04

Alex gasped, her eyes squinting in the sudden darkness. Damn ! She’d have to get the torch and replace that light bulb again.

She shook her hands out of the soapy water, wiped them dry with a clean towel, and headed around the benchtop. As she groped her way into the living area, she heard a giggle, which sounded much like Emma. There, floating in the darkness, was a chocolate cake, candlelight flickering across its surface. Her dad was holding it, and her mom, with her arm in his. Her best friend, Ruby Williams-Chan, came into view, removing any doubt over whose idea this was. Nikita Buchannan and Isabella Robertson were there, too. Everyone was wearing big, sloppy birthday smiles.

« Oh my God ! » Alex murmured.

Emma giggled again, as though she couldn’t contain herself, and rushed to stand next to her. The strains of « Happy Birthday, » sung in the traditional arrangement of out-of-tune voices, filled the room. A sudden eruption of light revealed Timothy with his hand on the switch. Alex blinked away the afterimage.

Alex laughed. She hadn’t expected this, not after a busy day at work. Usually Saturday was rather quiet, but not this one. It had been hectic, and she was dead tired. She hadn’t expected anything more than a family dinner and then a good night’s sleep. This was such a surprise.

She blinked back tears as she tightened her arms around her mom.

« Happy birthday, sweetheart, » Mali said, squeezing her hard. « Now make a wish. »

Alex looked at the people surrounding her. Emma urged her to blow out the candles so she could have some cake.

« You guys didn’t have to do this, » emerged from her suddenly tight throat.

« Don’t be silly. It’s your birthday. We have to do this, » Ruby said, her braced teeth flashing with candle highlights.

« Please, just blow out the candles. We want cake, » Emma said.

« Make a wish, sweetheart, » Jacob said.

Alex looked at her dad, and her eyes flooded with tears. She only had one wish.

Dear Lord, she whispered to herself, I wish Dad would get his heart transplant and that he’d get well. She opened her eyes and moved closer to the flickering candles. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes—an image of Mr. Hot-Choc appeared in her mind. What ? She shook her head to clear the image, confused.

« Come on, Alex, blow ! » Nikita squealed.

She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and blew. All the candles winked out, followed by the sound of ever-so-slightly sarcastic cheering and clapping.

« So what’d ya wish for ? » Tim asked.

Alex looked up at her younger brother. He was gorgeous, with jet-black hair, dark-brown eyes, straight nose, and Hollywood jaw. He’d break lots of hearts.

« Can’t tell, » she replied, hoping her wish would come true. It had to come true.

« So who wants cake ?’ Mum asked.

« Me ! » That’s Emma—surprise, surprise. « I’ll help you cut. » She’d make sure she got the biggest piece, too.

After the last of the cake crumbs had been licked from the plates, Alex’s friends dragged her into town, claiming she needed to have some fun. Soon she found herself in the Octagon with her friends and, it seemed, half of the student body and a large percentage of the town’s population.

The air was crisp and cold, and Alex was glad she chose boots, skinny jeans, and a blazer—much like her friends. If she had worn a flimsy dress and four-inch heels like most of the other girls on the crowded streets, she would have simply shivered and collapsed on the spot, quite apart from the fact that she wouldn’t be able to walk in those heels.

« Come on, Alex. You haven’t been in Electrica since Uni, » Isabella said with a pretty pout. « It’s time you had some fun, girl. »

Her friends dragged her across the street where a hundred or so people were stamping the cold away, waiting to get into the bar.

Alex laughed as Nikita filled the air with a youthful, « Yay ! » She twirled around with her arms out. Nikita, Nikita ! Always so bold and fun with her tomboyish ways.

The street was thronged with young people. A couple of guys were about to start a fight, pushing and shoving each other. Alex ignored a group of men standing nearby. Most were smoking and made no attempt to hide their obvious interest in her and her friends. Three of them were struggling to stay upright.

Half an hour later, they finally reached the door. Alex rubbed her eyes and blinked. That was what glaring down a microscope at red and white blood cells eight hours a day did to you—especially if you wore contacts. She should have put some eye drops in before she left the house, but the girls were in such a rush.

The huge doorman, probably Maori or Pacific Islander, waved Ruby, Nikita, and Isabella straight in. Not Alex. He asked for her ID. She couldn’t believe it. She just turned twenty-two, and the man wanted to see her ID ? Did she look that young ? It was both flattering and annoying. The doorman glared at her driver’s license for what seemed like a minute, the kind of look that said he knew it was a fake but couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He handed it back to her with narrowed eyes and stepped aside to let her through. Ruby gave her a look, but Alex just shrugged her shoulders as they rushed down the stairs.

Music thumped the walls of the lower ground floor. The place was bathed in darkness, lit by sudden flashes of neon light like lightning on a stormy night. Smoke snaked slowly across the dance floor, coiling around groups of dancers. A group of students squeezed past, bumping their shoulders. Alex glanced around. The people and the smell of sweat, perfume, and alcohol suddenly seemed overwhelming. But there was Nikita, who enthusiastically pulled her into the crowd. Alex didn’t have the heart to tell her friends she wanted to get out of here.

Down on the dance floor, they excused their way to the middle. Their hips were swaying and arms making shapes in the smoky atmosphere. Alex felt awkward. She hadn’t been clubbing for so long ; she could barely remember any moves ! Her gaze fell on Isabella, who seemed frozen in place.

« Oh, gosh, » Isabella said.

« Hey, what’s wrong, Isa ? » Ruby shouted. « You okay ? »

« Eric’s here, » Isa whispered.

Ruby glanced at Alex, but she only shook her head. « What ? » Ruby shouted.

« Eric’s here ! » Isa pointed her finger toward the end of the bar where a group of young medical students were ordering drinks. Isa’s crush, Eric, was with them.

« Go say hi. » Nikita nudged her.

Isa shook her head. « No ! Don’t be silly, Nik. »

« Hey, what’s the harm ? He used to be our high school classmate. »

Isa shook her head again. Nikita was about to drag Isa toward where Eric was when a troop of new arrivals bowled past them.

« Hey ! » Nikita shouted in annoyance, but her voice was lost in the music. Then more people came in, shoving through and separating them.

Alex found herself in a dark corner. She had no idea where her friends were. She stood on tiptoe, but all she could see were the shadows of wide shoulders and heads. She wished she were taller. Not to mention her eyes were getting worse by the second.

Moving around the corner, she exited the dance floor and entered a quiet, dimly lit corridor. With the insistent boom-boom-boom of the music rattling the walls, she paid attention to her eyes. She blinked and rubbed a finger across the lids.

« Fudge ! » she swore as the contact lens flicked out of her right eye. In a panic, she blinked harder and groped around on the floor. Then the other one did the same. « Oh, for God’s sake ! » Now she couldn’t see anything. She was reaching into her handbag for her glasses when a hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled her around.

Though she couldn’t see the man properly, she knew instantly she was in trouble. She tried to shift away, to avoid him. He caught her other arm and pulled her closer. The odor of sour alcohol washed over her face, and she wanted to gag.

« Hey, sweetheart, » he breathed.

« Let go. » She shoved at his arm. He caught her again, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh.

« Come with me, » his voice slurred.

« Leave me alone, » she snapped, shoving ineffectually at his chest. « Get lost ! »

« What’s that sweet—sweetheart ? Co—come with me. Ya know ya wanna. »

« Get lost ! » she shouted, her heart beating faster, a cold sweat beading her skin. She was frightened of what was going to happen. She was scared of what he was going to do to her. She felt trapped. « Ruby ? Nik ? Isa ? Where are you guys ? » Her eyes darted around, hoping to see her friends—or anyone, for that matter.

She was pushed against the wall as his face loomed closer to hers. Holy Crap ! Alex didn’t want to be kissed by a drunken man she didn’t know. She felt his other hand fumbling at her belt. A sickening feeling rose in her stomach. Her head started to swim. She struggled one hand free and slapped him in the face. He didn’t let her go. He didn’t even flinch. A scream was building inside her when suddenly the man was yanked from behind and a fist crashed against the side of his face, cannoning him into a corner. His body crunched against the wall and slid to the floor, blood welling from his nose and lips.

« Leave her alone ! » The voice was icy, hard, and commanding.

Stunned and shaking, Alex looked up at her rescuer. She could only make out a silhouette—a strong and powerful shape. The drunk man in the corner muttered something, but nobody was listening.