Chapter 9
Hailey's POV:
My focus on the occasion was divided. My eyes kept moving around, searching for him. Putting my attention to rest, he gave a speech. Very captivating and inspiring speech. For a man like him, every word he said during the speech rendition, left chills on my body. Afterwards, I didn't see him again after the ceremony, and I'm relieved. He must have left.
Lilly drove me to Justin's house. She looked over the moon and kept singing to Last Friday Night by Katy Perry the entire way, excited to be done with high school, to start the next phase of our lives.
I would have normally joined her in her active mood, grooving to our new moment of freedom, but I was too disturbed by seeing Mr. High and Mighty, so I just sat there quietly. It was eating me up because I hadn't told Lilly about my encounter with him and meeting him in the club again. I only faked being sick and wanted to go home. I knew that staying out could mean trouble, especially now that he has set his eyes on me again. I just had that unsettling feeling in my stomach. I didn't know why I couldn't talk to Lilly about him. Likewise, I discussed everything with her except the fact that I have been sold to an unknown mad man. I couldn't bring that up because I was threatened to not do so. But, I had the freedom to talk about this one. Just couldn't. Maybe because it was difficult to even explain the situation. Lilly might not understand, and it would only make matters worse for me.
I needed a solution, not someone who would frighten me the more. I didn't even comprehend the circumstances myself.
At Justin's house, the party was another thing altogether when we arrive. My mind was still made up to tell Justin about my true feelings, although I was too stamped and freaked out from seeing Mr. High and Might earlier. Goodness, what was that his expensive name? I can't believe that it totally skipped my mind. What other better way of getting in a good mood and enjoying my party than getting drunk? I decided to fill my system with as much alcohol as my body could handle. Once in my life, I had to be rebellious to stay sane and if drinking alcohol fails my good girl list, then so be it.
I walked over to the keg and poured myself a cup of whatever was in it. Sniffing it, I perceived what smelled like vodka. That is it. It has alcohol and that was what I was looking for. I gulped down the full cup greedily without taking a pause. Almost immediately, I started to feel buzzed and my ears made a ringing sound. That was a signal that my alcohol tolerance was poor. One cup of whatever was enough to knock me out.
My glance fell on wandering Justin and I followed him. He was gathering the used plates, cleaning up, throwing away the cups and dirty paper towels. Menh, remind me not to ever throw a party in the nearest future. These kids can be messy without mercy. They don't even have the human consideration of what the person who would clean up after their mess would pass through. This reminded me of my grandmother and her host of nasty grannies whenever they had their party.
"Do you want some help with that?" I asked
He smiled, his brown eyes dazzling as always. "Of course. Get here. Do you even need to ask me that? Where is Lilly? I need all the help I can get." His curly hair was a little long and fell over his forehead, making him look particularly cute.
I melted a little inside. He was so handsome. He had the genes of a boy. Ever young. At least you get comfortable around him, unlike Mr. High and Mighty, who scared the shit out of me merely looking at him. Goodness, he was disturbing.
Justin was tall and muscular. Big enough that you would think that he spent all his free time in the gym. He made maintaining his physique a criterion since he wanted to become a professional footballer.
I got to work, helping him clean up, brushing some crumbs off the counter and wiping up the drinks that had spilt on the floor. The entire time, my heart was beating fast from anxiety.
"I don't know what I will do without you, Hailey," Justin said, looking at me.
I was over the moon. Compliments from him always placed me on another dimension of happiness.
I gave him a huge grin. "Well, for one, you do play football very well, and I am not contributing in any way to that." I joked.
"You do attend all my practices. That helps in a way. Thanks," he said sincerely.
"What even inspired you to throw this party, knowing that the cleaning up won't be easy?"
"Honestly, I had no idea that it would be this crazy and the cleanup would become tedious. All the same, I am going to give Jason a nice, healthy punch for talking me into this."
I let out a deep belly laugh, "make sure it is brutal," I added.
That makes total sense to me. Justin never did loud and crazy. This awful idea had to come from somewhere, and I was right. I love the fact that he saw what a waste of time and resources this was.
We started chatting. Reminiscing about our old memories. For the first time, he broke the news that shattered my heart in a million pieces. He had gotten a full-time scholarship to one of the best universities in Illinois. He was going away.
I don't have a plan yet. I just wanted to work hard and save up money so that I can leave Texas to another city where I could start up my life, away from my past. I didn't plan to make Justin my last, but he was already making me his. I didn't tell him all that, I just told him that I was going to use a year and fix my life.
He nodded approvingly and said that it was smart. He even assured me that he will always keep in touch, never letting me go.
I smiled and congratulated him. On the inside, I was jumping up and down in joy, while still having that panic that he would forget me as soon as his eyes fell on one of the college hotties.
We were clicking. Talking deeply about things we have never had the time to joke about or even consider. I am glad I came to this party. It has opened my eyes to another side of him.
We continued talking for about half an hour before someone came into the kitchen looking for Justin.
"Uhm, Justin, I have something to tell you before you," I mustered up the courage and said. My mind was made up, and I was going to tell him no matter what.
"Why don't you tell me tomorrow? Free tomorrow?" Justin asked.
I shook my head, holding my breath.
"How about we go see a movie?" Justin suggested, "Maybe grab dinner at your favourite spot?"
I grinned and nodded shamelessly. "You do know how to offer a good bribe."
"Great," Justin said, grinning back at me. "That is why I mean the world to you," he joked.
It wasn't a joke to me. He did mean the whole wide world to me.
" I'll pick you up at six," he announced, going back to the party to continue his host duties, and I went back to Lilly.
Lilly and I stayed for three more hours, and I started losing interest. Yet, I found myself glued. I didn't want to leave Justin even for a second. He was surrounded by his arrogant friends and I hated them.
I couldn't possibly interrupt because they would just show that they are nothing more than annoying, spoiled pricks. The good thing was that everyone now and now, Justin looked at me with warmth and I just smiled like an idiot. When I couldn't take it anymore, I dragged Lilly out, and we went home.
* * *
*
I was as happy as a kid who had gotten her Christmas wish fulfilled. Justin and I have never had this kind of moment. So, for this to happen, it was huge. I was counting down every second, minute, and hour. I told Lilly all about what happened. She was super excited for me.
Preparing for our date, as I labelled it, I snuck off to Lilly's house. I would say it was sneaking out because my grandmother cared less about my whereabouts these days. As I got here, Lilly helped dress me in a cute nude dress and a pair of golden heels. I really have her to thank for all my nice outfits.
Since I wasn't home, I got the address and rode a cab to meet Justin at six o'clock sharp.
He had picked an ice cream parlour not too far from the movie theatre. It was a nice place and very comfortable to be in. Justin knew my craziness for Ice cream. After we had our fill, he drove us to a nice restaurant, still within the movie vicinity. It was a pleasant sit-down place, not too formal. Perfect for a first date.
We have a great time. I learned more about Justin and his family. He asked me questions too, and we discovered that we had so many things in common. He hated cooking, so did I. He loved romantic movies, so did I. We loved the same flavour of ice cream. He was an only child too. So many revelations about him that I only got to know of tonight. Justin wasn't a talker. His opening up and being free with me tonight was a good sign.
After dinner, we went and saw a movie. Fortunately, it was not a romantic movie that would have made the movie-time, awkward. But a very good action movie that kept us on our toes until the end.
When the movie finished, we went for a walk in the park. Justin held my hand tightly and I felt safe. I do hope he kisses me. I really hope so. Although it was dark, walking with him hand-in-hand, brought a different kind of light to me. And the streetlights also helped. We continue strolling, discussing the movie, and then he stopped. He just stood and stared deeply into my eyes. A different level of shyness hit me.
"Hailey, I have been waiting for a long time for this," he said.
I finally looked up at him and smiled. "Me too," I whispered.
He smiled back. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he leaned down and kissed me. His lips felt soft, and his breath smelled nice. His kiss was gentle and tender.
I was beyond happy that Justin did it. My first kiss was with the boy I adored so much. That memory will be stuck like glue in my mind. A pleasant experience to remember.
Suddenly, everything changed. I had no idea what happened because it all took place within a blink of an eye.
I could remember that our lips were greedily crashing into each other's, but, Justin was laying on the floor, unconscious. I saw what seemed like shadows until they became more visible, revealing a large figure. I tried to scream, but my voice was sharply muffled as a large hand covered my mouth, allowing only inaudible whimpering sounds out. As I even attempted to struggle, I felt a sharp prick to the side of my neck and everything went dark.
Ps : Still expecting my Gift 😘 Pretty please 🥺