O.N.E

FREYA___01

•

•

"Freya, To table three!" My boss yelled out my name.

I stepped into the kitchen area, I just changed from my work outfit to casual ones, did he not realize my shift was over?

"Um, actually I already changed__" I started but he cut me off, his eyes filled with anxiousness.

"These people are very__ uh important guests, You're the only one I can think of sending to attend to them.

I stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Our restaurant was the biggest five-star in town, we were used to attending to even the biggest stars and celebrities across the country and beyond, and never for once had Mr. Helder looked as nervous as he did now. 

"I can't begin to explain, they are waiting! Don't worry, it will be added to your bonus!" He urged me out of the kitchen.  I grabbed my notebook and pen along the way.  

The first thing I noticed was that the other tables were empty, where did everyone go? 

Two men were standing at the entrance of the restaurant, they both were very tall and muscular, and their charcoal black body-fitting suits made them look like bodyguards or something.

I scanned my gaze around to see the couple some distance away. 

As I walked closer, I was completely awestruck. 

The woman was more than stunning, her blonde hair was long and straight, and her jawline and perfect cheekbones would put any surgeon's knife to shame. 

My gaze drifted to the man opposite her and my jaw dropped, there were no words to express his strikingly good looks, she was smiling at something he said and two perfect dimple set appeared. 

I don't think I've seen either of them before, but they had to be very rich considering they reserved the whole restaurant. 

I walked closer to see them holding hands where I spotted a wedding ring, I also noticed the bump on the woman's stomach. 

She was pregnant. 

"Excuse me?" I cleared my throat. 

The man's attention left the woman, and his face suddenly snapped toward me.  

His eyes were a cold blue, possessing a mysterious aura. 

The sharp cut on his chin and the stubble of his beard made him look intimidating. 

"What do you want!"  His voice was sharp and hostile, making me flinch backward. 

I stared at him plainly, what was his problem? I was just here to know what they would like to have. 

"Don't be rude Niko, she's just here to take our orders" The woman playfully smacked his shoulders, shooting me a reassuring smile.  

I wrote down what the woman wanted. 

"What would you want?" I returned my attention to the man only to find him studying me. 

I grew anxious under his gaze especially when he was taking his time to speak.

"Just get him the same as I ordered and a bottle of your finest whiskey!" The woman broke the silence and the man turned toward her. 

"You can't drink, you know that!" He spoke to the woman, the earlier harshness in his voice completely gone, replaced by a look of concern. 

"It was meant for you and not me___that's all" She turned to face me. 

I nodded and started to walk away when my eyes shifted to the two men at the entrance, for the first time I noticed something holstered in their waist and my eyes nearly budged out of their sockets. 

Was that a gun? 

I didn't know what prompted me to look back but I didn't expect to meet his intense gaze which locked with mine. 

A shudder swept through me. 

The bad kind. 

Whoever this man was, thankfully I would not be meeting him after today!  

*

*

I walked into the room blaring with loud music, and the smell of alcohol and cigarettes and naked bodies grinding against each other welcomed me. 

This was what college pool parties looked like, almost everyone looked high on something. 

Did I make a good decision by coming here? It was a complete mess. I pushed my way through the bodies, swatting off groping hands. 

"Look! Who came! Let's welcome her everyone!" Darla screamed. She was my roommate, and her boyfriend Nate was the one hosting the party. 

 Usually, I stay away from these kinds of gatherings, but after leaving my part-time job at the restaurant, I just wanted a fun time with my best friend. 

Darla left Nate and staggered towards me looking drunk as hell. She handed me a glass of alcohol which I refused at first but decided to ahead with it. 

Ethan joined us. 

The both of us used to be very close until he confessed his feelings to me, I wasn't ready for a relationship and didn't even like him that way, and when I refused his continuous advances, it sort of made things between us awkward.

"I never thought you would come here, drinking and parties aren't your things, good girls like you don't do these things." He spoke and I frowned, picking offense at his statement.

"Perhaps you don't know me as much as you think."

I emptied the entire contents of my cup and instantly regretted it. My chest revolted against it and I started to cough violently. My eyes watered as he patted my back. 

"See? I told you so. Why don't we wait here, I will get you something lighter?"

"No thanks! I don't need it!" I gritted.  Ignoring my words, he walked away missing my glare. 

I sat beside Darla, feeling the alcohol starting to kick in.  I felt dizzy and lightheaded but it was a good feeling. I didn't have to think about my family problems, academic stuff, or anything else. 

"That's my song right there! Let's dance!" Darla shouted, dragging me to the dance floor. 

"Shake that banging ass! Make everyone go crazy!" She yelled above the loud music and I was laughing.

It wasn't as though I was a bad dancer, I just had social anxiety, but tonight, I  was too drunk to even care if I was being watched by the others. 

I felt a hand on my waist, then turned around to see Ethan. 

"I got your drink."

"No drink, wan__na have fun!" I giggled, dragging him to dance with me.  He whispered something in my ears, but the music was too loud. 

"S_sorry w_what?" I shouted at the top of my voice. 

"It's too crowded here, why don't we have fun someplace else? I will take you on a drive, then we go to your apartment, how does that sound?"

My brain was too slow to come up with a reply, he grabbed my arm, pulling me outside with him.

"Wanna___stay here! Don't want to go!" I slurred but he didn't let go until we got to where his car was waiting. 

"Don't worry, we will have fun!" He opened the car and nudged me inside. A few moments later, the car roared to life. 

He started to drive and my stomach rolled with the urge to puke, I was also feeling slightly hot so I got rid of the jacket I wore over my gown. 

"T...take me home." I mumbled, closing my eye, I was starting to fall asleep. 

I didn't know how long it took but my eyes slowly fluttered open when I felt something warm on my bare thighs. 

I could feel my dress being inched up and more of my bare skin was being uncovered. 

"W_what are you do_ing?" I tried to remove the hand but it barely budged.

I heard Ethan's chuckle before the car screeched to a halt. 

"I thought I could wait till we get to your apartment, damn! You're so sexy, I'm so hard right now!" He leaned to nuzzle my neck and I grew sober almost immediately. 

"E__Ethan, what__move away now!" I glared, shoving his head to set some distance between us. 

A frown appeared on his face.

"Don't pretend naive now, I noticed the way you were grinding your ass to my crotch, you even followed me out and took off your jacket, don't tell me you don't want it! When you gave me the signal! "

I was appalled and speechless. 

"W_when did I__" My words were cut short when he suddenly leaned very close, I could smell the alcohol on his breath before I could tell him to stop, his lips found mine, and then his hands were roaming across my body. He pinched my breasts and I jolted. 

"S__top, I don't want to__" I hit my fist against his shoulders, but the alcohol in my system seemed to have drained my strength. 

"You have no idea how much I want this, I've waited so long for this!" His fingers breached my inner thighs when I struck him across his face as hard as I could. 

"St__op it!" I yelled, hitting his chest. 

He stopped.  

The lustful look in his eyes slowly changed into one of confusion and anger. 

"I thought__I" He moved backward and I could finally breathe properly.  "You think I'm a goddamned rapist? You wanted this!" He yelled and I grew angry. 

"I don't! You're delusional! You were supposed to be my friend, How could you do this to me?" 

I was breathing heavily, still reeling from shock. 

I would have left the car but we were currently in the middle of nowhere, there were no taxis at this late hour, and I was still slightly drunk. What if something worse happened? 

I stared at the window, ignoring the helpless and frustrated look in his eyes. 

"You've always known I didn't want to be your friend, You know very well that I__I love you! As far as I know, you're not in a relationship with anyone else, so what could be the problem? Why not me? I love you, Freya." He confessed as I had heard numerous times. 

"Take me home Ethan. If you don't want to, I will get down right now!" I started to struggle with the door when he suddenly shouted. 

"Fine! As you wish!"

I disliked hurting him, but he had to get over his emotions. I could never imagine myself being in a relationship with him. Not that he was lacking anything but we have been friends for so long and anything else just seemed impossible. 

He started the car once again and started to drive, he was going too fast. I held the seat tightly for support when he made a careless turn. 

"You are crazy! Slow down!" I yelled. 

He made another swift turn, there was a car coming. 

It was too late!

A scream tore from my throat as our cars collided, and glass was sent flying.  My head banged into something hard. 

The world went blank in the next instant. 

*

*