The Dawn

Chapter 11

If the situation wasn't this serious, or if I wasn't feeling this angry, I really would've laughed at Parker's face right now. But considering the fact that I was immensely irked by him right now, I didn't.

Andrew looked angry. But more than that, the poor guy looked hurt. As if somebody had just literally stolen all his wealth. Well, it isn't easy, getting stabbed in the back by your own best friend.

"Just why would you-" he started but his voice cracked. I quickly stepped out from behind my hiding spot.

"You knew how much I needed this yet you went ahead with the deal!" Parker yelled.

"But you never told me to drop it. You should've just uttered the words, Parker. I would've dropped the deal immediately and handed it over to you." Andrew spoke. I could see he was trying his best to keep himself calm.

Both the friends stared at each other.

"You're just a show off! Mr. Successful Andrew with his successful business. Well news flash, you are just a big fat-"

"Hey! Shut your trap!" I shouted, cutting him off. I could see what effects his words were having on Andrew and I was not liking it at all.

Both the men now turned their attention towards me. A disapproving frown graced Parker's features.

"If you needed the contract that badly, you should've worked your own butt off instead of blaming Andrew for working hard for it. Trying to steal it from him is a new low Parker, even for a loser like you. Just because you couldn't achieve anything worthwhile doesn't give you the right to steal from your friend like that!" I screamed at him before moving and standing beside Andrew.

Behind us, I could hear footsteps approaching the office.

Good, the police's here.

Four to five young men in blue uniform jogged into the office. One of them showed Parker a paper.

"Parker Daniels, you are under arrest for stealing from Mr. Andrew Jefferson." He spoke in his heavy voice.

Parker went wild with rage. His eyes zeroed in on me. "You b***h! This is all your fault! I'm going to kill you!" He shouted and lunged for me.

I gave a startled yell, squeezed my eyes shut and raised my arms over my head in protection.

But his hit never came.

I lowered my arms and opened my eyes to see Andrew standing infront of me, shielding me with his body and holding Parker away.

"Don't touch her." He growled menacingly before shoving Parker back. The police officer grabbed him and slammed the handcuffs on his wrists.

I watched from behind Andrew's back as Parker kept his wild gaze at me.

"I'll be back. I swear. And when I do, I'll teach you a lesson. This isn't over!" He shouted as they mulled him out the door.

Andrew sighed and rubbed his temples. I looked at him, feeling sorry. It was a good thing I had been able to convince him to come with me just this time. To prove that Parker was the one trying to harm him.

He looked at me. He seemed all shaky and upset.

"I think you should go home now. It's late." He mumbled.

I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was way past midnight. I wanted nothing more than to crawl in my bed and sleep but I knew I couldn't leave him alone in this situation.

"No I uh- felt like having a drink. Want to go get one?"

And that's how we ended up at the Sky Bar downtown. I didn't think he'd be so upset as to chug down 6 bottles of beer. But he did. By 3 in the morning, he was fully intoxicated.

He looked at me as if I was a foreign creature, his gaze full of wonder. "Why did you do it? I mean, I've been nothing but horrible to you all this time. And yet you came back to expose that snake." He slurred.

I gave him an uncomfortable laugh. I was so tired I wanted to smack him with my heels. But I knew I couldn't do that. He wouldn't be too pleased if he woke up in the morning with a shoe print on his face.

Of course, even I didn't understand why I did what I did.

"I don't know. I guess I'm way too loyal for my own good, huh?" I offered.

He shook his head and reached for the glass. I quickly grabbed it and pulled it out of his reach. "Uh, no way. You've already chugged down 6 bottles. I don't want you vomiting the entire way back."

"I don't vomit. I've got excellent alcohol tolerance." He laughed and reached for it again. I smacked his hand away.

In the dark lighting of the pub, his features still looked so radiant and beautiful. His eyes shown brightly, like two precious rocks.

The bartender signalled me to take him away and I nodded. I grabbed his things and yanked his arm, pulling him up from the stool.

"Where are we going?" He asked excitedly.

"Home." I told him before dragging him out and towards his car. Shoving him inside, I quickly walked over to the driver's seat and got in.

He was singing the theme song of some kid show. I threw him an annoyed glance but he just kept singing at the top of his lungs. "Shut up, will you?!" I screamed.

He quickly clamped his mouth shut and nodded. I exhaled and called Drew. After telling him to pick me up from Andrew's, I put the car in motion.

By the time we arrived outside his home, his excitement had toned down a lot. Infact, he just stared out the car window.

"We're here." I told him.

He didn't respond. He didn't even move. I gently shook his shoulder. "Come on. We're here. You gotta get inside." I opened my side of the car door.

"Why did he have to do this?" He suddenly mumbled. "My best friend. My bro. Why did he have to be the one to stab me in the back?"

I stopped short and just stared at him. He probably felt betrayed by someone he cared so much about. Someone whom he trusted with all his heart. Someone who was like family to him.

"If his father was being so problematic, he should've told me. I would've convinced Dad. I never would've pressed for the contract." He sighed heavily. Then he turned to me. His grey eyes were full of sadness and disbelief. "I'm not that bad. Trust me. I'm not so brazen."

I felt hypnotized by his stare. It was as if it was holding me in place. I gulped and nodded.

"See? Even you think so too. I mean, I was a jerk to you when you first came here but I never had any intentions to fire you unjustly."

I felt my heart flutter a bit at his words. I felt as if all my judgements about this guy were wrong and I never knew him after all.

"I know it's hard to deal with. But people are like that. Sometimes, they have such misunderstandings brewed in them that it is impossible to assure them of your loyalty. It's better to get rid of such toxic people from your life." I told him.

His eyes had a forlorn look in them. As if he had just lost something but gained something too. He held my gaze in place with his.

Suddenly, the honk of a car broke our gaze and I quickly jumped out of the care, my heart racing.

What was that?

Drew came back after dropping Andrew inside his home. I sat silently inside his car, trying to calm my insides. He opened the car door and jumped inside. "He's pretty upset."

I nodded. "By the way, thanks for convincing him to show up tonight. Without your help, I never would've been able to catch Parker."

He waved it off, a serious look gracing his features as he put the car in motion. "I never believed it could be him. Never in my life would I have guessed." He mumbled.

I sighed. "Sometimes, people aren't really who you think they are."

He gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Andrew trusted him alot, Ria. In fact, he was like a brother to him. For him to stab Andrew in the back like that, it's just sad and shocking."

I looked out the window, sighing deeply.

I walked through the hallway of J.C, my heels clicking on the tiled floor. I had returned to work this morning, assuming Andrew had no reason to fire me anymore and considering the fact that I never turned in a written resignation. I took the elevator to my office this time, since there were alot of people in there and I would'nt be alone.

Once the doors slid open to my floor, I cautiously walked towards my office. The door to Andrew's was open. I peeped in but it was empty.

Where did he go?

I turned to walk into mine and ran straight into the man in question.

"Gaah!" I yelled, startled by his sudden appearance. I lost my balance and almost fell back. Closing my eyes, I prepared for the hard floor to hit my back.

But it never happened.

Instead, a strong pair of arms grabbed me and I was pulled into a strong, really good smelling chest. I opened my eyes to see Andrew staring down at me.

His eyes were much clearer than last night and he had his emotionless mask back on. I quickly pulled out of his grasp and straightened my clothes.

"You scared me." I said breathlessly.

"Sorry about that." He said, scratching his head. Then he motioned me to follow him into his office.

Once inside, he sat in his chair and turned to me. "I would uh-like to well uh, say that-"

I chuckled. "Well if you want to thank me, you can just say it."

He grumbled something about him not being good at stuff like this. "Y-yes, thankyou Ms. Ria. If it hadn't been for you, I would've continued to be bitten by that snake without knowing anything at all." He exhaled after his mini speech, "And as for your resignation, I never got it. So I'm going to assume you never resigned."

"What about an apology? For telling me to apologize to Parker?" I demanded, raising an eyebrow.

He narrowed his eyes. "I thanked you and ignored your resignation. Isn't that enough?"

"N-O no." I replied stubbornly. "You gotta say you're sorry if you want to be forgiven." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Okay. I-I'm really sor-sorry Ms. Ria." He squirmed in his chair. I laughed.

"See? It wasn't so hard now was it?" I said, humorously.

He sat up straight and pointed towards my office. "Get back to work and get me my coffee."

I huffed and grumbling under my breath, turned around to head back. When I reached the glass door though, I saw his reflection smile ever so slightly. Feeling my spirits raise due to his better mood, I quickly rushed out to make him the best, bitter coffee ever made in this world.

The next day went somewhat uneventful. Andrew wanted me to finish stacking up some documents while he rushed home early after a call from his mom. It was around 9:30 in the evening when I finally got off work. As I stood outside waiting for a taxi, my phone beeped.

A text from Andrew?

It opened it and it read:

"Come to the building near the beach. The under construction glass factory. It's urgent. Parker's upto something that involves both our families now."

My eyes widened in confusion and fear.

What if that b*stard dug too deep and found out my secret?

I quickly flagged down a cab and jumped inside. Yelling the address to him, I dialled Andrew's number. It rang many times but he didn't pick up the phone.

I was turning rather pale with all the fear pooling inside my heart. There's only so much I could take. I was outside the glass factory in no time. Since it was night time, there was no one around and it was eerily silent.

Too frightened by the possibility of becoming a scape goat to those murderous people, I quickly ran inside. "Andrew!" I shouted his name countless times but no answer.

The hallway was dark and there was material like cement, sand and bricks lying on the floor. The construction was half finished but seemed abandoned. Tiny lights were, though, switched on in the hallway and corridor so it wasn't exactly that dark in here. I looked around, searching for Andrew when a voice behind me spoke up, "Finally, you're here."

I know that voice. I didn't need any genius to figure out that it belonged to Parker.