Chapter 10

"Shit."

She heard a man curse under his breath. The loud music from the living room echoed inside her head, but she could still hear the stranger's breathing near her ear. July felt an arm wrapped around her waist, firmly holding her weight as she couldn't balance herself.

She blinked tiredly as she tried to have a better view, adjusting her sight through the blurry and spinning room. As her hand landed on the arm around her waist, she figured out how cold her skin was compared to the stranger holding her.

The door barged open, and Enzo's enraged voice filled the small spaces of the washroom.

"What the fuck!?" Enzo shrieked as he flounced over Hugh.

He guided July's arm over his shoulder as he placed his other arm on her waist, assisting her back to her feet.

Enzo grabbed his cousin away from Hugh, causing July to almost collapse onto the floor.

The darkness was gradually winning, but she could still feel Enzo's rage as though it was radiating from his skin.

"She's cold as ice – what the fuck did you do to her!?" Enzo growled.

"Wait, I didn't do anything to her – it's not what it looks like," Hugh said rather calmly.

"She went in here just fine, and I'll find you here with your fucking arms around her? Did you fucking drug her!?" Enzo continued, a series of panic and worry streaming from his lips.

The current volume of Enzo's voice attracted attention, and a moment later, they were surrounded by curious faces. Whispers and questions escalated fast as they stood there.

"What the fuck is going on here – July? What happened?" Lawrence asked as he made his way through the surrounding crowd of people.

"I didn't do anything to her all right?" Hugh explained. A hint of frustration began to surface in his voice.

"How did you even get in here – "

Hugh rolled his tongue over his inner cheek and clenched his jaw as he pointed to the door where July entered and towards the door behind him where he entered.

"This washroom is connected to another room. There are two doors if it's not fucking obvious yet. I didn't know she was here. When I entered, she just collapsed against me. I don't know if she's drunk or whatever. Then you arrive and accuse me of whatever fuckery you have inside your head."

Hugh turned to his heel as he exited the washroom. He swung the door shut aggressively, clearly fed up with the long day.

Enzo's eyes seemed to burn holes through the wooden door where Hugh left. He carefully lifted July.

She was already unconscious when Enzo made his way out of the crowd, carrying her to an empty guest room.

He palmed his face as he sat next to July's bed, observing his unconscious cousin. He hated calling Drake for help, but he was the only one who could tell him July's address. He had no right to go through her phone, and the closest person to help was none other than Drake.

****

July woke to soft radio music playing in her car. The car was moving she resurfaced from the depth of her unconsciousness. Her body ached from the position she slept in. As she turned to her left, she saw Enzo driving her car.

"What time is it?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.

Her voice was raspy, and her throat was painfully dry.

"Fifteen minutes before one am," answered Enzo, his eyes focused on the road.

"I was out pretty long, huh?" She muttered.

Enzo nodded in response.

"My head hurts," July complained in a whisper, leaning back against the backrest and massaging her temple.

"What happened back there? Did he do something to you?" Enzo asked with utmost concern.

July shut her eyes tight as she tried to recall the whole encounter at the washroom. It was flashes and blurs at first until the fragments of memory began to outline themselves accordingly.

"I went into the washroom because I – uhm... I wasn't feeling well, and then – "

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well? I should've driven you home straight away," said Enzo.

"I thought it would just go away, all right? And – I remember the room spinning, and my limbs began to weaken... then I – I hurriedly rushed towards the door... I crashed against someone, and then everything went black," July explained as she kept massaging her head.

"Are you sure that's what happened? If Hugh did something to you, don't be afraid to tell – "

"Hugh? It was Hugh?"

"Yeah. Why? What about it?" Enzo asked in a clipped tone.

"Nothing," said July and decided to keep her thoughts unspoken.

She knew she was out of the conflict between Hugh and the rest of the band, yet for some reason, there was a strange unpleasant feeling inside her chest.

Her sudden exposure to her new social life had been exhausting and she wasn't even halfway through her college life yet. To her, it appeared confusing, but it was the consequence of being deprived of social life for almost all her life.

Those were new people, and though some were familiar, they weren't her friends. Communicating with the people she usually meets at the gala was exhausting already let alone meeting a huge loud crowd of mostly strangers.

All those years inside the estate with no one to talk to but her maids, her homeschool instructors, her Dad, and her insufferable stepmother seemed like a prison disguised as a featherbed. An old money girl feeling imprisoned inside her mansion might sound cliché to others, but there was more to that. The situation was more consequential than most people think of it.

All those years, all she gained was the raging social anxiety building up inside her, waiting for a perfect moment to make itself known. Her father had always taught her about building her confidence and how to use it well, but little did he know she had no confidence at all. What she learned instead is how to act as though she had it, but the truth is, she had no clue where to pick up confidence.

Her father's concept of building confidence while keeping her locked up within the estate was just laughable. She always said in her head, who in their right mind wanted their child to acquire confidence and deprive them of the opportunity to socialize at a young age?

"Hey, you, all right?" Enzo asked, hauling her back to reality.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

July hugged herself as she stared out the window when a thought crossed her mind. "Where are going?" She asked.

"To your apartment."

"How did you know where I live?"

"I called Drake," Enzo confessed.

July smiled. "That's new," she teased.

"Well, do you want me to go through your phone then?"

July shook her head no.

"I'm glad you're here too, Enzo," said July out of nowhere as she dozed off.

Drake had been a great help to her, but she knew very little things about him – fully trusting Drake wasn't far from a game of Russian roulette. As July calculated the things that occurred in the early days of her university life, reuniting with Enzo was by far the best part of it, and the concert comes in second. It felt nice having someone she could fully trust and allow to protect her like a brother she longed for all her life.

"I already texted Ashton to come to pick me up. Don't worry," said Enzo as he declined July's offer to stay the night.

"Okay then. Are you sure, you'll be alright?" She asked again, turning to face Enzo again before locking her door.

Enzo nodded and gave her a thin smile. "Go on. It's been a long day. You should rest."

"Night," said July and locked her door.

A sound of a car came around the parking lot a couple of minutes after she locked the door. When she felt certain that Enzo drove off with Ashton safely, she marched toward her bedroom. She slipped her shoes off and tossed her bag on her bedside table and allowed herself to fall straight to her bed. She fancied a long bath to freshen up, but her body was too heavy and tired. Her eyes were barely open as she cruised along the floor of her bedroom.

Her face was buried in the fluffy powder blue satin pillows when she suddenly jerked due to a painful stab in her chest. July rolled over on her back, her eyes still shut as she ran her hands on her chest, feeling whatever pierced her skin. Her fingers felt a cold triangular-shaped silver material tangle on her necklace.

Despite the heaviness of her eyelids she managed to open her eyes and study the object in her hand. It was a silver guitar pick pendant she saw the band wear.

"How did this get here?" She mumbled as she lazily fidgeted with the silver pick with her fingers.

She curled herself into a tight ball and clasped the guitar pick when a memory played involuntarily in her mind. It was a fragment of her memory of earlier when she crashed against him. His necklace tangled with hers during the encounter.

Her eyes shot open, and she found herself staring at the pick. Her subconscious suggested random thoughts of how she'd approach Hugh to return it or if she'd ever have the courage to return it. She crawled over her bed, reaching towards her bedside table and tossed the silver guitar pick pendant. She rolled back as she yawned, reaching over her nape to untie her hair.

As the clock struck one-fifteen am, July fell into a deeply safe and sound slumber, her face nuzzled against her pillows and her body wrapped in a lump of soft weighted sheets.