Vulnerable

Celine's POV

The party was everything I wanted it to be. Loud music, flashing lights, expensive drinks and boys to keep me company. If there was one thing I never lacked, it was money.

Dave gave me a lot of it. More than I ever needed, so I made good use of it.

For the first few hours, I allowed myself to drown in alcohol and danced with every guy who wanted to. Tyra and Stephen kept grabbing me away.

"You will hurt yourself" Tyra cried after I downed my seventh cup.

I tried to grab the glass from her, laughing hard. I wasn't done yet.

*This is the new me. Carefree, and untouchable. I don't need Dave Montessori.* At least, that was what I wanted myself to believe.

Max came over and squeezed beside me, pushing Tyra away. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Care for one?" he asked.

I stared at him, my bad girl cover faltering for a second. I hate it, the smell makes me nauseous, whenever Dave smokes, I always snatch it away from him.

But tonight, I decided to give it a try. I took a stick before Tyra or Stephen could stop me. Max helped light it up and I took a small inhale.

I tried to swallow my cough, but as soon as the smoke hit my nostrils, I quickly rushed up and headed out to find a bathroom.

Every drink I had taken was poured into the water closet, my stomach hurt more the more I poured the liquid out.

A minute later, Tyra's voice found me.

"Are you alright?" she rushed in.

I lifted my head as she patted my back. My eyes looked a bit red and teary. "I am never smoking again" I cried.

Again, I felt a surge of nausea and turned back to the toilet. When I was done, I was sober again.

Tyra helped me up and led me to the sink, I let the water pour all over my face, the water touched my hair and washed a little color off my purple hair.

I pushed my hair back and raised my head up. Tyra handed me a tissue paper and helped clean my face up.

"Let's go home" she pleaded.

I stared at her. Maybe I had done too much already. I nodded slowly and let her help me out of the bathroom.

We had barely stepped into the hallway when a familiar voice stopped us.

"Celine?"

I halted, dreading who it was.

Ethan, one of the boys whom I had rejected back in high school, approached me. His eyes traveled over me before he gave a humorless smile.

"Wow, I almost didn't recognize you"

I folded my arms. "Do I know you?"

His smile widened. "Still arrogant? I heard you're not with Dave anymore"

My whole body stiffened, I clung to Tyra who held me and glared at Ethan, ready to protect me.

"Get out of our way, Ethan" she snapped and tried to pull us through but he stopped us.

His expression hardened, no longer pretending. He suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked me away from Tyra, a gasp escaped my lips as I was pulled.

"Do you think you're still invincible?" his voice was threatening, his eyes glared. "The only reason everyone feared you was because of him"

My heart beat in a panic as Ethan stared at me. In that moment, I felt exposed. The thought of what he might do scared me.

Tyra rushed forward and tried to stop him, but he pushed her off, hard. She hit the wall and let out a low groan. I glanced at her and tried to free myself from him, but he slammed me against the wall.

"Are you crazy? Let go of me!" I grunted.

His grip became tighter, painful. He chuckled, enjoying my misery. It seemed he was here to make trouble, I tried to think of a way to escape him.

"Your powerful uncle is not here to protect you now" Ethan stated. "How about you make me happy tonight and I will forget what you did?"

He said and grabbed me closer, he tried to kiss me but I pulled away, gasping hard now.

In the past, I never worried about getting into danger, because I believed Dave would always protect me. But now, in this helpless moment, I couldn't help but wish he was there.

I tried to push him off again, but he grabbed my neck, choking me. Tyra stood up to stop him, and luckily, Stephen and Max also appeared.

They managed to rip Ethan off of me. They'd barely rescued us when a few boys appeared in the hallway, they seemed to be with Ethan.

"We need to run" Max blurted out.

As the boys rushed over, we took to our heels, not waiting a second longer, and bolted out of the clubhouse. The boys were on our trail.

We tried to get to the cars but they were almost upon us, so we fled toward another direction. Max grabbed my hands and led me along. We found a corner and rushed inside to hide from sight.

As we stood there with heated breaths and anxious hearts, I waited for any sound, but none came. I looked at Max after a while and we both shared a laugh.

"We're clear" I breathed.

-

Dave's POV

The room was almost completely dark, illuminated only by the faint glow from the city lights outside the window. I sat behind my desk, my fingers resting against the arm of the chair as I stared into the darkness.

I waited for the usual text, anxiously.

That had become my daily routine for two years now. It's the only way to stop myself from traveling over to see her.

Tonight, the text was coming later than usual. I picked up my phone about to call when a call came in instead.

"Yes?" my voice was impatient.

Jeff's voice came up.

"Sorry, Boss. There was a little problem, I already took care of it" he said.

My jaw clenched instantly, a hard frown crept onto my face. "What happened?" I asked.

Jeff hesitated. "Some boys troubled Miss Celine at a club" he replied.

I growled low, trying to keep calm.

"Is she alright?" I asked instead.

Jeff answered. "Yes."

"Where is she now?" I asked, loosening my fist.

"She's back home"

I straightened in my chair and let out a relieved breath. "Keep watching her, make sure she's safe"

The call ended and I let out another breath. I picked up a cigarette and was about to light it when Celine suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Can you stop smoking? It's unhealthy" she said and snatched the stick.

I blinked and pulled out the cigarette, dropping the pack on the bed. It was just one of my imaginations. I rubbed my forehead, not sure why I felt this way.

My feelings were impure. I shouldn't feel that way towards her.

For two years, I've tried to convince myself that it was not that kind of love that I had toward Celine, but I can't deny it anymore. The best thing was to bury it, deep inside my heart.

Just when I was about to get up and retire for the night, my phone rang. I glanced down at the screen, at the number I had refused to save but kept memorized in my heart.

My hands folded on the desk, I stared at it, afraid to pick it up.