The Heaven I Found In Hell (26 page)

Hey! I was wondering where I could get the mask Alexandra Levi wore to her school's high school dance. The moment I saw it, I fell in love with it. It was simple, but yet elegant, and I would definitely want to get it for my younger sister's upcoming Sweet Sixteen since she's having her own Masquerade Ball. Please tell me where I could find the mask. Thanks.

Oh...I'm sorry, but apparently, we learned from a close source that she made the mask herself. It can't be bought anywhere, but with the use of a few tubes of different colors of glitter glue, and cardboard paper, you can have a one-of-a-kind mask of your own.

- Glamour Magazine

The light trying to peep through my window woke me up, and as I tried to sleep again since I was really tired from last night, I couldn't anymore. The rays of the sun touched my cheeks, and made me feel warm. After a few minutes of laziness, which meant still staying in bed while I covered myself with the comforter, I stood up, and entered the bathroom. I took a quick shower, immersing myself in the hot water, before I left the restroom, with only a towel wrapped around me, and dressed up. It was November already, which meant the weather was becoming bad. I hated the cold wind slapping my face, while I shivered like I didn't have any clothes on even though I had two layers of it protecting my body. I started wearing my Seven jeans, and then a black halter top, before I put on a polka dotted tee. I slipped my feet into my ballet flats, before I left my bedroom, and smelling bacon being fried into a crisp, woke my stomach up, and I felt it growl.

Riley greeted me with a wide smile, which I took as mischievous, before I replayed the events that had happened last night, during the Homecoming Dance. I remembered everything, Nathan picking me up, the limo ride, the dancing, Nathan winning Homecoming King, and Cindy, queen, Cindy telling me to kiss Charlie, me getting mad at her for being immature, her telling me Nathan liked me, my confrontation with Nathan, and Nate running away from me, while I took a taxi home since I didn't want to face Riley and the rest with bad news.

"You and me, with Anthony and your new boyfriend are going out on a double date later tonight." Riley said, with a smile like that of the Cheshire cat on her face.

I sat on the stool nearest to where she stood cooking breakfast, before I returned her smile with a shy one of my own. I guessed she didn't know what had happened yet, maybe she thought that Nathan and I had left the dance together, and we did some...you know...but that wasn't what happened...so, so far from what really had taken place. She noticed my apprehension, and immediately realized her mistake.

"You guys...?" She asked, afraid to tackle the topic with one of the victims, me. "Didn't...?"

I simply shook my head, and she enveloped me into a friendly embrace. I laughed at how mushy she was being, before I patted her on the back, and told her that our breakfast was going to burn if she didn't let go of me. She unwrapped me from her arms before she went back to cooking breakfast. I stood up from the chair I was sitting on, and took out a couple of plates, glasses, and eating utensils. I went over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice we had bought recently before I helped her put our now cooked breakfast onto a plate.

"But I thought you guys went home together doing naughty stuff!" She said, half-serious, and half-teasing.

I laughed at her words, before I slapped her on the arm. She shrugged her shoulders at me, and told me that was what everyone had thought, even Cindy, before she asked me to tell her what really happened. By the way she looked at me I knew she was dying to know. So being a good friend (cough), I told her everything right from where we left the ballroom. It took me at least ten minutes to tell her every moment of what had happened, and at the end of my story, I saw her wearing a sad, disappointed look. She looked like she was going to cry, and I tried to laugh it off, by telling her that it was no biggie, but it was.

"It's okay, Ri..." I said, letting out a small laugh just to avoid myself from sounding hurt. "Shit happens..."

"Not to my brother and you, it doesn't." She said, sounding quite annoyed.

I really didn't know that this was going to make her feel bad. I absolutely didn't since I knew Nathan wasn't as innocent (as you guys might have believed), and I thought Riley was used to seeing her brother breaking hearts, and getting his heart broken. I told Riley what clouded my mind, and she disagreed the moment I finished my first sentence.

"You're different...the girls he dated were whores..." She said, looking much gloomier than before. "They were sluts who cheated...and never took my brother seriously..."

What she said made me question myself.

"Riley...look at what you said...you described me."

"Nuh-uh."

"Ri...I’m a bitch...I don't cheat...but I've probably dated more than those two-timing whores, as you call them...and if you haven't noticed yet...well, I've never taken anyone seriously..."

I can't believe I was making myself sound like the antagonist that I really wasn't, but I just didn't want my best friend to beat herself up over her brother's and my problems. She looked more forlorn than I was, and she acted like she was gravely affected by my bad news. I wasn't used to seeing the Adams' siblings acting so serious and low-spirited. It made me feel so miserable, and trust me...I've never felt truly miserable.

"You like my brother...don't you?" She asked, trying to reassure herself.

I nodded, before I gave her an, "I guess so..."

"Why do you sound like you don't want to be with him...? You're making up all these reasons..."

"I never made those up..." I told her, and she knew it.

"But you were questioning why my brother likes you...can't you just be happy that he feels something for you...?"

I swear...I was expecting Riley to end her sentence with, "...Can't you just be happy that he feels something for you, you heartless bitch?" But she didn't, and I kind of felt my heart loosening up a bit. She was downhearted, but not angry, and I realized how much of a good friend she was. Instead of siding with her brother just because they were related, she was listening to me...hearing me...understanding me.

"I'm happy he likes me back...but I’m confused as to why he couldn't just tell me." I said to her, and in return she replied by giving me a question to answer.

"Haven't you thought about the way you acted? The way you made him see you, even though you weren't aware of it...?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, and gave her a cowed look. I tried to remember the times where I had acted naughty since I recalled Nathan telling me about something that happened during my first club experience in this place...and then I thought about the other bar-hopping events I went through. Riley was right. Nathan was there every time, and while I was busy making-out and playing with numerous strangers, he was watching me from a distance. 
But why wasn't he stopping me if he liked me?
 Because I told him not to do anything. Now I remembered, and now I understood what Riley's brother was talking about all along. But even though most, if not all, was cleared up already, I still had questions.

"But why is he treating me differently from all the other girls he's dated?" I asked. "I'm just like them...but why...?"

Riley smiled at me, as though she was some guru who knew a lot more than me. "You ask him that."

The evening arrived much slower than I had expected it to since Saturdays usually flew by like a strong breeze, gone before it even hit you. I spent my afternoon around the school campus, gallivanting, doing nothing, and yes...even studying. I had to thank God...really, seeing as how I was still able to force myself to finish my homework, even though all that clouded my brain were thoughts about Nathan, Nathan, and lastly...Nathan. I was able to finish a paper about the Sumerian Civilization, and still had a number of hours to burn before the sun would set, and thus, I spent the rest of my afternoon hanging out with Cindy. Kendra and Riley were busy playing a practice game with a few of their teammates.

How did I end up with Cindy? Well...I had to make an excuse that I needed help in this particular lesson in Math, and that I wanted her to explain it to me. Call me desperate or what, but I wasn't going to spend my free time alone sulking because of the fact that I was too much of a coward to 'finish' my talk with Nathan. We spent an hour and a half in her dorm, and after, we went to the mall. We bought a few things from shops like Guess, Abercrombie, and Against All Odds. 
Yes, I know...
they weren't our usual high-end designer shops, but when we saw the clothes, we just had to get them. They were just so, so cute, and...drumroll...comfy! Yes, that's definitely something new for me.

After we shopped 'til we dropped, we headed over to this Italian Restaurant for some light dinner. We found a table, sitting two, and headed over there, before we browsed the menus. The both of us, obviously, weren't heavy eaters, so each of us ordered a drink, specifically a shake, and some light pasta. While waiting for our orders to come, we decided to talk.

"So, I heard you and Nathan aren't really on speaking terms right now." She said, very, very straight to the point.

"News travels fast I see." I answered her, sounding quite collected.

I had to roll my eyes at her. She obviously didn't know the reason I wanted to hang out with her was to avoid thinking about, talking about, and seeing Nathan, but she was bringing him up. She said his name like I’d be more than happy to continue the conversation, and by the placid tone of voice I used to respond to her, she seemed to think that exactly. She smiled at me as though we were the best of friends, before she leaned her elbows on the table. I knew it was bad to do so, but I wasn't some goody-goody who was going to tell her to stop what she did. That'd be...gay.

"Are you okay? Nathan's an ass..." She said nonchalantly, doing a small hand gesture.

Woah! Hold it there!

I widened my eyes, and gave her a 'what-the-hell' look.

Wasn't she the one who was dying to have Nathan? And now she's calling him an...ass?

Call this backstabbing or whatever...but she was good at it. And if my predictions were correct, she was going to call me an ass in front of Nathan, behind my back, just like what she was doing to him, with me. She was two-faced to the max, and she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. I tried to put on a calm facade, just to hide the fact that anger suddenly was flowing through my veins, because of how she was playing the two of us. And I suddenly thought of something...
I hate the word 'play'...

"No, he isn't..." I said with a plastic smile on my face.

"But aren't you mad that he...? He..."

"He what...?"

I noticed the way she stuttered, and it looked to me like she didn't know how to continue her sentence. Maybe she thought I was going to cut her off, and tell her some stupid thing without thinking about it first, but I decided to go the other way, the better one. I waited until she finished, out of respect (such a lie), before I opened my mouth to speak,

"He left you alone..."

"We left each other alone..." I said to her when she couldn't say anything more.

Her eyes widened, and I saw another side of her, fear. Maybe she was scared because I was cornering her, and there was no way out. We were talking quite calmly, and thankfully, we weren't ripping each other's head off...yet. I was glad both of us were acting like ladies...for once. I put my hands on my lap for comfort, before my fingers started to drum some random beat. The both of us kept quiet for a few seconds, and didn't bother to busy ourselves thinking of a topic to rid the awkward silence because the deafening quietness was good for the both of us. After a while, I started.