6. Last Friday Night

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Val's was one of the clubs that Susan frequented. Willow had always wanted to go there and see how it was, but she could not go there before because it was below Knox's standards, and as his girlfriend, she had to keep to those standards.

Oh well, now she didn't need to worry about anything else. She could go wherever she pleased. And no one could stop her.

"What do you think of this place?" Susan asked, doing a little dance in the glittering blue dress as she dragged Willow inside.

Willow took in the rich music and the electricity in the air, the packed dance floors, and the crowded bars.

"I think it's beautiful!" Willow finally felt the tension dissipate. "I think I am actually in the mood to have some fun right now!"

"Better than chicken and beer, right?" Susan winked, yelling over the music as she dragged Willow onto the dance floor.

"Definitely better than chicken and beer." Willow agreed as the two ladies grooved to the music.

The women spent some half an hour on the dance floor before they settled down on one of the tables.

"Can we join you ladies?" A boy, definitely younger than twenty, with electric blue wavy hair approached them.

"Aren't we a little old for you?" Susan raised a brow at him.

"We are not looking for anything else. Just here to have a good time and hopefully make new friends." He shrugged as he gestured to his other friend who looked way older than twenty with his six-five height, gelled-back hair, and inked forearms.

"How old are you guys?" Willow asked.

"I am twenty-one. He's-" He cupped his hands and whispered as if anyone could hear it over the music. "Seventeen."

Susan and Willow gaped at the boy.

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Susan shook her head.

"That's some bull you are trying to pull!" Willow pointed a finger at the eccentric boy. "I would believe it if you said it was the other way around, but this is just impossible to believe."

The kid grinned. "Mathew Mercado." He held out his hand. "And my half-brother Damien Mercado." 

The two women just stared at the two.

"So can we join you?" Mathew sheepishly retracted his hand.

Willow felt bad and shook his hand. "Willow Mason"

"Susan Pott." Susan said with a flourish. "Join us."

Mathew sat down next to Susan and Damien next to Willow.

"So why is a minor at a club?" Willow asked Damien.

He shrugged. "I was grounded, and Matt was supposed to be watching me." He gritted, not liking that he was being babysat.

She let out a laugh, looking over at Susan and Mathew who were blatantly flirting before turning back to the kid contrary to Mathew's initial statement that they were not looking for anything else. "Why were you grounded?"

He shrugged. "Pranked our football coach."

Willow raised a brow, waiting for more info.

"We filled her drawer with condoms. Used condoms."

Willow snorted, clearing her throat as Damien's lips twitched because this was not something that an adult should encourage.

"That was so wrong of you!" She chastised after composing herself.

"She sat me out so her son could play. She deserved it." He didn't seem the least sorry.

Willow shook her head, suppressing a smile.

Willow's brother, Freddy, was seventeen when he died and he too used to play football. He too used to be something like the kid sitting in front of her. She immediately felt a platonic affection towards the boy.

"And the tattoos? Your parents let you get them?" She pointed at the cheap ink on his skin.

"Fake." Mathew supplied from the other side. "For more authenticity. The hair too."

Willow and Susan nodded, impressed. The ink and the gel were doing their jobs pretty well because not one person could doubt that Damien was a minor.

Contrary to the tough exterior and his act of being a brooding hunk, as the night went on Damien became more relaxed and he turned out to be a total golden retriever.

And surprise surprise, Mathew and Susan ditched them to go their way.

"Do you have a ride?" Willow asked as the two stepped out of Val's.

"Nope, I will get a cab." Damien flashed her a sweet smile. 

"I could drop you off," Willow said. He was almost an adult but she could not get Freddy out of her mind and wanted to do something for this kid. 

"I don't want to trouble you," Damien said. "Besides, look at me. No one's going to kidnap me." 

Willow let out a laugh. "I know I know. But since my friend hijacked your ride, let me do as much."

Damien seemed to think for a moment and then finally agreed. "Let's go then." 

Willow and Damien bantered all through the car ride and as she waved him goodbye as he walked up the stairs to his upscale house, she felt relaxed and at peace. 

But then an emptiness settled in the pit of her stomach. 

She let out a sigh. 

It was going to be like this for a while. She knew that. She knew that she could not change that. 

"I miss you, Knox." She whispered and then lightly slapped her face. "You don't have any right in this world to say that." 

She drove her new secondhand SUV back into her apartment complex and rode up the elevator, the emptiness becoming unbearable. She wondered if she was having a panic attack or something. 

The hallway was empty when the elevator opened. And as she reached her doorstep, her eyes dropped to Knox's door and stayed there for almost five minutes. She wondered if she should knock. And she almost did before she stopped herself and held onto her little pride. 

She locked herself up inside her house. 

Willow had the whole weekend to herself. She was going to order in chicken and beer and binge-watch some Korean drama. 

She sent a message to Susan asking if she was safe, for which she got a thumbs up as a reply. Before putting her phone down, she could not help but search #KNIA.

Pictures of them from tonight showed up. They were at yet another charity function. 

And they looked blissfully happy. 

Willow hated herself for the tears that betrayed her. 

She thought it would get better with time but the more she saw the two of them together, the worse her misery became. 

Heartbreak was supposed to heal with time, then why did it feel like someone was gnawing away at her heartstrings harder and harder as the days went by?

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