Monica laughs as Shaun twirls her around like a clumsy ballerina. They're off beat and and discombobulated but they're having fun. As he spins her again she stumbles into someone who catches her around the waist, she giggles and looks up at the person, feeling a little tipsy.
"Someone's having fun," Malcolm says turning her around. "Where's your other half?"
Monica pulls her hair away from her sweaty neck. "She went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, I thought she'd back by now."
"Maybe she's with Jackson," Shaun offers.
"Jackson's right there." Malcolm says pointing across the room where Jackson is talking to Janine at the snack table.
"What?" Monica questions. "But she...hold on." She pushes through the crowd of people on the dance floor to reach the snack area. She grabs Jackson and turns him around so that they're face each other. "Where's Sevyn?"
Jackson gives her a confused look, "Uhh...I dunno. Last time we were together she said she was getting a drink."
An uneasy feeling settles into Monica's stomach as she looks around for her friend. Malcolm spots Ty and rushes over with Monica and Jackson trailing behind them. "Ty, have you seen Sevyn?" Malcolm asks.
"Not since the drinks were given out." He says, "Why, what happened?"
"We don't see her in here," Monica says.
Corey stops his conversation with the girl he was talking to and look at Monica, "Well its not like Sevyn would just wonder off."
"She said she wanted to let loose tonight, who knows what her idea of fun is right now." Monica says. They all exchange worried looks with eachother before looking around the ballroom one last time.
"Well you said she went to the bathroom right," Shaun says, "Let's checl there." The group agrees and together they hurry out the ballroom. Janine watches them go, her lips twisted into a scowl as she watches Jackson disappear out the door. Aubrey glances at her curiously, wondering exactly what Janine has done.
As they head to the bathroom Monica whips out her phone and dials Sevyn's number. After non-stop ringing it goes to voicemail. "She's not picking up." She complains, ending the call.
Malcolm looks around the empty hallway before spotting a security guard getting off the elevator. He sprints over to him with the others right behind him, and taps the guards shoulder. He turns around, his eyes roaming over the group of well dressed teenagers. "What can I help you with?" He asks.
"Have you seen a girl come through here? She's my complexion, short hair, white dress." Malcolm says. "She's my sister and she disappeared a while ago."
The secuirty guard scrunches his eyebrows together, "I can't say that I have." He says, the group groans with disappointment and glances around the hall again. Malcolm can already imagine what his parents are going to say when he tells them that they cant find Sevyn. The security guard picks up his walkie talkie and brings it to his mouth. "It's Wilson speaking, have any of yall seen a girl in a white dress any where? Her friends are looking for her."
After a moment of silence, the other guards in the building reply saying that they haven't seen her. Monica's eyes start tearing up at the fact that her friend is missing. "I should have gone with her," She mumbles shamefully. Shaun pulls her into his chest and rubs her shoulder, trying to comfort and reassure her that it's not her fault.
The security guard frowns, "We can go to the backroom and review the security camera tapes, out of all the cameras in this building she's got to be seen on one of them." The security guard heads across the room and leads them down a dim narrow hallway. As they walk down the hall Monica suddenly stops.
"Did you guys hear that?" She asks. Everyone stops walking and turns to look at her, listening for whatever she heard. "It sounded like a thud." She looks around the hallway, straining her ears to hear whatever she heard before.
"I don't hear anything, come on." Malcolm says and they begin walking down the hall again. Something crashes behind one of the doors in the hallway and everyone freezes. Corey looks at Malcolm, "Ok, I heard that noise."
They strain their ears harder and the sound of low voices can be heard along with muffled cries. The sharp sound of a slap can be heard, along with another crash and crying. "Sevyn!?" Ty shouts out. There's a moment of silence before pounding can be heard through the walls.
"Tyyy!" They hear Sevyn scream and start pounding harder. "TYYY!" she lets out a blood curling scream before the pounding stops and rustling around can be heard. The group scrambles in all different directions, banging on doors and jiggling doorknobs to figure out which room the sound are coming from. The security guard speaks into his walkie talkie: "We've got a situation on the third floor."
"SEVYN WHERE ARE YOU?" Malcolm shouts, banging on one of the doors.
"Hey," Jackson shouts from around the corner. The others catch up to him and he's holding the gold heel Sevyn was wearing. Ty's eyes widen as he stares at his sister's shoe. "SEVYN!?
Another scream is heard followed by a thud. Monica points at the door, "It's coming from the supply closet."
"Move, I have the keys." The security guard orders, he fumbles to put the key in the lock and pushes open the door. Before he can look inside, Malcolm and Ty push him out the way. They barge into the small room to find Keenan kneeling between Sevyn's legs with his pants half down. He scampers to his feet and struggles to pull up his pants before making a run for it. He shoves Ty into one the shelves and tries to escape, but Shaun grabs him before he can leave the room and slams him against the door. Malcolm crouches down and helps Sevyn into a sitting position, there's blood on her dress and red bruises on her legs. She's crying hysterically as Monica pushes her way into the room.
"Sevyn I'm so sorry I wasnt there." Monica says to her, grabbing her into a hug as tears roll down her face.
Sevyn mutters something that's too slurred to comprehend before sniffling and looking around, "I want Jackson." She cries, "Where's Jackson?"
Jackson slips into the room and kneels beside her, "I'm right here," He assures her, hugging her closely. She cries into his chest, breathing hard and shaking from what just happened. Maclolm gets up and joins Ty in the hallways, who's shouting at the top of his lungs.
"I told you stay away from my damn sister and you pull this shit? Nigga you really have lost your fucking mind!" Ty screams, his booming voice bouncing off the walls. The veins in his neck pop out and his breathing comes out I'm short pants.
"Fuck you and you're sister." Keenan spits at him.
"Aw shit, you shouldn't have said that." Shaun says, before quickly letting Keenan go and doging out the way of Ty's fist. Ty punches him right in the eye, making his head slam back into the door. Pain crosses his face but that doesnt stop him from swinging at Ty and hitting him in the lip, splitting it and making blood drip down his jaw. Malcolm runs over and tackles Keenan to the ground, his fist flying from both sides as he pounds his face. Ty proceeds to kick him repeatedly in the sides, the pain so unbearable that he cant fight back. This goes on for a few minutes with nothing but the sound of curse words and pain filled moans filling the air. The security guard tries to break the boys up but they're too blinded by rage to stop.
Off to the side, the security guard dials the police number. "Yes I need a police unit down at Mariott Hotel on 137 Gulden street."
Once Corey sees the blood trickling from his face and head, he and Shaun help pull Ty and Malcolm off Keenan's battered body. "Get the fuck off me, I'm gonna kill him." Malcolm says, struggling to get out of Corey's grasp.
Corey holds him tightly, "You got him Malcolm but you have to chill the fuck out. The police are on their way and I'm not tryin to see yall hauled off to jail. It's over."
Ty shakes his head from where he's struggling to break free from Shaun, "Nah this aint ever over!" He yells at Keenan who has to be helped onto his feet by the security guard. Blood trickles down from head as he holds the eye Ty punched him in tenderly and spits a wad of blood on to the carpet.
Monica and Jackson help Sevyn out of the utility room and sit her down on the floor. Once the security guard has led Keenan away from hallway and into one of the security rooms, Ty and Malcolm are released. Malcolm kneels down in front of Sevyn while Ty continues to angrily pace back and forth across the floor. "What did Keenan do to you Sevyn?" Malcolm asks her as Monica softly strokes her hair.
Sevyn looks up at him, her eyes are red and smudged with mascara. "He was mean to me." She says sadly.
"I'm gonna need more than that Sevyn." Malcolm says, looking at the bruises on her legs and the blood on her dress. She sniffs and scratches at the tiles on the floor. "He hit me, and screamed at me." She says.
Malcolm sighs, frustrated that she's too out of it to elaborate any further. "Did he...did Keenan rape you?" He asks, not entirely sure if he wants to know the answer.
Sevyn's quiet for a moment, digging her nail into the floor. "No, he just touched me down there and said he couldn't wait to get inside. But then I heard you calling me and I screamed...and he slapped me." She whispers and swallows the sob that wants to come out. "I bit his arm...his blood ruined my dress." She gently runs the material between her fingers and looks at Monica. "I'm sorry I got dirty Monica," she says before bursting into tears. Monica grabs her and cradles her in her arms, consoling her as she cries.
"She's definitely drunk," Jackson says, rubbing her arm.
"But she doesn't drink like that. She only took one little shot, Keenan must have given her something." Monica says and Malcolm nods in agreement. Ty sighs in exasperation and glances at the blood on the door from Keenan's head. He should of smashed his head harder.
"Hey, look what I found." Corey says from the utility closet. He walks out holding the diamond flask in his hand. "Now why would Keenan have this." He says sarcastically.
Shaun grabs the flask out his hand, "That's Janine's, she always carries that with her." He says, turning it over in his hands. He twist the cap off and sniffs the inside. "Smells like whiskey." He grimaces at the harsh scent.
"Wait till I see that Janine, her ass is mine." Monica growls, her cheeks turning as red as her hair. She sighs and strokes Sevyn's hair as she hiccups and rolls her head from side to side. Jackson grabs her hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth across it. Sevyn looks up at the ceiling, the circular lights remind her of tiny space ships and she starts giggling uncontrollably.
A few minutes later the hallway is invaded by security guards and three police officers, two men and a woman. One of the men go into the security room to talk to Keenan while the other asks Malcolm what happened. The lady goes into the utility room to search for any evidence and Ty feels sick as he watches one of the police officers pick up Sevyn's underwear off the floor and put it in a plastic bag along with the flask.
He thinks about what his parents are going to do when they get home. He covers his face in hands, already stressing about their heated reactions. Corey walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder but that doesn't help ease his mind. "I can't believe I let this happen to her. I'm supposed to be her big brother, the oldest twin. And she almost gets raped by a nigga that used to be my friend."
"You gotta be careful who you trust these day man. Just be lucky that we got here in time and that she's ok." Corey tells him, watching as Sevyn slowly starts to doze off on Monica's shoulder.
Ty sighs as he looks at his little sister, "I just don't want her to mess up like I did. I mean I gave up my virginity like it was nothing. And I know niggas don't usually stress about it but sometimes I wish I had saved it for someone special. And then niggas like Keenan out here raping girls, makin me feel like I'm a dog cuz I just phuck them and leave them. It's almost the same thing as rape except its consensual, there's just no feelings attached."
Corey watches the stress on Ty's face and sighs. "Sevyn's not like the rest of these girls Ty. Trust me, she's different. She's got a good head on her shoulders. This is no ones fault except Keenan's." he tells him. Ty nods even though he's still beating himself up on the inside.
"We need to talk to her." The female officer says while pointing at Sevyn. "What's her name?"
"Sevyn Harris," Malcolm tells her as Jackson helps her to her feet. "I don't know if you're gonna get much from her. She's kinda under the influence right now."
The officer eyes Sevyn closely, taking in her dirty dress and bruised body. "Sweetheart, I know you're not feeling well but can you tell me anything that happened? Do you remember anything?" She asks. Sevyn stares at the woman like she has two heads. She lifts her hand and gently touches the gold emblem on the officers hat, mumbling something about the hat being fancy, before laughing loudly.
The police officer gently removes her hand from her hat, "Sevyn do you know what's going on right now?" She asks. Sevyn nods her head and blinks slowly. Her eyebrows scrunch together and a blank look comes across her face before she opens her mouth and vomits on the officer.
**
COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT!!!
Please go to WATTY awards and vote for my other book: Struggles of a Fangirl ☺