40 CHAPTER FORTY

Why was I doing this?

I stepped out of the cab, dressed up, with the makeup put on in a hurried, clumsy way. Thank god it was dark in the club.

The chilly air of the night made me wince, but I shook my head, walking slowly towards the club's entrance.

I knew I shouldn't be there. I knew that. Then why was I there? To prove a point?

'I thought you were over your childish ego, Ivy.' I thought to myself and sighed.

I felt like a kid throwing a tantrum at his parents. I knew I shouldn't have left the mansion and, yet, I was in front of the most popular club of New York City, waiting for my best friend to find me before the weirdos could.

Shifting nervously, I couldn't stop feeling totally exposed because of my revealing outfit. I stopped when I saw a group of people smoking in front of the club's red door and I sighed. Where was Emily?

"Ivy!"

Speaking of the devil.

I turned around and gave her a relieved smile.

"Gosh, you look fabulous!" She screamed, making a few people turn their heads in our direction.

I sighed. She was always doing this.

"Check you! High thighs, extra small, tight skirt, and a red bra? My God! Are you trying to seduce someone, my little vampire?"

I smiled. My fake teeth made this action a bit uncomfortable, but at least I could be recognized as a vampire and not a prostitute. Thank God for Halloween.

"So you are a witch, huh?"

"More like a bitch. She's been so moody this night."

Jason appeared next to us and I giggled. He was dressed... or, basically, not so dressed as Wolverine.

Emily scoffed and adjusted her huge black hat.

"Talking about being moody... I think you are a moody one! Maybe you are just cold. You know, you could've been Wolverine and actually wear a T-shirt."

He grinned and flexed his bare muscles.

"But, then, ladies wouldn't be able to see my hard-work... look at these babies! I'm so ripped!"

Rolling her eyes, Emily decided to ignore his remark and pulled down her tight, black dress, as it kept going up on her skinny legs.

"Alrighty, we should go in."

I nodded. I wanted to drink until I would pass out. Everything that happened that night was stressing me out... especially Caiden's shameless suggestion.

'If you don't like it at all, why do you still think about it?' A little voice whispered inside my head, but I shut it down completely.

I wouldn't do that. If I did that... moving on would've been only a dream. The image of his face kissing me all over the body... would've been played like a movie in my head for years. I couldn't afford that. I had to move on.

So, shaking my head vehemently, I followed Emily and Jason inside the loud and crowded club.

***

"Just one more shot!" Emily screamed at me, trying to make herself heard over the electronic music which was blasted from every single corner of the room.

I stumbled over something on the floor which I couldn't see and fell on Emily, who grabbed me by my waist, saving me from falling on the ground. The red and white lights flashing all over the place made me feel blind and the alcohol in my system didn't help me see well either.

"Do you want to step outside for a bit?" She asked me, this time yelling in my ear, making me flinch.

I nodded.

She got a firm grip on my arm and started pulling me through the sweaty crowd. Someone tried to place his hand on my waist, but Emily gave him a deadly glare and the guy just scoffed and started dancing with another girl who was near him.

Eventually, we found Jason roaming around the entrance. Emily told him something, but I couldn't hear.

Ugh, I was so drunk! My head was buzzing. I felt like laughing all the time and I couldn't comprehend what was going on.

Emily dragged me outside and the fresh, chilly air made me sober up a bit, but not enough.

"She's so drunk. She's drunker than usual." I heard her whispering to Jason, while I placed my butt on a rock.

"I can hear you!" I yelled at her, even though we were outside, where we could talk normally.

"... yeah, she seems way too drunk. Should I get a cab for you?"

The sudden mention of my house made me remember Caiden. I froze, making them throw me a confused look.

"...he's gonna be so mad at me." I said in a trembling tone and Emily frowned.

"Who's gonna be mad at you, Ivy?" She asked me.

I raised my head and tried to focus my eyes on her, but without any success. This goddamn alcohol!

My eyes became teary. My vision was already foggy, but in combination with the tears, now it was nearly impossible for me to see at all.

"...Caiden."

"Who?"

"Caiden's gonna be mad at me!"

A few tears trickled down my hot cheeks. Emily and Jason exchanged a worried looked and then looked down at me.

I hugged my knees. I was trying to control my emotions... but the alcohol made it so hard. I knew I shouldn't have told Emily about Caiden. Hell, she didn't even know who he was! After me spilling the beans, she would surely keep asking me about him when I was going to be sober. I sighed, already prepared for the mental torture in the following days.

I just had to sober up. I had to sober up and go quickly back to Caiden's mansion. Maybe... maybe he didn't even figure out that I was missing. With a bit of luck, I would be able to get inside the house, have a shower to get rid of the stinking smell of alcohol, and then go to sleep as nothing happened...

Thinking all of this in the spawn of a few seconds, I suddenly rose up, making Emily and Jason tilt their heads with a perplexed expression plastered on their face. They looked so similar that I couldn't help but start laughing.

"You guys... sometimes you look just the same. You look like you are dating."

Their shocked faces didn't bug me at that time. I caught Jason blushing and avoiding my eyes and Emily cleared her throat watching her fingernails.

But, as drunk as I was, I couldn't process all that information so fast.

"... I think we should call a taxi, Ivy." Emily said, with a serious expression, approaching me and taking my hands into hers, squeezing them tenderly.

I pursed my lips. "But I don't wanna. I want to drink. One more shot?" I echoed her question from inside the club and she shook her head.

"No, that's enough. We'll be able to do more shots sometime soon. But tonight... I think it's enough for you. Should I come with you? I don't feel like you can take care of yourself 'till you get home."

I almost nodded, but then I remembered that I had to go to Caiden's mansion instead of my flat. I shook my head vehemently, making her brows to furrow, skeptically.

"I can... I can take care of my own!" I said (probably yelled, but whatever) and I pulled back my hands from her grip, ready to walk towards the main street, where I was very sure I could take a taxi.

'See? I'm not that drunk! I can get home... well, at Caiden's mansion, without anybody's help!' I thought to myself and I smiled proudly.

"Ivy, wait!"

I turned around, walking backward.

"You can have fun! I'm going hoooome!"

And then I almost tripped over something...

... but, fortunately, two strong arms caught me right before the fall. He was basically hugging me from behind, and my instincts told me that something wasn't right. I gulped, too scared to look behind me.

"Hey! Take your hands off her!" Emily screamed angrily, and I heard a sigh behind me, which seemed really familiar.

"It's okay. I'm her boyfriend."

All of us froze, but for different reasons.

Emily seemed shocked and probably angry because I didn't tell her about my secret boyfriend.

Jason seemed confused.

And... I just wanted to die. Because the person who was holding me like I was a broken puppet...

...was Caiden, of course.