Chapter 46

Pain

Rhi POV

Alex nudges me toward the table where we were sitting during the show. While I'm walking quietly, Kate and Ana are giggling like a couple of schoolgirls. I can't keep from rolling my eyes at their childish excitement. It's this simple things that make them happy.

Approaching the table, I sit in the chair I originally sat in and eye the bottle of tequila. My hand is really hurting right now and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's from dancing with Alex and having to grip his arms. I'm not complaining, well, not about that anyway. He's beautiful and I absolutely love his strong and muscular arms, after all they are attached to his hands. I love his hands. They're so soft and gentle and strong and they feel amazing when he's touching me. Speaking of touching…

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I hear Kate's voice, "Rhi! What did you think of the show? Did you enjoy the surprise?" Kate asks, excitedly, as she plops down into the seat next to me.

Glancing at her I shake my head. "You guys really out did yourselves. It was a struggle to watch, I'll admit. Especially after the afternoon I had with Alex…" I don't want them to feel bad but I don't want to hide my thoughts from them. Not completely anyway.

"We're sorry you were miserable during the show. It wasn't our intention to make you guys uncomfortable. We just wanted to do something to make you happy and surprise you." Kate says, laying her hand on my left hand.

"Yeah Rhi. We were just trying to do something nice for you two. I hope you aren't upset? We really did have your best interests at heart." Ana reaches for my right hand and squeezes, forgetting the injury I sustained.

"FUCK!" I yell and snatch my hand from her, clutching it to my chest. I wanted to strike out and hit the thing that caused the pain out of reflex but I'm too caught up in the agony. My brain can't even comprehend who or what caused it.

Ana retracts her hand like she's been burned, her mouth drops open, her eyes wide and she takes in a sharp breath. "OH MY GOD RHI! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! FUCK! I forgot all about your hand!" She shrieks out, drawing attention from some of the guys putting things away.

In an instant, the pain takes my breath away and I struggle to breathe. I can't get enough air into my lungs and the air I can take in are coming in painful and choppy gasps. My vision is darkening at the edges and are blurry. I feel like I'm looking though murky water. I can't hear anything around me, all I can hear is the whoosh of my blood pumping through my ears.

My head is feeling fuzzy and lightheaded. I need to get my breathing under control. I can't pass out here. Don't pass out! Don't pass out! Breathe… In, hold, out. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. I recite this in my head over and over, trying to make my breath stop the painful gasps.

Closing my eyes, I try to push away the tears that have formed in my eyes. I hate crying. It's a weakness and I'm not weak. I can do this. After a few minutes, my breath slows to a stuttering stop and I'm able to take a deep breath. When I open my eyes, still burning with unshed tears, I see the shadow, a blurry silhouette, of someone in front of me with their arms stretched out in front of them. I recoil not wanting anyone to touch me until I get myself under control.

Don't fucking touch me! I'm fine. Just give me a minute…

My eyesight is beginning to clear and I realize the silhouette is Ana. She knows better than to touch me in situations like this. It's been years so maybe she forgot, but I'll never forget.

I can see the concern in her teary eyes. I know she didn't mean it and I also know she didn't know how much my hand really hurt.

"I'm sorry Rhi. I forgot. I didn't mean to hurt you. Really, I'm so sorry!" She says, her voice full of regret.

I look at her and give her a smile, "It's OK Ana. There's been a lot happening today and it's understandable you forgot. It'll be fine. No biggie." After those words I forgo the shot glass, grab the bottle of tequila and down the rest of the bottle in three swigs.

Setting the bottle back on the table, I lick my lips and wipe off the moisture. Oh that's good! Out of the corner of my eye I see Kate looking at me, her eyes are wide, shocked.

"What's wrong Kate?" I ask, confused.

Oh, I forgot. They haven't seen that. It's always been just shots with them. I've always saved the bottle for when I'm alone or drinking with the guys back home. Oops! My bad!

Shrugging my shoulders I respond nonchalantly. "Sorry. You probably weren't expecting that. My bad. I just needed a little something to take the edge off."

"A little something?! Rhi, you just downed at least a third of a bottle of tequila! What the hell?" She asks, shocked.

I shrug again. "It's no big deal. I do this all the time. Maybe now the pain will go away." I decide not to say anything else. I don't want to talk about it anymore. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Kate glances at Ana, "I am so sorry Rhi. I didn't mean to hurt you. I completely forgot about what happened earlier. Can I see your hand?" She's holding out her hand, palm up, and I can hear the concern in her tone but I really don't want to talk about it anymore. Unfortunately, if I don't they'll insist and really irritate me. I'm hurting enough as it is and can't handle people and their 'take care of yourself' bullshit. Sighing, I take a deep breath and lift my hand slowly to place it in Kate's. I maintain a straight and impassive face, keeping my gaze looking straight ahead at the stage.

I hear a gasp from Kate and Ana stands up and leans over me to look at it.

"Fuck Rhi! This is really bad! Have you looked at it since this afternoon?" Kate asks, loudly. Loud enough to draw attention to our table. Thankfully, no one comes over. I get their concern but they can be smothering at times. They're also pretty good at 'recruiting' followers and I can't handle that right now.

"Kate! Keep your voice down! Yes, I've seen it. Yes, I feel it. YES, I know it's broken. I'll be fine. I'll get home and get it taken care of and will be good as new. The doctor can wrap it up tomorrow and it will be protected and we can go on with our vacation. I'm not going to let a little injury ruin everything. If I did, that fucker would win and I refuse to let him win." I growl at her. "Now, can we just forget about it and move on from this subject? Please?" Fucking hell!

Kate is silent and looks up at Ana, silently. Turning her gaze on me, Ana says, "Ok Rhi. You know how much you can handle. We're just watching out for you, you know that. We'll drop it but you have to promise to do whatever you can to alleviate the pain. Promise us you will take some sort of pain reliever when we get a chance to get some. Please?"

Sighing I think about my answer. "OK. I will get something when we head back to the hotel. What are we doing next?" I ask, changing the subject now that they've agreed to drop it.

Ana sits back down and says, "Rhi, I just have one more thing to say." She stops and I open my mouth to say something but before I can she asks, "Where in the HELL did you learn to down a bottle of tequila like that? I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that except for in the movies."

I laugh, "Lots of practice. The more you play drinking games the easier it gets. Trust me, I play a lot of drinking games with my other friends back home. I've gotten so good that I can almost drink anyone under the table. I have yet to be able to beat Steven but I'm catching up to him. One of these days I'll shock the hell out of him when I'm the queen of the bottle!" I shout raising my left fist in the air in tribute to John Bender, The Criminal, from The Breakfast Club.

Kate and Ana laugh and roll their eyes.

"Does everything you do revolve around drinking when you go out?" Ana asks curiously.

I can't tell by her tone if she's serious or joking, and I'm tired of the serious bullshit, so I take it as she's joking. "Not all the time. The only times we have drink challenges is in the safety of our homes. We're not dumb enough to risk anyone's safety out in public."

Kate smiles, "Well, at least you're safe when you do. I don't think we've ever seen you have one of your 'challenges.' That sounds like it would be interesting to watch. I envision some cable TV show like 'Hot Ones.' Is it like that?"

I laugh, "I guess you could kind of say that but it's not organized. It usually starts with people talking shit to each other about being a lightweight and not being able to handle their alcohol. Egos grow, mouths let loose dares and challenges are made. Despite all the booze no one has ever gotten out of control or had alcohol poisoning. We know when to quit before it gets that far."

"Well, that's a good thing. At least you're safety conscientious." Kate replies.

Ana nods in agreement then says, "One of these days maybe we can join you and see how it's done? It sounds like it would be a fun experience."

I laugh, "I think you'd enjoy it. Besides, it would be nice to have you guys to hang out with me. You know, out of your element. I've never invited you guys because I didn't think you'd be interested in that. Maybe when we get home we can do something. It'll be fun!"

Kate claps her hands and squeals, "It'll be a new experience that's for sure!"

"Awesome! Let's plan on it when we get back and get settled. Everyone will be excited to meet you guys!" I say excitedly.

I'm excited to share some of the other things I do when I'm not with them. I mean, sure we do things together all the time but I've never invited them to hang out with me and the guys. I just never though that would be their 'scene' and they would feel uncomfortable. They were always busy going to school, studying and all that other boring bullshit. Definitely NOT my scene.

While we're waiting for the guys to finish cleaning up the showroom, the girls and I are chatting about where to eat. Personally, I don't care because I'm not really that hungry right at this moment. As a matter of fact, I'm more focused on the pain in my hand. Even before Ana grabbed it, it was hurting pretty bad. Now, it's just intensified. It doesn't seem like the tequila is working as well as it usually does. I look longingly at the now empty bottle of Patron and sigh. That's unfortunate.

"Rhi? What do you feel like eating? Anything in particular?" I hear Kate's voice but, to be honest, I'm not really paying that much attention to the conversation.

"Huh? What did you say?" I ask, confused.

"Rhi, Kate asked if there was anything specific you wanted to eat." Ana says, rolling her eyes.

I laugh. "My bad. I wasn't paying attention. Um, I really don't care. I'm sure I'll find something wherever we go. Let's wait for the guys to finish up and ask them what they want. I mean, we shouldn't really make the decision without their input. That would be rude."

Kate and Ana nod in acknowledgement and there's a moment of silence. Then, Ana asks, "So, what did you really think about the surprise? We didn't want to ask for more details while the guys were around. Now that it's just us…"

I look down before I answer. Smiling, I respond, "I definitely did not expect that. It was a very nice surprise. I'm still in shock I guess. I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. I was surprised about hard it was watching Alex with other women. Maybe it was because of what happened before the show which, by the way, was amazing. I could certainly get used to doing that more often." I give them a huge grin thinking about the amazing sex with him a few hours ago."

I laugh at Kate and Ana's faces. They're stunned, to say the least. Kate's eyes are wide and Ana's mouth has dropped open. Maybe they didn't expect me to actually do anything.

"You didn't. DID you?" Kate asks in a loud whisper. Thank god because I'd have to kill her if she said it any louder.

"You DID? You really did it?" Ana says, a little louder than Kate did.

I have to laugh. "Yes, I did. And YES, it was totally worth it! I could definitely get used to doing that more often!" I grin and lean back in my chair with a wiggle. I continue, "Who knows, I'm sure it will happen again because he wants to spend more time with me while we're here. So, just be warned that there might be some R rated things going on in the future." I wink and laugh again.

Kate and Ana break out of their stunned state and laugh. "That's awesome Rhi! It's about time you get to get your groove on! Look out Rhi's on the prowl!" Kate shouts, a little too loud and a couple of the guys look our way. Alex happens to be one of them. FUCK.

"Kate! Shut up! Keep your voice down! He's looking this way and I think he heard you!" I whisper harshly. When I look over at him again he's got a huge grin on his face. Oh god, I want to crawl under a rock right now.

Kate and Ana laugh hysterically and I want to punch them. I would, except for the fact that my hand hurts like hell and my left hook isn't at the top of my game. Note to self, boxing is priority number one when I get home. Well, after taking care of my hand.

Speaking of hands, I could really use some ice or something to help with the swelling but there isn't any around and I'd rather not draw attention to my stupidity. Yes, I know I'm the cause of all my pain but I'll be damned if I'm going to admit that out loud. I'd never hear the end of it. it's bad enough I admit it to myself.

"You know Rhi, if you hadn't drank the rest of the tequila we could be having shots right now and do a toast. I guess we'll have to wait until we get to the restaurant and maybe the guys can join in?" Kate suggests, laughing at my reaction.

"Kate! What? Absolutely NOT! Here, if you want to toast so bad we'll toast right now." I pick up the shot glasses and hand one each to Kate and Ana. Holding mine up I look at them, eyebrow raised until they raise theirs. "To awesome friends and questionable activities." We toast, with absolutely nothing in our glasses. "There! Happy now?" I laugh and roll my eyes, slamming my shot glass down on the table.

Ana and Kate slam their glasses down on the table and smack their lips. "That was amazing!" Kate shouts with a laugh.

"Best shot I've ever had! Delicious!" Ana shouts as well, her laugh matching Kate's.

I roll my eyes and laugh louder. "You guys are nuts." Shaking my head.

The three of us are laughing for a few minutes and it feels good. Laughter always has made things easier to deal with, which is why I'm always making light of even the worst situations. After our laughter dies down we're silent for a moment when Ana breaks the silence.

"How's your hand feeling Rhi?" She asks, glancing down at the referenced appendage, which appears to be useless right at the moment, in question. We make eye contact and the concern is evident in her eyes. I know she feels bad but it was an accident.

"It hurts, as to be expected, but it's not your fault. It was an accident. It was hurting before you touched it so don't feel bad. You didn't cause it." I smile and continue, "I'm the idiot that threw the punch." I laugh and shrug my shoulders. Ok, so maybe I did admit that part was my fault out loud.

She sighs, "That's true, you were the one that threw the punch but I'd hardly call you an idiot. You wouldn't have had to do it if you hadn't felt threatened. He totally deserved it. You, however, didn't deserve to have an injury on top of it all."

That's true. I don't deserve an injury on top of the shit he did. But it's in the past and I'll just deal with the aftermath as it comes.

"Did the tequila help with the pain?" Kate asks, and I can't tell if she's joking or serious.

I do something that I'm not known to do very often and actually think before I answer. "Actually, it appears that doing shot by shot hasn't really done much. I've been trying to keep a constant flow going but maybe that break when I was with Alex disrupted it just long enough to allow the pain through. It's just been getting worse as the day goes on. Not to mention having to use it during that dance." I close my eyes and relive the amazing dance we shared, a smile growing across my face.

"Aww, Ana, look at her smile. She really did enjoy that. We done good!" Kate gushes, using horrible English for effect.

My eyes snap open when Ana laughs, "I'm so happy you enjoyed the surprise. You guys look amazing together. I just wish you didn't hurt anymore. Maybe you need to take something other than alcohol for the pain."

My heartbeat quickens and my breathing stutters to a stop. "Alex doesn't need to know all this. He wanted me to go the doctor today and get pain meds. I told him if I had to I'd self-medicate until I got home. Let's just say he was less than thrilled when I said that."

Kate's mouth drops open and Ana's isn't far behind. "RHI! Why the fuck would you say something like that? Have you lost your mind completely?! I know Ana and I have to deal with your stupidity but come on, saying that to Alex? You can't say something like that and expect him to not get upset."

Kate's glaring at me and Ana is silent. I feel like I'm 6 and just got in trouble for doing something bad. "You're right. I shouldn't have said anything about it to you guys or Alex. I should've kept my mouth shut." I roll my eyes, "Then no one would have heard my plan and I wouldn't have to deal with this." I mutter under my breath.

"Don't think I didn't hear that." Ana sighs. "Look, Rhi, we all know you make poor choices and don't take the best care of yourself, but you have to understand our concern for you. We just want you to be ok and happy and healthy and want what's best for you. You know that. We've known you for years and can deal with this but Alex doesn't know. He's not been there to experience all that you've been through. Not to mention how you handle things. You've got to watch how you say and do things around him. OK?"

I look from Ana to Kate and sigh. "You're right. About all that. I'm just tired of being told how and when I need to do something and what's best for me. You know that. Someone coming in who doesn't know my history makes things a little harder. I have legitimate fears and reasons for those fears. I'm trying but you have to cut me some slack. OK?

Ana looks at Kate, who says, "OK Rhi. We're not going to harp on this any longer. Let's just relax and enjoy the night OK?"

I nod. "That's all I want to do. It was a good afternoon and night and I want to keep that mood going." Changing the subject I ask, "Do you know where Jack put my overnight bag? I don't want to forget it."

She looks at me and points to the stage. "Jack put it behind the curtain on the stage. We'll have Jack or Alex get it before we go to dinner."

Ana cuts in, "Speaking of which, you definitely need to eat something. I know you haven't had anything today other than the muffin and Bloody Mary's. You always tell us we need to eat to counter the alcohol. Isn't it something breaded that's needed to soak up the alcohol?" She asks and I'm surprised she even remembered that.

"I'm surprised you remembered the breaded part. Yes, that's what is needed, something breaded and greasy. It sounds gross but they go hand in hand." I smile, happy to change the subject.

"Will you please eat? I'm sure the stuff from this morning already left your system, but you've had a lot of Patron the past two hours. I won't tell, but you have to promise me you'll eat." She looks at me intently waiting for my response.

"I promise I'll eat something. I know I need to, but today was just…weird. I'll be better, I promise. By the way, please don't say anything about me hitting that guy. I haven't told Alex yet and I know he's going to be angry with me for not telling him. I just didn't have a chance to. Other things came up." I smile wickedly. They roll their eyes and we all start laughing.