The Masquerade (6 page)

When I got back to the venue, my eyes immediately found my best friends by the ticket booth. Hayley held my smashed phone up to Shiloh, screaming at her. I frowned when I noticed my cell phone. I didn't remember
losing it. I must have dropped it when Davey dragged me down the street. Shiloh saw me first, her eyes widened and filled with relief.

"There you are!"

Hayley turned, "Son of a bitch!"

"What happened to you?!"

They rushed up to me at once. I fought back a flinch at their sudden contact and forced a smile on my face. Hayley was still shouting at me, but I couldn't hold on to one word. When I noticed the water lingering
in Shiloh's eyes, the knot in my throat tightened. I didn't realize how long I'd been gone, but by the worry written in the lines of their expressions, it was long enough.

Shiloh wrapped her arms around me. "Thank god!"
She gasped in my ear. I hugged her back, feeling the slight pull in my stomach. It was a settling feeling, to live, knowing you had friends who truly cared for your wellbeing.

She pulled away to look at me. "We've been waiting for
you for the past fifteen minutes, but when Hayley saw your phone on the ground," she hesitated, "we thought someone kidnapped you." The relief in her smile faded when a frown touched her lips. Her hand rose to touch
my face. "What happened to your cheek?"

This time Hayley spoke up. "What the hell happened to you?" She questioned, her dark eyebrows knit together.

I exhaled slowly. "Can we just go to the car? I promise
I will tell you what happened, but I need to sit down." They exchanged uneasy looks with the other. I shook my head. "Everything is okay, I promise. Please, can we go?"

Shiloh nodded. "Of course."

We made our way to the behind the venue. A section of the massive gravel parking lot was cornered off with silver chain link fences where the band tour buses parked. Earlier, the drummer and the guitarist from one of
the backing bands sat on folding chairs outside smoking cigarettes. My stomach wrenched in disappointment at the empty lot. They were already gone. Ben was gone.

I told the girls everything on the car ride home. The only detail I kept to myself was the identification of the person who saved my life.
Hayley was furious. She wanted to stop by Eli's house on the way home and kill him with her bare hands. She would have too, if Shiloh hadn't insisted on driving home. Shiloh remained quiet, listening to every detail, allowing me to
tell my story before she asked questions. She wanted to call the police, just to tell someone, but I argued against it. That would give Davey, or anyone else in their circle, incentive to come after me. If my mom found out she would lose
it all together and the Masquerade would make history as my
last
concert.

"What do you plan to do when Davey comes after you again? You know he will. Guys like that don't take rejection." Shiloh
asked.

"They get revenge," Hayley followed up, her voice still angry.

"He won't." I said quickly, but the doubt leaked into my voice.

"Because I'm going to sandpaper his face." Hayley
snapped.

"Oh, you, of all people, are not going anywhere near him." Shiloh glared at her.

"Because I'm a whore?"

"A skanky one."

She crossed her hands over her chest, her lips pursed. "At least I have a title."

Shiloh looked at me in the rearview mirror, her face illuminated by the lights cast by the car stereo. "Ella, please we have to
tell someone."

I shook my head, my thoughts clouding together. I didn't want to talk about this anymore. I wanted to go home, shower and sleep, although shutting my eyes without seeing
his
face...or the one that
saved my life would be difficult.

"Can we please talk about this in the morning?"

Sensing my distress, Shiloh sighed. "Sure, but you can't avoid this conversation."

We pulled into my driveway. I quickly exited the car, before they could protest. I shut the door when Hayley rolled down the side window. She looked at me, but then her gaze dropped. She tilted her head to the side, frowning. "Where did the jacket come from?"

I looked down. I'd almost forgotten I was still wearing his jacket. "Oh, uh" I stuttered. "The guy who saved me gave it to me. I was cold and scared." I pondered the now warm leather jacket.
"I guess he forgot about it." I mumbled.

"What a jack ass. He left you to walk back alone? Who does that?"

"But he still saved Ella." Shiloh intervened.

I waved my hand. "I'll call you guys tomorrow."

"Are you okay?" Shiloh asked me. Her scrutinizing eyes were intent, analyzing my expression. She knew something wasn't right."

I nodded, "I promise. I'm fine."

They both nodded and I turned away. I made it to the front porch and found the door was locked. I frowned and pulled out my house keys. My mom wasn't home if the door wasn't left open. When I unlocked the door, I
looked over my shoulder and waved just as Shiloh drove away in Hayley's mom's car.

I shut the door quietly behind me. My feet dragged into the kitchen while I carefully shrugged off the jacket and draped it over the
kitchen chair. My eyes were frozen on the clothing article I'd gained over the course of the evening. I swallowed hard, the fear slid down the back of my dry throat. His eyes burned in my memory, the untamed violence and an inevitable darkness shadowed within in the recesses of his eyes.

My hands shook with trepidation at the thought, but there was a part of me, a dormant emotion I'd never known, that overcame the anxiety. Desire, it writhed inside of me in search of an outlet, to feel the touch of
his skin on mine again. I was magnetic in his presence. The feeling, seething inside of me, scared me beyond compare. I shook my head, unable to comprehend the opposite feelings coursing through my body. I wanted them both out.

In the dim light my eyes caught the scrap sheet of paper that rested on the granite countertop. I moved into the kitchen and squinted, recognizing my mother's handwriting immediately.

Ella,

Turns out, the hospital is short staffed. Call me when you get home. Lock up and check for monsters in your closet. Always troll, don't be trolled.

xoxo Mom

I exhaled slowly to steady my still uneven breathing. I
wished she were at home, sleeping soundly in her bed. For the first time since my brother died, I would have crawled in beside her. I needed my mom, no matter how weird or purely dorky she was. She wasn't there. I had never felt so alone
in the only home I'd ever known.

A hard knock on the door pulled me away from the kitchen. I frowned when I made my way to the door, going through all the possible reasons Hayley or Shiloh could have to come back at one in the morning. Hayley would
use any excuse for food. I flipped on the porch light and pulled open the door I had just shut moments before.

My eyes widened when they met the silhouette standing before me. His eyes, a mixture of anxiety and worry, found mine. My hand immediately
gripped the cold handle of the door. His posture tensed when he saw my face. The admiration I felt for him coursing inside of me hours ago was now a distant memory. I couldn't look at him without forcing back a grimace.

"Ella," he began.

I cut him off. "What are you doing here, Eli?"

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Vlad called me." I crossed my arms over my chest. A shard of ice
ripped through my chest, but I managed to hold my composure. I narrowed my eyes. "I didn't know that Davey would," he cut himself off. "I didn't realize he had a thing for you."

"A thing?" I repeated, my tone clipped, "Just a thing? Attempted rape is a
thing
? In what looser set of rules is that?" The mention of the four-letter word shot a chill down my spine. I shivered involuntarily.

There was a sense of relief that washed over his face after I spoke. It took him a minute to respond. "Ella, I'm sorry."

"That's it? You're sorry?"

He shrugged, his eyes slightly pained at my words.
"What else do you want me to say?" I shook my head defiantly.

"I would have done anything for you, Eli. I helped you after your brother left you. I dropped everything just to make sure you were
okay. You were my best friend. I loved you." I paused at the break in my voice gathering my emotions. "Then suddenly you drop me for your so called friends. One of your buddies tries to rape me and the best you can give me is '
I'm
sorry
?'"

"Ella, you know I felt the same way."

"You still chose them over me. I knew exactly how you felt about me the moment you walked away." The bitterness was seeping through my words. "Do you even know them?"

He didn't answer. He was waiting for me to continue. It was one of the things I admired most about him. When I wanted to talk, he let me, without interruptions.

"I have news for you, Eli. Whatever I felt for you is
gone. I want you to stay away from me because what happened tonight," I moved so that I stood in the frame of the door, "that is never going to happen to me again. So you and your friends can get the hell out of my
life." He blinked and took a step back. I exhaled once and moved out of the way of the door so I could shut it. I had it halfway closed when I heard Eli speak.

"Davey is dead."

I froze, my gaze snapped forward. I felt as though someone
kicked me in the stomach. "What?"

Eli stood on the top step, facing me. He nodded. Any emotion left in his eyes had vanished. "A few groupies from the concert found his
body behind a warehouse. His organs were found next to his body. Vlad called me to give me the news."

My finger grazed over the bruise on my face. Davey's final act. Pain seared through my cheek as I swallowed, "Organs?"

"His body was mutilated, Ella."

My throat was dry. The night air wrapped around my body like a straight jacket binding me, threatening to choke me. His body had just been
found. My eyes widened. Eli recognized the realization in my expression. He nodded to confirm. "You were the last person to see him. Alive..."

I frowned still trying to put the pieces together. "How did Vlad know about what happened?"

"Vlad was with Davey at a bar in Atlanta. Davey said that he was going to the concert to look for you before he left him at the bar. Vlad called to warn me that Davey was drunk and looking for you. I called you a
few times to tell you, but you didn't answer."

I nodded. Everything began to make sense. "You didn't think to come save me?"

He looked at me. "I was on my way there when Vlad
called me and told me about Davey's murder. The cops were all over the scene so he ditched." Eli shrugged. "I didn't know what happened. That's why I came here. You have no idea how relieved I am that you're okay."

I crossed my arms over my chest. I wasn't
okay.
It
annoyed me that he assumed I was, just because Davey didn't fulfill his intentions with me. I still couldn't think about it without shaking, the very thought of Davey left me so cold, I almost felt numb. I didn't feel remorse for
his death. I couldn't feel anything.

Eli eyed me carefully. "What happened?"

My gaze snapped to his. "Someone heard me screaming and pulled Davey off me. The next thing I remember, Davey was scared shitless and
took off like a bat out of hell."

He immediately frowned, listening carefully to my words. "Why was he scared?"

I shrugged. "The guy that pulled him off me must have
shaken him a little."

"Davey doesn't scare."

I shook my head. "Not from what I saw."

Eli's frown intensified. He took a step closer, but didn't
make any attempt to come near me. "Who saved you, Ella?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

One of his eyebrows rose, "Some guy saves you from a potential rapist and you don't even know his name?" Eli knew me well
enough to detect one of my lies. He didn't buy my story. "Why are you protecting him?"

"Why would I protect a stranger?" I said quickly. "I don't really remember. He left me in the alley, before we had much of a
chance to talk." When the thought sank in, I frowned. "He saved me from your
friend
. He protected me when you couldn't. In my book, that's a good deed. What do I care what happened to that asshole afterward?"

"Based on your words, he scared the crap out of Davey. Now look who's dead."

"Your point?" I said through clenched teeth.

Eli's eyes darkened. "Do you know him?"

"Not in that sense."

He cocked his head to the side. "Who is he, Ella?"

"I told you. I don't know." I stepped back and moved out of the way of the door. My hand gripped the frame firmly. "I'm
sorry you lost your friend, but I'm not sorry he's dead. I meant what I said. I want you out of my life. You can start by getting the hell off my property."

I slammed the door before he had the chance to respond. I
stood in front of the door shaking uncontrollably. When I heard his feet bound down the porch steps, I moved away from the entrance until my back was pressed against the wall. In the darkness, I slid down until I was on the hardwood
floor.

And then it hit me.

The tears brimmed in my eyes. My chest heaved up and down while the first sob ripped out of my chest. My hands, still shaking, cupped my mouth in attempt to sound out the noise, but I continued to cry. I pulled my
legs up to my chest and hugged them. The tears rolled down my cheek and dripped onto my jeans, one after the other. I felt as though I couldn't breathe, a shard of ice was stuck in my lungs, preventing proper access to my airways. I
cried harder. My stomach clenched as the reality of the situation dawned on me. Eli was gone. He and I were done. And I was broken.