Noel

I looked at Allison as she walked inside her house turning around. From my glimpse of her, she was nothing less of a mess, especially in her shorts and top. My eyes fell upon Adam who had his eyes fixed on Allison's back as she walked inside.

I heard the voice of a door closing shut from inside the apartment, which wasn't subtle. She had banged the door shut.

"What's happening, here?" Adam asked with his head looking at us and back inside the house.

"Allison," he called out her name but came back no reply.

"Let's talk inside," Dolores came to the front. "We need to have a conversation with you and I don't think it would be suitable to do it here in the hall."

"No. No.... wait," Adam spoke up. "I'm not getting inside until someone explains to me what is happening. What is he doing here," his finger was pointed at me.

"It affected him too," Christine's words just added to his confusion.

"Whatever it is you, have got it wrong. None of you were affected by what happened three years back. I've got nothing to say to you," he took a step into the apartment as I looked around the floor. There were many doors on the floor and if this didn't stop here it would draw in a lot of drama. I looked at Alex who stood there with his fits closed. I knew he wanted to draw the truth out of him by nook or crook. Christine and Dolores stood where they were while Adam was on his way to shut the door.

I didn't think twice as I moved towards Adam.

"Especially to you," he pointed as I moved towards him. The anger building up in me for so long was on the verge of exploding. He was moving too much, it felt like his finger pointing at me was mocking me. Moving right up to him I pushed him back inside the apartment.

"Hey," he yelled at me but I didn't let the anger over his face affect me. My arm shot right up to his neck pushing him against the wall as my fist raised in a punch.

"Noel," I could hear them yelling my name but I didn't care. Everyone was suffering one way or another because of something that happened three years back. How could he say that it didn't affect us at all that casually?

"No fights in this house!" I heard Allison yelling from inside the apartment. My eyes turned towards where the voice was coming from, I waited for her to open the door but it didn't.

"Easy Noel," Alex said prying my arm away from Adam's neck and I let him. Adam stood there perplexed with what was happening.

"Noel, calm down and then talk," Dolores suggested taking a step in between me and Adam.

"I didn't come here for this," Adam snapped trying to move past me, and Dolores but one look from me had him still.

"We know what you came here for but first you need to answer our questions," Dolores answered turning around. "I can assure you if you don't comply, I will make you regret even stepping foot in the States.," she added. Adam looked around and I could see that he was assessing the situation. It was four against one.

"Ask me whatever you want but I need a coffee first and maybe a little bit of talk with Allison if you don't mind," It looked like he was complying with us.

"I mind," Christine objected looking Adam dead in the eyes. Shutting the door, Christine walked inside the apartment separating us from the outside world.

"We are first going to talk about what happened three years back and then you can have your little conversation with Alisson if she feels like it." She moved inside the house and soon I heard the shuffling of utensils. Everyone's head was turned toward where Christine had disappeared. The expression on everyone's face told me that what we actually heard was right.

"After you princess," Alex teased Adam and I rolled my eyes at his words. Princess was the nickname I had given to him when we were young. We have always had this animosity between us.

"Shut up," Adam snapped before dragging his bag inside with him. I rolled my eyes at Alex's word, princess was the nickname I had given him when he was young. We all followed Adam, I was the last one on the move as my eyes were set on the closed door where Allison was. She didn't come out and a part of me just wanted to have a look at her. If only I hadn't been crazy over a woman who had left me she wouldn't have been dragged into this.

"Who else wants coffee?" The way Christine asked no one dared to say a word. She was raging mad trying to find things in Allison's kitchen and I could see Adam, who was seated on the couch regretting to ask for a coffee.

"None for us, Christine, and you should sit down with us now," I ordered her because the way she was acting she needed to calm herself down a bit.

"Why are all of you interested in something that happened three years ago?" Adam asked as Christine put down the cup on the table and not so gently. Dolores's hand shot up to hold one of Christine's. Suddenly it felt like she was a ticking time bomb.

"Because of this," I took out the car key from my breast pocket setting it on the table. Adam looked confusingly at it and then at all of us. "I found this in my old house among other things," I added.

"A car key?" He questioned confusingly. "And among what other things,"

"The car key belongs to you but I'm sure the rest of the things weren't yours, I need to know what happened three years back at Richard's birthday party," Whatever I said, he still gave us a face as if he had no idea what we were talking about.

"Richard's birthday and three years back," he said and I could guess he was trying to remember by jogging down the memory lane. "Did I even attend it?" I looked at Christine and just like me the wheels in her mind were running.

"Which month was it?" he asked as he took out his phone.

"May," Christine replied. "Even I don't remember seeing you at that party," She looked at me asking me silently did I knew about it. As much as I remember I couldn't remember seeing him that day.

"It was Richard's party I'm sure you wouldn't have missed it," Alex reasoned.

"Yeah, here," Adam said looking at his phone. "I had kind of attended it and kind of not," now it was me who looked at him quizzically.

"Would you elaborate?" Christine beat me to it.

"I had dropped by before the party had started, to give him a gift and left just after wishing him. I had a flight to catch for New York the same day," he put down his phone on the table for all of us to see. Dolores was the one to pick it up. She just looked at it before handing over it to me. He wasn't lying. He had a flight to catch at eight in the evening.

"What did you do three years back?" Dolores asked sitting straight. "You said it didn't affect her or anyone of us so who did it affect?" The way she spoke and looked at him I knew she was trying to intimidate him.

"I don't think I need you to say anything about that," Adam spoke in a serious tone. "Whom it affected is none of your concern and whatever it was it happened months beofre Richard's birthday."

"But it surely concerned Jayce," Christine spoke up and Adam just stared at her. "Most of the mess you have got to clean is because of him," she added without batting a lash. "Just like the times you cared for me when he would leave me in that room." The atmosphere suddenly felt an uncomfortable one. The way she stared at him it felt as if she was fighting her demons.

"What about your car key?" I asked trying to break off whatever silent conversation they were having.

"I found it among questionable things," he broke off the eye contact between her and him, to look at me.

"My car had been at Richard's place. Jayce had been the one to drop me off at the airport. I had left my car keys with him and he told me that he had lost it somewhere and picked out the spare one from my office safe," Adam's last words came out slowly as if he was remembering something.

"I had returned back from New York three days later and he had told me that he had it replaced by the showroom," his eyes went towards Christine and then at me.

"The car had been cleaned too," the wheels in his mind were moving.

"There were ski masks, a bloodied shirt, and Christine's necklace in the stump where I found the key," his eyes shot to me and then to Christine.

"He had broken up with you," something crossed over Adam's mind.

"He drugged me that night, Adam. He had done something horrible to me," she whispered looking at her hands.

"Fuck," he said with a hand over his head. "You were the one who he had marked that night."

...................................................................................................

Happy update !