"Sarah, do you think Stefania deserved the lead role in the production?"
When the words left his mouth, the room fell dangerously silent. Awaiting the carefully calculated response from the red-head.
The game of truth or dare had been pretty tame up until this point. A lot of people making out with each other and a lot of people sharing their drunken secrets.
This question left Danielle seething with anger. Stefania sitting down in silence, staring down at the carpet, unsure of how to react in this exact moment. Why open the can of worms in front of all these people? Why couldn't this conversation happen without the crowd?
"Truthfully?" Sarah starts, spewing alcohol from the red cup. "I don't think she is worthy. It should have been me..." The mumbling picks up again; people whispering to one another and eyeing the brunette.
"What the fuck? How can you even say that?" Danielle stands up. Forgetting the amount of eyes on this very conversation. "You know deep down that she is the most deserving person in this very room. And you? You don't even deserve to be in this play."
Stefania stands up to join the blonde, finding it hard to breathe, except she heads for the door and exits out into the garden. Exploding into a rage of tears. Barrett runs behind the brunette; pushing everyone out the way to make sure her roommate and best friend was okay. Slamming the back door in a state of panic and fury.
"Oh? Poor girl needs her broken girlfriend to speak for her— how cute." She deadpans, standing up to meet the blonde eye-to-eye.
"Oh and where's your boyfriend? I don't see him defending you?" Danielle shoots a look at Zach who is sheepishly sitting down in the corner of the room. Shying away at any sort of conflict. "What a load of shit..."
The blonde turns around to try and escape out of the house and into the garden. But before she can even take two steps, she feels a heavy pull on her hair. Dragging her back into the living room.
"You bitch..." Danielle spits, turning round and raising a hand to the red-head. Slapping her cold against her blemished skin, striking her cheek with blunt fingernails.
Sarah yells at the pain and attempts to knock the blonde to the floor. Arms and limbs flying across the living room as hits back with a forceful punch to the face.
Danielle could feel the blood dripping down in response to the hit so she pushes the blonde to the ground, with a hefty thump to the floor.
"Ladies! Please." A curly-haired man stands up between the two enraged women. Breaking them apart at the cost of catching a few hands to his chest. "Let's not do this here..." He pushes the woman off each other.
"I was just leaving anyway..." Danielle finally exits the room in search for her girlfriend, scanning as quickly as possible.
Opening up the back door to be hit with the cold breeze. A metallic taste forming over her bruised lips. The tall trees howling along with the moon and the stars shining above their heads. What a night.
Stefania and Barrett are in a tight embrace, sniffling into her roommates shoulder. Barrett had sobered up quicker than ever— stroking the length of her brown waves to keep her calm and grounded. Spotting the blonde in the doorway.
"She's okay— are you okay?" Barrett breaks away from the brunette, bringing in the blonde into the embrace. Stefania looks around to witness her girlfriend bleeding out of her nose and mouth. "Shit— what happened?"
"You should see the other guy..." Danielle tries to laugh; wiping the blood away from her nose with the sleeve of her cardigan. "I tried to leave to be with you both and then she just attacked me out of nowhere."
"I am so sorry— Bella, this is all my fault." Stefania cries further into the night. "I should have listened to you. We should of never even came tonight..." Her brown eyes filled with sadness. "I don't know what's gotten into her lately..."
"Hey— this is not your fault. You hear me?" Danielle wraps her arms around the brunette. Squeezing her as tight as possible. "This is not your fault." Rubbing a thumb over her cheeks to stem the tears from falling.
"We should get you cleaned up..." Barrett chimes in. "Come on... I know a place where we can go that's not far from here." The three of them snake around the outskirts of the garden until they arrive at the front of the house. Barrett had a friend a few doors down who could offer them some medical assistance.
"Keep tilting your head up. It's only a few doors down..." Barrett suggests.
"Well, that's easier said than done! I'm walking in heels and I can't see where I am going if I'm looking up at the sky..." Danielle waves her arms in the air. Carefully placing one foot in front of the other.
"I've got you, bambina." Stefania holds onto both of her hands. Leading her way down the pavements with Barrett slightly in front of them. Precariously avoiding tripping over her own feet in the process.
"Don't take any notice of what she said about you..." Danielle fires herself up. "You are worthy of everything good in your life. I promise you that you'll make the best actress the world has ever seen." She smiles at the thought of watching her girlfriend in movies and television shows in the future. "I love you so much that I don't want anyone to hurt you ever. It felt like a knife went through my heart."
"This is why I love you." Stefania places a kiss on her forehead. Silently retrieving back to their fast-paced walk along the city streets. "You are my everything."
"This is so cute that I might actually puke..." Barrett holds her breathe, interrupting their shared moment together. "Okay. We're almost here— let me just call him real quick to let him know we're outside."
Stefania brushes the blonde curls out of her eyes and behind her ears. Attempting to keep them out of the blood still spewing out from her nose. Looking into those ocean hues as she strokes her cheeks with the pad her thumb.
"Okay— this is Jason." Barrett gestures to the front door where a tall man stands, a handsome smile written on his structured face. Along with a concerned look towards the blonde. "He's a friend of mine and he happens to be a medical student."
Barrett and Jason share a brief embrace. Then focusing his attention on the bleeding victim. "Right, ladies, please come in..."
The house smelt of firewood and lavender. It was telling that he lived alone and did late shifts by the plates stacked up by the kitchen sink and the laundry piling over the basket. Yet, the blonde felt glad that someone would be able to look over her and sort her nose and lip out.
"Take a seat and I'll just go grab my medical kit." The three women gather around the circular table in the kitchen underneath a bright light. Emitting enough light to see every detail of the bruising that was starting to appear on her busted lip. In a matter of seconds; the dark-haired man appears around the corner and quickly washes his hands in the sink with soap.
"This might sting a little..." Jason brings up his gloved-hand up to the blonde. Gently tilting her head back into the light and applying some clear rubbing alcohol to her lip and nose. Ridding of any germs or bacteria. Also, allowing him to see the wounds further. "What happened here anyway?"
"Long story short..." Barrett swivels around in her chair to face the man. "Danielle was standing up for her girl and then got attacked for doing it. It's been a crazy night."
He clears the blood away successfully. Chucking the red-stained anti-septic wipes into a disposable bin. Holding tissues against the blondes nose to stop the bleeding once and for all. "You'll need a couple of stitches for the slit in your lip. I really shouldn't do it here... but since you are a friend of Barrett's; I will make an exception."
Stefania squeezes her girlfriends hand. She hasn't let go of her girlfriend yet and doesn't plan to for the rest of the night. Or maybe for the rest of their existence.
A couple of pinches later and Danielle is all stitched up. "These are dissolvable stitches. So they will likely fade or fall out in about a week or two. If you have any problems; you know where I am." Jason removes his gloves. Chucking them into the bin. Grinning at himself for his craftsmanship.
"Thank you so much." Danielle breathes, finally able to relax and not taste the metallic on her tongue. "You are quite literally a life-saver!" They rise from the table together. Danielle side-hugging the brunette as quick as possible like two magnets that attract.
"It's not a problem. Can I give you girls a ride home?" Jason offers politely; already tying the laces on his trainers. Not willing to accept no as an answer.
-
Okay I feel so much better after writing this chapter. So I hope you liked :)
I have a few chapters left in mind, and I do know exactly how I would like this story to end. So if you have any suggests on what you'd like to see before it ends - send me a message and maybe I can accommodate or prolong the ending.
Thank you all again, I appreciate every single one of you.
Also, what do we think is gonna happen on Thursday???