Chapter Six

Chapter Six 

Walking into the bar, The sounds of happy chatting greeted me. I looked around, taking in the room. It was dimly lit but seemed like a really upbeat place in general. I could instantly feel myself relax. There was no threat here. As I followed Toby deeper into the establishment, towards the actual bar, I noticed how many people turned to smile or greet him as we passed. 

Maybe he was a regular here? 

Either way, he seemed to be really well-liked.

I just kept quiet and eventually, we ended up near the bar, at a large table, full of guys. Toby turned to me and smiled before gesturing to each of the men, Listing all of their names, which was returned with a smile. 

Though, admittedly, I lost track of who was who after the first four or so. It was a lot of information to take in all at once. I just gave them all a shy, small wave and a generic ‘’Hello everyone’’. 

Toby pulled out a seat for me and I sat down. He took a seat next to me and leaned a little bit closer to me;

‘Don’t worry, they may look scary, but they are completely harmless’. He whispered, jokingly, followed by a soft chuckle. I couldn’t help but return it. He was trying really hard to make me feel comfortable, but it was definitely working. 

‘So, Violet, Where are you from?’ One of them asked. I couldn’t remember his name.  

‘I’m actually from Nevada’. As soon as the words left my mouth, I had an almost Deja vu moment when I realized … Jason had asked me that exact question. My expression must have changed, signalling something was wrong because Toby leaned back in and asked if I was ok. I just reminded myself I was fine. I was safe, so I just nodded, forcing a smile. ‘I’m fine, thanks’. I whispered back. 

‘Here on Holiday?’ Another guy asked, I nodded. 

‘Yeah, Figuring a Holiday would be nice. Hasn’t been the best so far, but it's certainly looking up’. I forced another smile, trying too hard to pretend everything was ok. 

‘Well, you are certainly looking much better’. I just nodded and then realized; 

‘What?’ What did he mean by that? ‘’I was looking much better’’.. When has he seen me before? I looked at Toby., He was just staring at his friend. ‘What do you mean by that?’ I asked again when no one spoke. When no one spoke still, I looked back at Toby, ‘What did he mean by that?’ 

‘Just that..’ Toby trailed off, clearly not sure what to say. Scoffing, I got up and left the table. Clearly, he wasn’t telling me the whole truth and right now, my trust was in short supply. ‘Violet, Violet, wait!’. I ignored him and kept walking. I made it outside before i felt a hand on my arm, stopping me. I pulled away and he instantly apologized. 

‘What the fuck is going on!?’ I asked, accusingly. Something clearly was. Toby signed and moved us away from the door and around the corner, giving us a little more privacy. 

‘Billy was with me that night, that's all’. I just looked at him, even more confused. 

‘What?’ I didn’t believe him. ‘If that's true, how come the police never mentioned it to me?!’ 

‘The police don’t know’. 

‘Why?’ He let out another sign. 

‘He’s young. He was really distressed by what he saw, what he saw happening to you’. For some reason, I instantly felt embarrassed and ashamed that yet another person saw it. ‘We figured it was best to keep him out of it. He didn’t see any more or less than I did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t think he would be stupid enough to say anything. I’m sorry if it... Panicked or worried you’.  He just kept apologizing and then I suddenly started feeling bad, about overreacting. 

‘It's fine, but it would have been nice to know’. He nodded. 

‘I understand. I’m sorry. Will you come back in?’ 

‘I don’t know... I feel embarrassed about how I just reacted’. He shook his head. 

‘Don’t be, Trust me, they understand.’ So they all knew about it? Great. ‘Come on?’ Holding his hand out to me again, I hesitated but took it and he led me back into the bar. 

When we got back to the table, a few of the guys were missing, but it turned out they were just at the bar, getting the drinks. Toby suggested we all go outside and sit on the beach. It was getting quite warm inside, so agreeing, we headed out. 

Finding a nice spot in the shade, we sat down again. The others found us, their arms loaded with beer bottles, and they began passing them around. The young one, Billy, came over to me and passed me a sealed bottle of Coca Cola. 

‘I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but smile at him. It was sweet of him to say something. 

‘It's ok, it's just.. Surprised me’. He nodded. 

‘I understand. I didn’t know what you liked, so-’ 

‘Coke is great, thank you’. He just smiled widely and returned to sit near his friends. I opened the bottle and took a drink, the ice-cold liquid coating my throat on its way down, really helping with the heat. 

A few hours had passed and while it was still really warm, the weather had cooled down a little bit. A few of the guys had left so it was just me, Toby and two of his friends, Joel and Rick. 

‘How are you feeling?’ Toby asked me when his friends left to go and get another round at the bar. 

‘Good. It's nice to be out and I'm having a good time’. We shared a smile. 

‘Good, I'm glad’. We carried on talking until the guys returned, with two identical girls tagging along with them. As they sat back down, I couldn’t help but notice the side-eye glances at me. 

‘Oh, Violet, this is Abby and Annie. Their dating Rick and Joel’. Toby explained. They didn’t smile, wave or greet me in any way, so I just smiled awkwardly and nodded. The conversation went back to something random, but the mood had changed and I suddenly didn’t feel very comfortable. 

I stayed quiet throughout most of the conversations, but every time I tried to say something, one of the girls would cut me off with their own opinions. Eventually, I just got sick of pretending I was having a good time and stood up, brushing the sand off me. Everyone looked up at me. 

‘I’m sorry to dash, but I should be going. My parents will be wondering where I am’.

‘Aww, that's a Shame’. One of the girls said before the other added; 

‘See you around’. I just rolled my eyes and walked away. Toby followed and asked if I was ok. I told him I was and that I’d see him around sometime. He tried to convince me to stay, but I really wasn’t in the mood and eventually, he gave up. I thanked him for spending the time with me and getting me out before he returned to his friends. 

I meant it. Today was a really good day… until those girls showed up...