Chapter 9
1836 Words
Venus
As Steven promised, he was waiting with his Civic right outside the forest. Nathan followed him and we ended up in the bar – The Blossom. And what surprised me, the bar was located near the beach so the bar was half indoor half outdoor. That was unexpected. Well, at least I could get the fresh air I wanted. Not stuck inside the building with smokes around me, entering my nostrils.
Nathan parked his GMC right next to Steven’s Civic as we jumped out of the truck, meeting with Steven.
“Hello, Venus, Nathan,” he greeted us. He was wearing a black bomber jacket with black shirts underneath and dark grey jeans. He looked so delicious with this style and his blond hair with those eyes, wow, I felt I was sinking. “You look beautiful,” he complimented.
“Thanks.”
Nathan stood next to me. “Should we go inside now?” he asked. God, his mood remained the same.
“Yeah.” And Nathan immediately walked past Steven. I knew Steven was ignoring Nathan’s sarcastic tone. He was too nice. Nathan was slightly embarrassing me. I knew they just met so Nathan couldn’t trust Steven fully. Not that I should completely trust him.
Steven escorted us to the entrance door. “Ah, Steven!” Until an older man approached us.
“Evening, Sam.”
Sam’s eyes were on me. “Oh, is this the lovely mysterious girl you wanted to invite?”
“That’s right, Sam. This is Venus and her brother – Nathan. I hope you don’t mind I brought them here.”
“Of course! Please, enjoy the night. I’m Sam, owner of The Blossom.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. Nathan kept ignoring him. At least say something.
We entered the bar, immediately being welcomed by the loud disco music. A lot of people were already there, dancing while drinking at the same time. And yes, a lot of couples were here. Steven escorted us to the bar table. “What would you two like?”
“Um…” I immediately looked at Nathan.
“A white wine for Venus. I’ll be having a Bourbon,” Nathan mentioned our drinks as Steven threw them to the bartender.
“Are you alright?” I asked Nathan.
“Yes. I need some booze, that’s all.” I smiled and Steven gave us our glasses. I slowly tucked in my wine.
“You don’t like alcohol and stuff?” Nathan asked while drinking his beer.
“A little bit. I don’t mind wine though. It’s much more to my taste.”
“I can see that.” He put down his bottle. “I’m sorry to ask you this, how old are you?”
“Twenty. I just had my birthday three days ago.”
“Seriously? Twenty?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Um, don’t you know that the minimum age of drinking is twenty-one?” Oh? I slowly turned to Nathan who seemed to have totally forgotten about the most basic part. “Oh, well. Being bad once for a while won’t hurt.” I turned to Steven again. “Let’s pretend I didn’t hear it. And…it’s your birthday. Belated happy birthday, Venus.”
“Thank you.” Yeah, I should just pretend that I didn’t know. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four. I’m working at the Fresh Gourmet where I constantly saw your brother or Felicia.”
“Really?” I turned to Nathan he shrugged.
“They won’t recognize me because I’m usually dealing with the groceries’ stock than doing the payment. Most of the ladies wanted the cashier whenever Nathan was around.”
“I can see that.” Nathan was very popular since long ago. Of course, the same thing would occur here.
“Don’t worry. He never hit on any of them. Moreover, he looks like he’s giving them a cold shoulder.”
“Or two,” Nathan added where Steven chuckled, and I smiled.
“Nathan has a snake tongue. I hope he didn’t make any of the ladies cried.”
“None, of course. It makes them more intrigued because of how difficult he is to conquer. That’s why I was quite surprised when I saw you with him three days ago. I never thought he has a beautiful sister like you.” Jeez, Steven was so easy to let out such compliments. Maybe it was in his nature or just him being flirty. I didn’t think Steven was flirty. He was more like a gentleman.
The music slowly slowed down. Steven chucked down his drink and asked, “A dance, Venus?”
“Su—” I was about to accept but I stopped. I turned back to Nathan. His golden eyes went to me.
“You can go. Just be careful to not step on him.” I snudged him, making him almost hitting his nose to the glass.
“I won’t take her long,” Steven assured but Nathan only nodded his head. That was rude.
I slid down the stool and followed Steven while holding my hand. He brought me to the middle of the sea people. He stopped and put his right hand behind my back while his left hand holding my right hand. I put my left hand on his chest as we started to move. Thousand Years by Christina Perri surrounded the building. I stared into his blue eyes. I could look at his face and his eyes for a very long time.
Steven was so attractive. Magnetic. Women would throw themselves on a daily basis. I knew it.
You are allowed to fall in love.
That’s what Auntie Feli told me.
I lost Grant.
I didn’t want to see Micah again.
And there was Steven.
But I didn’t want to use him so I could forget the two men in my life.
Grant would forever live in my heart.
And Micah…well, I had said my goodbye to him. My only hope it would stay that way.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, snapping my mind back to Steven.
“Nothing.”
“You look like in pain.”
I chuckled nervously. “Am I that easy to read?”
“A little bit. You were crying three days ago at the river. Were you remembering something about your ex?”
“Well, you can say so.” Yeah, because in my mind, Micah was someone I was thinking about that day. The problem was I cried because I found out that Micah was not the man, I thought he was.
He was a demon.
An incubus.
He was using me.
He killed Grant.
He raped me.
And he didn’t love me.
The last part was painful to me.
Rape ruined me.
Killing Grant destroyed me.
And he didn’t love me just wrecked me.
Sometimes I thought I was beyond repair. I thought I couldn’t be fixed anymore. Unfixable. There was no hope for me. Even though I was far away from him now, I thought I would remain ruined for the rest of my life. Without no one could fix me.
Steven lifted my chin. “Don’t cry, Venus. Everything that happened to you was meant to happen. For you to have a better future.”
Future. I still had one? Could I have a different future without Micah poking his nose in? Because if my future was only to become Micah’s wife, I wanted out. I didn’t want to be involved in his twisted plan.
“It’s complicated,” I sighed.
“Life is complicated. But we have to enjoy it in the end.”
Enjoy it. Living in fear was not something I wanted to enjoy. I wanted to live peacefully. Without fear. I wanted to open my eyes in the morning knowing I would have a great day and then close my eyes at night remembering tomorrow would be another great day. Not by remembering how awful my dream was and appalling my reality was.
“Well, look at the bright side, Venus. You’ve got to meet me.” I smiled. Steven was so funny. So nice. A gentleman. I hope I could see him more. “I wish I can see you again after this. Can I, Venus? Can I see you again after tonight?”
“I would love to.”
“Do I need to ask you big brother’s permission?” he asked jokingly, making me laughed. “You have a beautiful laugh, Venus. You should laugh more. A laugh can brighten your day.”
“Thank you, Steven. How come you’re still single?”
“Let’s just say I have a high standard regarding a woman.” This time, I laughed quite loudly.
Maybe I could do it.
With Steven, maybe I could.
Not until my hope was cut short.
Once again, everything was ruined before it was even started.
***
Nathaniel
It was my second Bourbon.
I looked behind me, seeing Venus was still dancing with the dude who I had no idea how it happened, managed to enter my barrier. Well, it was partly my fault because I was getting weaker. I had to maintain the barrier so no one could see what’s going on beyond the forest.
And I f*****g messed up.
I knew it was just a matter of time before I finally screwed up. I didn’t think when my battery hit the red zone, someone’s curiosity beat him and found out our hideout. I let my guard down but I won’t make the same mistake twice.
I tucked the last of my Bourbon. “Another one,” I ordered to the bartender. The owner said I could drink as much as I wanted even without a girl beside me. And I would use this great advantage and drink until I satisfied.
“Nathan.” And while I was waiting, a very familiar voice I was desperate to forget entered my hear. No. Freaking. Way. And I was not f*****g drunk. I had a high tolerance regarding alcohol. After all, I was not a human. Even if I filled up my lungs with two gallons of Bourbon, I won’t get killed. But this, I was hoping this was just an illusion or me being drunk.
I turned around slowly, facing…her.
“Judith…”
- Writer
