Chapter 5 THE (K)NIGHT

• I feel so nauseous, not sure if it’s just from the many drinks I consumed or from what I just did. For some reason I know that the man that answered is him. My hands are shaking and I’m barely holding my phone.
• “Are you gonna use the sink?”, I hear a drunk voice and I instantly move aside. I’m standing in the corner, deciding to unlock my phone; no call back. Is this my answer that he doesn’t want to know me? But at the same time, how can he know who called him? For all we know, he might think I’m calling the wrong number.
• I decide to go back to Lily, hoping I haven’t scared her or something. I’ve been missing for quite some time I think. I feel dizzy as I walk, the lights are blinding me to the point of hypnotizing. I squeeze my eyes to look closer, finding Lily surrounded by other guys. Who are they?
• I cautiously approach them and awkwardly raise my hand saying, “Hey”.
• “Alex, where have you been!”, Lily exclaims. I can see from her red cheek that she has been drinking a lot since I was gone.
• “Alex?”, I hear a man’s voice and look to my right.
• “George?”.
• “Yes! I saw Lily and she told me that she is with you. So, we joined you”.
• Oh, great. Seriously, I’m not into you, can’t you see it? I just smile so I won’t reveal the fact that I don’t want him here. Instead, I just grab the shot that was offered to me and I drink it in one go. Oh my God, it’s disgusting.
• “What is it?”, I say making a face.
• “Tequila. You like it?”.
• “Of course!”, I lie straight to his face.
• We continue drinking with them buying us drinks. That isn’t bad, since I just wanna drink and forget the fact that I made that call and chickened out. I sigh, gulping everything that comes in front of us.
• I start feeling even more sick and I realize we've been drinking without any food. “Aren’t we gonna eat anything?”, I ask them.
• “Oh we can get something good actually. Do you have purple passes?”, George asks.
• “Yes, why?”, I ask.
• “You can get good privileges you know”, he says and winks at me. He then raises his hand and the waiter comes. He whispers something in his ear and then he leaves.
• “What was that?”, I ask him with a suspicious look.
• “Something to eat and will help with the nausea”.
• “How do you know I’m sick?”.
• “It’s pretty obvious with all this alcohol around. Don’t worry, what I’m gonna give you will make it all go away”.
• I just nodded at him and realized that the singer has stopped and now they just play random songs from the speakers. The waiter comes back with a small bowl, placing it in front of us and then leaves.
• Inside, there are small gummy bears, only they look different and with a cyan color. George grabs one and looks at me.
• “Open your mouth”, he says and I raise my eyebrow.
• “Trust me, they work magic”.
• I’m about to deny him but my stomach is killing me and I don’t want to puke. I open my mouth, feeling this isn’t a good idea. But I go with it anyway, accepting the gummy. I end up chewing it, feeling the sweet taste it provides. I swallow and awkwardly smile.
• After some minutes I truly feel my stomach getting better. It feels full yet not nauseous. Did this actually work? Are there drugs like that?
• The night continues and all I see is the hypnotizing lights surrounding me, George insisting on dancing with me and the house genre songs playing. Lily is right next to me, dancing with this guy, his name I never got.
• I feel this euphoria crushing into my system, as if I’m not dying inside anymore and everything is perfect, no problems or obstacles, just a normal girl living as the protagonist of my life.
• “I’m having so much fun!”, I shout and bear a foolish smile.
• “You are? Finally!”, he responds.
• “Excuse me?”, I ask bewildered.
• “Well, I could see I was annoying you, but I didn’t want to stop trying to get to know you”.
• “Why is that?”.
• “Because you deserve so much, you just don’t know it”.
• Don’t trust him. I hear a voice inside my head, giving me the chills. I look around, terrified of what just happened.
• “You okay? You look pale”, George says worriedly.
• “I need some fresh air”, I mumble and he takes my hand.
• “We will go outside, come on”, and just like that, I follow him. We pass through countless people and I swear I feel like someone is following me.
• “Faster”, I say to George, having a bad feeling.
• We walk a little more, till we reach an empty room. “This isn’t outside”, I mumble. Out of the blue, a dizziness hits me like a tidal wave, throwing me onto the couch.
• “Everything is spinning”, I mutter, barely keeping my cool. My eyes fall upon him and I see a changed man; his eyes are shimmering, he is rubbing his hands, licking his lips.
• George, from the charming young man, now I see a demon rise from within. He approaches me, grabbing my chin with violence. I hiss, trying to push him away.
• “What are you doing?”, I ask with disgust.
• “Soon, you won’t remember a thing. I wanted to fuck you when we were in high school, but you thought you were too good for me. But now you are here and soon you will be mine”.
• Just like that, he forces his lips on mine. I fight back, biting him hard but that only gets him hard; he is a pervert and I’m screwed.
• I’m terrified, my muscles start giving in from the drugs and I can’t scream as he is holding my mouth shut. He tries to feel me up and I can feel my cold tears rolling down my cheeks. No, I don’t want this, this won’t be the way my story will end. But if he gets what he wants, then nothing will be left of me.
• As I’m looking up, a vivid colored butterfly passes. She looks so magnificent, nothing like I’ve ever seen before. The next thing I know is a weight lifted off my body and my mouth free to breathe once more.
• I look straight, only to find George bleeding on the ground and a tall figure standing right in front of me. “You”, I whisper as I start seeing clearly. His eyes pierce through me, rendering me powerless.
• There’s no doubt, he is the man of my dreams bearing a butterfly tattoo on top of his wrist.