I flicked the cigarette aside and turned toward my car, my mind already racing through worst-case scenarios. Drunk, alone, emotional, and wandering around the city in the middle of the night. Nothing about that combination ended well.
Just as I was about to reach the car, I heard the door behind creak open again.
"Hey, bro!"
I turned back. It was the sa guy from inside, the one with the mop. He stepped out, wiping his hands on his pants before gesturing for to co back.
"Can you show the photo again?" he asked.
I didn’t waste ti. I went there, unlocked my phone and pulled up Ivy’s profile picture, holding it out to him.
He leaned in, squinting slightly as the rain dotted his beard.
"Mm..." he humd, tilting his head. "Nah... wait. Yeah. Sothing’s off."
"What do you an?" I asked, stepping closer.
"They were dead drunk," he said, shaking his head. "Like, barely standing. In that chaos, the girl who broke up the fight grabbed soone else and rushed into the taxi. This girl... what was her na again?"
"Ivy."
"Yeah, Ivy didn’t get in."
For a second, everything just... clicked into place.
My grip on the phone tightened slightly.
"Oh... fuck ."
Her friend wasn’t lying. She really thought Ivy ca with her. They were both too drunk to even notice the mix-up. She even told that this supposed ’Ivy’ acted like she didn’t recognize her... because she wasn’t Ivy. Fuuck .
Which ant Ivy was left behind.
Alone. Drunk. Right after a fight.
"Can you tell what she did after that?" I asked quickly. "Which direction she went?"
He shook his head. "Nah, man. I went back inside right after things cald down. Didn’t pay attention after that."
"Shit..." I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "Did anyone record it? The fight, I an. Everyone love fights."
He gave a small nod. "Yeah. People were all over it. Phones out, recording like it was a damn concert. Our bartender even sent a video. Hold on."
He pulled out his phone and started scrolling. I leaned in slightly, the rain tapping against both of us as he found the clip.
"Here."
He turned the screen toward .
The video started shaky, clearly recorded by soone standing in the middle of the crowd. The music in the background was loud, bass heavy, but it was drowned out by shouting.
The place had been packed.
People were circling around a small open space near the bar, forming that classic ring whenever sothing went down. So were yelling, so laughing, so just watching like it was entertainnt.
And in the middle of it... Ivy.
Her hair was a ss, strands sticking to her face. Her movents were unsteady, her balance barely holding. She was arguing with another woman, who looked just as drunk but a hell of a lot louder.
"You’re just like him!" the woman shouted, jabbing a finger toward Ivy. "Helping that psycho! You think you’re innocent?"
"I didn’t..." Ivy tried to speak, her words slurring, her voice cracking.
"Bullshit!" the woman cut her off, stepping closer. "You stayed with him! That makes you just as guilty! My friend is dead because of you!"
"Hey, back off," another girl stepped in, grabbing Ivy’s arm and pulling her slightly back. That had to be her friend.
But Ivy wasn’t backing down. Even in that state, even barely standing straight, she was trying to push forward again.
"I said I didn’t know!" she snapped, her voice rising, shaking with sothing deeper than anger.
The crowd reacted instantly. So cheered, so laughed, others just lifted their phones higher.
The tension snapped fast.
The other woman lunged first, and everything turned into chaos.
People shouted. Soone knocked into a table. A glass shattered sowhere off-screen. The cara jerked wildly as the person recording tried to keep up.
Ivy’s friend jumped in imdiately, grabbing her, trying to pull her back, but Ivy struggled against her, still shouting, still trying to reach the other woman.
Then the bouncer forced his way through the crowd.
"Enough!" he barked, pushing people aside with ease.
He grabbed the aggressive woman first, dragging her back, while Ivy’s friend tightened her hold and started pulling Ivy toward the exit.
"Co on!" her friend said, almost dragging her at this point.
The cara followed them toward the door. Rain was visible outside, pouring just like it was now.
A taxi pulled up.
The bouncer shoved the other woman in the opposite direction while Ivy’s friend rushed forward. In the chaos, with people still yelling and pushing behind them, everything beca a blur.
And that was when it happened.
I slowed my breathing as I watched closely. Her friend grabbed soone else in that chaos. Another drunk woman. Similar height, similar build, just as drunk, stumbled with her and got pulled into the taxi.
The door slamd shut.
The taxi drove off.
Then the video ended.
"Shit..." I muttered under my breath, straightening up.
"She really didn’t get in," the guy said, pocketing his phone.
"Yeah..." I replied, my mind already spinning. "She didn’t."
That changed everything.
She wasn’t safe. She wasn’t with her friend. She was sowhere out there, drunk, emotional, and completely alone.
"Any idea where she could’ve gone?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. But I’d check another bar if I were you."
"Another bar?"
"Yeah," he nodded toward the street. "There’s one just across the road, near that gas station. Smaller place."
"You think she went there?"
"Our bartender said she had like seven or eight beers," he said. "If she was in that state, she might’ve wanted more."
I exhaled slowly, looking toward the direction he pointed.
Not a great lead. But it was sothing.
"Alright," I said, giving a small nod. "Thanks, man. Really."
"No problem, bro. Again, though, hope you find her."
"Yeah," I muttered, already turning toward my car. " too."
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