Chapter 16
Serenity
I couldn’t believe he called me. He actually said that he wanted to see me. But who was I talking to? Was it him or the drug? Shaking my head, I guessed I would figure that out if he decided to show up later. I looked at my phone to the address Allie gave me for the wine garden and realized that it was not too far from where I was.
I got my shoes on and started to head toward the door, but I stopped suddenly and started to think about my brother. I thought about all the fun we had growing up. I thought about him being there for me whenever I needed him. I got a feeling deep in the pit of my stomach that made me feel sick because I have needed him so much over the past few years. I could sit there and act like this person everyone thought I was. I wasn’t. I was just as broken as the next person, but I chose to use those emotions and turn them into something more.
I started to think about Theo. Maybe it wasn’t too late for him. I needed to remember that I couldn’t save him either because it was up to him, too. I felt a tear come down my face and I shook it off. I hated showing emotion. It was not who I was now. I was so confused. It had been so long since I had let any of these thoughts come into my head. Fuck it. I grabbed my purse and headed out. Time to block everything out and try to have fun.
When I got to the address that Allie gave me, I looked around.
“Serenity!” I heard my name and turned around. Maybe I was a little too dressed up for this. Allie was wearing skin-tight jeans and a casual sweater.
“Hey, thanks again for inviting me.” She smiled and grabbed my hand. I didn’t know where she was leading me, but I went along. We came up to a group of people. Few guys, few girls.
“These are some of my friends. This is Serenity, guys.” Allie was being sweet and helping me get to know some more people.
The guys each introduced themselves. Logan, Kurt, and Antonio.
The girls just looked at me. One of them introduced all of them to me at the same time. Sasha, Emma, and Kendra. I would forget their names in the next ten minutes, that’s for sure. I looked over to see where the bar was.
“I’m going to go grab a drink. You want to come with me?” I motioned to Allie so that I could get some insight into her friends.
“Yea sure. Anyone else want to go?” Two of the guys stepped up. I think it was Kurt and Antonio? I could have been wrong. We started to walk toward the bar, the guys trailing behind us.
“What’s up with your friends?” She looked at me as if she didn’t know what I was asking. I was not good at small talk, it seemed. I didn’t need to scare Allie away so I didn’t say anything else. She was my only friend here.
“Nothing really. I have known most of them since high school.”
I used to have friends from high school until I just cut everyone off. After my brother died, I couldn’t have those ties anymore. A constant reminder that he’s gone wasn’t good for me. We got to the bar and each of us ordered drinks.
“Where are you from, Serenity?” I looked up after I grabbed my drink and one of the guys was in my face. Logan? Fuck, I didn’t remember.
“East Coast, but I’m starting to really like it here.” I gave him a small smile because I saw one of Allie’s friends eyeing us as we talked. He was kind of hot. But what’s weird was normally I would be all about flirting with this dude. But I wasn’t. What the fuck was wrong with me?
“Maybe we can get drinks somewhere else later?” Wow, he was really begging for it. I smiled again, still waiting for the feeling of let’s do it, but nothing.
“Yea, maybe another time.” I reached over and touched his arm and smiled, but noticed one of Allie’s friends was watching us. I loved it when there were drinks and entertainment.
“Thanks so much for coming out with us, Serenity. I hope you’re having a good time.” That was the other guy. Antonio? I was not going to get it, so I just needed to stop trying.
“Thanks for letting me crash your guys’ night out.” I smiled again. God, I hated smiling so much. We got back to the group which was two girls short.
“What happened to Sasha and Kendra?” Allie asked the guy who stayed behind. He just shrugged. Damn, I was hoping for some juicy details. We all stood there and talked about pretty much nothing. My phone vibrated in my purse and I took it out. Imagine that. Look who was texting me. But when I opened the message, it was definitely not what I expected.
Theo-You better leave him alone if you know what’s best for you.
Me-Excuse me.
Theo- You don’t know him. Just stay away and nothing bad will happen to you.
Who the fuck did this person think they were? I took a deep breath. Calm down. Don’t say anything that they could use against me. That was the lawyer in me talking.
Me- Listen here. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I suggest you watch what you say because things come back tenfold.
Maybe I shouldn’t have sent that, but I didn’t like being threatened. I bet this is the old lady he was with that first night I met him. She obviously didn’t realize who she was talking to. But why was she texting me to leave him alone? That was rather odd. Why did she have his phone? Too many questions and now I was getting irritated.
Theo- Watch your back. I don’t mind getting rid of problems.
I wasn’t even going to respond anymore because it was giving me a headache.
“I think I’m going to head home,” I said to Allie. She made a sad face, but nodded. She was drunk. I turned to one of the guys and he was already reaching for a hug. I stopped him.
“I was just going to say please make sure she gets home all right.” He backed up and tried to play it off. Epic fail. I gave Allie a small hug and started to walk toward the sidewalk.
“Hey, Serenity.”
I stopped and turned. Great. Think this one was Logan? Who knew.
“It was nice to meet you tonight. If you ever want to hang out again, just give me a call.” He handed me a business card, and I looked at it and smiled at him. That’s about the only thing I could do, so I didn’t completely sound like a bitch.
“Goodnight.” I waved back to him and started to walk. It was only about a fifteen-minute walk, but it was enough time for me to convince myself that I needed to find Theo so I could get some answers.
When I got close to my building, I saw a person walking toward me with their hood up, blocking the view of their face. I looked around and there was no one else around. If this fucker tried something, he was going to get a shoe in his balls. When I got closer, I brought my arms into my body and tried to walk faster. When I was about a foot from him, he grabbed me by the waist and tried to hold me. I started to kick and scream but he brought his hand over my mouth and it shut me down.
“It’s me, please stop.”
Theo.