0.1 | No Exit from Deception ✓

0.34 | Lover Versus Sister

Her brain somersaulted as she heard the compendious sentence. When did she become her girlfriend?

Note: it was her brain, not a heart.

"Well, it's not news to me. Who wouldn't be interested in a hot cake that is directly coming from the oven?" The one with botoxed orange lips commented, creating sensual stirs with a front zip bandage dress.

"By the way, Mark was my first crush and I still love him. If by any chance you both split apart. Here, give him my contact number. Tell him his Juliet will be waiting in the orchid at the Capulet place," a girl with four eyes mumbled in her ear from the corner, shoving a note in her shorts back pocket. "Actually that would be too far away from Redmond. Tell him to meet me at my home address."

Ruby rolled her eyes at the realization of how stupid his friends were.

"So, guys! Who's up for the next party at Prince Mark Warner's palace?" The boy with long arms winked and popped a bottle of champagne. Everyone cheered and amongst this, she heard someone spurt, "They look cool for the summer."

Fighting his breathless state, Mark forced a smile and glanced over Ruby with fear.

Ruby looked even redder than the color of her crop top. She was subconsciously afraid that if anyone touched her, he might get burned as well. It didn't take her long to recall the past incidents with Mark ─ smacking his arms, ruffling his hair, if everything tended to arouse feelings in him, she should have been more cautious. She also cringed at Joseph's warning to stay out of Warner's business.

The same boy handed Ruby a shot of vodka, and his smile reached his ears. She reluctantly had to take it only to keep it on the table across from Mark. The deafening music cuts through her ear, she mumbled to be heard, "Follow me."

She didn't know where she was leading Mark. But there was a spot where a boat-sized lovers' couch sat with a combination of pink and red blinking lights all along with the arena.
The structure of the establishment was now easily distinguishable; it was a chalet house.

The thundering sound of their footsteps brought up liveliness in the undisturbed silence as they climbed upstairs. Also, there stood a chance of breaking the weak wooden platform.

She turned around and spoke while maintaining calmness in her voice, "Tell me where did I go wrong and you assumed me to have feelings for you or that I like you or whatever?"

"What do you want to hear?"

Away from the tumult of the young and carefree population, away from the disco ball and the at-full-blast music, her soul was still not at peace. There were two Christmas trees and a small pathway in the middle down below the adjoining staircase. She inched across the side chair to rest her hips on the wooden railing.

"Wait. This was obviously a no-brainer. You wanted to save me from Tasher. He's a bad guy and his club stinks. Shit. I understand. And then you brought me here. Everything is normal...yeah." She struck her hands against each other as if she had solved a grief knot of mystery in less time than what would have been taken by Sherlock Holmes.

The air sighed. Mark intertwined his fingers.

"No. Nothing is normal. I also heard a friend of yours admit that you don't attend any of your friends' birthday parties ─ this was your first time," Ruby stated with a little bit of hesitance. The tempo of her voice lowered as she concluded her speech.
"Then why did you do it?"

"What did I do?"

"You went out of your character. The character you have built in these years and people remember you like that. The character of talking less, making no friends, remaining in bouts of depression and smoking, not going to the parties," She spoke in one breath, upset.