Chapter 12: I think I'm gonna sue her.

"Been sittin' eyes wide open behind these four walls, hopin' you'll call,
It's just a cruel existence like it's no point hopin' at all.

Baby, baby, I feel crazy,
Up all night, all night and every day,
Give me somethin', oh, but you say nothin'
What is happenin' to me?

I don't wanna live forever,
'Cause I know I'll be livin' in vain,
And I don't wanna fit wherever,
I just wanna keep callin' your name,
Until you come back home."

Veronica:

It took Drew about two hours to convince me to come to this party.

But it will take me just two seconds to hunt him down and smack him on his head.

Why, you may ask?

One, there are drunk bodies here and there grinding against each other and doing God only knows what. Two, already four boys have come to me (in their intoxicated state) asking me to dance with them. Three, no matter where I go, I find people making out and doing the nasty. Four, I'm tipsy when I specifically told the bartender to give me a non-alcoholic beverage. Five, this is Callie's party.

And the last one is the main reason why I want to leave this party so badly.

I've been to a few wild parties before but none of them could top this one. Probably because most of Callie's friends are models and they are loitering around half naked.

Guys and girls, I know you're very pretty and have noteworthy (rather droolworthy) physique. But that doesn't mean you won't waste any chance to show off your bodies to the whole world. Weren't fashion shows good enough places to show off all the swimwear? This isn't some beach party.

Seriously though, I understand that you feel the urge to rip off your clothes every five minutes. But could you please cut it down a bit and stop terrorizing my eyes?

No kidding when I say I've seen enough of their nakedness to last a lifetime.

Right now all I wanna do is to go home and sleep.

Oh how my bed is calling me!

But before that, I need to find Drew, drag him up the stairs, get inside a room, and have my way with him.

No, not like that. I just want to punch him where it hurts for bringing me to this hellhole. And that's saying a lot, because I hardly ever get violent.

As much as I'd want to kiss Drew senseless right now (he looks downright irresistible tonight), I'll stop that thought for a while.

I'll just have to find him and go home.

Why did I even agree to come here?

Oh wait, that's because Drew literally begged me to accompany him. He said Callie's parties are really wild and so he needs someone to keep him sane. Someone to keep him company whenever Callie is too busy with her gang of friends. In short, he wanted me to drive him home because he'll be drunk as fuck and I'll have to play the chauffeur. I could've said no. But holy shit, he gave me one smoldering look and I was a goner.

And the nerve he has!

He left me all alone amidst these horny, sex-crazed strangers and went off to only-he-knows-where.

Yeah, I could totally smack him.

Oh and did I mention that Callie is giving me death glares whenever she's anywhere near me?

Someone please kill me now.

Or even better, kill Drew. And Callie also.

I search everywhere but Drew is nowhere to be found. I scream and yank my hair in frustration.

Damn it. Where are you?

Just then I find Callie.

Before I can call her name, she comes running to me.

"Hey, listen up! Drew is standing by the pool. He's looking for you."

Oh, so there is that jerk.

But what is he doing there? Callie has threatened to murder us if we are standing within one metre radius of the pool.

I guess, that's the perks of being Callie's boyfriend.

I mutter a quick 'thank you' to Callie and run off to where Drew is.

Upon reaching the pool, I spot no one.

"Drew? Drew!" I call out his name several times but to no avail.

"Veronica."

I hear someone say.

I turn behind and find Callie.

"Cal-"

I'm cut off when all of a sudden Callie pushes me into the pool.

And the worst part?

I can't swim.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew:

I can hear commotion near the pool.

Some of the guys must be fighting.

Drunk people I tell you.

I continue sipping on my drink which is just some plain orange juice. The crowd will disperse in no time.

But it doesn't.

I hear Veronica's name being chanted. Did she get into a fight or what?

I discard my drink and hurriedly walk to the poolside.

"What's going on?" I ask a random girl.

"That girl over there is drowning. She can't swim and although the water isn't deep, she's drunk and that's why she's struggling. Look!" she says and points to the pool.

It's Veronica.

When I see it's her, I don't think about what I'm doing. My instincts take over and I jump into the water.

-

Veronica flutters her eyes open and I breath a sigh of relief.

When I took Veronica's unconscious body out of the pool, I tried to shake her awake but she didn't.

Talk about being stubborn at the wrong time.

Some people came rushing to me, giving me blankets and what not. But I had kept my concentration fixed on Veronica.

I yelled at everyone around me because none of them were brave enough to save her. They were just enjoying the scene.

I left Callie's house and reached ours an hour ago. And it scared me shitless when Veronica still hadn't woken up.

And now that she's finally awake I don't know if I should shout at her for her stupidity or kiss her 'til she can't remember her name.

I do the former.

"What were you thinking, you idiot?"

Veronica sits upright on her bed and looks at me with glassy eyes.

Then she looks at herself and looks back at me again.

"Who changed my clothes? Don't tell me you-"

"I didn't. I asked our neighbour, Aunty Tori to change your clothes."

"Oh," is all she says.

She pulls the comforter closer to herself and looks at me with expectant eyes.

"What happened at Callie's place? I remember only up to the point when I was in the water. I don't know what happened after that," She tells me.

"You fell into the pool. That's what happened. Now, care to tell me how you fell? Did you slip? Or did you feel really adventurous all of a sudden?" I say, my voice rising with every syllable.

Veronica looks down before answering, "I was pushed into the pool."

Wait, what?

"You were pushed in? What the actual hell? Who did that? And why?"

She flinches because of my harsh tone but she thinks I don't notice. Lately I've been very observant of every detail of her and this scares me.

"If I tell you the name, you wouldn't believe me," she says softly.

"Really Veronica? Now it's not the time to play 'guess who'. And why were you drinking when I clearly told you not to? You know how these parties are. You wouldn't want anyone to spike your drink or harass you when you're shit-drunk. Why, you dipshit?"

At this point I'm shouting but I don't care. Something bad could have happened to her because of her stupidity. Thank God it was just a little accident and she's safe here, right in front of me. Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do.

"I didn't drink! I swear I didn't. The bartender must've mixed something! All I drank was some soda! And trust me on this, I didn't slip. Neither did I feel adventurous. I... I..."

"You said you wouldn't drink. You were my only way to get home tonight. You're lucky I didn't drink! Otherwise, who would've saved you? Because everyone else was standing like cowards and watching you drown. I swear if something would've happened to you, I would've killed them all."

Veronica cracks a small smile at me.

My lips twitch but I control my smile.

"Don't smile."

She laughs and then clamps a hand over her mouth.

"Okay okay, I won't!" She says but her giggles don't stop.

"God damnit, Veronica! This is serious! You're a writer, isn't it-"

"You have a doubt with that?"

"No, you didn't let me complete! I was trying to say, you're a writer. You're supposed to be responsible. Why would you-"

Now, she gets slightly annoyed.

"As a writer I'm not even supposed to attend such wild parties! If you hadn't convinced me, I wouldn't have gone. When you told me about the party, initially I didn't want to go. But then I thought, why not? I'm a young woman. Is it wrong for me to want things that people my age usually long for? I understand what you're trying to say, but aren't I allowed to feel carefree once in a while? My management team never allows me to attend anything else other than elite parties and literary meets."

Veronica looks at me defeated and for a moment I try to grasp how hard it must be for her. She's doing what she loves but it can get hard sometimes.

"Then it's good that I took you with me. I was just worried for you."

"There's no need to get worked up about this. I'm here, aren't I?" She says softly and this time, I smile at her.

"Now tell me, who pushed you?"

Veronica groans.

"Callie."

No freaking way. As much as I know about Callie (very little, to be honest), she can't hurt a fly.

"You're lying," I state firmly.

She shakes her head.

"I'm not. I knew you wouldn't believe me, Drew."

"I would've believed you if you were saying the truth."

I can see Veronica is getting angry.

"Fine. Go and ask your girlfriend then."

"I will. I fucking will. But why are you doing this?"

"Are you kidding me? What am I going to get by doing this? Think logically. I'm not lying!"

"-and I'm secretly a fire breathing Dragon! Why would Callie do this?"

"She hates me! After what happened between us, she has every reason to hate me, you moron!"

"She doesn't! She told me that herself."

"How can you be so sure she wasn't lying?"

"God Veronica. Get over yourself, will you? You think the entire world hates you? You family hates you, I hate you, Callie hates you, what is your problem? The world doesn't revolve around you! Don't be a damsel in distress!"

Both of us are shouting but I think, our neighbours are used to it by now.

"You know what? I'm done. I'm so done with you. Get out. Right now!"

I look at her in shock. She's being so rude all of a sudden. Veronica isn't like this.

"After all these years, I thought you knew better. But no. Even you think I'm an attention seeker. I trust you with my life, but you? You don't trust me an inch. It's not my fault that I run low on self-confidence. I have my  insecurities and when someone says bad things to me, I take it to heart. But it's not my fault, you know.

It's not my fault that my biological parents abandoned me It's not my fault my family dislikes me to no end. It's not my fault that you hate me. It's not my fault Callie hates me as well. Call me a damsel in distress or whatever but I've every reason to be like this. It's not my fucking fault!"

She had been bottling all this inside her for so many years and she has finally let it out.

Veronica wipes away her tears furiously as I stand there helplessly.

"Get out Andrew!"

This time I'm the one to flinch because, Veronica hates calling me Andrew.

-

I return home at around 2 AM.

The first thing I notice is the light coming from the kitchen.

As I enter the kitchen, I find Veronica stuffing her face with cupcakes.

My lips turn into a smile.

I stand in front of her and she stops eating.

"What? Never seen a girl eating?" She snaps.

"I went to Callie's place."

She continues munching on the cakes.

"Keep talking but don't expect me to reply. I'm hungry. Let me eat in peace."

I take a seat by the table and start my story.

"The party had finished by the time I reached her house. I confronted Callie and she wouldn't tell me anything at first. I was persistent and finally she gave in. It took me a lot of shouting though. But I felt bad for shouting at her. And then she told me everything..."

Veronica doesn't react.

"Callie admitted that she pushed you into the pool. She didn't know you can't swim. And that's why she asked the bartender to exchange your juice with a strong drink. So that you won't be able to swim in your drunken state. That's exactly what happened. But you not knowing how to swim was an added bonus for her..."

Veronica finishes her cupcake and nudges the cupcake filled plate in my direction.

"These are for you. Eat them if you wanna."

That's it? Isn't she going to say anything else?

"No I'm not going to say anything else. And yes, you voiced your thoughts aloud. I have nothing to say."

"Don't you want to know why Callie did it?"

"Fine, hit me with it."

I sigh and comply.

"Her family stays in New Zealand. She's all alone in a big city like New York. I'm the only person here whom she can rely on. Someone to be by her side at all times. She didn't want to let me go away from her. When she heard that you live with me, she got jealous. And after what happened between us, she got furious. That explains why she was so rude to you when she came over for dinner. She wanted you out of the picture and that's why..."

"-she tried to kill me. Wow, your girlfriend is a psycho who's obsessed with you."

"She's not my girlfriend anymore. I broke up with her."

I try to decipher the meaning of her expression but she gives me a blank stare.

Isn't she going to say anything?

"She didn't want me to leave her at any cost. And I couldn't stay with her after what she did to you."

"Okay."

Why is she speaking so less?

"Now that you've got Callie's confirmation, do you believe me?"

"Veronica, I..."

"Forget it. Don't say anything. And please tell Callie I'm gonna sue her."

Veronica gets up and leaves.

But she stops near the door abruptly and turns to look at me.

"I could've said the same thing to you..."

I stare at her, confused.

"At least Callie has a family to fall back upon. But I have no one except you..."

-

Song: I Don't Wanna Live Forever by ZAYN and Taylor Swift.

Then Die by Harry Styles and Perrie Edwards. [I'm sorry I just had to write this one.]

this chapter screams heartbreak. oh and there are only two chapters left before the epilogue (chapter 13 and Veronica's letter). you can love me.

bye.