Chapter 44: Dance At The Fire Exit

JADE:

I could only watch Kix’s back as he walked away from the fire exit.

I wanted to call him back, but what can I say? It was better for him to walk away. Rather than confuse him further with my feelings, it was better for us to part this way tonight…

Liam came back in after a bit. He didn’t even ask where Kix was.

“Dianna’s dad said that they’ll be here in a few minutes. Let’s just wait for them.”

I nodded. I didn’t have the energy to say anything else to him.

I walked back towards the place I was seated before Liam came, intending to sit down as we waited for Dianna’s parents. As I returned there, however, I froze. Kix’s suit was still there, lying on the ground just like how he had laid it down for me before...

“Stupid fool,” I muttered. Even if he did get the suit for free, like Kix said, how can he forget all about it?

I picked it up from the ground. Liam only looked at me and then back at Kix’s suit.

“You must have been surprised earlier,” I began to say. I had almost forgotten how Liam was the one who started that little fist fight with Kix. He was the first one to lay a hand on Kix when he saw him hugging me.

“I assure you nothing happened,” I said again.

“I know. I believe in you, Jade,” he replied. He went over towards me. He wounded his arms around me and gave me a hug. “I will always believe you, Jade, no matter what. Can you do the same for me?”

“Okay,” I said. It was a very warm hug. I could feel his embrace enveloping me tightly, making my heart feel fuzzy.

I frowned as I realized one thing, however. Why can’t I hear Liam’s heartbeat?

I lifted my head to take a closer look at Liam. He was wearing a dark blue suit, and he was well-dressed for tonight.

“Umm, why are you here, by the way?”

Could it be that he had followed me here?

“Actually, I was really going to invite you to this party three days ago, but Kix beat me to it. I didn’t want to act like a control freak, so I ended up not saying anything back then...”

He patted my head like a child. “I’m sorry that I punched him, Jade… I heard you say ‘no’ to him, so when I saw that he kept hugging you and making you feel uncomfortable, I couldn’t help it…”

“It wasn’t your fault… I’m sorry for coming to this party like this without considering how you would have felt,” I replied.

“No worries. No matter what, I’m always going to take your side, Jade. I have complete trust in you.”

A slow and gay music started to play in the background. The band must have been playing at the school ground already. We have really missed a big part of the ball…

I looked up once again at Liam’s face. How can he not ask me what happened? Wasn’t he curious to find Kix and I crying our eyes out earlier?

“Thanks for trusting me, Liam,” I remarked. “By the way, you have every right to ask me what happened… You’re my boyfriend now, so I don’t want to keep any secrets from you… So if you have a question, just ask… No matter how hard it is to answer, I’ll do my best.”

“Then… Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Can I… dance with you tonight?”

I laughed softly. “Just take a look at my face. My make-up is all ruined. How can I go down and dance with you?”

“We don’t need to go down. We could just dance right here,” Liam said, smiling widely.

I smiled back at him. A few moments ago, I had been crying like there was no tomorrow. Now, I was smiling from ear to ear with my boyfriend.

That’s right… Liam was my boyfriend now. He was the one I have chosen to be with...

I nodded at him, and he started to put his hand against my waist and his other arm around my back.

I let myself get swayed with the music, trying to forget the heavy feeling I had felt when I learned of Dianna’s betrayal and when I heard Kix’s side of the story. I wanted to forget how I hurt Kix with my words and with my refusal to get back together with him once more.

For a while, it really was effective. Looking at Liam’s tender and loving face felt like everything I had worried about could melt in the air around him.

“Um, why did you attend this ball? Do you know someone from the Psychology department?”

“Sort of. The principal sponsor of my scholarship is a member of the Psychology Society, so all the scholarship recipients are annually invited in this event.”

“Wow, you were a scholar? No wonder you were always studying,” I said back.

I knew Liam was smart, but I didn’t know he was a scholar.

“Who’s your sponsor? Is he an alumnus of the school?”

“Not really. Do you know Brooklyn & Burke Pharmacy?”

I nodded. It was one of the newest emerging pharmaceutical companies in the last three years.

“They privately sponsored me and three more students in this school.”

“I see,” I answered back absentmindedly as another thought began to form in my head. “Brooklyn & Burke… That’s BB Pharmacy, right?”

“Yup, that’s them.”

I frowned. I remembered the wine that Dianna took before she got drunk and acted all crazy. I remembered Kix’s words earlier too. He mentioned that the drink was spiked with drugs.

I wracked my brain, trying to jog a part of my memory that evening…

As I swirled the red liquid inside the goblet that the waiter handed to me earlier, I saw something curious.

At that time, I thought I was only mistaken. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but after hearing Kix’s words about the drink being drugged, I couldn’t help but think that maybe I really did see what I saw…

While swirling the goblet in my hands, I caught sight of something blue. It looked like a small pill.

At the center of it were two big letters – BB….

Could it possibly be Brooklyn and Burke?