Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

This is Charity’s night.
___
As the night wears on, I drink until I am a little past tipsy.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Charity, even though I doubt she cares. She’s busy flirting with the cute
bartender.
I stumble and giggle a bit as I get off the stool and steady myself. After blinking a few times, I
make my way through the crowd to the cramped restroom.
While I’m peeing, I get the bright idea to dig out my phone and see if I have any missed
notifications.
There are several from Jackson. The longer I ignored him, the angrier he got until he finally
stopped texting me. He started again, though, about ten minutes ago.
Since I’m a bit drunk, I finally answer this one. “Omg what?”
“Where are you?” he asks.
“Out with Charity, I told you.”
“I need your help, Hallie. I got into some trouble.”
Sobering just a bit, I try harder to focus on the screen. I squint, then close one eye and type back,
“What kind of trouble?”
“I need you to meet me. I’ll make it worth your while, I promise. I’ll pay you back tomorrow, but
I’m in big trouble. Please come, I’m fucked if you don’t.”
“What kind of trouble are you in?”
“I’m out with my boss and some of his friends.”
That’s not an answer. Sighing, I tuck the phone back in my bag so I can get out of the tiny
bathroom stall. As I’m standing at the sink washing my hands, I hear my phone vibrating more
insistently than it would for a text message.
Someone’s calling me?
I grab a paper towel and quickly dry my hands, then I dig my phone back out.
The number flashing across the screen is Jackson’s, so I expect to hear his voice when I pick up
the phone.
It’s not Jackson.