Also, how could Hadley even freak about him doing something like that when she was doing drugs and hiding it from him?  Okay.  Devon would give Hadley some credit.  Devon would freak about that too, but it was kind of hypocritical, not that she would ever say as much to Hadley, who looked devastated.

“Oh, Hadley, no way.  How could you think that?  He’s so into you,” Devon said.

Hadley shrugged.  “I told you.  He’s been acting so weird.  I thought he was just as into me as you said, but lately, he hasn’t wanted to come to bed with me.  I mean…fuck, we haven’t had sex in two weeks.  Two weeks!  We used to not be able to go two days!”

Devon didn’t want to think about Hadley’s sex life right now.  Hers was nonexistent at the moment.

“You guys have both been under a lot of stress.  I’m sure it’s all just a misunderstanding,” Devon said, trying to reassure her friend.

“If you knew anything, Dev, you would tell me, right?” Hadley asked, staring at her straight in the eye.

“Of course!” Devon said automatically.

Hadley looked at her for a second before nodding and looking away.

“Maybe you’re right,” Hadley said finally with a heavy sigh.  “I have this Fourth of July dinner with Garrett and his family tonight.  I was freaking out about it.  I even considered canceling.  I don’t know.  His family is even weirder around me.  I wish you could come with,” she said impulsively.

“I have to work,” Devon said, wanting to be as far away from that get-together as possible.  After a day like today, she would prefer to be in bed before the fireworks.

“You think it’ll all be fine?” Hadley asked.

“Just be yourself.  How could they not love you?”

“You’re right,” she said, regaining the strength that Devon had always loved about her.

“But I wouldn’t…use anything before you go,” Devon cautioned.

Hadley shook her head.  “I wouldn’t.”

Devon really wanted to believe her.

SWEAT BEADED ON Devon’s temple, and she wiped it off her forehead and out of her eyes.  The party had been going on all night, and it was nice to loosen up and get lost in the music and dancing.  She hadn’t partied in so long, and she couldn’t resist when Amy had actually invited her out.  Either Amy was getting over her hatred for the new girl, or Devon had just been there long enough that she wasn’t considered the new girl any longer.

People were packed into the club, shoulder-to-shoulder, many even closer than that.  The music was earsplitting while the crazy lights traversed the warehouse-sized room before they alternated to strobe lights.  Everything began moving in slow motion.  She hadn’t had much to drink, but she was dizzy from dehydration and the energy in the room.  Her tank top was sticking to her back, and she had long since pulled her hair up off of her neck into a ponytail.

God, I need another drink, she thought.

Her eyes moving around the room, she took in as much as she could from her vantage point, but it only ended up being the two feet circling her.  Amy had to be somewhere inside the building.  How had she lost track of her?

Well, she knew how.  There were too many damn people in the place.  It was easy to lose one person, especially when that person was as short as Amy.  Still, Devon should have been better at keeping track of Amy.  Devon didn’t like being alone in dark places.  Whether she was surrounded by people or in a back alleyway at night, she was still alone.

She craned her head to look for Amy, but she was having no luck.  It felt like more and more people were being crushed into the space.  How was this in line with the fire code?  Surely, the place would be shutdown soon.

Walking in the direction of the bar, Devon tried to find Amy in the crowd.  Seriously, it was getting harder and harder to maneuver through the room, and she had to elbow people out of the way.  This wasn’t okay, and it wasn’t fun.  They shouldn’t let any more people in.  Things could get out of control.

Devon looked up over the heads of people in front of her and sighed.  It felt like she was never going to reach the bar.  There was a huge line anyway.  She thought maybe the restroom would be a better alternative.  At least there, she would have some privacy.

She turned to walk the other direction and slammed right into a meaty guy who glared at her as she lost her balance and tumbled to the floor.  Someone stepped on her hand as she tried to get up.  Devon swore and hissed, pulling her hand away from the ground so no one else could do the same thing.  She stood as best as she could, cradling her aching hand.  Pushing through people with one hand pressed between her breasts to keep someone else from smashing into it wasn’t easy.  All it did was cause people to unknowingly smash into other parts of her.  She hadn’t made it more than a few feet toward the restroom, and she had already been elbowed in the arm, gotten her foot stepped on, and been drunkenly body slammed, knocking the breath out of her.  The club was getting dangerous.

As a space opened in the crowd, she took advantage, rushing forward through the throng of people.  It got her closer to the restroom but not close enough.

Then, she felt it—eyes on the back of her head.  She didn’t even know how it was possible.  Hundreds of people were in the place.  No one could be focusing that intently on her, but she could swear that someone was watching her.  The feeling crept up her spine, forcing her to move faster.  She didn’t know where Amy was, but getting away from this place felt like it made more sense than looking around for her.

Finally bursting off the dance floor, she rushed past the huge line of people waiting for the restroom.  They all cussed at her as she passed them by and walked to the front.

“Just checking my hair.”  Devon looked over her shoulder and rushed into the restroom before someone could say anything further.

As soon as she walked through the doors, she felt water underneath her heels.  As she slid across the floor, she tried to right her balance, but instead, she crashed down on her hands and knees.  Devon cried out as pain shot up her arms and legs.  Shock hit her like a tidal wave.  Her right knee had taken most of the impact, and it was on fire.  She was sure that she had broken the skin.  Tears rushed to her eyes as the pain hit her full-on.

How can I be so clumsy? she wondered.

Devon wondered if anyone would help her.  She wasn’t sure if she could stand by herself.  When she dragged her eyes up from the floor, she noticed that she wasn’t in the restroom of the club.  She was in a beautiful all white bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower.  Her heart raced as she took in her surroundings.

“Aww, what did you do to yourself?” the all-too-familiar voice asked.

Her body rattled, Devon slowly stood, using the bathtub as leverage to hoist her up.  She felt the blood from her knee trickle down her leg, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.  Without another thought, she sprinted as fast as she could toward her pursuer.

He chuckled and moved out of the way.  Then, he approached her and pushed her back with just enough force to send her stumbling toward the snowy white bed.  She could have avoided the bed if he hadn’t been at her side.  He grasped her wrist, swung her arm behind her back, and pushed her into the bedspread.

She tried to scream through her tears as he all but pulled her arm out of its socket.  The pain in her shoulder was so blinding that she bent easily at the waist, forgetting about her hurt knees.