The Bad Boy's Addiction

Chapter 3 - Out of place

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Earlier that day

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Allira

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“Good morning,” I hear a voice say next to me before feeling a hand rubbing circles on my back and I turn to my side to find my mother smiling at me before she starts singing happy birthday. And it’s only then that I remember it’s my birthday. I sit upright smiling at her before making the whole thing weird by singing along even though she is singing to me, and she pulls me into a hug when she’s done.

Today is my eighteenth birthday, but with everything that's been happening, I forgot. Last night, I had a dream about my granny again. I dreamed we were back at home and working in her lily garden only to wake in the middle of the night sad after realizing it was just a dream. I haven’t accepted that she’s gone yet, and I miss her so much.

She was more of a mother to me than my mother was. But with that said I love my mother and understand her sacrifices. Mom has been working here and staying here since I was born and my granny was the one who raised me. Who encouraged me when I took my first steps and taught me right from wrong. She was my rock, my everything and we had so many plans, but God had his own plans for my supper granny, and I know the heavens are made brighter by her presence.

“Thank you, mom,” I tell her, pulling back from the hug before asking her what time it is. She replies getting to her feet and tells me it’s 9:30 am, causing me to ask her if she’s having an early tea break. She usually takes her tea break at 10 am.

“No, I've been given a day off. We are going to the mall,” she says, opening the closet and taking out some clothes for me and I ask her why. I know it’s my birthday and I would love to be spoiled, but I also know she’s broke after the funeral and everything.

“Mrs. Gibson’s taking you shopping for your birthday,” she says, turning to look at me again with an even bigger smile and I return it, kicking the blanket off of me. She tells me to get up and take a shower so that we don’t keep Mrs. Gibson waiting and I jump off the bed and head to the shower, bouncing in excitement.

I turn the water on and make the shower quick and I come out to find my mother changed and putting her hair up in a bun. I put the towel away after drying myself and I quickly apply some lotion on before heading to the bed to grab my clothes and get dressed.

“What do you think she’s going to get me? Do you think she’ll allow me to choose what I want?”

“I don’t know, honey. All I know is that whichever way, we are grateful... right?”

“Yes, of course. Plus, it doesn’t matter. I’m just really excited. She’s very nice, mom. They all are. They are the humblest rich people I know,” I add, walking up to the dresser again and she pecks me on the side of the head.

“They are the only rich people you know,” she says, and we laugh before she tells me to sit down so she can help me with my hair.

It’s been three weeks since I’ve moved here to live with my mother. My mother has been working for the Gibson’s for the past twenty years. She was just nineteen when she started working for Mrs. Gibson’s mother in law. It was after my grandmother suffered a horrible accident and ended up in a wheelchair.

My mother’s older sister dated a musician and one day she just up and left, saying they were moving to the guy’s home country. She called to say she had found work and for a few months she sent money home until she just stopped.

The number she had left behind stopped working and there was no way to reach her and find out what was happening. Mom was in college at the time and it was hard enough looking after my grandmother on her own that when she couldn’t reach her older sister, she dropped out and looked for a job.

My grandmother’s sister supported her decision and moved in with my grandmother to help look after her. My mother came to the city and got a job by the Gibsons, but Mr. Gibson and the present Mrs. Gibson were still dating then. Mrs. Gibson is only two years older than my mother. When she married Mr. Gibson and had Matiyah, she asked her mother-in-law for my mother. She liked her and trusted her, and she only wanted someone she can trust to look after her child and Mrs. Gibson senior agreed.

They didn’t need my mother, anyway; they had many maids. Even here she's not the only maid because this house is huge and needs more than one person, but she’s the chief maid.

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She finishes with my hair, and just then we head out. We take the elevator down, and I can hear Mrs. Gibson talking to someone as we emerge around the corner. It’s one of the other maids and she's confirming something about a party.

“Good morning and happy birthday, Lira!” she says as we advance to her, and she gives me a brief hug while I mutter a shy thank you. “Are you ready?” she asks us, and I nod with a smile while my mother says yes. Just then Mati comes down too and Mrs. Gibson reminds her that it’s my birthday. She apologizes and wishes me a happy birthday, walking over to me to give me a hug. We all head out after that.

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“I’m sorry,” I tell Mati after hitting her with the door as we step out of the car, and she tells me it’s fine whilst busy on her phone.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Sergio and the girls will bring the things inside," Mrs. Gibson says, seeing me taking some of the bags, but I take them anyway and tell her it’s okay. I don’t mind.

We are now returning from the shopping spree and I can’t contain my smile. She bought me so many things together with a pair of my dream sneakers and a new phone. We head inside, Mati walking in front, still busy on her phone, but I gasp, my eyes widening when we enter the house, and everyone shouts, “surprise!” as we enter the living area. I find balloon decorations and a big cake on the table. The staff sing happy birthday to me as I walk up to the table, suddenly emotional. I wasn’t expecting this. I place down the bags and blow out the candles and we sit around the table and have some cake and drinks except for Mrs. Gibson who has a conference call to make and Mati who says she's on a diet. This has got to be the best day ever.

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Late In Evening

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“I’ll get it,” I tell my mother, heading towards the door after someone knocks. It’s 6:30 pm and our little party finished just over thirty minutes ago, and I have been trying on the things I bought again. I open the door to find Mati on the other side. I greet her, stepping aside for her to enter, and she does.

“Mati, what can we do for you?” mom asks, advancing to us before I can speak, also wondering the same and she tells me that one of her friends is throwing a party and I'm invited. I ask her where this friend’s house is even though it doesn’t matter because I don’t know any places yet and she tells me. I have attended parties before back at home but not evening parties and definitely not rich people parties. Plus even though I’m legal, I don’t know if my mother would allow me to.

“I-I,” I stutter, looking back at my mother and she cuts me off, asking Mati what time this party is going start and end. She says we will be back by midnight and mom says I can go after asking her the name of the friend since she knows pretty much all her friends.

“Great! Get ready then, we are leaving in fifteen,” she says now looking at me and I turn around and run back inside, excited.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go?” I ask mom, feeling bad for leaving her all alone. We were going to watch a movie together and have our own party for two. Plus, I'm a little intimated by the idea of going out with strangers, even though I really want to go. She says yes, she's sure and I hug her, thanking her for letting me go. I ask her to help me choose what to wear when we pull back from the hug and she does. We decide on a pair of blue jeans and my new favorite sneakers and I choose a summer mesh crop to go with it. I finish getting dressed and she helps me with a bit of make-up. I also decide to put my hair in a high ponytail since there isn’t time to do anything with it.

My phone goes off just as I finish looking at myself in the mirror and I hear mom tell me it’s Mati. I grab my cross bag, knowing what that means, and my mother tells me to be careful and enjoy myself as I head out the door.

I head downstairs and I see Mati and Noelle, her friend, but not the one throwing the party. They look at me as I descend from the stairs, and I open my mouth to ask if there's something wrong, suddenly feeling self conscious seeing the unimpressed look on their faces, but Mati beats me to it. She tells me the sneakers are not going to work.

“This is what we are doing, not that,” she says, pointing at her heels and then back at my sneakers and I ask her if sandals will work then because I don’t own heels. Her friend rolls her eyes and Mati walks past me before standing on the first step and asking me to follow her.

I’m getting a feeling that they are annoyed by me, which is weird because they invited me. I must be seeing wrong. Mati has an annoyed resting face after all.

We enter her room, and I can’t help but marvel at it every time I step inside. Her room is really beautiful and probably bigger that the cottage my mother and I live in but the our cottage is cozy, so I actually like it. Too much space sometimes makes a place cold.

She enters her closet and I stop next to her bed, not sure if I should follow her or not since she didn't say and a moment later she comes out with a pair of heels and a silver top.

She hands them to me, and I take off my sneakers and put them on before changing my top, wishing I can ask her if this is really necessary for a house party. I don't like these heels, but then again, I should be grateful. At least she wants me to fit in and she knows the guests who will there better than I do. Maybe there's even a dress code.

We head out after that and we find Mrs. Gibson downstairs, speaking on her phone. She asks the person on the other side of the line to hold when she sees us and tells us to have a good time before saying something that shocks me.

She reminds Mati that she only let her go out because I asked to go to the party, causing my eyes to widen as I look back at Mati who looks me dead in the eye with no emotion. After that, she turns to me and tells me we must be back by midnight before asking if I understand. I nod whispering I do, still stuck on what she said. How could Mati just use my name to lie without even consulting me first and then look me dead in the eye like it's a normal thing?

We head out after that and I open my mouth to ask her as we settle inside the car but decide against it again. I don’t want to make things awkward. I will ask when we return or tomorrow. The car exits the estate and we drive for about thirty minutes when Mati’s phone rings and she tells the person on the othr side of the line that we are almost there.

Just then we enter a suburb identical to the one we live in and just as we drive up to a big gate of a huge mansion, I see two girls walk up to the gate. They walk over to the car and our driver steps out and opens the door for them. They get inside the car screaming in excitement as they hug Mati and Noelle before coming over to me.

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“Who are you?” the one asks pulling back from the hug and I open my mouth to reply, but Mati answers first, saying no one. They reply with an, oh, giving me a once over as they settle down, the second one not bothering with a hug and I find myself unconsciously wrapping my arms around myself while trying to maintain a polite smile on my face, feeling out of place, suddenly.

The car moves again, and they start conversing and occasionally, screaming, especially when the names Cameron and Levi are mentioned. I look outside and watch the road, but my face turns into a frown, noticing how far this place we are heading to must be. The more I sit in the car listening to them, the more I’m starting to feel like going to this party was a mistake.

After what feels like forever, we enter a busy street and the car comes to a stop, but my eyes widen when the driver opens the door in front of what looks to be a nightclub.

“Are you coming?”

“I thought we were going to a friend’s house.”

“You are eighteen, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but I-I” I stutter, shocked but Mati grabs my hand, pulling me forward and I wince, my feet uncomfortable in the heels.

“We promised to be back by midnight.”

“And we will be,” One of the girls we picked up says while Noelle rolls her eyes again.

“I don’t have my ID with me,” I tell Mati as she lets me go, and she says it doesn’t matter, she knows the bouncers. We walk up to them and one smiles at us as we approach, and I take it’s the one she knows.

She greets him by his name, and he whispers something in her ear, causing her to nod as he steps aside and lets us through before wishing us a good time. We enter and my eyes widen, looking at how big, beautiful and full the place is.

A girl walks up to us and one of the girls takes something out of her purse and hands it over to her. She takes it and smiles before asking us to follow her. We do, and I wish I had insisted on my sneakers as we climb the long flight of stairs even though I would have probably felt out of place the moment we arrived here.

We are led to a table and drinks are brought to us. I look around, noticing that everyone is seated in this part of the club. This must be the side where the rich people sit. I have never been to a club before but I’ve heard stories from people who have been.

Just then I see the guy that let us in come up the stairs before Mati gets up and follows him to another entrance. Noelle and the girls get up too and walk away, and I don't dare ask them where they are going. I remain seated and I find myself wrapping my arms around myself again, now sure coming here was a bad idea.

After I don’t know long, Mati emerges behind the door she went in, rubbing her nose and she says she feels like dancing before asking me to go dance with her. I tell her I’m not sure, but she takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, all the while smiling. I have never seen her smile before. Feeling I have no choice and not wanting to be a party pooper I follow her downstairs to the dance floor, having no idea how I'm even going to attempt dancing in this heels.

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Cameron

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“Are you coming?” Ney asks, getting to his feet, but I tell them I’ll catch up with them, looking at my wrist watch. Kiara has been going in and out like she's a dope dealer. She keeps saying she's going to make a phone call and forty minutes ago I caught her making eyes with a guy who I also can't see right now. It's now been about thirty minutes since she went out, and she's still not back. This is why I don’t want to bring them to the club. We saw some chicks downstairs, but now I can’t go because I’m f*****g babysitting. What the hell is she doing out there?

Fuck!

I mutter, getting up and I head out to check on her. I wouldn't normally worry but she's drunk. Whoever she’s talking to on that phone will have to wait. I step out onto the balcony but my eyes widen finding her making out with some guy.

What the f**k?

“Kiara!” I call out to her, taking long stride towards them before ripping her out of his arms.

“Cam! it’s okay, I-”

“-What the f**k?!” I cut her off, pissed. Why the f**k is she just making out with some random fool? He steps up to me trying to say something, but I push him back on his chest.

“Cam. I’m not-”

“-Shut it. I don’t want to hear a word from you. What is wrong with you?!”

“-Hey, man-”

“-Back the f**k off!” I tell him before grabbing Kiara by the arm and taking her back inside.

“Let me go, Cameron! I'm not a child!”

“Then stop behaving like one! How the f**k are you gonna let some random f**k be all over you like that?!”

“What’s happening?” Levi and Ney ask, and I tell them Kiara is drunk and she's going home.

“I don't want to go home.”

“I brought you here. I'm responsible for you and right now, I'm taking you home-”

“Cameron!”

She tries to resist, but I’m not in the mood. I call our driver and put her inside the car before instructing him to take her home. She clearly can’t handle her alcohol.