02

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Bella said collecting the glass from her and giving it to one of the waiters passing by. She started whining around Emily slowly, when she got to her front, she placed her butt in front of her and kept whining and giggling, but she noticed Emily wasn’t in the mood.

“Okay, did something happen at home?” Bella asked turning around and looking at her.

“No, you… just forget about what I said.”

Bella couldn’t hear her well as the noise in the dancehall was really loud, she held Emily by the wrist and pulled her towards the direction of the toilet, luckily no one was in there, Bella closed the door immediately after she checked to be sure they were alone.

“Now, did something happen?... Did Jessica say something mean again to you?... I swear I will send her small ass out of this club immediately.”

“No...No,” she didn’t want to be accused of manipulating Bella which was already what they assumed of her.

“Then what is it? If the club is boring we could just go home and do N*****x and chills.”

“No, I mean after all the money you have spent, I am okay… really?”

“You are really cute when you lie, you know? Let’s go home and do N*****x and chills okay? I insist.” Bella couldn’t believe Jessica had ruined her mood, she knew Emily didn’t want to insist on them leaving but it wasn’t worth it for her to be so unhappy on her own birthday, plus she really didn’t spend a penny, the club was owned by her brother.

All she had to do was tell them to set the place up nicely for her friend’s birthday but Emily also didn’t know this fact. If she knew she wouldn’t have agreed to it.

“Let’s stay awhile before we go home,”

“You are sleeping over right?”

“Obviously, it is already late.”

“Good,” Bella smiled giving her a side hug. “Will you also make that spaghetti of yours?”

“Anything for you.” Emily smiled as Bella hugged her without saying a word, they hugged for a while before Bella broke the hug.

“For the record, Jessica is a bully, don’t mind whatever she says okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Now, let's go and get fucked up.”

Hours later….

The party had turned out great after they left the toilet, some people had brought gifts for Emily, it was one of the advantages of being a social butterfly and even the rich kids as well gave her gifts, she was shocked by it but she appreciated all of them. She had to ask one of the waiters for a bag so she could put all of the gifts, they ended up getting a taxi packed with three bags of wrapped gifts.

They had gotten to Bella’s hostel half drunk if they could call it. The landlady didn’t dare yell at them, she knew Bella’s parents and she didn’t want their troubles.

“I think, we should unwrap the gifts.”

“No, I am stressed,” Emily said jumping into the bed, She felt dizzy and sleepy.

“Alright,” Bella agreed jumping on Emily on the bed.

“Do you want to kill me?” Emily shouted feeling Bella’s weight on her, she was so drunk right now, she didn’t have the energy to argue. She heard Bella snoring lightly. Was she already asleep? Emily wanted to stand up and push her off but she was pretty stressed out, so she closed her eyes slowly.

******

“My head is on fire,” Emily said lying in bed with Bella, they had both woken up but no one was planning to get off the bed just yet.

A loud knock fell on the door, Emily was sure whoever was there had been knocking for a while but she had hoped the person would leave.

“I can’t…” Bella nearly wanted to cry, she wasn’t in the mood to open the door or talk to anyone right now, she was still feeling sleepy and hungover. 

“I will get it,” Emily reassured her, she rolled off the bed and staggered making Bella chuckle lightly.

Emily opened the slowly staring blankly at the young man standing before her.

“Who the hell are you?” Leonard asked, he had been at his club when he heard the news of his sister using his club, she had not been in communication with the family for some time, so what gave her the audacity to use his club? 

He had been calling her all morning but no response, he wanted to send his guards but he decided to come by himself to see what she had been up to of late.

Bella knew that voice, she thought he would send his bodyguards as usual so what the hell was he doing here? She jerked up from the bed and fell on the ground making Emily burst into laughter.

Leonard couldn’t believe this nonsense These two were actually drunk or recovering from a hangover, the room looked messed up and he didn’t want to step in.

“Come outside now,” Leonard barked going back to his car outside.

Bella jumped up and tried her best to get to her bathroom to wash her face but with each step, she felt the floor twirling in a circle, Emily wasn’t in the mood for whatever was going on, she closed the door and went back to bed to get some more sleep, she needed to sleep badly, her mother had called in the night, but she had placed her phone on silent instead.

Bella managed to wash her face a little, she wasn’t sober but it was manageable, she just needed to be mindful of her steps, she told herself as she stepped out of the room walking slowly outside.

When she got out, she entered the back seat of the black car, which she recognized as Leonard’s car. She couldn’t tell if he drove here himself or with his driver, due to the tinted glass.

“Good morning Miss Klar,” she heard Alfred's voice in the driver’s seat. She nodded at him slowly.

“This is the stupid reason why you have been away, to party, get drunk, and waste my hard-earned money,” Leonard barked.

“I am sorry,” Leonard was her elder brother and not just her elder brother, he was like a father figure to her, after her father, she feared Leonard but it was out of respect.

 She had thought he would send him men or p.a to complain to her but it seemed he was already fed up with her behaviors and decided to come himself.

Bella missed him but for some years now, they had become distant to one another. She even questioned if he still cared for her like he used to when they were younger, now he seemed more hostile, more angry all the time. Even their parents feared him and what he was capable of.

“Sorry? Is Sorry going to pay for all my drinks that you wasted last night.”

“It was for my friend’s birthday, I wanted to surprise her and…”

“When did you become Santa Claus, when did you start giving gifts? Because I permit you to have access to my club does not give you the right to take advantage of it.” Leonard said, during all the time he had spoken, he had not looked at Bella once in the eyes but rather outside the window.

“I…I. Didn’t mean to offend you, I will pay for the drinks.”

“How Bella? If I remember vividly, I cut off your allowance and your father also did recently… from my calculations you have been broke for a month or more now.” Leonard said now staring at her, when their eyes met Bella found herself in panic mode as she looked at her fingers instead.

“…”

“You not only take your bimbo of a friend to waste my money, you are now selling drugs? A Klar is now selling drugs.”

“…” Bella was shocked that Leonard knew what she had been doing, she hoped he hadn’t told their parents about it.

“Get all your stuff ready, tomorrow Alfred will pick you up. You will finish your final semester coming from your father’s house.”

“No, please don’t let me go back there. They… please brother… I beg…” Bella wanted to cry right now, she didn’t want to go back to that house where she would be bound by rules and regulations.

“It’s either that or I inform them about your drug dealings and also your partying.”

“… Please I beg you.”

“Get out of my car.”

“Please,” Bella pleaded. “I won’t do it again, I will be good, I promise.”

“Get out of my car, don’t let me say it again.”

Bella stared at him hoping he would change his mind, but she knew it wasn’t possible. He had made up his mind on what he wanted to do before he got here. She didn’t know how to convince him not to let her go to their family house. She didn’t want to upset him further and decided to get out of the car.

She could probably call him later on in the day when he wasn’t angry any more to plead with him, she knew if she disobeyed him, there would be grave consequences.

Has she stepped out of the car, the car zoomed off immediately. Bella walked back into her apartment as she saw Emily coming out of the kitchen, with two cups of tea. She handed one to Bella.

“Who was that?” Emily had tried to go back to sleep but she couldn’t, she had entered the kitchen instead to make some tea for the hangover.

“It’s nothing,” Bella didn’t want to inform Emily of her family issues, she knew how sensitive Emily was to issues of money.

“Are you sure? Your eyes look…” Emily couldn’t tell if it was the hangover or the fact that she had been crying.

“Am fine, I will take a quick shower.”

“I need one too,” Emily said sipping her tea and dropping her cup on the table. Bella entered the bathroom alongside Emily, there were moments like this when they showered together. Bella had a sister but Emily was more of a sister to her than her biological sister, Janet.

Emily loved her, cared for her, and was always there for her.

********

After Emily was done in Bella’s house, she decided to go to her office to ask for a loan, today was her off day so she was glad, she noticed Bella seemed off after her conversation with that young man, and she wondered what they had talked about, but Bella wasn’t ready to share and she didn’t want to force her either.

“Is Mark around?” Emily asked his secretary.

“Yes he is inside, I thought today was your off day.”

“It is, I came to ask for a favor from him.”

“Money?”

“Kind of,” Emily confessed, it wasn’t a new thing for her to ask for a loan, it wasn’t common in the office but Emily always paid back and with interest.

“Well, knock before you go in. he is discussing with someone.”