Three days later, Sam and Ryan found themselves in front of a large gate guarded by four armed police. It was a one fine rain less night. Both men were wearing tuxedos. Sam was carrying a large rectangular box wrapped in rainbow-colored tin foil. "A birthday gift for the celebrant," he told the guards as they went in. They passed along a short entry way.

"Why are we here again?" Ryan asked.

"Melissa," replied Sam.

"Right."

The night before, Ryan showed him pictures of Hope in her Facebook account. It was then when Sam saw a picture of the girl he saw at the coffee shop. She was posing along with Hope. It was Melissa, as what Hope had told Ryan. Needless to say it triggered Sam's change of mind. This was exactly why they got themselves at the venue with Ryan regretting the moment he showed Sam the pictures.

The duo opened a large wooden door at the edge of the entry way. It was as what Ryan had said. There were a lot of elite people in the place. Sam recognized some of the city councilors seated in different seats talking with the city's richest people. This was a great scoop for Sam but they weren't allowed to bring cameras. No media personnel were allowed and only those with gate passes can get in, which Ryan got from Hope. The place was big. There was an open area near the entrance. There was a large rectangular pool in the middle of the venue. Surrounding it were round tables that can host around ten people each but only a few people were sitting. All the rest of the people were gathered in the covered hall beyond.

Upon entering, both men could see a dance floor in the middle of the room and a stage just a few feet away from it. A long table where all the food was placed was situated on the left side of the room. All the decorations, the table covers and down to the waiters' uniforms suggest that the family of the celebrant was very rich, possibly even ultra rich. A band was playing jazz music.

"Are you sure this is the right party? This feels like Titanic. " Sam glanced around the place, looking for a familiar face.

"I don't know, man. If we can't find Hope, the let's get the hell outta here."

Ryan heard a high-pitched voice calling out his name. It was Hope.

"Well, at least we know this is the place." Sam felt assured now.

Soon, they were seated on one of the round tables in the open area, surrounded by women. Ryan was now having the time of his life talking to the ladies. Sam felt awkward. He wasn't great around women. He was only waiting for the moment when he could see Melissa and give her this gift. Normally, he wouldn't have the guts to do this. But, somehow, something is telling him to go outside of his shell and give this to her. Something deep within him is driving him here. Yet, he couldn't drive away the feeling of nostalgia he's been having ever since they went inside the venue.

An hour passed by and the birthday party commenced. Sam could now see Melissa as she walked down the spiral staircase of the large hall. The jazz music stopped playing, and a slow piano and violin duet played on. She was wearing a long white cocktail dress that fitted her body perfectly, highlighting out her natural curvature. A long side slit flaunts her flawlessly white leg, giving the impression that she is no longer a young girl but an attractive and elegant young woman. Her long brown wavy hair was now curled up to a bun, and crowned with a silver tiara. Her slender arms were fashioned with white lace gloves lined with black and gold. Her face, only lightly covered with make-up, shows how beautiful a woman can get. Sam felt his breath leave his lungs. He was stunned in many ways. She was beautiful, and even that is an understatement. As she walked down the stairs, all eyes were on her. She was indeed taking her moment. This was her night.

But when Sam's eyes met hers, he thought he saw a faint glimmer of delight and also an overwhelming sadness. Beneath her make-up, he knew she was crying earlier. He felt his inner knight-in-shining-armor instincts surged up to the surface. He felt that he made the right decision to come and give her his gift. This time, it was her who looked away first. The celebration went on with some dancing and laughing. Melissa was now accompanied by her father as they went on from table to table, entertaining their special guests. When they were close enough to Sam's table, Hope called her out. She then introduced Melissa to the two men among the group.

"Liz! These are the guys I told you about! This is Ryan." Hope pointed with her hands to Ryan, along with a flirty look. Ryan waved but, Melissa was looking at Sam intently, almost as if in an accusing look. Ryan and Hope exchanged awkward looks.

"Uh, yes. And, uh, Liz, this is Sam," Hope said in the most awkward tone.

Sam bowed slightly to show respect but it was answered by a long and awkward silence and stare from Melissa.

"Liz?" Hope whispered.

"Sam, huh? What's your game?" Melissa crossed her arm and stared at Sam with a snob look at her face.

Everybody who was listening exchanged looks, including Sam and Ryan.

"I-I'm sorry. W-what do you mean?" Sam didn't know where this was coming from. Is she asking for his game plan for girls? If that is the case, he had nothing in his pockets. He elbowed Ryan for some help. Ryan elbowed back. Damn you, Ryan!

"Why are you here?" Melissa maintained her snob look. It was followed by more silence.

"Uh, Liz, I, uh, I invited them here." Hope said in a low voice. But, Melissa ignored her.

"Why are you still here?" This time, Melissa's voice was shaking."Why did you follow me here?"

Sam was alarmed by the sudden change of mood. He was sure Melissa was holding back her tears but he did not know why. Did he offend her by stalking her? But, he wasn't stalking her. Being a reporter, he knew what stalking is. And sure enough, he wasn't doing that.

"F-follow yo - I'm sorry, Miss, but I think we're not on the same page. You must've mistaken me for someone." He tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Oh, for Pete's sake! What are you doing here, Oli?" This time, her voice was loud enough that it attracted the attention of other guests. Tears were also beginning to fall from her eyes. "After all I did to you, why are you still here?"

"Whoah! Lady, chill down. We're here on invitation and we don't know you... with all due respect... uh, miss." Ryan held his hands out towards Melissa.

"Liz! What are you doing?" Hope was whispering to her, loud enough for Sam and Ryan to hear.

"Oli? Miss, I really think you got the wrong person here." Sam quickly responded.

Melissa seemed taken aback but she couldn't stop her tears now. She pressed her face to her hands and cried.

"What's going on in here?" A rough voice called out from the crowd. It was her father. He walked towards them followed by a neat-looking muscular younger man who seemed to be on his mid-thirties. Upon seeing that Melissa was crying in front of Sam, he launched himself towards Sam and grabbed him by the collar. Everyone gasped. The girls were screaming. Melissa's father called the security.

"What did you do to her?" The man shouted to Sam.

"Hey! Hey! Dude!" Ryan was trying to shove the man away but was powerless.

"I did nothing wrong." Sam tried his best to answer despite being choked.

"Mark! Stop it!" Melissa called out.

"Oh, I know you. You're the painter guy... back with another painting again?" Mark said to Sam in a low, threatening voice. He glanced at their table and saw the wrapped canvass by the chairs.

Sam looked at his attacker's eyes. What was going on? How did he know about him? Why was Melissa calling him Oli? Are the people of this city really that hostile to one another? Are they all crazy? But, before he could answer back, he felt his body lifted from the ground and got thrown to the edge of the pool. He nearly fell but managed to stop his fall at the last minute.

However, Mark was now aiming for his painting. He took it and walked to the pool to throw it but Ryan was quick enough to grab the painting from Mark's hands as he was about to throw it. Because of this, Mark lost his balance and fell to the pool.

Everyone's gasps' were clearly audible. Melissa's girls, however, were giggling. But, Sam and Ryan's face were drained of color. They knew what they had done. Sam walked back from the pool, looking horror stricken. As he turned around, he saw Melissa's tear soaked face so close to his.

"Are you happy now? You finally did it. Please get away from my life now." She said softly as she was sobbing.

All eyes were on Sam now. He could hear the people whispering around him. He was so lost in confusion that he was beginning to hyperventilate. What's happening? I don't understand! Why?! I was just... I-I was only... I-I...

Before Sam could succumb to this madness, Ryan took him by the shoulder and they left, ushered by the guards. They were pushed hard towards the pavement as they passed the gates. The guards threatened to shoot them if they won't get out from the area. They could only oblige.

So, they went straight to a bar. Sam crashed against the vacant sofa as Ryan was getting some drinks from the bartender. They drank and talked the rest of the night. This was one of the reasons why Sam liked Ryan. He was always there through thick and thin even though they just met each other last year back in the main office of their company. They were like brothers. They had totally different personalities but they bonded like soldiers who just came home from war.

Soon, girls were now all over them. Ryan was busy making out with one of the girls while Sam was having an awkward conversation with another. Even though Sam was now laughing along with this girl, he couldn't get the image of Melissa's crying face out from his mind. Why did that happen? He kept on thinking of reasons why it happened. But, the more beer he drank, the blurry her image got, the cloudier his reasoning went, the happier he now felt. They were now partying hard in the bar. They spent the night with dancing, kissing random girls and drinking booze. Soon, Sam got so drank he had to go to the toilet to throw up.

As he was throwing up, the face of Melissa resurfaced in his mind. This time, it hurt him so much he couldn't understand why. He was now crying hysterically. Why these tears? Oh, crap. He threw up again. He was now feeling lost from the event. All he could see now was her smiling face. But her words kept echoing in his mind: Please get away from my life now.

He was sitting limply on the toilet floor, still crying, his head resting uncomfortably against the toilet seat. He stayed there until he passed out.

***

Coming up: What fate lies beyond for Sam after this nonsensical confusion? Find out on the next chapter, this coming Saturday! Stay tuned!

You can leave behind some comments (violent reactions or harsh criticisms or both are welcome). This is still an ongoing story so if you have any suggestions with regards to the story line, that will be very welcome :) 

Have a good day!