My literal nightmare.

I could feel my breath quicken, sweat prickle my skin, and my eyes start to glaze over. I wanted to teleport out of the room and appear back in my dorm where I could be safe from this awkward and extremely uncomfortable interaction that would undoubtedly come.

Cassidy quickly grabbed my hand, her grip tight. It brought me back to the present.  She squeezed my hand twice. I squeezed back once.

Are you okay?

No.

She nodded. And quickly pushed through the crowd around us to get to the dark hallway. At least there, David would hopefully not see me.

Unfortunately, we weren't as lucky as I'd hoped. Because while David may not have noticed us, Nina definitely had.

"Wait, Cassidy!" Nina called out as we rushed away. "Are you still going to play?"

"No!" Cassidy shouted.

By then it was too late.

David knew a lot about me, including my roommate's name. As Cassidy pulled me back toward the hallway, I met David's gaze from across the room.

I noticed him grimace, just before I was pulled through a door and into the apartment's main bathroom. Immediately, the smell of spilled beer assaulted my senses. I covered my nose as Cassidy locked the door.

"What a dick," she said.

"I know."

"Who does he even know here? Who invited him? This is stupid. I swear, I'll talk to whoever I need to talk to to get him kicked out."

"Cassidy, it's okay," I replied. But it wasn't okay. It wouldn't be until I stopped having to see his face eternally.

"He's a piece of shit and you are worth so much more than him. Okay? Remember that," she ranted. She paced back and forth in the small space, almost bumping into the toilet. She had her arms crossed, makeup already a little bit smudged.

"I'm guessing we can't stay here all night and hope he leaves?" I suggested, mostly kidding. Somebody else would have to use the bathroom soon. I wouldn't be surprised if already someone was waiting outside.

She shook her head. "No, but I kind of want to walk out there and dump a drink on him."

That wouldn't be the worst idea, but I didn't want to make a scene. I'd rather just try to leave quietly and pretend I never came. And then never go to a party again.

The hardest part would be leaving. I knew he wanted to talk -- he'd blown up my phone after that one night and I hadn't responded. I'd almost blocked him, but had weirdly felt guilty.

I hadn't done anything wrong, though. He had. He had crossed a boundary, and he should have known better. I had to keep reminding myself that otherwise I would go insane.

"Let's just get out of here. If he tries to talk we keep walking," I stated. Cassidy nodded in agreement. I could do this.

And maybe afterwards we could still go to another party. At least we would know for sure that my main threat wouldn't be there.

I led the way, pushing the bathroom door open, not looking where I was going. I maintained a tight grip on Cassidy's hand, pulling her through the crowd. The room was definitely getting more crowded by the second. I pushed past a group of dancing girls and a walked purposefully towards the light at the end of the tunnel: the opened apartment door.

But just as I was passing the drink counter, I heard David's voice.

"Kiera!" he shouted. Cassidy pushed me forwards and I tried to swerve past the couple making small talk in front of me. "Kiera, I want to talk to you."

And I don't want to talk to you.

I was almost to the door when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

I yelped and jumped backwards, not expecting him to have caught up to us. Cassidy immediately stepped in front of me, blocking me off from David. He stood a mere couple of feet away, a few of his friends beside him. His eyes were red and his beige shirt had a large wet stain on the side.

"Why haven't you responded to my texts?"

I remained silent, somewhat in a state of shock that I'd ended up here. I hadn't seen him in so long that it felt like I was trapped in a nightmare. Cassidy gripped my hand and pushed me back farther towards the door, glaring David down as though he were Lucifer, himself.

"You don't have a right to talk to her," Cassidy spat back.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" David retorted, clearly intoxicated. Maybe even crossed. "I'm not the one who ghosted someone after hooking up with them."

I clenched my fists. I shouldn't engage. I shouldn't say anything. It would only get me into more trouble. It'd only screw me over more. I shouldn't....

Cassidy stepped in to save the day. "Look, get the fuck out of here. Get out of her face. Stop chasing after her. You're obviously in the wrong, and you know it."

Internally, I felt relief that I hadn't had to say anything. I tried to grab Cassidy's hand, pulling her away. I could sense how tense she was. I genuinely was worried she would physically attack him if we stayed here much longer.

He raised his eyebrows, looked at me, then back at her. Then, he nudged his friend. "Did you hear that? Did you really just hear that? She said I was in the wrong. Like I've done anything." Then, he shook his head and let out a harsh laugh. "You're fucking stupid."

Heat filled my cheeks. Was he really doing this here? You're fucking stupid. The words rang in my ears, a symphony encouraging me to do something I would later regret.

Adrenaline filled my veins, making my fingers twitch in anticipation. I shouldn't, I shouldn't, I shouldn't.

I was going to.

"So, what? Are you trying to say you didn't want it?" he taunted, adding just a bit more fuel to the fire, exactly what I needed.

I didn't think. I just moved.

I reached to my left where the bar counter was, grabbed a red solo cup filled to the brim of alcohol and threw it at his face.

And then, Cassidy and I made a run for it.