Memoirs of a discontented teen

Chapter 15

Noah crept up behind me and slid his arm over my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Bet you a hundred dollars, it's his girlfriend on the phone right now."

My heart twisted and sank with nerves as the words escaped his lips that lightly brushed against my ear.

I shrugged his arm off me and fixated my gaze on Zakari as he paced the room, trying to pacify someone's anger. After a few seconds he slid his phone in his back pocket and made his way back to us avoiding eye contact.

"Zakari who was that on the phone?" I asked anxiously.

He clasped his hand behind his neck and finally looked at me "You need to trust me, it was nobody," he said "But I have to go, I'll be back in 30 minutes."

"You can't leave me here alone, let-" I stopped mid-sentence when Noah cleared his throat loud enough to grab our attention. "You can't leave me here alone with him." I corrected myself. "Let me come with you." I suggested, with hopeful eyes.

"I can't take you, I'm sorry," Zakari apologized. "Stay, get acquainted with Noah and I'll be back as soon as possible." He reassured, hypnotizing me with his smile.

Before I could say anything he headed towards the door and shut it behind him.

Anxiety and rising panic was winning the war against my fatigue. You need to trust me. His choice of words kept running though my head. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but only egregious liars use such qualifiers.

I slumped into one of the recliner chairs and buried my face in my hands. Noah sat beside me and I could feel his gaze on me.

"Why do people do it?" He asked.

"Do what?"

"Cheat."

I raised my head to look him directly in his eyes. Noticing my blank expression, he went on, "Why are you with him when you know he has a girlfriend." He
had an eyebrow raised and an unreadable expression on his face.

I looked away and I automatically raked my fingers through my hair.

"I don't know," I answered frankly. "Maybe it's an ego thing, maybe people...maybe I'm doing it to feel better about myself."

His brows were bumped together in a scowl and he said "You are a paragon of beauty, hasn't anybody ever told you that? Why do you need to be with somebody else's man to feel better about yourself? And wouldn't the repercussions of all this shake your ego?"

"You're fucking shaking my ego right now by talking to me like this!"

"Swearing doesn't make your argument valid; it just tells the other person you have lost your class and control."

I got up, walked to the bar and poured myself a glass of vodka that was on the counter and dropped in some ice cubes. Drinking was my one and only vice. Well that's if you excluded being attracted to boys who made me feel insecure and discontented.

I emptied the glass within seconds, feeling the keen burn on my tongue and throat. And got myself a refill. "What gives you the right to say all these things to me? You don't even know me."

"I think I know enough. I see you as a paradoxical mix of outgoing but introverted, very social but you rarely go out. Am I right?"

I swirled the transparent liquid that bathed the ice in my glass and chugged it. Then helped myself to a third refill.

"It isn't going to work," he continued as he got up and started walking towards me. "Sure he'll make you feel special by making dating rules obsolete. You'll probably feel like you had an instant connection with him. Maybe he had you laughing non stop, even on your first night together. I bet you constantly stalk Ava, mentally preparing yourself for her, wanting to disrespect her with words that scathe. I bet he seems so perfect to you but deep down you know that this is all a lie. And truth be told after a while, we do believe our own lies. But you're just a victim of his inability to remain faithful to one girl. You will always be his second best."

I said nothing.

His words packed a powerful punch and left me mute.

I shrank away as he stood so close I could feel his body against
mine. I turned my head away as he leaned down towards me and said, "What? Too harsh?" I could smell a hint of alcohol in his breath.

"No, not harsh enough," I lied, matter-of-factly. "I think I may know a little about you actually."

"Oh you do?" He with a moment's pause and a smile that reached his eyes. "Enlighten me." He added steping back and crossing his arms to his chest.

I flashed him a fake smile and walked back to where I was seated hoping he wouldn't follow me again.

"I think you're hugely sympathetic for me because you've been in the same situation, kinda. I think you had it worse maybe your relationship was like a house of cards on a crooked table. She did you dirty. And you turned to books-" I said gesturing at the massive bookshelf, "To find the solution to your problems and maybe drinking too?" I asked but he only stood still so I continued.

"I bet she made you feel like there wasn't a thing about you that you needed to change. I may be totally wrong about all of this but one thing I'm sure about is that won't find what you're looking for in books or at then end of a bottle. Love is the most important plot-line of our lives but it's so short and oblivion is so long. That's why I drink myself to oblivion. I love to oblivion. All the happy people I know are in this perpetual condition of being oblivious and I can't say-"

"No to that?" Noah interjected as he made his way towards me and sat beside me.

I slowly lolled my head to the side, focusing on the paintings on the wall.

He placed his finger under my chin and lifted my face to make me look at him. "Or no to love?" He added, leaning in to kiss me.

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Hey guys I'm so sorry if this chapter didn't grab your attention lol
This is just a filler for the next one, you can not miss it! It'll be awesome, I promise :D
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