PROLOGUE

Both the friends entered the club in a weird fashion. The guards said nothing but gave them uneasy looks, as one was dragging her friend into the location.

"You don't have to do this... I can come on my own." said one of the friends. More specifically, the one who was being dragged.

The girls met some other friends and went to the dance floor. The song was up-beat and nice. Everyone swayed their bodies in the flow. Some jumped in rhythm, some did very complex dance steps while some just bopped their heads to the music.

After dancing, the friends went to the bar and the grabbed a drink each. One girl took a glass of vodka while the other took wine.

"Hey! Not wine~ Take this." the girl was already tipsy. She put forward her glass, half-filled with vodka taking away the glass of wine from her friend.

"I don't think we should get too drunk, Jessi." the friend said but Jessi was drunk by the time realization hit them. The girl herself was almost intoxicated so she kept drinking anyways.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Claire." Jessi whined. She was speaking sloppily and the smell of alcohol was evident. She kept drinking and soon, she passed out.

Claire was more sober than Jessi so she called up another friend to drop Jessi of when she got alright. Then Claire walked out of the club and went to the garage. She didn't walk like a normal non-intoxicated individual usually would. That's because she was drunk. Maybe not totally but she want sober either. She was slightly dizzy and her eyelids felt slightly heavy. Her steps were crooked and the high heels she wore made everything worse.

It's mesmerizing how money can allow anyone to do anything. These twelve year olds were allowed into the club just because the paid more. Claire had a car. She had a license. All because her father owned one of the leading companies. But everything comes with a price not everyone can pay.

It was past midnight and the only car running on the road was Claire's. Due to dizziness, she closed her eyes for just a second. Everything was okay when an agonizing scream was heard followed by a sudden jerk in the car.

Claire's eyes shot open and she quickly opened the gate and got out. The sight wasn't splendid at all.

She had driven over a man. He laid on the road, blood spilling out of his wounds. He moved in pain but it didn't last long. The hand he lifted for help, feel and he shut his eyes. The blood kept spreading. The horrific view made Claire slowly sober up. She came back to her senses and her hands started trembling. Claire walked to the man, bent down to check whether he was alive. But she stopped her hand midway and quickly went back to her car.

The palms of Claire's hands were sweating. Yet, she drove back home as soon as possible. The thing that had just happened made her feel extremely uneasy and she thought only one poison could help her. She felt that Jessi was the only one she could trust and lean on.

On reaching home, Claire rushed to her room. She plopped on the bed with multiple thoughts.

"Did... the man... die?" she asked herself. Her heartbeats fastened and adrenaline filled in her veins. Claire got up quickly and went to the bathroom.

The hot water rushing down the shower relaxed her tensed muscles and calmed her. All the distress left her mind leaving her with no worries.

Claire knew Jessi could help her. Even if she couldn't make the dead man alive, Claire knew Jessi could help her cope up with the shock and console her. Afterall they were best friends.

•••••

She got out of bed and proceeded to follow her morning routine. Her head was throbbing. The side effects were kicking in. But she was determined to go to school and get help. So she cleaned up and got ready.

The drive to school was short but the walk in the corridor through the crowd of fellow students was long. Either she was walking very slowly or Claire's anxiety wasn't helping. She looked for Jessi in the throng but couldn't manage to actually spot her.

"There she is!" Claire's face lit up when she saw Jessi coming out of the restroom. She ran towards Jessi, pushing people out of her way. The students, for sure, cursed at her. But that was least of her concerns.

"Hey! Are you okay? Why did you come running?" Jessi was startled to see Claire in such a hurry. Claire didn't reply. Instead, she grabbed Jessi's arm and dragged her to the rooftop. That was the place to discuss emergencies only.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Stop.... Now tell me what happened." Jessi tried calming Claire. She knew Claire so well that she could feel something was terribly wrong. "Calm down... Take deep breaths... Then speak."

"Jessi.. I think I messed up." worry was noticeable on Claire's face. Her mouth went dry and she couldn't find what words to say. But she said, "Yesterday, you weren't the only one who got drunk. Even I got drunk and I drove over a man."

"What!?" was all Jessi could say. She never thought someone like Claire could do that. She had to stay away from her. Jessi knew she couldn't get involved with someone like Claire.

"Please help me." Claire pleaded. She looked so vulnerable and helpless but this was Jessi's chance. Jessi could finally achieve her goal and defeat Claire. She only had to do two things. Betray and conquer. And she knew exactly how to do it.

"No! I'm not helping a murderer like you." those few words hurt Claire like a dagger straight through her heart. Claire's eyes glistened.

"What are you saying Jessi? I didn't kill the man! I'm not a murderer!" Claire denied but deep inside, even she wasn't sure if she was a murderer or not. Jessi walked away leaving Claire alone on the isolated rooftop. The sun shined brightly on them.

"Oh, and don't expect us to be friends after the sin you committed." Jessi said before finally leaving.

Tears gushed out of Claire's eyes and she fell on her knees. She broke down with no one to lean on. The only person she trusted had betrayed her. She felt like giving up.

But she had a lot more to face. Many more ups and downs she wasn't ready for. Fate had something else, rather something better for her.

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