Chapter 4

     

              Keira traveled down the corridor, still shackled with the thoughts of what she'd done earlier.

She'd called Andre sir and she bet he must've heard her. Everyone in the room must've heard her. Bet they are calling her all sorts of names now, laughing their guts out.

She's never going back there. Not like anyone would notice her absence.

They'll be too engrossed in their fun game or listening to Xander and Cole's tales about being cavalier playboys, to notice her absenteeism.

They both should've passed out as twins, rather than Cole and Aiden. The latter is calmer, more elusive, and earmarked, while Cole, on the other hand, is wild and boisterous.

Well, good for them. She was probably gonna stay out here and watch the wild orgies until it was time for them to go home.

She located the bathroom exactly where Andre had directed her and she pushed the door open, only to be welcomed by a somber and gloomy room, devoid of light.

Keira was confused, so stepped out to reassure herself that was the last door on the left, as that was exactly what she'd heard him say.

"The bathroom is down the hall." He'd directed her,

"The last door on your left." She could hear his deep voice repeating the same words over and over again inside her head.

That was exactly what he said to her. She'd heard him right, not hallucination.

Well, if he's said the bathroom was the last door on her left, then, it was. She reopened the door and sauntered cautiously into the somber and dark ambiance of the gray and black-themed bedroom. 

It was cold, bleak, and dark inside. So quiet, Keira felt cold chills as the darkness engulfed her. It was the most piercing darkness ever and it wasn't just the darkness that was the absence of luminous light, however, this was the sinister and mysterious type of darkness and it matches perfectly, the personality of the person that'd directed her there.

Keira dug her hand into her jean pocket and fished out her cell phone and she turned on the torchlight.

In the darkness of the room, she searched for the light switch and turned it on immediately after she found it.

That instant, the room was illuminated, but dimly. There was just a single light in the room and it wasn't luminous enough to brighten everywhere.

At least, this is better. She thought to herself, sauntering further into the room.

There was a king-sized bed with a custom black sheet, matching the black satin embedded headboard and the pitch black wallpaper, with the painting of a crown in the middle and the name KING boldly written under the painting.

Probably, it was his room....but if it was, why then did he direct me here? Keira couldn't help but beat herself to the question while feeding her eyes with a tour around the room.

There was a black shelf on the other side of the bed and it had tons of books neatly arranged in each of its cubicles.

"He must love reading to have these books on his shelf." She aired her thoughts out loud, walking towards the shelf, catching sight of a familiar book cover.

She pulled out the book from the stack when she got close enough and a smile formed on her lipstick-covered lips.

TULLY by Paulina Simmons.

"My Tully." She smiled to herself, a look of admiration on her face as she stared at the book. She was so engrossed in staring at the book, she didn't notice the figure that stepped into the room, walking towards her from behind.

"Seems you've found something you love." A deep and hoarse voice spoke from behind her and she was startled, almost jumping out of her skin.

"Jeezus!" She panicked, turning immediately, only to see Xander leaning against the door frame, his hands buried into his pocket in a gentlemanly manner, and on his face laid a sinister smirk.

Fear sunk into her at the sight of him.

What'd he come there to do? Or was it a plot instigated by him and Andre, to get back at her?

"I'm sorry." She apologized almost immediately, keeping back the book on the book.

"I thought this was the restroom, I didn't know it was your room." She palliated in her defense, stepping away from the bookshelf.

"Andre was pretty clear back there, maybe you need to boost your hearing ability." He joked in mocking contempt, but Keira said nothing.

He pulled his weight from the door and sauntered toward her,

"You know, you're quite feisty for a girl your age and size." He mouthed to her, halfway through the distance between them, while she began taking a step back, for his time he got closer.

"I like it. I do think I've met a soul, half-spirited as yours, especially for a young lady." 

Keira panicked when she came in cold contact with the wall and Xander was less than a foot away from her, exuding a domineering and sinister aura.

"...." She opened her mouth to say something, but out of fright, no words could come out.

"You don't have to be scared of me, Keira. I don't bite, at least not yet." He reassured her, stopping a foot away from her.

He leaned his head closer to hers, leaving a few inch gap between them and he whispered against her hearing,

"Welcome to Camden University."

Keira felt her heart stop beating and he breathe, seizing until he pulled away from her, a devious smirk on his face.

He moved away and rested himself against the wall,

"Don't worry, you can go. I'm not going to bite you."

With that statement, she braced herself up and ran out of the room, not sparing another glance at him.

   Instead of looking for the bathroom herself, Keira decided to go ask one of the guests at the party. At least, one who wasn't high, drunk, or having sex.

Fortunately, after asking a few of the guests, she located the bathroom and luck to her, it was empty. She dashed into it, pushing the door shut immediately.

Coming out a while later, she was surprised to see Shakira and her friends were out of their clubhouse room and had joined the party. Elvira was talking to one of the twins and she seemed....drunk!

Fuck! She must've probably taken more than her alcohol tolerance.

Heaven knows what sort of drinks they've mixed into that cocktail.

She strode to an empty spot on the sofa and doused herself on it. From the look on Elvira's face, she was smitten by whatever Cole was saying to her or probably, it was the alcohol reacting on her face, but she looked like she would kiss him any moment.

Of course, he was handsome and girls won't hesitate to drool over him, but his lifestyle needed a lot of work. His and his friends. She couldn't tell for Aiden and Andre, putting how withdrawn they both were from the entire conversation.

She averted her gaze from Elvira and Cole to Kim and Aiden that were smooching on the armchair as if their next breath depended on it. 

A look of disgust crossed her face as she looked away from them to the dancing guests. She could barely make out the lyrics of the song playing in the background, because of how loud and deafening it was, but most of the guests were still wiggling their drunken bodies to it, while a few had their intoxicated bodies slumped against somewhere, for support.

Some people would never respect their alcohol tolerance, once they get free drinks.

She hissed with disappointment, shaking her head at the sight of a guy that was sprawled on the floor near the dining area. He was visibly stoned but was still latching onto a bottle of beer, hallucinating a talking partner.

Looking at him, she was reminded of her father during his bad days, which was almost every day after he'd lost his job. Getting drunk became his daily routine and verbal fighting with her mom became a hobby he loves to indulge in. Their lives probably got worse after he lost his job.

It was like, immediately after he lost his job, the gate of hell was pushed open for their family. Paying the bills, feeding them, and getting their basic needs, became so difficult for her family and it only worsened as the days went by. 

More reasons she'd jump into the paycheck line immediately after high school, to support the finances as best as she could.

Her subconscious reverie was interrupted by the sound of her rumbling stomach and there it occurred to her she hadn't had any dinner yet. With how early she got off work, it must've slipped her memory to get herself dinner while returning home.

Fuck! She is doomed.

What's she gonna eat when they finally get home? She probably has nothing left to eat, except the leftover pretzel sticks from yesterday.

That ain't gonna do her, but it wasn't like she'd any other option. Begging has never been an option for her, never.

She might be poor, but her dignity matters a whole lot to her and she wasn't going to lose it over anything. Nothing at all.

When she was attacked by the rumbling sound again, she got up from the sofa and started towards the kitchen area, through the wild, boisterous crowd.

She is going to get some water from the sink and keep sipping on it until it is time for them to leave.

     What Keira didn't expect to see when she got to the kitchen was a blonde-haired girl giving a blowjob to Andre, who was resting against the kitchen counter, grunting out in deep pleasure.

She was so bewildered, she couldn't move an inch from the spot she was standing.

He was cheating on Shakira and earlier, she was drooling over him like he was the only cactus in her desert.

Men are real scumbags. How could he do something like that to his girlfriend and later, he'll claim he loves her?

Disgusting. More reason to never date a guy in college.

Having witnessed enough of their adulterous acts, she turned to leave unnoticed, as they seemed oblivious to her presence. However, the moment she turned to leave, a deep voice echoed through the kitchen where she was located,

"And where the fuck do you think you're going to?" The voice queried her.

Keira stopped but didn't turn to acknowledge the owner of the voice, who she already knew who it was.

The nerve of him to question her in such a tone, after what he'd done.

"Don't you dare ignore me bitch, where the fuck do you think you're going to?" He repeated with authority and with a disdainful smirk, she turned to him and spat venomously,

"Somewhere scumbags like you don't exist."

With those words, she hissed loudly and stormed out of the kitchen, making her way through the crowd, toward the exit.

She's had enough of these ill-mannered, snobby people.