Page 110 of Run
We all chuckle, then I hear a loud “moooo” from behind me, and I squeeze my eyes shut. We all fall silent for a moment, before Ethan speaks up. “Hey, Fonz, your dad is looking for some mechanics, isn’t he?” He squeezes my hand, and I know he’s trying to provide a distraction from the humiliation that’s happening to my best friend.
Gino and I lock eyes, and he looks absolutely murderous.
“Yeah, actually. If you guys know anyone looking for work, send them my way,” Fonz says to the guys.
“I may know someone, actually,” Tommy responds as he pulls his phone out. “Let me get your number and I’ll pass along the intel.”
We hear it again, louder this time. “Moooo.”
Fonz shoves away from the table with a curse, but before he can turn around, Sophie grabs his arm. “It’s fine.” She doesn’t look any of us in the eye. “You think I haven’t lived through my share of hecklers? It’s fine. They’ll tire of it soon when they don’t get a rise out of the fat girl.”
Tears threaten my eyes. She’s trying to act unaffected, but we all know better. We can hear it in her shaky voice. How freaking humiliating. And in front of Gino who—I don’t care what Sophie says—she wants to impress.
We hear more laughter behind us, and I pull my hand away from Ethan’s as I take Sophie’s. “Let’s go to the bathroom.”
“Yeah, I’ll come with you,” Lizzie adds as she slides off her stool.
“Guys, I’m fine, really. It’s not worth it.” Sophie finishes her drink, then adds, quietly, “I’m not worth anyone’s trouble.”
We can’t miss a noise that sounds like a pig’s squeal, followed by a mocking voice.“Hey, you want to go for a roll in the mud?”It’s followed by laughter breaking out behind us.
All I hear next is the sound of chairs scraping across the floor as Knox, Tommy, and Gino all push off their stools. “Soph, sweetheart,” Ethan, who is already standing, addresses her. “Go to the bathroom with the girls.”
She blushes. “Guys, really, just—”
“That wasn’t a request,” Ethan insists. “Go. All three of you. Now.”
He gives my arm a squeeze as I practically push Sophie off her stool. We join up with Lizzie on the other side of the table and make our way toward the hallway that houses the restrooms.
“Uh, should I be worried about them?” Sophie tries to look over her shoulder, but Lizzie and I push her forward.
“Yes,” we answer in unison.
We get to the ladies’ room and Sophie enters first, followed by Lizzie, and I’m right behind them, but glance back down the hall and catch a glimpse of Gino dragging some guy toward the door by his collar and Ethan jabbing another guy in the chest—moving him along as he does—also in the direction of the exit.
This is not going to end well.
As soon as the ladies’ room door shuts, Lizzie goes off. “Those giant twats are stupid, Sophie! You hear me? They are some preppy little shits who never grew up and never left the same neighborhood they were born in. And they probably never get laid because they have tiny dicks. And also, they’re fucking ugly!”
We are quiet for a minute, then Sophie heads into a stall. Lizzie and I exchange a sad smile, and I turn on a faucet to provide background noise, but I can hear Sophie sniffling and it breaks my aching heart.
It must break Lizzie’s, too, because she wipes away a tear.
After a minute Sophie comes out and washes her hands before turning and softly saying, “I just want to go home.”
She remains emotionless as we make our way out of the bathroom. We walk back down the hall and I immediately notice the bar has cleared out exponentially, and anxiety shoots through me. “Oh dear,” I whisper to Lizzie. “I hope we’re not going to jail tonight.”
“Wouldn’t be my first time,” she mumbles back.
We make our way to the front door and file through it. Sophie’s jaw drops.
Gino, Ethan, and Knox are on their knees, in that order, with their hands cuffed behind their backs. Fonz and Matt are talking to an officer, and Tommy is standing off to the side scratching the back of his head.
Two dudes—who must have been the hecklers—are sitting on the curb, also handcuffed. One is in pretty bad shape, with a busted eyebrow and lip, and a nose that looks pretty crunched up. He’s got blood dripping from his nostrils and covering the front of his shirt, which is ripped. He spits to the side and, sure enough, that’s bloody, too.
The other guy doesn’t look as rough, but he’s definitely going to have a fat lip and black eye in the morning.
Looking back at our guys, I take inventory of them. Ethan’s face looks fine; a little red on one cheek. His shirt is wrinkled but not ripped. I see a little cut on Knox’s lip, but other than that he seems to be OK. Gino’s shirt is ripped almost clear off his body, and he’s got a little dribble of blood under his nose.
