*****
“Come on girl, look alive.” Lisa jerked me back to reality when she tapped my shoulder.
“This is not a mourning ceremony. Try to interact with people and stop warming the seat with your backside.”
“Who’s your friend Lisa?” A guy said as he approached us from behind.
Yes, she had said all that, even mentioned my backside in the presence of a strange guy who just happened to show up at the
time.
“Monica, this is Victor,” She said. “Victor, meet Monica.” I eyed the guy beside her and froze when I
recognized him. I’d seen him in class before. He was the guy who spoke to me
after Mr. David’s class but didn’t introduce himself.
“Ah, we meet again.” He offered his hand for a brief handshake which I accepted.
Lisa looked between us questioningly.
“We met in class.” I explained.
“Great, that means you two already have something in
common.” She gave me a meaningful look and I narrowed my eyes at her.
Not again.
“So, I will leave you two to talk, I think I hear the dance floor calling me.” She walked away with a smug smile on her face. If there was one thing I’d learned about Lisa by now, it was
that she never listen. The girl was extraordinarily a stubborn creature.
“You don’t look like you want to be here.” Victor said as he watched me carefully.
“It’s just not my scene.” I shrugged as I looked around.
“So what is your kind of scene?” He said as he -air-quoted the word.
“Less crowded, less noisy, less…” I paused and looked at him.
“Shall I go on?”
“No, I think I get the point now.” He chuckled.
“Do you want to, I don’t know maybe go outside or something?” He gestured towards the doors behind him.
I froze upon hearing that and glanced at him sharply.
“Why?”
“Hey, calm down. I just thought we should be able to hear ourselves talk without shouting at the top of our
voices.” He raised his hands as in surrender. “I’d rather not.”
“Okay, fine.”
I could tell that he was a bit annoyed at my reaction but I didn’t feel like soothing his ruffled feathers. We
sipped our drinks in silence that nearly became unbearable.
“Why are you so prickly all the time?”
“Excuse me,” I said in surprise. “This is just the second time we’re speaking to each other.”
“And I can’t say that it’s better than the first.”
“You don’t have to force yourself then.” I shrugged.
“Listen, if it’s because you think I’m trying to get you or that I’m interested or something then you don’t need to
worry about that.”
I tried not to look concerned by what he was saying.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You’re trying to ward off male
attention.” He sounded amused like he just discovered a huge secret.
“Why’re you still here then?” I looked up at him.
“I’m here because I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”
“Well, have it with someone else then.”
Just as the words left my mouth, I rolled my eyes, looked into the crowd and saw a face that I’d hoped never to see again.
My grip went limp and moments later, the drink fell from my hands and the contents spilled onto the floor.
“Hey, watch it.” Victor yelled and sprang back when the drink splashed onto his shoes.
I ignored him as I stared at the face in the distance. He was standing by the door, looking like he owned the
place. Two imposing guys stood on either side of him and their eyes surveyed the room with disgust. I froze when his eyes drifted
past me, only to return a few seconds later.
“Now I have to go and clean this up.” Victor
grumbled as he walked away.
Right then, I nearly begged him to come back, for
him not to leave me alone, especially not when he was here. What was he
doing here for heaven’s sake? Why did he have to
ruin everything all over again? I began to feel a familiar
bubble of panic and anger with each step he took further into the room.
He stalked towards me with purpose, his eyes
glinted with
mischief and wicked intent. I couldn’t remember
what I ever saw in them that I once thought was beautiful and charming.
He stopped right in front of me and leaned down to whisper the words that sent dread creeping up my spine.
“My Monica,” His warm breath blew over my ear as he
whispered. “We meet again, I’ve missed you.”
I wanted to yell at him, to slap his irritating face and make him feel all the pain I endured over the years but I was paralyzed with fear. It gripped my limbs and made me spineless. After all
these years since the incident, I was face to face
with Ryan again, yet I couldn’t even form a simple coherent sentence.
I shrank away from him, struggling to breathe but it
seemed the oxygen supply simply wasn’t enough, my chest began to
constrict and right there and then, I had another panic attack, something that I hadn’t had in nearly a year. Dark spots
clouded my vision and before I knew it, my body slumped to the ground.
.
.
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....