Chapter seven: The deadliest weapon of all

O L I V I A

It had been a while since I broke down like I did that day. The last time had been when Kaison had shown up at Griffin and I's place a few months back. He had been drunk back then. So much so that he had crashed on our couch and Griffin hadn't killed him out of sheer pity.

I sighed, turning over in my bed. I hated how the pillow was damp. My stomach was protesting at the lack of food I had had since the morning so I got up and phoned the reception. A few minutes later, food was waiting at my doorstep.

Thank you, room service!

No one had bothered me all afternoon. Once I had eaten, I'd taken another small nap. I knew that I was missing our batch re-bonding, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. After what had happened this afternoon, I had no intentions of seeing those people anytime soon if I could help it. I was planning to skip club night and book my tickets back home when Griffin texted me.

Griffin
u better show up urself 2nit or im goin 2 drag ur sorry ass with us
thats a promise liv
and dont even think of packing ur bags
b in the lobby at 8

I groaned in despair, turning in my bed and burying my face in the pillow. I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared of Griffin. That guy was not one of those people who had all bark and no bite. He always followed through with his threats.

Begrudgingly, I got up to get ready. It was six, but I had a lot of work to do. Removing all traces of my afternoon's distress was a tedious job. When I was sure my make-up was hiding my puffy eyes and black circles, I put on one of the dressed I had packed. A simple black number with a plunging neckline that once fit me like a glove and showed off my curves. Now it just disclosed that I was not as fit as those jeans made me look.

I sighed as I pinned the loose strands of my hair back and away from my face. I had curled my hair and let it open. I used some setting spray to set my make-up and then stepped into flats. I already had to deal with a migraine the next day and I'd rather not add aching feet to the list as well.

I plopped down on the bed, hoping that Griffin would forget about me. The clock indicated that it was past eight and there were still no new notifications on my phone. I almost rejoiced in relief at the silence that was keeping me company.

Riiinnnnggg!

I groaned, anguished. Without bothering to check the caller ID, I accepted the call.

"I'm coming!" I snapped crabbily.

" . . . are you okay?" I heard him speak. I started, pulling the phone away from my ear to the ID.

Unknown.

A scowl formed on my face. "Where the fuck did you get my number from, Jennings?"

"Umm, the phone book."

His uncertain tone gave him away. "Liar," I called him out.

"The internet." Better, but not convincing enough.

"Kaison," I warned. "Don't fuck with me today. Where did you get it?"

"I asked Sam," he mumbled in defeat.

That bitch was going to hell. And I would be the one sending her there.

"You've got to be kidding," I grumbled.

"Don't kill her," he said.

"Don't worry," I said dryly. "She has not earned the privilege to be the first one on my hit list yet."

"Who's the first?" He asked curiously. Of course, he knew me well enough not to raise questions about the existence of a 'hit list'.

"You don't want to know," I muttered darkly.

"Who . . . Oh." His voice reflected perception.

"Yeah. I'm hanging up. Delete this number," I told him sharply.

"Livvy-"

Beep.

Now that was better.

The phone rang again.

"I swear on all that is holy-"

Griffin cut me off. "Why aren't you in the lobby? I'm coming to get you."

"Right. Now you call." I rolled my eyes.

"When else was I supposed to?" He questioned.

"Nevermind. I'm coming." I sighed.

"You have five minutes." He hung up.

I stood up with a groan, already feeling tired. I forced my feet to walk to the door and opened it. I had all my necessary stuff in a small clutch. I locked the door and dumped the phone and keys in there too. I trudged through the corridors, walking to the lobby petulantly. Everyone was slowly trickling in there.

"All the people are not even here yet." I pouted when I reached Griff. "What was the hurry?"

"You can be pretty stubborn and I didn't want to risk it." He hugged me sideways.

"I hate you," I told him.

"Good thing I don't care." He flashed me a grin. I didn't reciprocate and he dropped it. "Talk to Sam," he added.

I smiled a contrived smile. "Ohh, trust me, I will."

He eyed me warily, trying to get a reading on my mood. "Why do I have a feeling that I need to hide anything sharp from you?"

"Cause you probably should." I widened my smile to border creepy.

"What did she do now?" He pulled out his phone.

"She gave Kai my number," I revealed with a humorless laugh.

His brows furrowed as he pocketed his phone again. "She wouldn't."

"But she did," I derided. "She needs to keep out of my fucking business."

"I'm sure she had a good reason." He shrugged. "Ask her."

I glared at him.

"I'm not saying that she should've given Kaison your number," he hurried to explain when he registered the murderous look in my eye. "But if she did she must have an extremely reasonable explanation for it."

"Boy, you better sleep with one eye open." I lowered at him.

"Olivia," he sighed, "I love you, but you have severe communication issues. Talk to Samantha."

"Talk, talk, talk!" I scoffed. "All you guys want me to do is talk."

"Then why don't you just listen and we will get off your back," he said tiredly.

"Because you know what, Griff?" I began slowly, "When you go to talk to someone, you have hope. A lot of it, too. Because when you go to someone to talk and clear things up, you hope that they give you a reason to put the misunderstanding behind. You hope that the reason would be enough to help you forget what happened. You hope that you can put everything behind you and go back to normal.

"You just hope, Griffin. And hope is the deadliest weapon of destruction out there. A broken hope equals a broken person. And I don't think I can survive another broken hope."

"Liv." His hands lifted off his side, coming up to wipe the tears that had escaped. I pushed it away angrily.

Did I use waterproof makeup? I guess I'm going to find out.

"I'll come," I told him hoarsely. "That's what you wanted today, right? I will. Just leave me the fuck alone."

"I-" his face contorted. He looked conflicted. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

You should be.

I walked away.

* * * * *

"A Bacardi," I ordered, sitting down on the barstool. The guy at the counter gave me a weird look.

"Are you sure?" He asked me.

The nerve.

"Just do it," I snarked. He nodded, smirking slightly.

Now, what was I doing? I didn't usually drink. In fact, I had been completely wasted just once before. I hated drinking and taking care of the drunk. Then why was I ordering myself a strong drink such as a Bacardi?

Because my brains were impaired.

The bartender slid me my drink. I wrapped my palm around it but hesitated. I saw the smirk widening on his face forming again and lost it.

I downed the glass in two gulps, wincing at the sudden assault of bitterness.

"Lime!" I dictated with a grimace.

He smiled amusedly, passing me a china dish with two slices of lime on it. I was quick to suck on them. I wanted to ask for a bottle of water but the look on the bartender's face had me holding back. He probably sensed it so he handed me a bottle anyway. I ditched my ego for a hot second and drank thirstily. He chuckled.

"Don't you have other customers to deal with?" I scowled, capping the bottle.

"There are none," he said.

I lifted an eyebrow. "On the contrary, I see two right there, waiting to be acknowledged."

"Courtney!" He raised his voice. A door behind him opened not a minute later and a redhead came out.

"Yeah, Isaac?" She asked.

"I need more hands out here," he said without looking at her. I rolled my eyes, swiveling in my chair to face the dance floor. I rested my elbows on the counter behind me.

"Sure," I heard her say.

On the dance floor, I caught glimpses of my batchmates. Some of them were dancing with their partners, some in groups and others with strangers. I spotted Kaison sitting in one of the booths, crowd-watching like me. He still had his arm in a sling. It made me wonder how he had hurt himself. Shaking my head I made a mental note to avoid looking in his general direction.

"So, are you from around here? Because you definitely have the glow for it."

"Makeup," I dismissed curtly.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's inborn. I have an eye for these things."

Definitely waterproof.

"What part of my body language wasn't clear enough in the assertion that I'm not interested?" I questioned, not even bothering to look back at him. "Or are you just desperate?"

"Which answer will lead to me having your number by the end of the night?" He counter-questioned.

"None," I stated firmly. "I want a Gin."

"Is this you playing hard to get or-"

Oh my God. Dense, dense bartender.

"What the fuck, dude?" I scowled, finally turning around. "Get this through your thick skull: I'm not interested. Now stop hitting on me and make me that drink."

"Fiesty." He grinned, complying.

Fucking creep.

"A whiskey. Neat," Kai commanded, sitting down next to me.

His order hasn't changed.

"Great, this just gets better and better," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. I was there for a distraction only to run into the reason I needed one. How bloody fantastic.

"Hey, Livvy." He smiled at me.

I can either accept I'm sheesh kebab or I can fight and hold on my own.

"Hi, Kaison." I smiled back. His eyes widened in surprise once before he recovered.

"Can I interest you in a conversation?" He asked, smiling crookedly. My heart twisted painfully at the familiar smile.

I dropped the pretense as I realized that the game I had planned on playing would end up with me hurt. Again.

"No," I answered coldly.

His grin faltered. Good.

"There you go, angel," Isaac slid me my drink. "Do I at least get your name?"

"I don't think she's interested," Kai answered on my behalf. "And I believe I ordered a whiskey. Make it neat."

"You know what? You do deserve at least my name," I said, shooting Kaison a glare and then smiling at Isaac. "I'm Olivia," I told him. A sadistic idea cropped up in my head. "But you can call me Livvy," I added.

I saw Kaison stiffen from the corner of my eye. My smile stretched. It felt viciously good.

If he felt even the fraction of the pain I did six years ago, my job is done.

"Livvy," Isaac smirked, testing it on his tongue. I felt nothing but disgust despite the sultry tone that he infused in that word. Something about the way he looked at me made my eyes go hard. My smile went cold. He probably noticed. "I'll go work on that whiskey," he mumbled, turning away.

I sipped my drink, accustomed to the bitter taste enough to keep a straight face.

"Since when do you drink?" Kai asked.

"Forever," I replied curtly. "But you probably won't understand that word. Allow me to break it down for you. I've been drinking for as long as I remember."

"You didn't drink in high school," he said and I could hear the frown in his voice.

I was a different girl back in high school.

"What changed?" He prompted when I didn't answer. I opened my mouth to answer but was cut off.

"Hey, Liv." Carter greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. I turned to him in pleasant surprise.

I smiled. "Hey, Cart."

"What are you drinking?" He asked with a chuckle. He was panting and sweaty.

"A Gin," I replied.

"Lady drink," he teased.

"I'm a lady," I scoffed, taking a sip.

"She doesn't take strong drinks," Kai added, inviting himself to join our conversation.

"I know," Carter answered. He spotted Isaac and called for a bottle of water.

I rolled my eyes. "I just had a Bacardi, you guys."

"You what?!" Kai exclaimed at the same time Carter cheered, "Go, girl!"

I grinned. I felt better about drinking after hearing their reactions. Isaac slid the bottle to Carter and he gulped it down gratefully. He placed the empty bottle on the counter and swung a hand around my shoulder as he stood leaning on the counter beside me. I didn't bother shrugging him off like I usually would because I could feel Kaison looking at us intently.

"So, how do you guys know each other?" Kai asked.

"We both attended Berkeley," Carter responded.

"Book club, football, cheer . . . ?"

He ain't gonna stop till he gets an answer and I'm tired of running. Fine. Let's do it his way.

"Coffee shop," I stated.

"You guys met at a coffee shop?" He confirmed.

"Yeah," I hummed. "He was the cute barista."

"Why would you work at the coffee shop if your brother owns a chain of resorts?" Kai asked Carter.

"Because I can." He smiled cheekily. "And because most hot girls come to the campus coffee shop. I got paid and I met chicks. It was a win-win."

"Carter," I chided.

He squeezed my shoulder. "It's the truth."

"I know, but you can be less blunt about it." I rolled my eyes, taking another sip of my gin. I felt his phone buzz in my pocket against my side. He flipped it out and his eyebrows came together.

"I'll be back, Caine is calling me," Carter mumbled. He withdrew his hand and walked away.

"What do you even see in him?" Kai asked as soon as Carter was out of hearing range.

"What did I see in you?" I retorted. Hurt flashed in his eyes and I felt guilty for a second before I squished that feeling down.

I am not allowed to feel guilty.

Our awkward taciturnity was cut short by Chelsea.

"Kaison, you have to come on the dance floor!" She came over, panting.

She leaned against Kai's arm, her skin glistening with sweat and her hair out of place. Her eyes were wide and doe-like and her grin was stunning. I turned away in bitterness, downing my gin and standing up. My blood was boiling at their minimal exchange. The image of them kissing flashed through my brain vividly. I hurried to walk away.

"No. You go ahead," I heard him tell her but I didn't stop.

I felt suffocated. It was difficult to breathe. My emotions were stretching my control and the drinks were getting to my head. I had a sudden urge to go back, slap Kai and demand answers, find Carter and push him off a cliff, pull Chelsea's hair out till she was bald, and dance on top of a table.

Get away before you do anything stupid.

For the first time in my life, I listened to my rational voice.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A/N: Dude what I wouldn't give to have your live reaction as ya'll read this shit I've concocted lol

Please tell me what you think! Comment your thoughts! If you like the chapter, drop a vote!

QOTD: Favorite type of music??

See ya next time! Take care.

All my love,
xoxo.