Falling Up

29. Hallucinating

Noah came through the crowd, a huge grin on his face as he pushed past bystanders who were milling around or heading towards the exit now that the fight was over with.

Riley saw him first and waved him over as he approached, stepping down from the platform where she was seated. "That was amazing, Noah. I didn't know you were that good."

"Neither did I," replied Jason, following up behind Riley and landing a congratulatory slap to Noah's back with a sideways hug, the way they usually did. "When did you get so good?"

"I've been practising," shrugged Noah as he tugged his shirt over his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead in the process.

"A little bit too much, so Liam tells me," Tyrus said, taking up his position next to Jason as he affectionately placed an arm over Jason's shoulder. He used him for support as he hunched over slightly in a manner that seemed to alleviate the pain in his side.

Both Tyrus and Noah looked beaten up, sporting some cuts and bruising that were already forming in various places across their faces and body. Riley noticed some women not far off to the sideline, waiting for their chance to pounce on the men, but neither seemed to have an interest, with Noah more excited about winning and Tyrus directing all his attention on Jason.

"So, how about we all grab some dinner?" said Jason. "We can hit up Laguna. I hear they make some pretty good burgers."

"Sounds good to me," said Noah. "I'm starving."

"You're always hungry," smiled Jason.

"What can I say? I worked up an appetite kicking your boyfriend's butt in the ring."

At the word boyfriend, both Jason and Tyrus did an uncomfortable shuffle, which made Riley giggle under her breath. She guessed they hadn't broached that subject yet.

The entire group started shuffling towards the exit with the other patrons as Liam made a nod to an employee, eagerly passing on the responsibility of cleaning and closing up to someone else. Just one of the perks of being the boss.

As she shuffled her way past the crowd, Riley felt an unusual feeling course over her body. It was one she hadn't felt in a long time and it caused her to pause in the middle of the crowd as passers-by nudged past her to the exit. But for some reason, she couldn't seem to move and the hairs on her arms stood up straight as a chill coursed through her body.

She glanced left, then right, looking for the cause of this feeling. She hated this feeling. This feeling of pure and utter dread.

And as the feeling settled into the pit of her stomach, she saw him. Standing in the corner of the room, sporting the same piercing, devious eyes that she remembered. And he was staring straight back at her.

Vincent.

Riley stumbled backwards as panic struck and a cold sweat covered her forehead. She spun around, looking for Jason, who seemed miles ahead and was already out of the front door. In her haste, she looked back to the corner that Vincent was standing in.

He was gone.

Her eyes shifted wildly around the room, scanning in every direction as she tried to figure out if Vincent had cut in front of her to block her exit, or if he was coming in from behind her.

In her frantic state, she bumped into Kain, almost knocking him off his feet. But she didn't care who it was. All she knew was that it was someone familiar and with that, she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt, clinging on for dear life.

"It was... I thought I...." Riley mumbled in her panicked state.

She looked up into a pair of shocked eyes as Kain looked back at her. It only took a moment for her to come back to her senses and realise what she was doing before she let go of his shirt and jumped back, creating a suitable amount of distance between them.