Boiling anger filled Aless as she slapped Bal as hard as she could.  Suddenly she fell backward as at the same time she heard bone-crunching.

Kay caught Aless, whose eyes fell on Danny standing over Bal.  Holding his jaw, Bal’s eyes still remained on Aless.  

 “How dare you touch my girlfriend” Danny snarled. 

Staggering to his feet, Bal laughed, sounding slightly insane. Covering his face with both hands, Bal laughed with his whole body. Taking a step back, Danny looked around, unsure of what was happening.

“Is that the best you can do, Danny-boy?” Bal sneered in a very strong Alᵫmdaun accent.

Lowering his hands, Bal glared at Danny, whose face went pale.  Resisting the urge to step back again, Danny jutted out his jaw defiantly. Clenching his fists, Danny sent Bal a look of pure hatred. It made Danny’s normally handsome face very ugly.

“What are you doing here?” Danny barely managed to say through gritted teeth.

“I came to see our Aless.”

“What?”

“Didn’t she tell you about me?  I was with her when you were too busy with your friends to even spend her birthday with her.   Did she tell you about that night?”

Flushing plum, Danny didn’t respond.  The answer was clear, however. Sneering, Bal nodded.  His Alᵫmdaun accent was still heavier than Aless had ever heard.

“I see she did.  Now, Danny-boy, did our precious Aless tell you about our wonderful kiss?”

Steam was practically coming off Danny.  Rushing to his side, Aless tried to grab his arm, but he violently shrugged her off.

“Shut up!” he yelled at Bal.

“What, Danny-boy?  Did I hit a nerve? Does it drive you crazy to know that someone else has kissed those sweet lips of hers?”

“I told you to shut up, you Alᵫmdaun bastard.”

It was Bal’s turn to blush plum.  Taking two large steps forward, Bal appeared to grow in height as he challenged Danny through body language.

“You don’t deserve her, Danny-boy, and you and I know it.  Have you told her all your dirty little secrets? Does she know the real man she is dating or are you still playing the poor little boy who lost his father?”

“You shut your damn mouth!”

“What are you going to do, Danny-boy?  You going to hit me again?  Go ahead.  You hit like a woman anyways.”

Danny was beyond words now.  He trembled visibly as a crowd gathered to watch what was happening. 

“You dishonor your dead daddy’s spirit.”

Unable to take anymore, Aless strode up to Bal and slapped him again with all her might.  The pain in her hand from the slap felt nothing compared to the pain in her chest.  Angry tears burned her eyes, but Aless refused to release them.  How dare Bal speak to Danny that way! How dare he pretend to be her friend and then act so cruelly to her! How dare he! How dare he!

Stupidly stunned, Bal stood still, staring at Alessandra blankly.

“Don’t you dare speak about Danny or his father that way,” Aless screamed.

People were staring openly now, surrounding the conflict in a tight circle.  Even the music had stopped.  Kay stood with DJ, her hand covering her mouth. Pulling her hand back, Aless slapped Bal again.  This seemed to wake him up.  As Aless pulled her hand back, Bal snatched her wrist and squeezed. Yanking her in close, Bal frowned.

“Aless, what is wrong with you?” he whispered.  “What are you doing with him?  Don’t you know what kind of guy he is.”

“What kind of guy he is?  He is my boyfriend.  He is kind and loving and I love him!  He doesn’t pretend to be someone’s friend and then abandon them or hurt them!”

Trying as hard as she could, Aless could not break free from Bal’s grip. Searching her eyes, Bal’s gaze was desperate as if trying to tell Aless something without words. Slowly, Bal’s free hand brushed Aless’s hair back from her eyes. The gesture was so kind and tender that Aless stopped breathing.  What game was Bal playing at?

Something painful grabbed Aless’s shoulder and wrenched her backward.  Falling against Danny’s chest, Aless looked up to see his eyes were hard and cold. Before she could even attempt to say anything, Danny grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out of the club, leaving Bal standing in the middle of the circle alone.

“Danny, you’re hurting me!” Aless cried.

His fingers dug into her flesh, bruising her. The only response she got was another hard yank as Danny dragged her by the shocked security guards.  Where were they when this fight was happening, Aless briefly wondered.  DJ and Kay ran close behind, faces creased in concern.  

“Danny, I’m serious!  You are hurting me!” Aless repeated.

Still, Danny did not reply or release her.  Tripping in her stilettos, Aless felt her ankle twist and she let out another cry of pain.  Danny ignored it, pulling her fast behind him. Reaching their cars, Danny practically pushed Aless away from him.  Stumbling, Aless caught her balance only with the quick help of Kayla.  Rubbing her arm, Aless winced as her arm and ankle throbbed. Pacing, Danny seemed beyond words.  

 “How…when…why…”

His body was shaking.

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?” he shouted.

“I did! Remember at the pizza parlor?” Aless responded equally loud.

“You said he tried to kiss you!”

“He did!”

“Trying is not the same as did!”

“Danny!”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was him?”

“I didn’t know you knew him!  He was just some delivery guy I became friends with.  It was nothing.  I love you!  Why does it matter who he is?”

“It matters!  He was a delivery guy you became friends with?  You are so cheap you would kiss a random delivery guy.”

Taking a sharp intake of breath, Aless stared at Danny in disbelief.  How could he say? Hovering around them, DJ and Kay froze in their tracks.  Closing her eyes, Aless counted to ten.  Her temper was also edging up and she didn’t want to get into a screaming match. 

“You don’t mean that.   You are upset.  Who is he to you, Danny?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“None of my business?  You better believe it my damn business. I love you and he was obviously trying to hurt you! That makes it my business.”  

“He didn’t hurt me, Ale.  You did.”

“Danny…”

Reaching for him, Aless wanted to go back in time, to make it all stop or never happen. Moving out of her reach, Danny turned his back on her.

“I can’t even look at you right now.  I can’t deal with you.  Don’t call me.  I may call you.”

Without a backward glance, Danny climbed into the car and slammed the door shut.  Running for the driver’s door, DJ gave Aless an apologetic look.

“He doesn’t mean it, Ale.  He loves you.  He’s just upset,” DJ said.

“Who is that guy Bal, DJ?” she asked.

“I honestly don’t know, Aless.  I’ll talk to Danny, though.  Don’t worry.”

Nodding, Aless could feel tears pushing to break free.  Loud music blared from the car as DJ and Danny took off.  Wrapping an arm around her, Kayla led Alessandra to their car.  Back at the club entrance, Bal stood watching in stormy silence.

 The ride back home was quiet.  Shaking from a mixture of anger and sadness, Aless couldn’t bring herself to speak.  After a few weak attempts to talk, Kay gave up and sat in silence.  Nervously, she watched Aless drive, her hands shaking on the wheel.

“Are you sure you don’t want to pull over and let me drive?” Kay offered.

“Kay, just shut up!” Alessandra snapped.  “I don’t want to talk and I don’t need you treating me like a child.”

“Aless….I….”

Screeching to a halt outside of Kay’s house, Aless glared at her friend until she got out. Looking like a whipped puppy, Kay slid out of the car, barely able to wave before Aless took off with her tires screeching.  It was all Kay’s fault.  If she hadn’t dragged Aless out onto the dance floor!  No, it was Bal’s fault!  Who kisses a girl who has a boyfriend?  Who says all the crap about missing and caring to a girl with a boyfriend?  He was supposed to be her friend! A real friend would never have done that! 

Peeling into her driveway, Aless turned off the car and headed inside.  In her anger, Aless missed things that she would later realize were signs of future trouble.  The front door was unlocked, despite Aless locking it when she left.  A light was on in the kitchen when she had turned off all the lights before she left. A smell, similar to the odor that Bal had on the night of her birthday, lingered in the air. 

Tossing her keys on the counter, Aless didn’t bother to call out to see if anyone was home.  Her father was out of the country again. Stripping as she walked, Aless cursed out loud to herself as her twisted ankle ached with each step. Leaving a trail of clothes behind her, Aless smiled bitterly at the fact that no one around to give a crap about her mess.  Reaching the upstairs hallway, Aless paused outside her bedroom in her undergarments.  Fingers fumbling with the clasp of her bra, Aless paused.  Something had moved inside her room. Peering into the almost absolute darkness, Aless saw nothing but her skin crawled.

“It’s just the spirits of the last moonless night,” she scowled.

Scuttling off to the bathroom, Aless kept looking over her shoulder at her bedroom, spine tingling.

“It’s all in your head,” she told herself.

Even knowing this, Aless waited until she was locked in the bathroom to finish undressing.  Turning on the hot water, Aless allowed the tub and bathroom to fill with steam before she slipped into the tub.  Once submerged she turned on the radio built into the wall of the shower, raising the volume to drown out all sounds of her own crying.  

Crying until she was exhausted, Aless dozed off in the tub.  The chirping of her phone woke her hours later. Groaning, she reached up, drying her hands off, and turned down the music. Then with apprehension, she answered.  Taking a deep breath, Aless closed her eyes and spoke.

“Hello?” she said in a monotone voice.

Crossing her feet, Aless hoped it was Danny.

“Aless,” Kay sobbed.

“What is it, Kay?” Aless sighed.

“My parents…”

Kay could barely speak through her sobs.  Through the phone, Aless could hear screams and crashing.  Heart falling, Aless felt instantly guilty.

“Come on over, Kay,” Aless said.

“T…th..thank you.”

The phone disconnected.  Aless turned the music back up and sunk deep into the water. Blowing bubbles, Aless wondered how it had come to this.  How had everything gotten so messed up?  After another five minutes, Aless drained the tub and stood to shower.  With her hair and face clean, Aless stepped out of the shower and dried off.   Just as she was slipping into a pair of cute sleeping shorts and tank top, the doorbell rang and rang and rang.

“Jeez, Kay,” Aless grumbled.

Padding down the stairs, Aless winced at the dull pain in her ankle.  The doorbell kept ringing.  Standing in front of the door, Aless rolled her eyes.

“I hear you!  Enough!” she shouted.

Swinging the door open, Aless gasp at the sight of Bal on her front step.

 “Get the hell out of here,” Aless shrieked, slamming the door.

Bal grunted as he slipped his foot and arm between the door and the frame.  Looking down, Aless found his hand wrapped in her shirt. Grunting, Aless tried to pull free, but the tearing of material forced her to stop.

“Let go, Bal!”

“No!  I won’t unless you listen to me.”

“Bal!  What is wrong with you? Let go of my shirt.”

“I will if you open the door and talk to me.”

“Hell no!”

“Then I’m not going to let go.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told you…I want to talk to you.”

“N…”

He pulled harder on the shirt and the sound of ripping repeated. Aless thought for a second.  She could try and slam the door on his arm and foot, but, if he moved faster than her, Bal would push his way in the moment she pulled the door back. If she stayed as she was, he could rip her shirt off and it was one of her favorite shirts.  She would have called the police, but her phone was upstairs by the bathtub.

“Okay…okay…I’ll open the door, but you have to let go of my shirt and stay outside.”

“Okay.”

“You promise?”

“Of course, Ale.”

A heavy feeling sank in her stomach as Alessandra slowly opened the door.  Bal smiled coldly at her.  His eyes shown so clearly in the night light and his smile was sweet even as it was cold.  For a moment Aless forgot she was mad until his foot stepped inside her house.