The Bad Boy's Addiction

Chapter 10 - In love

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Allira

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“Are you going to join us?” Demi asks the driver as he lets us out of the car and he says no. He says he will come and get us when we are done. “Okay, have a good evening. I will call you,” Demi says, and he nods with a smile that I return, also whispering a thank you. She starts walking but I stand for a moment, suddenly intimidated, looking at the club in front of us.

“Come,” she says, taking my hand and we proceed to the bouncers. We take out our IDs but before anyone can look, a voice speaks behind us, saying we are alright. I look up to find Mati’s bouncer and he winks at me. God, he still remembers. My heart rate starts accelerating as I try to return his smile, realizing there’s no way I can hide coming here from Mati. He will surely tell her.

“I’m not sure about this,” I tell Demi as we head towards the second door that leads inside the club and she grabs my hand again, telling me I worry too much.

“It’s going to be okay. Trust me, I’ve got you,” she adds, her voice coming a little loud so I can hear over the music as we proceed inside. A lady in super high heels and a tiny tight dress advances to us with a familiar hand machine, like the last time I was here. Demi takes out her phone and shows her something and I look at them, wondering what it is. I suspect it's something to do with where we are going to sit because one of the girls I was with last time also showed something to the woman before she took us upstairs

The waitress smiles after checking it and motions us to follow her. We do and she leads us to the VIP area, the area where we sat last time but not at the same table. She walks away after we settle down and I ask Demi what she showed her. I can now ask cause unlike the people I was with last time, she's not going to bite my head off.

She tells me it’s a VIP pass and I nod as though I'm satisfied even though I would like to ask her where she got it. This club is exclusive and now I know she's not rich. How did she get her hands on a VIP pass? I look at her but decide against further questions for now. I will ask her tomorrow or Monday. Right now I want to try and have fun for her sake. Last time I was able to compromise and let Mati have fun and she didn’t even deserve it. Surely, I can do that for Demi. She deserves it way more.

She’s been a good friend and has shown me more kindness in the few weeks that I’ve known her than Mati has in two months. Just then, the woman returns carrying drinks, but my brows furrow in confusion when I realize she’s coming over to our table. She places them in front of us and bids us a good evening, telling us to enjoy. I look at the ice bucket and there's a bottle of vodka, two bottles of champagne, a spirit cooler, water, and ciders.

“What is this? Where is it coming from?” I ask Demi after the woman walks away, and she tells me it's complimentary drinks.

“They come with the VIP pass,” she adds and I look around noticing the people at the table on our right are not getting the same thing. We also didn't get this when we were here the last time. We got champagne.

“Will you please relax? I didn't sell you for this alcohol. I got this exclusive card from a guy friend. That's why we got this and everyone else's is different. The complimentary drinks are according to what the member drinks. This is the stuff he drinks.

“I don’t want to drink.”

“You have to or you are going to look weird, and you are not going to have fun. I’m also not going to drink alone while you sulk next to me, getting more and more uptight with every second that passes. Look… I know you are afraid because of what happened the last time, but I promise you can trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear,” she assures me and I sigh before asking her to pass me the glass of champagne. I am afraid because of what happened but I do trust her. Unlike Mati, she hasn't given me any reason not to. I take a sip and she’s right, I do relax a bit after the third one. But I can’t stop thinking about the bouncer and that he’s going to tell Mati.

Demi doesn’t have to worry about her, but I do. I live with her, and everything that happened has made me somewhat afraid of her. I don’t know what she’ll do next and I don't want her to hurt me. Cameron is not worth my life.

As if on cue, I see the bouncer come up, and just then Demi gets up and tells me she’ll be back. I nod and pour myself another glass but my eyes widen when I see her follow in the direction he went in before disappearing behind the familiar door. Oh, no! Not her too.

I’m still staring at the door, shocked when I suddenly feel eyes on me. I look to my left to find the familiar hazel ones I came here for and the place suddenly gets cold, making me shiver. He keeps my gaze for a long moment as he gets to the top of the stairs before the girl he has in his arm, says something, and finally takes his attention away from me.

I exhale, only realizing now that I stopped breathing the moment we locked eyes. I grab my champagne glass and down it before pouring another one and doing the same again.

“Woah! Slow down. What’s wrong? Is he here?” Demi asks looking around and I don’t even have to respond because just then she sees them. All three of them are here and they are with three girls who look to be around our age. They look hot as always and the girls are beautiful, but I can’t help but cringe at their butts exposing outfits. Demi opens the bottle of vodka and pours two shots.

“To the three slut looking hoes,” she makes a toast and I don’t know why we are toasting to them, but I take it and throw it down, my nerves all riled up.

“That stuff…” I start to say, taking Demi’s hand and she looks at me. I don’t want her to feel like I’m judging, but I know what she went behind that door for and it doesn't sit well with me. I don’t want that for her. “Please don’t take it the wrong way. I’m only saying this because I care about you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt or throw your life away-”

“-Stop,” she says, tightening her hold on my hand and I do, still looking each other in the eye. “I know… I know you are only putting yourself in this awkward position because you care, and I appreciate you. But trust me, if you were me, you would need them too,” she says and I nod, something about the way she said that telling me I should let it go, at least for now.

“If you still want to apologize to him. This is your chance,” she adds, and I look over at Cam’s table to find him now sitting alone.

“Give me another shot,” I ask her and she does, also pouring one for herself. We throw them down at the same time and she asks me if I want her to go with me but I tell her no. This is something I have to do on my own. The shot makes me shudder and I close my eyes for a moment, flushed. This is my last shot. I’m starting to get drunk, and I don’t want to be drunk.

I get up and ask Demi to wish me luck, but she laughs, saying I don’t need it. With weak knees, I walk up to his table and the closer I get, the higher my heels start to feel. I’m glad he’s busy on his phone.

“Hi,” I greet him, stopping in front of him and my face stretches into a smile when he looks up at me but he doesn’t return the smile. He has a stoic expression but I couldn't help it. I always smile when I’m nervous.

“How-how are you doing?"

“What do you want?”

“I-I just wanted to say that I’m-” I start to say, but just then Ney comes back. He takes his place next to Cam all the while looking at me and I stop talking, unable to continue under his heated gaze.

“Can I speak with you alone for a moment?” I find my voice after a moment, now looking at Cam again.

“Why would I wanna do that?” he asks, leaning forward towards the table and I swallow hard as the look in his eyes continues to shred my insides.

“Because I have something to say to you and I would-”

“-Then say it,” he cuts me off before I'm finished, and just then Levi and the girls return as well.

“Excuse me…. please,” one says, causing me to step aside so she can slide into the seat. But I feel tears pricking my eyes, looking at them all looking at me like some weirdo. I feel so humiliated. I shouldn’t have done this.

I turn around, not wanting them to see me cry, but I take three steps before coming to a stop again. I have humiliated myself already by going to him and having him act this way in front of his friends. I might as well take the last step and know that I have done what I set out to do. The rest is up to him. I turn around to find them still staring at me and I walk up to them again. I stop in front of their table and look at him.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you the other day. I was wrong. It wasn’t you that did that to me. I'm sorry I accused you of something you didn't do,” I speak and see nothing change in his eyes, but I do feel a bit better. “That’s all I came to say,” I add before turning around, but tears fall hearing one of the girls laugh before the other girls join her. But my traitorous heart that was crushed seconds ago skips a beat when I hear him tell them to stop, saying there’s nothing funny here. They immediately go quiet and I can just imagine the looks of disappointment on their faces.

“What was that? Are you okay?” Demi asks, rubbing circles on my back after I sit down. “I should have gone with you,” she adds, but I tell her I’m fine before taking my glass and taking a sip. I apologized, whether he forgives me or not, is up to him. But I will admit, it hurt seeing the guy I had my first time with look at me like that. Like I was nothing, no one.

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Kiara

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“Thanks for a great time,” I tell Kay after he bids my mom goodnight, and she walks inside the hotel, leaving me standing with him next to his car. Mom and I are both a little tipsy right now. This is her third day in the city. She’s leaving first thing tomorrow morning and joining uncle Chriss in Dubai. I did my last show today and there’s going to be a three-week break before we continue again. The following shows aren't going to be held here, so we are leaving for Paris in two days and that's where we are doing our next show. Mom won’t be joining me for that one, but Kay will.

He told me he is going to take off and come cheer me on. Kay has a place here in San Francisco and he surprised us with dinner and took us out for a great night out after that. He even offered us a place to stay, but the company paid for my accommodation, and mom already paid for hers too. It would have been an unnecessary cost on his side to settle the hotel, as he had suggested. We said we would take him up on his offer next time we come this side. Mom was swooning over how sweet he is and was very much impressed by him. I’m glad because I really like him.

I bid him good night too, telling him I will see him tomorrow. We are going to have lunch at his place again tomorrow since I'm only leaving in two days.

Our accommodation is ready in Paris and we are going to spend our three weeks' break over there, getting to know the place. We share a hug but it's awkward for some reason, it's as if we both want to do more than just hug. To be clear, I do, but I don’t want to be too forward and give him the wrong impression.

I head inside after that, and I look back before entering the hotel to find him still standing and looking at me. He smiles and I return his smile, giving him a little wave as I go inside.

I’m in love.

I enter the suite to find mom applying some night cream on her hands, already in her pajamas and she gives me a knowing smile. My room is also in this hotel but I’m spending tonight with her. It's going to be a while before I see her again and I'm going to miss her. I take off my clothes too and put on my pajamas before heading to the bathroom to remove my makeup. I should probably shower, but I’m beat. I’ll shower in the morning.

I come out of the bathroom to find her already in bed and I throw myself next to her before turning to my side to face her, just as she does the same.

“I like him. He seems like a lovely guy,” she says, causing me to smile. “Though I must admit, I cringed a bit when I first heard his full name. I hope he didn't see that,” she says and I take her hand, seeing something change in her eyes.

“Because it reminded you of Aiden?” I ask but it comes out as a statement than a question, knowing that’s what made her cringe, and she nods. It would have made me cringe too if I wasn’t drunk when I met him. “Even his voice when he spoke, it reminded me of him and I had to fight with myself not to be visibly irked, and that made me feel bad because I wasn't sure if he didn't catch that. It was uncalled for,” she adds and I hug her, feeling the pain in her voice, again wondering if time will ever truly heal us, heal her. I hope that monster is rotting in hell for what he did to us.

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Allira

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“Hey!” Demi says walking over to me on the bed and hugging me as I break down crying, unable to hold myself back anymore. It’s after midnight and we have just returned from the club. I know Demi wanted to stay a bit more and I feel bad for making her leave, but I had no choice. If I went home, I’d be in trouble with my mom, and I was scared of coming back here alone. I tried to stay for as long as I could for her sake, but it wasn’t working. I thought I could go on with my business after apologizing to Cam, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop watching him with that girl, and it hurt.

I didn’t want it to. I know he’s not my boyfriend, but I couldn’t stop my heart from breaking, and at some point, I told Demi I wanted to go home. I never want to go to the club again. I never want to be anywhere near Cameron again.

“I’m sorry, Demi. I didn’t want to ruin the night, but it hurt so bad watching him with that girl.”

“Shh… there’s nothing to apologize for. I told you I’ve got you. The club isn’t going anywhere. I’m glad you didn’t pretend to be okay when you are not.”

“-Why? Why am I feeling like this? I don’t even know him.”

“Well, you sort of do. He was your first, so it’s only natural to develop feelings for him. Most people do, whether they will admit to it or not.”

“I don’t want them. They hurt.”

“I know, honey. I know,” she says, rubbing circles on my back until I calm down. “Are you hungry?” she asks, but I can’t stomach any food right now, so I tell her I’m not. I just want to go to bed and I never want to hear the name Cameron again when I wake up.

“I get up to go to the bathroom, but I stagger, suddenly feeling drunker than I felt a few minutes ago, and she helps me. She helps me out of the dress, and I thank her, complimenting the dress again as I lay it on the bed. She hands me my pajamas, and I put them on. I head to the bathroom after that to remove the make-up and brush my teeth and I climb into bed when I’m done.

Demi is hungry, so she has something to eat first and finishes the champagne. She took the second bottle with her when we left. I asked her if her mom wasn’t going to hear her when she went to warm up the food but she says it’s normal for her to wake up hungry in the middle of the night, so her mom won’t be alarmed. I take my phone and before I know it, I’m going through Cam’s social media but she notices and snatches the phone away from me as I start crying all over again.

“You said he liked me, Demi.”

“I still say he does,” she replies with a mouthful.

“How can you tell?” I ask wiping away my tears.

“Because I know guys like him, bad boys, players, whatever you want to call them. They have one thing in common. They are stupid,” she says, making a face and I find myself laughing or groaning, I don't know which one it is, all I know is my heart hurts. Just then, her phone goes off and she takes it out of her purse. She reads the text or looks at the picture, I don't know what she's looking at but I watch her face stretch into a smile while looking at it.

“Who’s that?” I ask and she says no one.

“The one from Bravos?” I ask again, and she bursts out laughing. I asked Demi if she has a boyfriend and she said no, but I don’t believe her, and I don't understand why she would lie to me. On campus, whenever she’s sitting alone, she’s always on her phone, and sometimes even when I’m with her, she receives phone calls she won’t take next to me.

“She throws her phone on the sofa and gets up to take her empty plate away and I open my mouth to tell her to bring us some water, but my phone cuts me off. She stops and turns to look at me with a questioning frown and I look up at her with an expression mirroring hers after picking it up.

“It’s an unknown number,” I whisper suddenly wary, wondering who could be calling at this time. Did we get busted?

“Answer it,” she says, walking back towards the bed and I do, putting it on speaker.

“Hello.”

“Hey, it’s Cam... uhm... Is there a chance that you could maybe come out?”