Chapter2
1067 Words
Aria sat slumped on Mia’s couch, her eyes sore from crying. She just wanted to stay there and sleep for days. Instead, something soft and black landed in her lap. A dress. She stared at it like it was a joke. “Mia, I can’t. Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight. Especially tonight.” Mia insisted.
Aria sighed heavily, sinking onto the couch. “Mia, no. I can’t. Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight.”
“I don’t even have the energy. My head hurts. I look like a mess.”
Mia crossed her arms, touching her laps slightly. “Honey, half the girls at the club pay money to look like a mess. It's called messy chic, baby,” her lips curved into a mischievous smile.
“Mia…” Aria pressed her palms to her face. “People will stare at me.”
“Damn right they will,” Mia teased, leaning over. “Because I’m about to put you in a dress that’ll make their jaws drop.”
Aria shook her head. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe. And that’s why you love me. Now don’t test me because I will definitely drag you out of this house if I have to”.
Aria laughed despite herself, weak and broken but still laughing.
“Fine,” Aria sighed at last, her voice giving in. “One drink. That’s it.”
Mia shoved a black dress into her arms, satisfaction written all over her face. “One drink… and six shots. Minimum.”
Aria rolled her eyes, but for the first time that night, her chest didn’t feel so heavy.
Resistance was pointless with Mia.
Aria sighed, dragging herself to the bedroom. In the room, she put on the dress. It fit perfectly, hugging her in ways that made her very insecure about her shape. She looked in the mirror, almost not recognizing the woman staring back.
Moments later, Mia marched in with a small tray: two mugs of steaming tea and a bar of dark chocolate already chopped into neat squares. She handed it over to Aria. “For the nerves, Doctor’s prescription”
Aria chuckled, “You’re hilarious.”
“Ridiculously awesome,” Mia corrected, taking a square of chocolate in her mouth. “Now, sit.”
Aria complied, sitting on a stool. Mia began to work with quick, practiced hands—powder here, brushstrokes there, and lip gloss that made Aria look fuller.
“See?” Mia said, pulling back to admire her work. “Magic.”
Aria looked in the mirror and froze.
The tired, broken girl who had stumbled into crying an hour ago was gone. This version of her had bold eyes, glowing skin, and lips painted the color of seduction.
Mia leaned on the doorway, arms crossed, grinning like she had just done something supernatural. “Told you, hot!”
“I look like someone else,” Aria said, straightening the dress on her thighs.
“Good,” Mia winked. “That’s exactly the point. Meet me outside in the car.”
Aria took a deep breath and started walking. She grabbed her purse from the couch and headed on to the garage.
“Come on, girl, we're going to have a good time tonight," Mia opened the door and started the engine.
Throughout the journey, Mia filled the silence with chatter. Aria let her talk, staring out the window. Her mind wandered back— her boss’s piercing stare, the way she was humiliated in front of everyone, her father’s debts.
She pressed her forehead lightly on the window, breathing out.
Mia notices and winds down. Aria’s head almost falling out, “Girl, are you crazy?”
Mia laughed so hard it forced Aria to laugh too.
“Chill out, okay? You’re going to be fine”. Mia said softly.
Thirty minutes later, Aria was crossing the club floor in heels she barely wore.
The bouncer stood like a wall in black, arms crossed, eyes scanning each face like he had the power to see straight through them.
When it was their turn, she fumbled with her ID, almost dropping it. The bouncer barely glanced before giving a quick nod. “Go ahead.”
Relief poured out of her in one shaky breath.
Mia smirked, confidently walking in like she owned the pavement. “Told you,” she whispered. “Piece of cake.”
Then the doors opened, and the world hit Aria all at once. The bass pounding so hard it made her heartbeat skip. The noise was unbearable, but at least it was easier than remembering.
At the bar, Aria flinched as the first shot burned her throat. By the third shot, she was already relaxed a little bit, laughter coming easily, shaky but there. She swayed on the dance floor with Mia, letting the beat take over. She told herself, tonight didn't have to be real.
Aria’s laughter spilled out as Mia twirled her beneath the flashing lights. The club swallowed her troubles whole: the job, the shame, her father’s debts – all of it.
After a while, her movements slowed. Her limbs gave in to exhaustion. She shouted over the beat, but Mia only nodded and kept dancing, swept away by the beat.
She made her way back to the bar and sank into a stool.
A glass slid in front of her.
She blinked, “I didn't order this.”
The bartender’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “Compliments of the gentleman over there.”
Slowly, she turned her head, and her breath caught.
A man in a dark suit, standing a little apart from the crowd, like he owned the place. He wasn’t dancing or laughing like everyone else, just watching. Too composed, too controlling.
Their eyes locked in. She feels her stomach flip, and the weight of his stare makes Aria’s pulse trip. He raised his glass slightly, a silent cheer. Aria gripped tightly onto her glass with sweaty palms.
She got really nervous, wanted to look away, grab her purse, and leave. “Look away, just look away”, but her gaze stayed locked.
She lifted the glass to her lips instead. The liquor burned down her throat, sharper than the cheap shots Mia had fed her earlier. She coughed, pressing a hand to her chest.
Just for a second, she looked away, and he was gone.
- Writer
