Golden eyes (2)

~Elizabeth~

The music boomed on the dance floor, but that didn’t affect the brief silence between us after my sudden question.

I’m really drunk.

That I knew, and I couldn’t do anything to stop drunkenness. The alcohol had wrapped around mind like a warm blanket, dulling the memories of Oliver abandoning me for another woman.

And I loved it.

I really loved the feeling.

I wanted nothing more than to feel nothing, and forget everything about myself.

Oliver.

Vivian.

The debts.

Everything about me...my life.

But I guess I couldn’t stop myself for hiding my own thoughts.

That must have made the stranger to let out a light chuckle. It must be that obvious that I was drunk.

Alcohol was similar to a truth serum in Elliotte’s words.

‘’Interested, Miss?’’ asked the stranger.

‘’No.’’ I shook head my lightly, and then gave a mocking smile. ‘’I’m a married woman or rather soon-to-be a divorcee. My husband just left me for another woman.’’

To think the first person I shared the news of my separation from Oliver would be a stranger, and not Elliotte.

‘’Well, good riddance.’’

‘’What?’’

I didn’t expect to hear that.

‘’I said good riddance.’’ He repeated. ‘’ You deserve someone better, don’t you think, Miss?’’

I deserved someone better?

His words completely caught me off guard. For a moment, I could only stare at him in silence.

‘’Do I?’’ I asked after sometime.

‘’Of course, you do.’’

The stranger’s immediate answer made me laugh humorlessly. I tore my gaze away from him and looked down on my drink, absentmindedly tracing the rim of the glass with my finger.

 ‘’I’m no beauty, Mr. stranger. I don’t have money either.’’ I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. I wasn’t expecting him catch that with the loud music around us anyway.

....feeling dizzy. I thought, my body growing heavier with every passing second. That was a sign to end the conversation and leave the night club.

‘’Hey, Mr. stranger...’’ I drunkenly called out. ‘’When you get married, don’t ever leave your wife in debts and cheat on her.’’

‘’....I won’t ever cheat on my future wife.’’ He said after a short silence. ‘’And unlike your ex-husband, I’m someone with money. Lots and lots of money, Miss’’

‘’Really?’’ A faint smile spread across my lips. ‘’That’s assuring to hear. Your wife’s going to be luckier than I was. Perhaps....perhaps my marriage wouldn’t have ended this way if we had money’’

I then jumped down from the bar stool to my feet. The moment I stood, a wave of dizziness washed over my body. My legs suddenly gave out beneath me.

‘’Careful there, Miss.’’

The stranger was quick to catch me before I could hit the floor, his hand settling against my lower back. ‘’I don’t want you falling on me.’’

‘’Thanks...’’ I slurred, my eyelids growing heavier by the second. I tried to stand on my own, but my body wasn’t listening to my intention.

‘’Home...’’ I mumbled. ‘’I....want....to go...home.’’

My eyes began to drift shut.

Just then I heard stranger ask.

 ‘’Do you regret marrying your ex-husband?’’

At the same time, an arm slipped around my waist, supporting my weight as my body leaned helplessly against him. The clean minty scent of his cologne drifting to my senses.

‘’N-No...’’ I weakly protested, instinctively trying to put some distance between us. I didn’t want to be this close to a stranger I’d just met few minutes ago, and an unknown man at that.

‘’You don’t regret marrying your ex-husband?’’

‘’....Regret...’’ The word escaped my lips. My thoughts blurred together.

‘’I...don’t....know....do...I?’’

Then, everything faded to black.

****

Tuesday, September, 2040

A dull ache pulsed behind my temples.

‘’...Mmh.’’

I frowned, squeezing my eyes shut as the pounding in my head intensified. The walls of my mouth felt dry, and the lingering taste of a burning sensation coated my tongue.

Slowly, I forced my heavy eyelids open.

Where...am I?

The unfamiliar ceiling came into view first, smooth ceiling with recessed lighting arranged in perfect symmetry.

Did my ceiling ever look this  clean? I unhurriedly marveled for a moment amid the nausea I was feeling inside. But then, I remembered the ceiling of an old, rundown apartment would never have this lighting and look this white.

This is not my room! I suddenly realized and my heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, I pushed myself upright too quickly, the duvet slipping down as I clutched my throbbing head with a low groan.

‘’...W-What....’’ I wondered why I was having migraines first thing in the morning. But then, fragments of the previous night flooded into my head like a movie.

Oliver....Vivian...bar....stranger...

My eyes widened and I hurriedly inspected myself. I threw the duvet aside and that saw my clothes from last night were gone. Instead, I was dressed in an oversized black T-shirt.

My face drained of color.

‘’No...No...No....No way....’’ Panic flooded my chest. I couldn’t have done that.

It was pure horror that I was wearing different clothes from yesterday and I couldn’t remember changing myself.

It must have been that stranger.

‘’I slept with a stranger....’’ I whispered. The sheer terror crept into my voice. Clinging to the faint hope that nothing might have happened, I frantically examined my body, only freeze when I noticed I was still wearing the same undergarments.

‘’A-Ah...’’ I let out a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

Nothing...happened?

I examined myself once more before affirming that indeed, nothing had happened.

Relief washed over me as a smile slowly spread across my face, realizing my body showed no sign of a one nightstand.

But then....

My smile vanished as I stared blankly at the black T-shirt.

Whose shirt was I wearing?

The stranger’s?

He hadn’t assaulted me but merely changed my clothes?

Could a stranger from a nightclub be that much of a gentleman?

Or had something actually happened? Perhaps, there must be an upgraded method to hide sexual assaults that I didn’t know about? I wasn’t one to follow incidents happening around the country.

Oliver had always been the one to follow the news.

At the thought of my cheating husband, I mentally shook my head to not think about him.

I then hurriedly took off the black T-shirt over my head and examined my body once more for a sign that I might have been assaulted.

Just as confusion began to outweigh my panic, a click suddenly echoed through the room, and someone stepped inside.

I froze.

It wasn’t the person, who stepped inside the caught my attention first.

It was a uniform...a very familiar high uniform.

My highschool uniform.

The uniform of the school where I worked.