Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers.
~AL~
Don't Worry 'Bout Me
January 1996
~AL~
The music was loud, vibrating through my body as I moved on the dance floor. Que Manera De Quererte by Gilberto Santa Rosa was playing, and the floor was packed.
The Mayan, a nightclub in downtown L.A., was always full. The line to get in was wrapped around the building, and it would lead you to believe it was empty inside, but no, it was quite full. The building was an old theatre and structurally beautiful.
We were able to convince everyone to meet us there. Leah had moved in over a month ago and it was working out well. She came with Alec, which wasn't a surprise seeing as they'd been inseparable since that night at the bar. Rose, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper all made it as well.
Edward and I tried to make it out at least every weekend. We had gotten so close and spent almost every free moment together. When Matthew was at his dad's house for the weekend, I'd stay at Edward's place, and during the week, we'd do family type stuff.
Edward enjoyed meeting Matthew and me at the park. He'd play chase with him, or help him go down the slide. Watching them together warmed my heart. Edward had bought Matthew a bunch of movies about dinosaurs, including The Land Before Time. Those two would sit glued to the TV for hours.
Edward had turned out to be a great boyfriend; he was so generous and loving. He had no problem sitting at home watching kids' movies, going to Chuck E. Cheese's, or taking me out on a date. Regardless of what we did, I enjoyed it, as long as we did it together. I thought myself to be very lucky.
The dance floor was so full that it was difficult to dance and not bump into others, but we made the best of it. Edward placed his hands on my hips. He was feeling them move up and down as they shook to the beat of the salsa music. Our feet were moving in synchrony, and we had a little routine that we had perfected.
Edward took my right hand with his right one and jerked me back quickly, so our arms were locked straight out in front of us. Just as fast, he pulled me toward him, so our lips would touch if we weren't moving so fast. We turned, still holding hands, but we were back to back, so we quickly made our way to face each other. Once we returned to our starting position, we resumed our steps as if we had never stopped. Our feet were making the same movements, same little pasitos.
His beautiful smile never left his face. He looked amazing, yet he was dressed so simply. Black slacks low on his hips fit perfectly, so the round of his ass was defined and his crisp, green button-down shirt was tucked in.
It was hot in there. The moisture in the air from the body heat of everyone surrounding us on the dance floor felt like a humid day in Florida. The different colored lights flashing around and the spotlights made it feel like we were chicks in an incubator. I was dripping with sweat.
All the women were dressed in skimpy clothing. It was like a uniform; we all had on the highest heels we owned, the shortest skirt, and the skimpiest shirt. The high heels made salsa dancing so much easier since I spent most of the time on the balls of my feet. Not to mention they always made me feel sexy.
Edward was a great dancer, and he taught me how to dance salsa, cumbia, and merengue. I loved that music, and it was a great workout. After dancing every single song that played for the last hour, my legs were burning, and I was thirsty.
"Hey, I'm thirsty and it's my turn to get drinks. Why don't you ask the others if they want to take a break," I asked while we walked off the dance floor, spotting our friends scattered throughout the crowd. I made a drinking motion with my hand to let them know what we were doing.
At the edge of the dance floor, I asked for everyone's order. Alice and Rose said they'd help me carry them, but had to go to the restroom first. I pointed to the bar with the least amount of people in line, letting them know where I was going.
Edward gave me a kiss and pointed to an empty table in the corner where our friends would wait for us. So off I went, squeezing through the throngs of people walking and standing around.
Honestly, I hated crowds, but in order to go out and dance I had to deal with them. As I made my way to the bar, guys would stop me and ask if I wanted to dance. I was always polite and would let them know I was there with someone and no thank you. My bitchy side only came out when they were persistent and wouldn't let it go. But on the most part, they usually nodded and walked away.
I finally arrived at the bar and was lucky that only a few people were in front of me. While the person before me ordered his drinks, I felt someone staring at me. So I scanned the area to see if I was crazy, only to see a guy standing against the wall next to the bar. He was probably about my height, but really buff.
His beady eyes were focused on me, and I instantly felt uneasy. The only thing I didn't like about clubs was they were always so dark, and I had a hard time seeing. My terrible night vision made it difficult for me to have a clear perspective. So in that dark club, all I could see were his eyes and the shape of his body, but not much else.
When it was my turn to order, that guy had inched his way closer to the edge of the bar–closer to me. He was creepy, and I knew something was going to happen. I just had a feeling.
I felt a tight grip on my wrist and awful breath on my face. "Let's dance." He didn't ask, he just told me and began pulling me toward the dance floor. We hadn't gotten far because he wasn't moving fast, so I tried to pull my arm back and told him, "No, I'm here with someone." The bitch came out, because he had crossed the line.
He jerked me closer to him. "Fuck you, bitch. You're all the same stuck-up pieces of shit. Let's go!"
Luckily, he had my left wrist, so I cocked my right arm back and hit him right in the face. The rest was a blur. I felt a hit to my face, but I kept giving it back. He had let go of me at one point and I was trying to kick his ass. I kicked, punched, elbowed, kneed, but nothing slowed him down. He was too strong, and every punch he landed on me almost knocked me down.
I didn't realize at the time, but we had knocked some tables over and people had cleared out but surrounded us in a circle. At some point, Alice and Rose showed up and tried to pull that asshole off me.
My friends knew I never looked for a fight, but I had never backed down either. Obviously, I was no match to men in the fighting area, but I'd never quit. I'd never allow myself to just be beaten without fighting back. I always gave it all I had.
I supposed when our friends heard the commotion, they knew once they saw me fighting with a complete stranger they helped me out. So there they were, all of them, trying to hold that guy back and throwing blows to get him to stop. But the guy couldn't be stopped. He was like frickin Superman and kept coming back for more. I had a feeling he was on something, and that scared me even more.
I felt someone grab me from behind, and instinctively, I turned around swinging, only to find out it was a female security guard. She quickly grabbed my hands, pulled them behind my back, and secured them in hers. Pushing me, she directed me to walk toward a side exit I didn't even know existed.
I struggled since I had no idea where everyone else was. "Hey, that guy attacked me. He grabbed me and tried to force me to dance with him. You shouldn't be kicking me out. Where are my friends?" I was rambling. As we were walking, I still felt pumped from the adrenaline high.
"Your friends are being escorted out through different exits. You can meet them outside, but you're not welcome back here."
I was completely appalled that I was being kicked out of a club. Also, I couldn't believe what that guy did with his crazy, super strength. But most of all, I was worried about Edward. Even though I was feeling some pain, I was more concerned for his well-being.
The security guard led me down the stairs and out the locked gate. She gave me a shove and closed the gate behind me. I was standing out in the street, in downtown Los Angeles, alone. It wasn't the best neighborhood, and I had no idea where to go to meet the others. So I figured I could make it to our car, and just prayed I wasn't jumped on my way, and that the others would think to meet me there.
I felt like I had just been mugged, and I was still feeling dizzy. I walked as fast as I could to the parking lot our car was in. I just needed to catch my breath and find Edward.
The parking lot was a block away from the club, and the streets were dark. There were people walking around, dressed like they were either going to the club or coming back from it. I felt a little better knowing I wasn't completely alone out there.
As I reached the entrance to the lot, I heard some quick footsteps come up behind me, and I whipped around to see who it was. Rose and Alice were running as fast as they could in their five-inch heels. I breathed a sigh of relief and closed the distance between us.
"Oh, my god, you guys. Are you okay? Where is everyone? Edward?" I rattled off quickly as I scanned their faces and arms to check for damage.
"Holy shit, girl. Look at your face. We need to get you home and get some ice on that shit," Alice said, concerned, as she touched my face. I hissed and moved away from her touch. "Ouch! That shit hurt." I couldn't even imagine what I looked like.
The look on their faces told me it was bad, but I couldn't concern myself with it in that moment. I needed Edward and wouldn't relax until I saw him.
"You didn't answer my question. Where's Edward?"
Rose answered finally, "I don't know, honestly. They took everyone out through separate exits, and we just figured we'd meet at the car." She shrugged like it was no big deal. "Anyway, the guys can handle themselves."
I could feel the pain in my face as it scrunched in concern. "But … I'm worried. Rose, did you see that guy? He had some super strength. It was insane. I think he was on some PCP or something. I've heard that shit can make people crazy strong."
We were walking toward our cars in the lot. None of us had the keys, so we decided to wait next to Edward's car. As I leaned against the car with my hand resting on my stomach for comfort, I began to feel the adrenaline that had me so pumped up only moments ago leave my system. My body was shaking and my legs felt weak. I wasn't sure I could stand much longer, and I realized I had the telltale signs of passing out. My ears were plugging, I was sweating but cold, and my vision was cloudy. I knew if I didn't sit down somewhere soon I was going to fall over. The last thing I remembered was sliding down the side of the car with my arms wrapped around my middle and everything going black.
Rose and Alice must have laid me on the ground, because it was cold and I felt little pebbles digging into my skin. I slowly opened my eyes and was relieved to see Edward's beautiful green ones staring back at me.
"Oh, thank God! You're awake," Edward said, relieved.
I began to sit up because yeah, I was quite uncomfortable on the ground.
"I'm awake." I smiled timidly. I looked around and noticed everyone looking at me with concerned expressions.
"I'm okay. I think the adrenaline wore off, my anxiety kicked in, and I passed out. I'm okay now, really," I reassured them.
They didn't look convinced. Another long look at Edward and I could see he wasn't so sure I was telling the truth, either that or I looked worse for the wear.
I stood up and gestured for the car. "I want to go home now. I'm tired and beginning to feel sore." Alice, Rose, and Leah all came over to hug me. They gave me wary looks as if to say I was lying about being okay.
"You're coming with me tonight. I don't want you to go home alone," Edward said with a forceful tone.
"Hey, and what am I: chopped liver?" Leah jumped in acting hurt.
Edward gave her a look that could only be construed as "fuck off" and began helping me into the car.
I flashed Leah an apologetic look and waved bye to everyone. Emmett, Alec, and Jasper just stood off to the side looking as concerned as everyone else.
"I'll call you all tomorrow, okay. Night." The car door shut and I just leaned against the headrest.
When Edward got in the car, he reached for my hand and said, "I want to take care of you. Make sure you're okay." He caressed my hand and gently placed it back on my lap. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I should have gone with you."
I looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you kidding me? You think this could have gone any differently?" I shook my head and regretted it instantly. It hurt.
"It would have gone differently. He wouldn't have even spoken to you if I was there."
"Edward, listen. That guy was on something, PCP maybe, and he wouldn't have stopped regardless of who was there. He was out of his mind. You can't blame yourself. So stop, I don't want to hear another word about it. I just want to forget it happened."
He slapped down the sun visor and flipped open the mirror with such rage, and I had no idea why. He pointed at the mirror and said, "Look! Look at yourself."
Nervous at what I was going to see I inched my eyes up to my reflection. I gasped at what I saw. My left eye was swollen and already darkening with the first signs of bruising. My jaw was also swollen, and my lip was split and looked like a piece of liver. My hair was knotted and looked like a bird's nest on my head. I looked like I had been through hell and back.
I traced my lips with my finger with care because it did hurt. My eye was almost closed, and I knew that in the morning I would look a million times worse.
I was sure I had bruises all over my body, because I could feel pain radiating through me. My muscles were sore, and I felt like crying. Once I finished my inventory of my injuries, I understood Edward's concern.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you, but this is not your fault."
He just nodded, watching the road as he drove us home.
~AL~
Once we arrived at his place, he helped me get undressed and into the shower. The water was warm and felt good on my aching muscles. He climbed in with me, and with great concentration, he began to wash my hair. Careful not to cause more pain, he used gentle touches and warm caresses. He washed my whole body and then his own.
He handed me a big fluffy towel and helped me dry off. Once we were done, he gave me some of his clothes and helped me into bed. With a gentle kiss to my upper lip so as not to cause me more pain to my bottom one, he said he'd be right back.
When he returned, he brought a bottle of water with a straw, a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, and a couple of Advil. "I wasn't sure if a straw would help or hurt your lip, so I figured I'd let you try and decide."
"Thank you," I said with an appreciative smile.
I ended up using the straw from the corner of my mouth and held it with my teeth while taking small sips. Once I filled my mouth with enough water, I leaned my head back and popped the pills in.
I handed the bottle back to Edward and snuggled into the bed, conscientious of how I laid my face on the pillow. I gently laid the ice on my face trying to cover as much of it as I could. Shit it was cold.
"You want to tell me what happened?" I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was facing me and was so close.
I began the tale of what happened from the time I arrived at the bar to when I woke up on the ground. He didn't handle the story well. He went from complete and utter anger to such sadness when I was describing the fight, being kicked out of the club, and what happened to me.
"The worst part, I can't even remember most of the fight itself. It was like I was running on pure adrenaline, and it all seemed like an out of body experience. I didn't even feel the hits at the time, except for maybe the first few, but then I just went black." I smoothed out the line between his eyes. "I'll be okay. These are just superficial wounds and they'll heal. Please stop worrying."
Instead of pulling me toward him and risking me more pain, he came closer to me and draped himself over me with such caution.
"Es que, te quiero mucho, and I am supposed to protect you."
"You did. As soon as you got there, you helped protect me. You can't protect me when you don't know I need help. I'm just grateful you got there when you did." I tried to kiss him but pursing my lips hurt so badly. "I love you, too. I'm beyond tired. Night." I held his hand between us near my heart and fell asleep.
~AL~
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