That One Night Stand

It was the day of Alicia's best friend's wedding, Camila Clayton. Alicia's heart was filled with joy for her best friend. She stood at the altar smiling down at her as she walked down the aisle with soft romantic music playing in the background. Camila was her childhood friend and growing up together they had this dream of getting married on the same day, which would have been their reality if it weren't for Hudson, Alicia’s fiancé, who was traveling abroad at the moment. However, Alicia wasn't happy with Hudson's absence at the wedding. She just wished it would have worked out as they had planned. But life is not always going to go her way all the time. The key is to recognize those moments. Being the maid of honor, Camila handed her bouquet of roses to Alicia while Mr Miles, her husband to be, took her hand and walked her to the altar. After they said their vows, the priest asked if anyone had anything to say before pronouncing the couple husband and wife. A brief silence settled at first as everyone looked sideways and no one said anything. Just as the priest was about to seal their marriage, Alicia heard a familiar voice echo from the back. “I..I love you….. Camila, I have always loved you. Always and I know you feel the same way about me, please don't marry him”, Hudson said from the back, and Alicia's ear went numb. Her heart skipped as she stared in disbelief. Wasn't Hudson supposed to be abroad? Or were her eyes deceiving her? Alicia tried to calm herself as she absorbed what was really happening. Alicia's eyes locked with Hudson, and he gave her an apologetic stare as he mouthed ‘am sorry ‘ to her before turning his attention back to Camila and Alicia's heart sank. She couldn't believe her ears, and to think that Hudson was in love with her best friend all this while made her lose her balance. Inadvertently, the bouquet in Alicia’s hand slipped and scattered on the floor and all eyes turned to Alicia, who was shivering where she stood. She closed her eyes like they'd stabbed her, her hand flying to her mouth as she stifled a sob. When she opens them, they're filled with pain and unshed tears. She had missed him so much. She had not been able to reach him all this while. Alicia almost thought that he was avoiding her as he always claimed to be busy and never returned to her calls or text messages. The guests started whispering among themselves, everyone watching in confusion. Alicia looked from Camila to Hudson, the only two people she took as her family, since her younger brother, Cary, was framed and jailed for killing their parents. Meanwhile, they couldn't even spare her any glance as they stared at each other, forgetting that everyone was watching. To crown it all, Camila left the altar and ran into the arms of Hudson, and they started kissing and cuddling each other and the guests were in awe. Some took their pictures and videos, some gawked with their mouths open, some who knew about Alicia and Hudson really felt pity for her. Her heart clenched. The betrayal was too much for her. She felt weak, her world crashed and burnt, a cavern of despair was opening at her feet. She wants to cry. She wanted to break down here in the church and weep, but she wasn't going to let them break her in front of everyone, nor was she going to cry because of them. She managed to gather herself and quietly picked up her handbag and left with all eyes directed towards her. She hailed a cab once outside to Skywise hotel where she works as a room attendant, though it wasn't her working day, but she just wanted to get drunk. Once she was inside the cab, a fist tightened around her heart. Tears started escaping from her eyes. She was crying and laughing at the same time that even the cab driver wondered if she was insane, but Alicia ignored the confusion on his face and drowned in her sorrow. She went straight to the bar where she met Jose the bartender. The bar was plunged into dim light, reflecting exactly her mood; she was more miserable. “It’s over already?” Jose yelled through loud music, but Alicia didn't respond as she sat down. He raised his brows when he saw her face. “Are you alright?…. "What the hell happened?” Jose was the only sincere work friend she had got since she had been working at the hotel. He has been so good to her. “Can you get me drunk Jose…. "Like really drunk?” Alicia said. “ Hmmhuh, that I can do, but you must tell me what happened,” He poured her two shots of tequila and placed it on the table. Alicia took the two in one swig and Jose looked wary at her. “Keep it coming Jose ,” Alicia said, nodding to the booming music in the background. He poured another two. She wanted to do the same, but Jose stopped her. “Easy… Alicia,” he said, and she pushed his hand away and took it at once. She just wanted to drown herself and forget about the humiliation she had experienced. She wants to erase that memory of Hudson's lips on her best friend. Her heart couldn't bear it. Jose was pouring the third round when Alicia heard mockery chuckles behind her. She recognizes the voice even in her unconscious state, it's no other person than Stella and Tina, her co-workers and her only ambitious competitors at work. “Look who got abandoned at the altar….. "What a shame, he couldn't even give you a decent break-up,” Stella said as they giggled. Jose was stunned. He looked from Alicia to them with a confused expression on his face. “What the hell are you talking about?,” he asked them, and Alicia looked away in shame, trying to hold back tears gathering in her eyes. “Her fiancé left her and followed the bride…can you believe that?” Tina chimed in and they laughed… hard. “You should have seen the way he confessed his love to Camila.. Aww, so cute,” she said as they kept laughing. Jose's face turned cold, ‘that bastard’ he hissed through clenched teeth and his heart went out for Alicia…he tried to think of something to say to take her pain away. He steps toward her, but she holds up her hand to stop him as she quickly stands up. Feeling a little tipsy, she staggered and left. Jose called after her but she never looked back. Stella and her friend started giggling again, but Jose glared at them, and they ran off immediately. Alicia was just about to leave the lobby when she saw a familiar guy reeling as though he was drunk to the suite nearby. He barged into the room, leaving the door open, and the next thing Alicia heard a loud thud on the floor. Her curiosity piqued. She wanted to ignore it, but something drew her back. She entered the room and gasped. Alicia saw her long-time crush, Jackson Adams, lying half-conscious on the floor.