Page 19 of The Fire We Make

Mel’s three friends expressed they were ready and Mel agreed. The five of them left the restaurant and headed in the direction of the club’s entrance.

“You good?” Mel asked in Joy’s ear when they fell behind the rest of the group. Concern laced her voice and furrowed her brows as she noticed Joy’s now melancholy energy.

“I’m good,” Joy said. She offered up the lie Mel needed to hear and as the words left her lips, she prayed that it would someday be true.

Mel stared at her a moment longer but whatever she saw made her drop it.

Conversation flowed around Joy as they moved to their next destination but she barely registered what was being said. Her ears felt like she was underwater and a migraine was beginning to set in — clear signs that she’d once again lost control.

She chased after the happiness she’d had not even thirty minutes ago but a heaviness settled over her instead like a lead fog.

Joy fought to remain present as they walked through the packed club bathed in shades of blue, an homage to the club’s name. She made a beeline for the bar, mumbling her intention to Mel, then found the spot she planned to occupy until it was time to go.

She was no longer in a dancing mood.

“What can I get you, beautiful?” The pretty bartender asked once Joy was seated.

“Bourbon, please,” Joy requested with a sigh.

“Sure. Top shelf or bottom?”

“Top,” Joy answered.

She left briefly then returned with a hefty glass of Joy’s liquor of choice. She thanked her then watched as the woman left to tend to other customers.

She hazarded a glance at herself in the reflective glass behind the bar and sighed before taking a deep swig.

“So much for a rebirth.”

Joy was only able to last a few moments before she felt the overwhelming desire to flee. To be alone.

She remembered a sign in the stairwell pointing to the roof. Joy decided that would be the perfect place to get some solitude.

She took her phone out and sent Mel a text.

Joy: Hey I wasn’t feeling well so I’m going home

Mel: OMG are you okay? I’ll come with you

Joy: No I’m fine, stay with your friends

Joy slipped her phone back into her clutch without waiting for a reply from Mel.

When the bartender had her back turned, Joy swiped the bottle she’d poured from and slipped unnoticed back into the stairwell, her sights set on the roof.

Chapter Five

Discomfort weighed heavy on Ace’s chest like a bullet proof vest.

With a glass of Dom Perignon in his left hand and his zippo lighter in his right, he flipped the top open, watching the flame emerge then snapped it closed to snuff it out. The satisfying clink of the metal clasp closing was muted by the thumping music around him.

He opened it again. The small flame lit up his corner of the VIP section as he stood at the balcony, surveying his surroundings.

As usual for a Saturday night, The Sapphire’s nightclub was packed. Bodies were damn near piled on top of each other on the dance floor below him and each VIP section was filled with celebrities and neighborhood ballers. Senior opened up The Sapphire’s club back in the early 2000s and it quickly became one of the go-to spots for young people with a little cash to blow on the weekends.

Over 20 years later, not only was it still a staple, but it had expanded. The lounge and restaurant upstairs were added a decade ago for the crowds who had aged out of the club scene or simply wanted a quieter evening but still wanted to experience the opulence of a King establishment.

Thumping music, the shrill of laughter, and clinking glasses were the soundtrack for the celebration in Ace’s honor. He didn’t fuck with clubs usually but his siblings had been excited about celebrating him and feeling obligated to oblige them, he agreed.