She didn't remember saying 'I do' or anything else the celebrant said, she'd just gone numb to everything happening around her and it was like she had stepped out of her head during the ceremony to spare herself of the harsh reality of what she was doing. She felt like she had missed the whole thing and now she was being asked to kiss her husband. Her husband. It was a bad dream, a nightmare she couldn't wake from. David wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him and kissed her deeply and she felt she was obliged to return the kiss lest she be hit again. He rubbed up against her as he kissed her and she felt he was hard, reminding her of yet another expectation that came with this ceremony, her heart beat painfully in her chest and she swallowed thickly as things began to swirl uncomfortably around her. Paul came and welcomed her to the family while Dwayne swiftly kissed her on the cheek before congratulating David but Marko leaned against the wall and stared daggers at her but then, just as quickly, he changed and came over and congratulated them both.
'Let's go celebrate boys'. The way he said it made her think this was more about him and his boys than him and her but this didn't exactly surprise her and she wondered if it really mattered whether it was her or some other girl he had married, he probably would have reacted the same. She felt insignificant, just like an accessory to him. It was a feeling she was familiar with when she was with David, although he had been more interested in her in the past month than he had been in decades but she hoped his focus would move off her now and she could fade off his radar a bit only she feared now being his wife, would make him worse.
David's mood seemed to have lifted from before the ceremony and, in turn, so had the rest of the boys. They exited the white building and almost immediately Paul spotted a nightclub entrance.
'I think this calls for shots.' He said, ignoring the large burly security guard at the top of the stairs and he began walking down the dark staircase and into a cave like room below. She sensed tonight was going to be a wild ride, with the boys making the most of their time in Las Vegas and she wondered if they knew about David's plan to return to Santa Carla. They found a booth table down the back and sat down, the music was loud and the swirling lights and energy of the place suited the four of them down to the ground. To her surprise though, it suited her also. It was somewhere she could hide in the dark and not talk to anyone just like she used to before David had found her again, back when she was with Campbell. She forced his name out of her head as soon as she thought it though, she didn't need David picking up on that, but it was too late.
'You ever have another 'boyfriend' and I'll do far worse than what I did to Campbell.' He leaned over and warned her, with glimmers of red streaking though his irises as he spoke. He was attuned to everything she was thinking right now and it made her feel uncomfortable. Paul disappeared and within minutes was placing shot glasses filled with a black liquid down in front of everyone.
'Drink up girl.' He said as he raised his glass and waited for the others to raise theirs. 'To the bride and groom. It was a long time coming but it finally happened..!' The boys all knocked theirs back and Paul glared at her playfully until she did the same. The dark liquor burned her throat. Sambuca. This was going to be a long night.
'Another!' Paul demanded and presented another round instantly and it was then she realised he had a whole tray of them ready and he placed another one in front of her. They all drank, including her, and it really began to sink in for her. She looked at the ring on her finger that was making a universal symbol to the world. She was married, married to David. David was now her husband. How did this even happen? Where did she go so wrong that she went from being a strong, fit, independent woman back to the weak, submissive, pathetic possession again? Only now she was married to her captor and had an underlying need for his blood. It was sick. She felt sick. In fact she was going to be sick. She got up and bolted to the bathroom and vomited.
'Are you alright?' A girl asked her through the bathroom stall door.
'Yeah,' Star gasped, 'I just got married.' She managed to say before vomiting again.
'Oh, well that can happen in this town.' The girl laughed as she walked out of the bathroom. Star pulled herself together and sat on the toilet seat. She sat there for ages and she didn't want to go back out there, she didn't want to go and sit with them and celebrate her recent ordeal. She wondered if she could leave without them seeing but as soon as she left the bathroom, she found Dwayne waiting outside. He escorted her back to the booth where she found many empty shot glasses on the table and a few girls hovering around and David watched her like a hawk with Marko sitting next to him, although Marko was looking like he'd chilled out a bit now which perplexed her. As soon as Dwayne sat down, a girl in a very short skirt sat on his lap and he placed his arm around her leg, he really was a man whore but looking around, they all were. Even Marko had his arm around a girl who was sitting on the other side of him and Star thought that maybe that was the reason he was happier until she finally met David's gaze and was greeted with pure black saucers with barely a ring of blue visible and her suspicions were confirmed. She carefully sat down next to him and he watched her the entire time. Obviously Paul had provided some party favours to the boys while she was in the bathroom
'Planning on slipping away are you?' He asked without blinking. His eyes were huge and he looked savage and unpredictable.
'No' she answered quietly.
'Liar. Don't bother, you'll never slip away again.' He was flipping from being content and laughing to threatening and scary on a dime. He was worse than a bipolar and she didn't know how to feel, other than uneasy. He then slipped his hand into hers reminding her of the ring that was firmly wrapped around her wedding finger.
'She's back! This calls for another one!' Paul announced to the table and she knew Paul well enough that any excuse was a good excuse for Paul to drink. By now there were about a dozen people surrounding them, some for the free drinks and some for the boys but most were interested in the strange atmosphere they were creating. The party was well under way and Star felt she had no choice but to drink with them, maybe it would make her relax and not feel so anxious and after another two shots the alcohol was definitely affecting her and she began to feel a bit dizzy.
'I got you a water.' David said pushing a glass towards her. She was grateful and, her clouded judgement made her ignore her gut instinct not to take anything from him and she took it. She'd been taking shots from Paul so she figured it couldn't be as bad as that unless it was pure vodka but it smelled clear to her so she drank it. As soon as she swallowed it though, she thought it tasted a bit funny, almost sweet, but she put that down to the Sambuca taste still being in her mouth and she finished the rest of it.
The boys were laughing and socializing and having a great night, Dwayne was making out on the back seat of the booth with yet another girl while Paul sat on a stool with two girls hanging off him and Marko was off on the dance floor dancing with his arms around a dark haired girl. Star began to relax a little and found herself starting to enjoy the randomness that was happening around her. David pulled her to her feet and led her to the middle of the dance floor with him and began slow dancing with her. He never danced with her but she was feeling quite detached to the event so she went with it and it actually felt nice to dance in the darkness. She didn't feel like she was on display like she did at the table and she didn't feel like he was angry with her anymore and the coloured lights flashing and spinning around the room provided a nice camouflage for her. The longer she was out there with him, the lighter her head was feeling and the less she was finding she could focus on anything. She was feeling a bit wasted, no she was feeling a lot wasted. In fact, she was feeling down right smashed. Why was she so smashed? And this wasn't a puff of a joint smashed either, this was class A smashed but she had only drank four shots and the glass of water. The water, it must have been the water. Was something in the water? Would they do that to her? Wait, of course they would. Paul would slip anybody anything if it served him a purpose, even if it was just for entertainment, but he wouldn't do it to her without David's approval. She looked up at David and he was looking down at her expressionless and he spun her around so he was behind her. The room was spiralling around her and everything she touched felt like velvet. The bass seemed louder and deeper and she began running her hands over her face to try and clear her head but found she began melting into his body and, as she lay her head back on him, he nuzzled his chin into her neck. She closed her eyes and felt his arms around her and again they felt like satin or silk and she reached around and stroked the side of his stubbled cheek and he felt amazing. She didn't want to let him go but her worsening state was alarming her and she spun around and looked up at him and he was smirking at her with his crooked smile.
'What have you done to me?' She managed to get out through her clenched teeth and David laughed and looked over towards Paul triumphantly.
'Quality' Marko laughed as he passed them on his way back to the table. 'You're in for a good night.' He said looking from her back to David before disappearing into the crowd. She looked over at Dwayne and saw him smiling and she knew they were all out of it. Glancing over at Paul, she saw him going from kissing one girl to another and she knew what it was. E. It had to be an E, but she didn't take a pill?
'Liquid E' David answered her unspoken question and his voice sounded like a smooth deep echo in her head. This was strong, she'd done E when she was young but nothing like this. This shit was crazy strong, over poweringly so. This was insane and as the minutes passed her heart began to beat faster and she felt like she was beginning to freak out. The more she reacted, the harder David was holding on to her and the harder he held onto her the more frantic she was becoming. She thought she was going to be sick and she felt like everyone was watching her. She had to get out of the place and suddenly David practically picked her up and headed up the stairs. She was struggling against him and screaming for him to let her go as they reached the door and they stumbled straight into a police officer who was out the front of the club.
'Whoa… Are you OK?' The officer asked her.
'She's fine.' David responded, attempting to pull her away from the scene.
'I was asking her.' The cop almost ignored David and focussed his attention on her.
'I wanna get out of here.' She was repeatedly pulling out of David's grip but he kept holding on to her. She was very agitated and making the police officer more and more concerned in what was wrong with her, or what she was running from.
'What have you taken?' The officer asked Star, trying to calm her down.
'Nothing, she's just a bit upset that's all. I'm her husband and I'm going to take her home.' David again answered him.
'Is this your husband?' The officer asked her. This question made her stop and look directly at David and then back to him. The officer then saw exactly how big her eyes were and he got on his radio saying he had a public intoxication issue and began to pull out his handcuffs.
'That's what I said, isn't it?' David was beginning to give him attitude. 'She is not going with you.' David then had the officer's attention then and the officer also saw the demeanour and state of David. Just then the rest of the boys stumbled outside and their jovial moods changed upon seeing what was happening outside the entrance. The officer's eyes widened, suddenly it had gone from being a simple girl being too drunk for him to deal with to five people in varying states of intoxication who did not look all that keen on interacting with the law or being told what to do and he turned to his partner and told him to call for back up. The gravity of this situation was becoming too much for Star, especially with her history in Santa Monica and she was becoming near hysterical again. Paul said something to her but she didn't listen, she was desperate to get out of there and try to come down a bit, to be able to think straight.
A second police car showed up and a large authoritative man began trying to take control of the situation and she snapped. She slipped out of David's grip and bolted down the street. She heard the commotion she'd left behind and heard someone chasing after her so she ran as fast as she could down a side street and ran straight into a man getting into his car.
'Are you OK?' He asked her a bit concerned and she got into his car.
'Go!' She screamed, breathless. 'I gotta get out of here. Please?' Thinking she was being chased, he started his car and they took off.
