on my palm while the hulking man huffed.
"I'm just trying to get the pretty lady a drink. Butt out." Now I felt his hand slide across my backside and around a butt cheek, and I slapped it away, and the bartender walked around the end of the bar and right up to me.
"I said, get lost." He was a handsome man, not much older than me—broad shoulders and thick biceps, but a wedding ring hugged his ring finger and I noticed it as he squeezed between me and the weirdo who couldn't take no for an answer. "Leave."
The smelly man rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You just can't butt out, can you?" he hissed angrily, but he did as the bartender told him to. I stood and watched the man retreat out the door and into the darkness of night and shuddered with fear.
The bartender turned around and gave me some space. "Need me to call you a cab and walk you out?" he asked, and his head dipped as he looked into my eyes. He was compassionate, just the way I liked them—but married.
"Uh, no. Thank you, though." I smiled softly. "I'll get an Uber." I already had my phone in hand, waving it at him as proof I'd be safe. I was grateful for good men in this world who'd still stand up for a woman needing a bit of protection. He made his way back to the servers' side of the bar, and I focused on my phone and getting an Uber.
I waited by the door for a long time, but it was hot and my skin craved the fresh air outside. There was no sign of the creepy guy anywhere, so I stepped outside into the darkness and streetlights to wait on the sidewalk. I had at least fifteen more minutes, but it was too loud inside the club and Amber was already absorbed in her usual thing. She probably didn’t even realize I was gone.
Cars zipped by every so often, piquing my attention, but none of them pulled up to stop. I started walking casually toward the corner, watching over my shoulder for my Uber driver to arrive. It was supposed to be a blue sedan with neon lights, though nothing matching that description showed up. I started to get frustrated and stared up the street and noticed movement between two cars. It was someone waiting there, watching me.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I suddenly felt very sober. It was the weirdo from the bar who thought touching me without asking my permission was okay. He stood there with a cigarette in hand, puffing away and blowing smoke out, but his eyes were locked on me. I glanced at my phone nervously, now seeing that the Uber was delayed in traffic uptown. When I looked back at the bar, I realized the man was closer to the entrance than I was, and he would easily cut me off if I tried to go back inside.
There were no other businesses open on this street this late at night, and no other people were around, either. I started to panic. I wanted to call someone for help, but who? Amber was three sheets to the wind, dancing in front of a loudspeaker. Jason was a forty-minute train ride away and had no license to drive himself. My work colleagues all had their own lives, and if I called the police and that guy was harmless, I’d look like a fool.
I did the only thing I could do. I punched in a new address for the Uber driver, three blocks up the street, then pressed my phone to my ear, pretending I was on a call. Then I started walking, in the dark, away from the only lit storefront on the block. I almost started crying. My eyes welled up, but I blinked the tears back, and my heart raced. My palms were sweaty, and I quickened my pace with every step, especially when I glanced over my shoulder and saw the man following me.
"Oh, God," I mumbled to myself and kept walking.
I rounded a corner and in the distance, I noticed someone getting into a car, or getting out of a car. I couldn't tell. They were hovering, bent over in an open doorway, and I made a beeline in that direction. The faster I moved, the faster the guy behind me moved until I was almost running. I closed the gap between me and the new stranger, praying it was someone who could help me, and when I was only a few paces behind the person, I realized it was a man.
"Help," I squeaked out, and I heard the man behind me approaching quickly.
The new stranger stood and turned around, and in the dark I swore I recognized him. "What?" he asked, and I knew the voice too, but the shadows made it difficult to make out his features.
"Please, help me," I said again, this time moving in to cling to him. He stiffened and grabbed my arms, but it was obvious he saw the man coming after me. "Kiss me," I told him, craning my head up to look into his eyes, and my gut knotted instantly.
It was Dr. Park—the man who had fired me only hours ago.
For a split second, all I could do was tremble and stare into his eyes, but he did what I said. His lips collided with mine in a scorching explosion that felt like a volcano erupting inside me. Teeth and tongues clashed in a wild dance, and his hands gripped me in such inappropriate places, but I didn't mind one bit. I was lost the instant that look of recognition dawned on him. God, I hated this man, but wow, was this hot.