The Bad Boy's Addiction

Chapter 9 - Loyalty

.........

Allira

.........

“I asked you a question. What was Cam doing here, Lira?”

“Hey! You don’t f*****g speak to her like that! She’s not your slave-”

“-Stay out of this Demi,”

“Or what?” Demi asks getting up and getting into Mati’s face, but I get in between them and push them back, seeing everyone gathering around us.

“It’s okay, Demi,” I tell her, and she tries to speak, but I stop her before turning to Mati.

“I don’t know why he came here; I didn’t give him a chance to speak. He drugged me. I hate him,” I tell her and see the look. The look that's on her face again when I mention the drugged part. She opens her mouth to speak, but just then the bell that indicates the end of break goes off and she turns around and leaves.

“The nerve…” Demi spits, looking at her walk away. “She doesn’t f*****g own him,” she adds before turning to me and asking me if I’m okay. I tell her I am and thank her for standing up for me, but tell her not to do it again. I don’t want her to become Mati’s next target. I tell her that, but she just chuckles.

“b***h, please! Let her try to come for me. I’m not scared of her,” she says, making me worry even more. If there’s one thing I have come to know about Mati since finding out she was the one who drugged me, is that she has no heart and to me a person like that is dangerous.

“I blamed Cam,” I whisper, but she hears me and looks at me. “I accused him of forcing himself on me,” I add, seeing her confusion.

“You should apologize to him. It's the right thing to do,” she says and she's right but how?

“I’m going to hit him up on social media because I don’t have his personal contacts.”

“Or you can do it face to face," she says and I open my mouth to tell her again that I don't have his contact details where I would arrange a meet, but she cuts me off.

“Have you got any plans this Saturday?"

“No.”

“Then let’s go to Ash. He's going to be there. I already checked.”

"As in Club Ash?"

"Yep!"

“You think I want to go back there after everything that happened?”

“Of course you do. We are young, horrible, crazy things are going to happen to us. It’s part of growing up, stories to tell our grandchildren one day,” she says, taking my hand while I give her an incredulous look.

“You think the story of losing my virginity while drugged is a story I would like to share with my grandchildren?”

“I didn’t say we would share everything with them. Look… your first club experience was terrible, thanks to you know who. But clubs are fun, and I want to show you. You are going to be depressed sitting at home thinking about Mati’s crap. You need to unwind, and this is a perfect time to do it while Maleficent is still grounded,” she says, and I can't help but laugh at Maleficent, even though I don’t want to. “Plus, I know you want to see him again.”

“What? No!”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you do, and you totally should. He likes you too.”

“He doesn’t like me.”

“Then what was he doing here? He came back, Lira. He likes you, trust me. I know these things,” she says, and I open my mouth but close it again, not knowing what to say. She’s right, I shouldn’t, but I do want to see him again. But even if she’s right and that he likes me, that probably changed the moment I accused him of drugging me. Plus, Mati would kill me. I tell Demi that and she rolls her eyes.

“She drugged you, Lira. Because of her, you don’t remember your first time. You don’t owe that b***h any loyalty,”

“Okay, let's-” I start to say, but remember, I don’t have anything to wear. “I don’t have anything to wear, Demi. All my clothes are too casual and they don’t fit in there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I have two new dresses I got last month, and I’ve only worn one of them. I’ll lend you one and I’ll get us there. I’m going to come into some cash later this week,” she says and I can’t help but ask her where she’s going to get the money, the look on her face as she said it, giving me an uneasy feeling.

“That’s a story for another day. Come, class is almost over,” she says, grabbing my hand and we proceed to the one class we share.

.

.

.

.........

Kiara

.........

“That's better,” my stylist says, handing me the heels again after scoring them to ensure I don’t slip when I walk in them. The show is about to start, and everyone is running around like headless chickens. The room is packed full of designers, managers, make-up artists, hairdressers, and other fashion elites. The photographers are also trying to get quick last-minute shots as well.

Things such as stage readiness, lighting, and sound are done in advance, but there are always last-minute fixes and they are always crazy. It also doesn’t help that some of the models came late and some of them still need their outfits to be adjusted. I take a deep breath and just close my eyes for a moment to calm myself. I'm a nervous wreck, I always am before a show but the fact that I haven’t done a big show in a while is not making things easier.

Just then we are told the show has started and we quickly take our place in the line. I’m a lingerie model and that’s what I’ll be walking in. This is a two-part show. First, it’s swimwear and then the rest will take part in the second part of the show. I won’t be walking in that show. I’m only walking in this one.

The curtain is lifted, and spectators clap for us as we walk down the runway, but my eyes widen seeing mom in the front row. What? I didn’t expect to see her here. She didn’t even say she was coming when I left home.

I start feeling emotional at the sight of her and she blows me a kiss as I walk past her but my heart stops after making my turn. My eyes widen again when they connect with gray-silver ones, I didn't expect to see here. He gives me a soft smile and I almost return it, my heart skipping a beat. I can't believe he's here.

I finish my first walk and quickly head to the back to change into another look, so I can come and do my second walk. I can’t believe Mom is here. They both didn't say anything about coming to the show. I wonder if Kay knows anyone here or if he's just a fashion enthusiast. Either way, I'm happy to see him. Please God don't let it be that he lied to me and he has a girlfriend here. Let him be here for any other reason but that.

.

.

.

.

.

“Great show!” Manuela, the show manager, walks past me and I smile, mouthing a thank you before taking out my phone and calling my mother. I’m still in a robe but I’m done now and I’m about to go back inside and get dressed. I just needed a moment to pat myself on the shoulder.

We are doing a six months show that has been split into three major public events and three private viewings.

“Hey,” I hear mom’s cheery voice behind me just as I start to dial her number and I hug her feeling emotional all over again. “You came,” I mutter still in the hug.

“Of course, I came. Did you think I was going to let you do your first major show without being here to support you? What kind of mother would I be?” she says, and I pull back from the hug and thank her for being here for me. Mom was always present at my shows when I started this career. She held my hand until I was able to stand on my own.

“You are the best. I love you,” I tell her and hug her again and she tells me, she loves me too. Just then her phone rings and she takes it out, and it's uncle Chris. She asks me to give her a moment to answer, and I tell her to go ahead. She steps back a little because of the noise and just then I hear someone clear their throat behind me. I turn around to find the gray-silver eyes that almost made me lose a step and my face immediately stretches into a smile, mirroring his.

“Hi,” he says, stepping up to me and handing me a bouquet of flowers.

“Thank you,” We share a quick hug, and he congratulates me on the show, making me blush as he compliments me, thinking of what I was walking in. I thank him and ask him what he's doing here, expecting him to tell me he came for someone else, but I’m shocked when he tells me he came for me. I ask him why didn't he tell me he was coming and he says he wanted to surprise me, and that melts my heart and I hug him again. Just then, mom clears her throat, causing us to pull back from the hug.

“Mom, this is Kayden Berrigan, and Kay, this is my mother, Natalia Roberts Muller,” I introduce them, and he kisses my mother’s hand, saying it’s a pleasure to meet her. After that, we head to a table and sit down. We fall into a conversation and my mother asks him a couple of questions about himself. I look at him as he speaks to my mother, and there’s no denying it. I’m falling for this guy.

.

.

.

..........

Alaric

..........

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Someone speaks to my right, and I look in the voice's direction to see Taylor. “Hey,” she says, kissing me on the cheek before taking my arm as she stands next to me, casually leaning her head against my shoulder.

“She is,” I admit before jokingly asking her if she shouldn't be jealous, causing her to scoff.

“Please, she isn’t your type.”

“And my type is?”

“Me, of course, the type that doesn’t break. She’s too fragile for you,”

“And you can tell that just by looking at her?”

“Of course, I can. I was once her,” she says and just then I see Kayden, who I didn’t even know was here walk up to her with flowers and they share a hug, looking as if they are familiar.

“Want to get a drink?” Taylor asks and I nod before muttering sure as we turn around and walk away, my heart heavy for some reason.

“Congratulations on the shoot, by the way,” she adds, looking up at me with a smile and I return it, thanking her. But it falters just as we turn the corner to be met with the last face I expected to see here.

“You are a busy man, Mr. Ashton,” he says, walking up to us. Taylor whispers she’s going to go ahead, and I peck her on the lips before she lets me go and walks away.

“What can I do for you, Hernandez?” I ask, annoyed by his stare at Taylor as she walks away and he looks back with a smug smirk.

“I heard you were in the vicinity, and I wanted to come and personally deliver the invite. I’m hosting a thing at my house this Saturday and it would be great if you could come through. I’m not one to gossip, but rumors say people are starting to feel like you don’t see them.”

“And you? What do you feel? Do these people you speak of include you?”

“No, of course not. Look… Alaric I get it. You don’t like or trust my family. You have a good reason too; I mean, my father is after all, the one who led your father into a trap that saw him lose his life. Oliver was your father, right?” he says and something inside me snaps, and before I know it, I have him pinned against the wall with my hands on his collar.

“My father is alive and it's not your family I don't like, it's you. Now if you ever mention Oliver’s name in my face again. I will kill you,” I grit in his face, barely controlling myself, and he raises his hands and apologizes, saying he didn’t mean to offend me. But we both know that’s a bunch of bullshit. He knows I’m on to him and now he’s pushing my buttons.

“I’ll pass on the thing,” I add, walking away from him, feeling like I will lose it if I don't walk away now and ruin aunty Luna’s show.

.

.

.

.........

Allira

.........

“Why does that dress look better on you than it does on me?” Demi asks, walking back inside the room while I check myself in the mirror.

“If that’s your way of telling me I look beautiful, thank you,” I reply and she smiles, walking over to me before telling me to sit down, grabbing the make-up kit even though I’ve already applied some. I tell her this, but she says I need more blush. We are currently at Demi’s house, getting ready to go to the club. As far as our mothers know, we are studying hard for an upcoming test. We got into our sleepwear and pretended to be ready to sleep until she bid us goodnight.

Demi’s mom is a bit older than my mom and she’s super nice. Mom phoned her to make sure when I asked her if I could come and have a sleepover. I feel bad for lying to her, but she wasn’t about to let me go to the club, especially after what happened last time. She gave me a whole speech before I left, and I had to promise.

Mom wants Mati and me to be friends and it would worry her if she found out about all the s**t that’s happening between us, but she’s also happy that I found a friend, someone I can relate to. The Gibsons are also going away this weekend, so I do kind of feel bad for leaving her all alone too.

She was invited to tag along, but she didn’t want to. Mr. Gibson invited me too, but because I had plans and not comfortable with being around Mati right now. I politely declined. He asked me why I didn’t want to go, and this took me by surprise. I didn’t expect him to ask me why. I told him I had to study for a test, and he understood. But even if I didn’t have plans and was going to be bored at home, I wasn’t going to intrude on their family time.

This was also my first interaction with Mr. Gibson. He spends a lot of time overseas and this is the first time he's back since I moved here. I never came here when my grandmother was still alive. My grandmother told me my mom brought me when I was still a baby, but she never brought me again. Mom is the one that took off and came home.

“All done,” Demi chirps, standing upright, and I thank her before complimenting her again. She looks beautiful and this dress she lent me is exquisite. It’s a red tulle mini designer dress and I’ve paired it up with metallic silver stiletto heeled ankle strap sandals. We are both wearing mini dresses. Hers is a green plunge belted mini wrap dress, and she coupled it with black peep toe criss-cross strap platforms.

The dress still had a tag when she gave it to me, and I was shocked when I saw the price. I couldn’t help but ask her how she could afford a dress this expensive, and she told me Mrs. Manteno bought the dresses for her. I could understand that because Mrs. Gibson had just bought me things on my birthday, too. They weren't as expensive as this dress and shoes, but still, she bought me stuff. So, I could see Mrs. Manteno buying her these nice things.

Demi’s phone rings and she mutters it must be Rowan. Rowan is the driver. He's not much older than us and he drives for the Manteno’s. Demi and he are friends and she asked him to drive us, and he agreed. She says the Mantenos don’t monitor where he goes. She answers and it is Rowan, and he says he’s waiting outside.

We grab our purses and head out of the room before tiptoeing to the main entrance. My heart rate speeds up as we get closer to the door, scared that Demi’s mom is going to speak any minute now and we'll be in trouble, but she doesn’t, and we get to the door.

Demi carefully opens it and closes it again. We head to the car that is waiting for us outside the gate. It’s quite a walk to it and a scary one too, but having him pick us up in front of the house was way scarier and risky.

My heart continues to accelerate as we make our way to the car, passing the guards. I’m trembling. I have never done something like this before and the fact that we are at her house makes it all that scarier. I ask Demi if the guards aren't going to tell on us and she says they are just employees here, like her mother and they know their place and where their loyalty lies.

We reach the car and it's only once we slide inside the black Bentley that I'm able to breathe. I hope I don't regret this.