Chapter 35
The next couple of days passed by quickly - almost too quickly - until it was Saturday. I had really tried getting my thoughts together and come up with a final decision about what I should do about my situation. If I wanted to keep Timmy in my life while knowing that I was going to hurt when being around him, or if I should let him go and only focus on my and Aden's relationship without having to bother about my feelings for another guy.
It hadn't gone well. I still didn't know what to do, and I doubted the party was going to make things easier for me, even if I hoped so.
The party was taking place tonight, though, and I didn't have any more time to think until it was happening. I was currently pulling my glittery, black dress on. It ended right beneath my knees and hugged my curves perfectly. I just hoped Aden would like it as well.
I fixed my make-up after that, applying a little more than usual because I really wanted to dress up for this party. I wanted to fit in as well, but I knew wearing more make-up would probably not help with that considering how I felt the first time I went to Ansel's place.
Once I was ready, I walked into the living room where Aden was sitting, wearing a navy blue button-up and a pair of black, skinny jeans. His curls were perfectly styled, something I noticed when our eyes locked.
I could see that he was examining me judging by the way his eyes raked my body. I almost felt a little insecure until a smile formed on his lips. "You look really great, Julie," he said, getting up from the couch to walk over to me.
"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself," I commented, flashing him a wink.
He was now standing in front of me, his hands on my hips. He leaned down to press feathery kisses to my neck, his curls tickling my skin. "I could just stay here all evening instead," he hummed.
I let out a light chuckle, taking a step back. "Come on, let's go. Dylan's waiting on us."
His lips formed a pout, but he obliged nevertheless and followed me to the hall to put on our outdoor clothing. Before I could reach for the door handle, Aden grabbed my hand to pull me back.
I didn't even have time to think until his lips were on mine, moving softly and carefully. It didn't last more than a few seconds, but it was still nice.
When he pulled away, he had a smile on his lips. "You really do look beautiful. I'll have to keep an eye on you during the whole night," he winked, making me roll my eyes.
Together, we left the apartment and hopped into his car to drive off towards Dylan's place. Aden had insisted on driving, saying that he didn't need to drink anyway. I was surprised at first, but felt slightly proud of him, knowing that I was together with a responsible man.
The second we pulled over outside Dylan's place, he left the building and walked over to the car. He opened the backseat door before jumping in. "Hey, guys," he greeted.
I turned around in my seat to get a look at him. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt underneath. He looked hot, no doubt about it. "Damn, haven't you gone all-in tonight?" I said with humor in my voice.
His lips turned upwards. "Oh yeah, gotta be beautiful when I'm attending a celebrity party, haven't I?" He winked, making me chuckle.
"You look great," I confirmed.
"Thank you, Jules," he said. "So, are you guys ready to have some fun tonight?"
I laughed, turning to Aden who had a smile on his face. "Yeah, definitely," I chuckled, but the smile on my face disappeared after a few seconds.
I hoped things would be fun, but I had no idea what the night had in store for me, especially not when a certain actor was going to be there. I just hoped I had overthought it all and things weren't going to be so complicated as I predicted.
It didn't take long until we were pulling over outside Ansel's house, and we exited the car. I made sure that my dress was alright before all three of us headed towards the front door, Aden's hand in mine. It actually felt a lot safer when I knew I had him with me the entire night. At least he was going to stay by my side.
The first thing we were met by when we got into the house was the sound of loud music blaring through the speakers. People were walking by the hall when we entered, but no one acknowledged us, being too caught up in their own bubble.
The same feeling I had felt the last time I was here of not fitting in hit me instantly, and I took a step closer to Aden. "You okay, sunshine?" He wondered, looking down at me.
I forced a smile on my face. "Yeah, it's just that I feel so out of place when I am around all these famous people, but I'll get used to it," I explained, and he leaned down to kiss my forehead.
"I'll be by your side the entire night, you know that right?"
I nodded my head, squeezing his hand in mine.
Dylan said goodbye to us after that. I was surprised he had even stayed for a minute considering he just took off as quickly as possible last time. He should be happy that I hadn't been alone either of the times I had been here. Otherwise, I would have designated him to be the worst friend ever for leaving me alone.
Aden pulled me into the house and into the living room where people were dancing and some were sitting on the couch, chatting with each other. My eyes instantly caught sight of the mop of chocolate brown curls. He was sitting on the couch with a few other people - Ansel being one of them. By the looks of it, they seemed to be in a deep conversation because the curly-haired one was even using his hands to describe whatever he was talking about.
The sight of him made my heart flutter. He was wearing a yellow jacket with a black shirt underneath along with a pair of black jeans. His curls looked a little disheveled, but nevertheless, he was beautiful. He was so beautiful that I couldn't believe I had the fortune to know that man, to have been one of his closest friends.
The feelings overtook me, and I had to shake myself back to reality to stop thinking about the guy sitting on the couch who had yet to notice me.
Aden took me to the dance floor where I recognized a lot of people, although they didn't know me. I was more than happy about the fact that he did, though, because that meant I could go at least a little bit longer without having the curly-haired boy noticing me.
We started dancing together, jumping around when it was an upbeat song, and moving closer together when there was a slower song. It wasn't until at least four songs in that I could feel someone's eyes on me. I turned towards the source and instantly noticed that they belonged to a certain man who was sitting on the couch. He had his palm over his mouth while resting his elbow on the armrest of the couch, his eyes locked on us.
I swallowed hard at the sight, not really knowing what to do. Should I wave? Should I smile? Should I ignore him?
It turned out I didn't have to think more about it because Aden caught sight of him then too, and his eyes widened. "Timothée is over there, Julie!" He yelled over the loud music, nodding towards the curly-haired man.
I could feel my heart race as he started pulling me towards the couch, and I suddenly felt nauseous. Something was telling me this was not a good idea anymore. Not at all.
"Hey, man," Aden greeted once we were standing right in front of Timmy at the couch.
His eyes flickered from me to Aden, and a small smile formed on his lips. "Hey, guys. Sit down," he ordered, scooting over to make room for us.
I greeted Ansel, who was sitting beside Timmy before settling down on the couch. Since Timmy had made space for me and Aden, Ansel had to scoot over as well, which resulted in me having Timmy and Aden on either side of me. Great.
I could feel both of their thighs pressed against mine, and it was making me uncomfortable. This was exactly the type of situation I had been dreading by going here, being in between these two people. Fuck.
"Do you want a drink?" Timmy asked, and I was certain I nodded my head almost too quickly. Drinking was something I definitely wanted right now. Anything that could make this situation easier for me.
He reached out to the coffee table where several drinks were scattered and handed me one. "Here you go," he smiled, the dimple in his cheek showing.
I took the glass from his hand and downed the whole thing in a matter of seconds. Timmy raised his eyebrows at my action, a chuckle escaping his lips. He didn't say anything about it, though.
"I'm glad you decided to come," he mentioned instead, his eyes sparkling from the lights in the room.
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. "Aden wanted to go, so I didn't really have a choice."
My words made his eyebrows furrow together, and he averted his gaze from me to Aden who was sitting beside me, talking to Ansel. He took a swig of the beer in his hand before turning back to me.
"I thought he didn't like me," he muttered, barely audible over the loud music.
"Funny. He said the same thing about you," I explained, rolling my eyes.
He let out a light chuckle, looking down at the beer bottle in his hand. "I'm not surprised about that." He kept mumbling, and I was surprised I heard him at all.
It was my time to frown now, though. Why would he say that? Did that mean he still didn't really like Aden? If it weren't for the fact that the guy we were talking about was sitting on the other side of me, I would have questioned him about it. Now, I decided to reformulate myself instead, so Aden wouldn't get suspicious I was talking about him.
"Are you saying that you still feel like you have to protect me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.
The corners of his lips twitched a little as he shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe," he said, his eyes still locked on the bottle in his hand.
I studied his features, noticing how emotion after emotion flashed by them, but it went so fast that I didn't have time to register any of them. He was like an open book. It was just the fact that it all went so fast that made it hard to understand what he thought.
"You know, he's not going to hurt me," I said slowly, not knowing how he would react to my words.
He forced his lips into a smile as he nodded his head curtly, still refusing to meet my gaze. He wasn't happy. That was something I could make out at least, so I decided to drop the topic.
I turned my gaze to the couch opposite us, noticing that James - the guy I had been with the last time I was here - was sitting there, chatting with a few other guys around him.
My eyes widened, and I could feel how Timmy's green ones followed mine. He visibly gulped at the sight. He then reached over to the coffee table to grab another bottle of beer, replacing it with his empty one. I was glad my and James' eyes didn't lock because I wouldn't have known how to react if they did.
"Julie!" I heard someone yell.
I turned to my right where Aden was sitting, noticing that Ansel was looking at me. "Where's Dylan?" He asked, his lips turned in a smile.
I shrugged my shoulders. "He disappeared as soon as we stepped into the house," I pouted, making him laugh.
"No surprise there. How have you been holding up then?"
Aden was now turned to me too, and he spontaneously placed a hand on thigh, his thumb rubbing circles over my skin. "I'm great, still working at the bakery, you know?" I winked. "How have you been?"
"I see," he grinned. "I'm good as well. It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since last time."
I nodded my head, my eyes flicking to Aden's hand on my leg for a second. "Yeah," I breathed so quietly that I was unsure he heard it.
He flashed me a look that told me he knew a lot more than I thought he did. Timmy must have informed him about what happened between the two of us.
Our conversation died down after that, and he turned to Violetta who was sitting on the other side of him. Meanwhile, I noticed that Aden was looking at me. "You okay?" He wondered, his head tilted to the side.
I nodded my head but didn't say anything.
"Do you wanna dance?" He asked, making my lips twitch slightly.
"Yeah, sure."
He let go of my thigh and grabbed my hand instead to pull me up from the couch. I glanced at Timmy before we left, noticing that his eyes were still on his beer bottle. He looked sad, and the sight made my heart drop. I hated it when he was sad. I felt an urge to let go of Aden's hand and sit back down on the couch to comfort him, ask him what was wrong, but I couldn't.
With a sigh, I followed Aden to the crowd of people and started dancing with him. I wasn't really into it, though. All I could think about was the guy who was still sitting on the couch, being sad and down.
After about twenty minutes, I had enough of the dancing, so I grabbed Aden's hand and pulled him back to the couch, where things didn't seem to have changed since we left. Ansel and Violetta were still sitting on one end of the couch while Timmy was on the other, another beer bottle in his hand.
I could tell that it wasn't the same one as he had been holding before, judging by the fact that there were at least eight empty bottles on the coffee table in front of him.
He didn't even look up when we sat back down again. He just remained silent, his gaze turned towards his lap. I didn't even recall I had ever seen him like this. It was making me frustrated because I desperately wanted to know what was making him feel so down.
Taking a big swig of his beer, his eyes turned to me and Aden for a split second. Not a second later, he got up from the couch, being very unstable. Judging by that, I should have probably been prepared for what happened next.
He took a few steps forward, but that was all he did until he stumbled and fell to the floor, the beer bottle in his hand shattering when it hit the ground along with himself.
And all I suddenly could see was glass splinters and blood.
-
Cliffhanger! Be prepared for the next chapter guys! Things are going to go down, but I'm not sure you're going to like it judging by your comments heh...
Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter. So close to 30K reads and 1K votes gaaahh!! Thank you so much, you're the best <33
Pauline .xx