“Brody,” Dove growls, and rolls up her sleeves.
I put my hand on her shoulder, halting her from ripping the offending man to pieces with her bare hands.
“Oh,shit,” Princess says under her breath. There are mini bags of popcorn at the bar and she hastily grabs one, stress eating as she watches the drama unfold.
The tiger woman gets up, brushes herself off, and starts backing away, sensing she’s been outnumbered. Brody, meanwhile, pulls a half-grin and lifts his arms.
“Babe! What’re you doing here?” He’d almost pull off the casual act, if it wasn’t for the pitch of fear in his voice.
“Following your stupid clues around all night. Or did you forget that it’s myfucking birthday?”
He blinks. “Oh. Yeah. Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday? Happybirthday!Making out with another woman on my goddamn fucking birthday—that kind of happy birthday?”
“We were just…hanging out…”
“Hanging out? Hangingout!”
What follows is painful to witness. Ophelia has had this whole, entire night built up to this moment. Now, it’s hard to watch it crash down around her as her birthday night dissolves into a screaming match between her and her boyfriend. What transpires is the most uncomfortable ninety seconds in which I attempt not to overhear the fight until, fed up, Ophelia swivels around and leaves the bar. Dove follows quickly at her heels with the rest of their friends. Brody starts after her, but I grab his arm.
“I wouldn’t,” I tell him.
He yanks away from me and sneers. “Yeah? And who the fuck are you?”
The man willing to lay down life and limb for Dove’s best friend.
I drop my voice to level with him. Man-to-man. “As someone who has made his fair share of mistakes, I recommend you stop while you’re ahead.”
He’s got all the energy of a racecar stalled a red light. There’s energy in his eyes and I can tell he wants to barrel out there around me.
But if he starts up again with Ophelia, Dove will yell at him.
And if he raises his voice at Dove…
We don’t have tofill in thewhat next, because the steam finally leaves his pot. He sucks his teeth, turns away, and goes back to the bar.
Crisis de-escalated, I go back outside, into the cold.
Ophelia is surrounded by her friends. She closes her eyes and groans, swaying on her feet.
“Want me to kill him?” Carver asks.
“We’ll make it look like an accident,” Princess agrees. She has a second bag of popcorn tucked under her arm as she cleans out the first.
“I’m going to be sick.” Ophelia shivers.
Phantom approaches her. “Ophelia,” he says gently. “I’m?—”
“Red,” she says suddenly.
Phantom looks slapped. At her safe word, he immediately stops in his tracks, as though he’s hit a glass wall. He takes a quiet step back. Giving her space.
Ophelia’s birthday is ruined. Party’s over.
Ophelia tucks into Dove and turns away from her friends.
“Just take me home,” she begs. “I want to go home.”
