Ride

The shouting in the club had faded into a dull roar by 3 am and it began to thin slowly as the city eased itself into sleep. Prearranged cabs began to gather by the door and the music had changed its tone to a gentle beat.

"Great party, guys. See ya Monday."

"Night, see you Monday, boss. Happy birthday, Donnie."

"Catch you later. And happy birthday again."

Men and women one by one would file out the door. The club was nearly empty at 3:48 except for Brandi, Jordan, Donnie, Kimmy and Danielle who had all agreed to take a cab together and a few other patrons.

"So, Brandi. You heard from Lenny yet? After what happened?" Jimmy asked gently as the women polished off the rest of their drinks by the bar.

"No, no... he moved out and took all his stuff. I don't know how Donnie and Jordan roughed him up but they must have done a good job."

Danielle nodded and puffed on her cigarette.

"You know if he does, you can sue."

"You can?"

"Of course."

Jordan and Donnie were going over stock quotas at their table when Jordan decidedly lifted up his head from his slouch.

"Why are we talking about work? This is your birthday party."

"Fine, let's not talk about work then. How's Naomi?"

"No."

"Lighten up, Jordy. You have something else to look forward to now."

Jordan looked up at Donnie and rubbed his eyes in frustration. He let out a long breath.

"I got a lot of stuff to fix before interrupting her life. I don't even know if she wants me to."

"She does. Just fucking go for it."

Deep into the sky somewhere, planets aligned and stars exploded into fragments that blew away with time itself. Brandi kept thinking about the stars while standing outside. She was feeling introspective in a strange way; she couldn't tell if it was her heart or the drinks she had downed just moments ago. Some people had left already, most of the employees had scattered. She was drunk enough that she couldn't tell who was coming or who was going. It was probably a good idea if she hailed a taxi already. It was late and through her haze the only thing she could think about besides the stars was the monster headache that inevitably awaited her the next morning.

Then she remembered she had to wait for everyone else to come too. The cold from the outside began to claw at her skin, so she began to wander back inside the club to look for everyone.

No.

She stopped.

She wanted to be outside. This was good too.

The coldly dry wind kissed her face and Brandi let her mind wander to the rhythm of the club's pounding beats. Donnie was older now and she was older and everyone was older. How much longer did she have, she wondered, to keep living this way. Recklessly and dangerously. When was she supposed to start "maturing"? Her parents had come to visit a few weeks after Lenny had hit her.

Brandi's father was quiet and could only shake his head in disbelief as she explained the scar along her face and she feared her mother might never stop crying. It wasn't until Jordan became part of the story that they were brought to believe that Brandi was safe.

Jordan kept Brandi safe.

Remembering everything out in the dark cold all at once brought mist to her eyes that burned when the wind made contact. She closed her eyes and tears fell out.

Jordan keeps me safe. He keeps me safe.