The Way, Way Back

2.

His fingertips froze when brushing over the scar on my wrist. I shook off Victor's hand and pried open Jonah’s five fingers on my wrist one by one.

"Okay,” Victor said with a smile, but the look in his eyes was cold.

Jonah kept the cigarette in his mouth and looked at my wrist. His unabashed stare made me flustered, so I hid behind Victor. I did not know if it was because of the cigarette smoke or the bitterness in my heart that tears welled up in my eyes. And I blinked hard to forth them back.

.

"Jonah, my fiancée dislikes smoke. Please do me a favor and snub out the cigarette," Victor spoke for me.

Jonah expressionlessly threw the dead cigarette on the ground and looked behind Victor from time to time. While crushing the cigarette butt hard with a foot, he said, "Sorry. May I know how to call your..."

.

He had opened and closed his lips several times but failed to say the word “fiancée” as it burned his lips.

I quickly wiped off my tears, poked my head out as if nothing had happened, and politely smiled, "My name is Cindy Young. Mr. Lynd, I'm sorry for embarrassing you just now."

We used to be the closest, but we were greeting each other like strangers. Jonah slightly frowned and seemed dissatisfied with my calling him Mr. Lynd. When he was about to continue asking, I hid behind Victor again. So, the room fell silent again.

.

Jonah's so-called "apology party" to was not with the best of intentions. To my surprise, Victor had bravely agreed to go before I did.

.

Except for the other three members of Victor's band, only Jonah's agent went to the bar with us. When he first saw me, he was stunned. After we shook hands, his hand even froze in the air.

.

"Ms. Young, I was on the spur of the moment just now. I’m sorry for causing you trouble. Let’s have a drink."

As soon as finishing speaking, Jonah drank up the wine in his glass. When he stared at me with his dark eyes, his fair skin was gradually dyed light pink. He always blushed when drinking. But in the past, he had barely drunk or smoked.

.

Jonah used to be clean and beautiful like a glass of water. He had blushed with shyness when I had found his notes in the library. When he had drunk for me at our club’s parties, his face had flushed. When he had been drunk, he had cried and confessed his love for me. He used to understand and respect me.

.

But now, he was pushing me hard like a wild beast unwilling to be subdued, bowing and roaring.

However, I did not know why he was angry.

"She has a bad stomach. I'll drink for her."

When I came to my senses, Victor had drunk up the wine in my glass.

To play it safe, he put my wine glass in front of him and gave me a glass of juice.

"Come on! Let’s drink," Victor said, downed another glass of wine, and then poured a glass for Jonah.

The tit-for-tat atmosphere between them was so obvious that the other people at the table looked at each other in embarrassment.

Jason, the drummer tried to lighten the atmosphere and said, "It's boring to drink like this. Why don't we play Truth or Dare?"

"Yeah! Jonah, how do you think?" Jonah's agent Jeremy persuaded him.

Jonah glanced at me and said, "Okay." Then, he raised the wine bottle and poured the remaining half bottle into his mouth, startling everyone present.

He was drinking in a hurry, so his face soon flushed. Some wine spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he quickly licked it off with the tip of his tongue.

When he banged the brown translucent wine bottle on the table, the table shook.

"I'll do it first." Jonah stopped smiling and took the initiative to spin the bottle.

Victor looked at me and mouthed, "Don't be afraid."

The wine bottle was randomly spinning on the table. But when its mouth pointed to me, a hand suddenly pressed it with a bang.

When I looked up, I met Jonah’s eyes. His dark pupils were like bottomless black pools.

.

My heart skipped a beat before I said, "Mr. Lynd is drunk. Maybe we should call it a day."

After I looked sideways and winked at Jeremy, the latter stood up and persuaded Jonah, saying, "Jonah, you're drunk. I'll send..."

But Jonah shook off his hands before he could finish speaking. I smelt the reek of the alcohol when he leaned down and asked, "How did you get the scar on your wrist?"

When I raised my head to look at him, his face became blurred because tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.

It was me that should feel sad and wronged, but he had adopted such an aggressive attitude.

If it were four years ago, I would have thrown myself into his arms, cried, and asked him why he had left me. And I would have also told him the story of the scar on my wrist without reservation. What had happened to me was far more than that scar.

.

But I kept silent.

Jonah had changed beyond recognition. He had been soaked in the entertainment industry for years and had turned into a different person.

"Jonah, Cindy doesn't want to talk about it. I'll drink this glass for her."

When Victor stood in front of me and downed the wine, the light in the bar fell first on his rolling Adam's apple and then on his angry face.

Then, he raised his eyebrows, pushed Jonah aside, and said, "It’s my turn."

.

Alarm bells were ringing in my head, so I reached out to stop him, saying, "It's getting late. And Mr. Lynd is drunk. Let’s go home."

Victor clasped my hand with one hand and spun the bottle with the other.

Unsurprisingly, the bottle mouth pointed at Jonah.

"Jonah, I heard you broke up with your first love five years ago. Can you tell me the reason?"

Hearing this, Jonah instantly drank up a glass of wine and said, "My turn."

When their eyes met, I could even smell the gunpowder.

The members of Victor's band all looked at me for help, so I helplessly sighed, "I'll go home now. You guys continue to have fun!"

.

Then, I returned to the car without looking back.

I knew they were both determined to fight to the end tonight. I hoped Victor would follow me out and ended this farce. But he didn't.

.

When I saw him again two hours later, he was drunk and carried out by his band members.

Soon, Jonah and Jeremy also came out. And a girl hurriedly got off a car and walked toward them.

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Seeing her, Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Tiffany, thanks for coming. Please persuade him."

At the same time, I heard the whispers of the band members.

"Oh my god! Is that Tiffany? I did not expect her to come to pick up Jonah in person!"

"Really? Don't talk nonsense."

"I’m sure of it! I will never forget her voice."

...

When I looked over, I found Tiffany was also looking at me. And we were both shocked to see we looked like each other so much.