Page 147 of Demo
Did I miss a scuffle?
My eyes almost cross as Marcus brings a hand into my hair and massages my scalp as he breathes into my neck. “See how good that feels, sweetheart? Imagine how good other things will feel.”
“Lizzie.” Knox pulls me out of this little trance. “Lizzie, look at me. It’s just the drugs. It doesn’t really feel good.” I lock eyes with Knox. His are pleading.
With a loud exhale I say Marcus’ name, and he grunts. Then I push his shoulder back slightly as I begin to speak. “You’re right, Marcus. I’m a lot different than Jenny.”
“Oh, yeah?” he says as he cups one side of my face with one hand, the other braced on the wall beside me. “Tell me.”
“Well,” I begin, as I start shuffling through my purse yet again. “First of all, I’m not a bimbo. And I’m not easy.” I’m still searching for the thing I felt in here that I knew would come in handy. “You have to really work to get me, you know?”
“Yeah, baby, I know,” he says, licking his lips.
“And also,”aha! Finally, I find what I want.
“Yeah,” Marcus encourages me to continue.
I make eye contact with my husband over Marcus’ shoulder. “I would never ask Knox to come to my rescue.” I pull my hand out of my purse, squeeze my eyes shut and put the can of pepper spray right in Marcus’ face and squeeze the top, making sure not to breathe until I hear him scream, and then I duck and practically crawl under him.
When I open my eyes, I see Knox take advantage of the surprise, grab the bottle of liquor off the table, swing and hit Johnny over the head with it. Johnny stumbles with a grunt, but comes back at Knox who gives him another hit over the head, and the glass shatters.
Marcus is rubbing at his eyes and attempting to stand, but Knox gives him a kick to the side as he pushes past him, grabs my hand and drags me down the hallway. The front door swings open before we reach it, and in a blur, I see Clark, now wearing a police vest, and a couple of other guys also in vests come at us, guns drawn and shouting, “Everybody down!”
Knox pushes me onto the floor and covers me. I hear footsteps, shuffling, and many different voices.
“Where are they?”
“Back there!”
“Freeze! Put your hands up!”
The sounds are muffled, and I assume it’s because of the drugs and alcohol and my brain is mush, but then I realize it’s also partly because Knox has my head buried in his torso, with his body curled around mine. We are both on our knees. I can hear his heart beating in his chest and against the side of my head, and it reminds me of galloping horses.
Actually, I shouldn’t say itremindsme, because I’m not sure I’ve ever really heard galloping horses in real life, but this is what I imagine they would sound like. A quick one-two. “Bump-bump, bump-bump, bump-bump …” Like the sounds of front hooves, then back ones hitting the earth only milliseconds apart.
I match my breathing to his “bump-bumps,” and I’m not sure if that makes my breathing faster or slower, but it makes me feel calmer.
Then we are swaying, and I find it comforting Knox is “dancing” with me here, like we always do. Except … No, this isn’t Knox swaying me like he does, it’s just me, rocking, and Knox’s voice is calling for me, but he’s so far away …
And then he is right here. “Lizzie,” I hear him close and know he’s right in front of my face before I even open my eyes. When I do, I am looking right into his eyes as his irises dart back and forth between mine. He has his hands on either side of my head. “Baby, come back to me.”
He starts to come back into focus. Everything does. I open and close my mouth a few times, trying to get saliva to all the parts that feel like they need it. “Why does my mouth feel like cotton?” I ask, and Knox chuckles, I think out of relief.
“That’s the Molly. It’s gonna take you on a ride.” He’s now stroking his thumb over my left cheekbone, and it feels like a kitten’s paw.
“How’s she doing?” I hear that familiar voice again, and I open my eyes, not realizing I had closed them and leaned into Knox’s touch, just as Clark crouches down next to Knox and his eyes scan my face. He picks my wrist up and holds two fingers against it, while cradling my palm with his other hand.
And that …thatfeels like I stuck my hand in a jar full of feathers. I hear a little chuckle and, realizing I closed my eyes again, open them and see Clark and Knox looking down at my hands, which are cupping Clark’s—my fingers running between his and smoothing them back and forth.
I’m embarrassed, but I can’t pull my hands away. “Imsosorry,” I murmur as I just keep molesting his hands. “Why can’t I stop?” I look up to Knox who is just shaking his head.
“Everything just feels good for you, right now,” he says. “It’s OK. You’ll be OK.”
Clark gently pulls his hands away. “You think she needs a medic?” he asks Knox.
“Nah, I’m gonna stay with her. Can I take her home?”
“I think so. Let me just talk to Henderson real quick. Need help getting her outside?”
