“I will tell Thomas where you are.”
“Thanks.” I made my way over to the side of the room. The couches looked like breeding grounds for some kind of infectious disease, but I was desperate. I suddenly felt like I might pass out.
The first couch was mostly taken up by a scrawny guy sprawled out on his back. He was wearing gold chains and an enormous pair of sunglasses and every few seconds he’d twitch, like a fly had landed on him or something. An older-looking man sat smoking at the other end and when he saw me he smiled and said something in Italian.
“Sorry, I don’t understand.” I pushed my way past. My head was pounding along with the music. Hopefully there was an open seat somewhere. Otherwise I was going to have to buddy up with the passed-out wannabe rapper.
There’s one! I rushed for an open spot, but just as I got there I stopped, because there was a pair of hands on my butt. And not in an accidental way. I whirled around. It was the older guy from the couch. His hair was long and greasy and he smelled, amongst other things, like a dead muskrat pickled in vodka. Or at least, that’s what I’d imagine one would smell like.
“Dove vai, bella?”
“Leave me alone.”
He reached out and ran his fingers along my bare shoulder and I sprang away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Perche? Non ti piaccio?” One of his front teeth was gray. And he was way older than I’d originally thought. Like ten years older than anyone here.
Forget the couch. I turned to run, but he lunged at me and then grabbed me by the arm. Hard. “Stop it!” I yanked my arm back, but he just tightened his grip. “Elena! Marco!” I couldn’t even see them anymore. Where was Ren?
I tried to pull away again, but the man grabbed me by the waist and pulled me in to him until my pelvis was smashed up against his. “Let. Go.” Head butt? Knee him in the crotch? What were you supposed to do when you got attacked? He grinned, sidestepping every desperate move I made.
How was I going to get out of this? There were people everywhere, but absolutely no one was paying attention. “Help me!”
Suddenly someone grabbed me by the shoulders, pulling me back, and the man loosened his grip long enough for me to wrench my body away. It was Mimi. Looking like some kind of beautiful, pissed-off warrior.
“Vai via, fai schifo,” she yelled at the man. “Vai.”
He put both hands in the air, then grinned and walked away.
“Lina, why didn’t you just tell him to go away?”
“I tried. He wouldn’t let go of me.”
“Try harder next time. Just call them a stronzo, then push them off you. I have to do it all of the time.”
“Stronzo?” I was shaking all over. It felt like I’d just been dragged through a Dumpster—that had been revolting.
She crossed her arms. “What is happening between you and Ren?”
I tried to focus my brain. “I’m sorry, what?” I rubbed at my arms, trying to get the feel of Gray Tooth’s skin off of me.
“What’s going on between you and Lo-ren-zo?” She spoke slowly, exaggerating her words like she thought I couldn’t understand her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Where was he?
She looked at me for a moment. “You know Ren and I are together, right? He’s only hanging out with you because he feels bad for you because your mom died.”
Maybe it was leftover adrenaline from my run-in with Creepy McCreeperson, but suddenly I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Is that why he was ignoring your calls last night?”
Her eyes widened and she stepped toward me murderously. “He was home with his little sister.”
“No, he was at Ponte Vecchio with me.” Please let me have pronounced that right.
“There you are!” Thomas stepped between us, holding a soda in each hand. He took one look at Mimi and wilted. “Whoa. What did I miss?”
“Shut up, Thomas.” She turned and flounced away.
“What just happened?” Thomas asked.
“I have no idea.”
“Lina!” Ren was shoving his way toward me. “There you are. Do you want to leave? It’s like a thousand degrees in here. I think the AC might be broken.”
Relief flooded through me and suddenly I was holding back a boiling lake of tears. “Where have you been?”
“Looking for you.” He leaned in. “Are you okay?”
“I want to leave. Now.”
“I need to leave too,” Thomas said. “I’ll walk out with you guys.”
It took us what felt like an hour to get out of there, and when we finally burst out onto the sidewalk we all gulped in the cool air like we’d just emerged from the depths of the ocean.
“Freedom!” Thomas said. “That was like being slowly smothered.”
I leaned back against the wall and shut my eyes. I was never going there again. Ever.
Ren touched my arm. “Lina, are you okay?”
I did a half shake, half nod. Okay? I could still smell pickled muskrat.