Simple Perfection

a scream.
    “You were the one beating up an innocent woman over a man in the dark,” Blaire replied. “You’re the one who looks insane here.”
    “Fine. I’m over this. I’m done,” Angelina yelled, and walked over to the parking lot. I sat in shock as Blaire lowered the gun and put the safety back on before handing it to Rush. She then ran over to me. I just sat there and stared up at her. She’d just pulled a gun on another woman for me. I couldn’t wrap my head around everything that had happened. I felt the darkness around my eyes start to close in on me. I had to fight off the panic attack I knew was close.
    “Did you really just pull a gun on her?” I asked, trying to focus on the here and now.
    “She was putting a beating on you,” Blaire said simply.
    “Ohmigod. She’s crazy. I swear, I was beginning to think she was going to beat me until I was unconscious. I kept thinking I was going to zone out and then she’d really hurt me.” I looked up at her. “Thank you.” Those two words weren’t enough but it was all I could say right now. I was about to lose myself. The darkness was coming.
    Blaire held out her hand. “Can you stand up? Or do you want to sit here while I call Woods?” I needed to stand up. I had to fight this. I slipped my hand into hers.
    “I want to stand. I need to stand up,” I told her. I didn’t want to tell her I was about to black out. It was a weakness that I was ashamed of. Having her see me like that would be humiliating. Rush would know Woods was in love with a crazy woman. I couldn’t do that to him.
    Blaire pulled me up, then asked, “You got a phone?”
    I couldn’t talk. I needed to stay focused. I handed it to her. She was calling Woods. I knew that. I wanted her to call him. If he held me I could fight this. Blaire handed me the phone. I would have to talk to him.
    “Baby?” His voice came over the line and my fear eased off.
    “Hey,” I replied.
    “You okay?” he asked. I could tell he was walking. Hopefully he was headed back this way.
    “Actually, no, not really. I had an incident with Angelina,” I explained.
    “Did she say something to upset you? Is she still there? Put the bitch on the phone.” I heard his truck crank up. He was already heading back.
    “No . . . no . . . she’s gone. Uh, Blaire showed up and . . . uh, scared her off,” I tried to explain, though I wasn’t sure how to.
    “Scared her off? What the hell did she do to you? Are you alone?” The panic in his voice was nothing compared to what he was going to feel when he found out what really happened.
    “Blaire is still here and so is her husband,” I reassured him.
    “Rush is there? Good. Stay with them. Where are you?”
    “Behind the parking attendant building.”
    “I’m almost there. I love you, stay with me. Don’t black out. I’m coming.”
    “Okay. I love you, too,” I replied. He knew I was close to getting lost in the monsters in my mind.
    I hung up and looked over at Blaire. “He’s on his way.”
    “Good. We’ll wait with you,” she replied, then opened her purse and pulled out a wet wipe. “You want to clean the blood off your lip before he gets here and goes after Angelina?” she asked, holding it out to me.
    I hadn’t realized I was bleeding. I took it from her. “Thanks.”
    The sound of Woods’s truck broke through the silence and I wanted to weep in relief. He was here. His door swung open and he jumped down and came running over to me. I felt like sagging in relief. He was here and I was okay.
    “Dammit!” he roared, furious, as he took in my face. He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. His breathing was fast and hard. He was upset. “God, baby, I am so sorry. She’s gonna pay for this,” he said as his hands starting roaming my body to make sure I was okay. I wasn’t okay. But I would be.
    “It’s fine. I think Blaire scared her,” I assured him.
    “What did Blaire do?” he asked.
    “She pointed a gun at her and threatened to pierce her ears,” I explained.
    Woods cocked an eyebrow. “So, Alabama pulled her gun out again? Thanks, Blaire,” he said before kissing my head. “I love you. I’m here and you’re going to be okay. Stay with me. I got you,” he whispered in my ear. He knew I didn’t want them to know how close I was to getting lost in my head.
    “I’m glad I found them. You need to do something about that woman; she’s a crazy bitch,” Blaire said, then turned to walk back to