BRIELLE
“What do you mean by we’re being followed?” Silvie asked in surprise as her gaze lifted to the rearview mirror to see what I was talking about.
“See that silver sedan behind us?” She nodded. “It has been following me all day, I first saw it when Chloe and I were going to Johnny’s for lunch. It followed me home, Silvie.”
Silvie reached for my hand, probably feeling the tremor in my voice. “Oh Lucia. It’s probably just coincidence, you know? I mean, there are a lot of silver sedans in town, but if you’re that sure, let’s see if we can lose it.” Leaning forward, I heard her mutter something to the driver, who nodded curtly. He began to speed up slightly. He turned off the main road, negotiating a series of curves.
We made our way back to the main road with the silver sedan nowhere in sight. “I think we lost it.” Silvie confirmed, double checking in the rearview mirror to be sure.
“Yes ma’am, I think we did.” The driver added. I felt the tremor in my bones settle down a little and I smiled slightly at my best friend. “Thank you.” She smiled back. “Anything for you, love.” She leaned forward again, reaching for the driver’s stereo and tuning for some music. “You know, you could really pull a heist, Leo. Anyone ever tell you that?”
The driver chuckled slightly, beaming at the praise. “That was honestly some real crazy shit out there.”
Silvie squealed loudly at the sound of Bia’s ‘whole lotta money’ filling the speakers. “OH SHIT! THAT’S MY JAAAAMMM. LET’S GET THIS FUCKING PARTY TURNT UP, BITCHES!!!”
I laughed at her antics, feeling myself relax drastically. I eased up enough to soon forget all about the crazy scare and joined her in singing along as we headed for the club.
*****
The new club, Novelty was packed to the brim when we got there. By now, I was so pumped both on adrenaline and alcohol to think about anything other than having a good time.
“This place is lit!” Silvie screamed into my ear as she looked around in amazement. She wasn’t lying though, the place was great.
“So… should we head to the bar, or should we find a place to sit first?” I asked absentmindedly moving my body to the music. “We should surely hit the bar first.” She affirmed, pulling me right towards it. “What do you want to drink?”
“I-”
“And don’t even think about choosing something light, we are passing out tonight!”
i rolled my eyes. “You’ll definitely be passing out alright.” Turning to the bartender who had been watching our exchange with interest, I grinned. “I’ll have a Sex on the beach.” He nodded with a smirk, “Coming right up.”
Silvie’s gaze pounced on me in an instant, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Oooh Lucia! I see you.” She banged her fists against the counter. “I’ll have what she’s having.” She told the bartender.
“Syl, how’d you manage to score tickets to this place?” I asked in wonder. The club was packed to the max, and you could tell that people had booked reservations for months. “Oh, I didn’t get the tickets.” She replied. “Lisa’s sister had them, but didn’t want to go… and Lisa had a shift at the bar, so she gave them to me, and here we are.”
“Do you know her sister?” I questioned, my interest in her peaking all of a sudden. “No, Lu… I don’t. What is this? 21 questions?” She took a deep breath. “Look, I get it. This month hasn’t been easy for you. Sure, the tickets are expensive as hell, but who the fuck cares? The good thing is, whether fate, or luck… it gave me the chance to show my best friend who I’ve barely been able to hang out much with, a good time, and that’s all that matters, Lucia.” She smiled warmly at me, chuckling slightly when I smiled back. “That’s that smile I was looking for.”
We gulped down our drinks and ordered two more, then we hit the dance floor where we danced like nobody’s business.
“God, I’m thirsty.” Silvie groaned out after a while. “Want to come along, or you’re good?”
“Of course I’m coming along!” I exclaimed breathlessly, dragging her off the dance floor towards the bar.
We had barely made it halfway to the bar when we saw someone and froze in our tracks.
“Ugh, what is he doing here?” Silvie groaned out exasperatedly, leaving me all alone, and brushing past him like she hadn’t even realised he was standing there.
“Lucia.”
“Nick.” Even he could realise the iciness in my tone, and he knew in that moment that I was going to go to war with his ass.
My elder brother raised his hands in surrender. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, but I’ve got to talk to Silvie.”
“I’m not Silvie’s keeper, you know?”
Even as I was talking to him, his gaze kept flitting across the room, seeking her out in the crowd. “Just go already.” I said with a roll of my eyes, brushing past him and heading for the bar. I think sometime in between that, he left to go search for Silvie… for when I turned, he was gone.
With a sigh, I collapsed heavily on one of the barstools, “Another Sex on the beach.” I signalled to the bartender for a drink, feeling like someone who had finally crashed from her adrenaline high.
I wanted to go home.
Reaching for my phone from my clutch, I entered my password to request an uber, but paused at the sound of chuckling I heard from one of the barstools beside me. “Lucia. I knew I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Are you stalking me?”
My head whipped to the side at the mention of my name, a quick glance at the man I had barely paid attention to while sitting down confirming who he was.
Ryan Rodriguez.
“Ryan. What are you doing here?” I called out in surprise, taking in his casual outfit and the melancholic look on his face despite his conscious efforts to hide it from me.
It was surprising, I’m not gonna lie.
Ryan was usually the kind of people who wore either a cheery, goofy demeanor, or a blank, intimidating one… kinda like Dylan, but you get my point.
“Let’s just say I’m here to get you drunk tonight.” He said in jest, drawing an uncomfortable chuckle out of me. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Listen Ryan, I may not have told you… but you’re smart and I’m pretty sure you might have suspected this. Dylan and I, are dating… so you and I, we cannot, and will never happen. I’m telling you this because I really value your friendship, and will like for it to continue.” I told him in earnest.
He nodded curtly, “I understand. And I do appreciate you telling me.” Ryan shrugged nonchalantly. “I may have liked you sometime in the past…” He swirled his drink absentmindedly, “hell, maybe a couple of weeks ago even, but I’m afraid those feelings have changed now.”
Oh.
I could feel my cheeks heating up in embarrassment at how presumptuous I probably sounded, but I squared my shoulders and looked him right in the face. “Well, that’s good then.” I gulped down the rest of my drink, my gaze flicking back to my phone screen to check the time.
11:28.
Almost midnight. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden, I didn’t feel like going home alone anymore. To think I was initially going to request a ride home, leaving Silvie all alone with Nick. I made a mental note to get the hell out of here as soon as Silvie came back.
Turning to Ryan, I said. “I don’t know why, but you really look like you could use some more drinks.”
He chuckled in amusement. “I don’t know why, but something tells me you do too.”
****
I couldn’t keep track with the number of drinks I had consumed.
There was just something calm and understanding about Ryan, that had me pouring all of my frustrations on him. From being followed, to being threatened at my office, to how I had met Savannah at her hotel room… I told him everything. At a certain point, he had ordered a whole bottle which he kept pouring between us. I was just glad that the drinks kept coming to care who was pouring anymore.
I realised he had been pretty distraught when I spoke about Savannah, but it was now that everything was clicking in my head. “Ryannn? Tell me somethinggg. Do you like Savannah?” I slurred in interest.
His drink suddenly seemed to have gone down the wrong pipe, resulting in a small fit of coughs that had me laughing my ass off in amusement. “Oh, my God! YOU LIKKKEEE HERRRR!” I screeched. Ryan covered his ears. “Just how drunk are you?” He asked. I wagged a finger in his face disapprovingly. “Stop trying to subject the change, mister. You totally do, how did I not realise this soonerrrr?” I questioned. “Come on Lucia, chugging my drink down the wrong pipe doesn’t mean I like her you know? It was an accident, and you’re bloody heartless for laughing about it.” He grumbled, when he had gotten his coughing fit under control. Despite his apparent discontentment, his shining eyes hinted his amusement, so I knew he took it all in jest.
His demeanor suddenly turned serious. “I honestly don’t know how I feel about her.” He admitted. “But one thing I do know for sure, is that I promise to find the bastard who did that to her… and when I do, oh I can assure you that he will pay.”
I was too far gone to register what he was saying, or what we had even been talking about in the first place. I finished my last drink, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. “Ryan, where is Silvie?” I asked sleepily, taking my phone out to text her. I didn’t know how long she had been gone, but it was quite a long time ago. “I s-should tell her I’m going home.” I whispered drowsily, leaning against his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I got it.” He took my phone from me and sent her a text, showing it to me. “See? I’ve told her. Let’s get you out of here now.”
I tiredly allowed him to steer me out of the club, where true to his word, he got me a cab. “What’s your address, Lucia?”
For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to answer his question. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth, and I desperately wanted to sleep. I willed myself to stay awake. “It’s-”
Everything went dark after that.
****
The first thing I noticed when I woke up, was that I was in a bed that was definitely not mine. Groaning loudly, I tried to sit up, pulling the covers up against my naked body.
Wait, I was naked?!
I began to panic slightly as I tried desperately to remember what happened last night. I had gone to Novelty with Silvie.
I remembered that.
I also remembered Nick being there… he had left me to go talk with Silvie.
I had been at the bar, alone with…
Ryan!
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” I muttered desperately climbing out of the huge bed that had Ryan’s cologne all over it. I dressed up in my clothes from yesterday that had been hung neatly on a sofa beside the bed, and was just in the process of grabbing my heels when I heard what I was assuming was the shower door open.
Out stepped a dripping wet, towel clad Ryan.
“Where am I, what did you do to me?” I asked shakily.
“You don’t remember?” He asked with a smirk. “We came here after a nice time at the club. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other-”
“YOU’RE LYING.” I screamed at him.
“Am I? You asked me to take you home with me… we were both drunk, Lucia. I’m honestly wounded to know that you really can’t remember anything.”
“D-did we have sex?” I asked softly, a small tear slipping down my right cheek. Ryan clenched his jaw for a moment, his expression painful for what seemed like a flash, I would have missed it had I blinked. “Yes.”
I pounced on him, beating weakly against his chest with my fists. “HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”
He just stood there, jaw clenched, a blank look on his face as I assaulted him. He didn’t say a single word. I collapsed on the floor in a heap, my body wracking with sobs as I took in the news, and what it meant.
I cheated on Dylan.
I sobbed for a long while, with Ryan still standing there, completely silent. Like a woman possessed I stood up abruptly and cleaned the tears off my face angrily. It didn’t matter. More kept flowing. “Where are the rest of my stuff?” I questioned. Ryan pointed to the dresser across the room where my mint coloured clutch sat waiting. I grabbed the clutch and walked out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the ridiculously grand mansion, my gaze down to avoid the looks of pity the staff kept throwing in my direction. After walking the long path towards the gate, and barefoot nonetheless, I finally made my way to out of the house, and onto the streets.
It must have been the fates realising that with the way my day was going, a little luck wouldn’t hurt… for I quickly saw a cab. In such a quiet, remote, classy neighborhood, it definitely wasn’t something you’d see often, and my phone was off, meaning I couldn’t get an Uber or a Lyft. I was very lucky.
Even as the driver started the ride to Dylan’s apartment, the tears didn’t fail to cease. My mind went through every possible outcome.
Will he forgive me?
Will he ask for time to process everything?
Was he going to call our relationship off?
I imagined how I would take the news had I been in his shoes, and it broke my heart to realise that had it been me, I probably wouldn’t take him back. I had become completely wired to detest any form of betrayal... and this-
This felt like the ultimate betrayal.
I didn’t even realised we had gotten to his apartment building. The driver’s gentle reminder brought me back to planet earth, and I hastily paid him and alighted. I made my way to the lobby, still in tears, the porter quickly ushering me to the private elevator with a gentle nod.
I rang the doorbell after making it to his door. Dylan answered after the first ring, a surprised smile on his face. “This is a surpr-” Whatever he was going to say was forgotten when he saw the distraught look on my face and the tears that just wouldn’t stop flowing from my eyes. “Brielle, what’s wrong?”
I flew right into his arms, my tears turning into full-on uncontrollable sobs as I relished in what could possibly be our last moments of intimacy. “I’m sorry, Dylan. I’m so sorry.”