Chapter 14

"Why? Is she isn't allowed to drink?" said the man, innocently. In concentration, my brow furrowed. Why is it that he appears to have a man with his face sat near him? I shifted my focus to Elias, who seemed completely unaware of what was going on. When I realized that he, too, had become two, my brow furrowed once more. His appearance even imitates his actions. "Hey, Elias!" I squeak as I draw Elias' attention to me. Elias gave me a frown. His brow furrowed in response to my gaze. I gave him a lovely grin. I laughed as I said, "I can see your twin." They have a striking resemblance. "Wait, why are my surroundings moving? Stop it, I am becoming dizzy," I complained, pouting. I was leaning on Elias" shoulder when I became dizzy. "What the fuck happened to you, baby girl?" he mutters. Because he is astonished, he almost shoved me when I leaned on him. I do not believe he anticipated what I did. "Do not be naughty," I grumbled. "Eh, I am even more dizzy." I told him, "If you do not stop, I will report you to my brother." I shifted my gaze away from the table and fixed it on him. My eyes widened as I realized how near we were. We were on the verge of kissing because he was looking down at me and I raised my face to meet his gaze. He had a stunned look on his face as well. "Hey, what is with your face being so close to mine?" When I told him, he frowned. I said, "You stink from booze." I can smell the booze he consumed. It doesn"t actually stink; I am simply joking with him that his breathing stinks because of the alcohol he consumed. He had just taken my breath away. His lips were slightly parted, so I just managed to close it. To close his mouth, I touched it. It was only then that he recognized what he had done. He averted his gaze from me and spun around to look behind me. I am dizzy, tsk. I was still feeling good earlier. When I sipped the drink offered to me by the guy seated across from me, I started to feel disoriented. "Fuck you, Marco. What exactly are you up to?" Elias exclaimed. When he cursed in front of me, my brows collided. I believed he was cursing me, but it was Marco who he was actually cursing, not me. I overheard him say, "Delete those images, fucker." I am intrigued by the images he mentions. Did they took a group photo without me? With a pout, I stared at Marco. He was clutching a cell phone, which he was pointing at us. As he held his iPhone directed in our way, I could see his malicious grin. "Are you taking pictures?" I inquire, thrilled. When he laughs and nods, I happily clap my hands. "Really? So, could you take a picture of the two of us?" I said, grabbing Elias next to me for a photo opportunity. Elias attempted to take my hand away from him, but I refused to allow him do so. Is he afraid of the camera? Well, that is adorable. "Will you stay still? Let us just snap another picture, at least one, for the record." I give him a cheeky smile. I even make a charming blinking motion at him to get him to agree. When I heard Marco chuckle out loud, Elias frowned even more. "You have no idea what you are doing, Anna. You have put my life in jeopardy! " he explained. I could not stop laughing at what he said. Is he really so afraid of the camera? Why is he so afraid of taking pictures? The camera will not eat him alive. "Please? Please?" I barely gave him a shoulder shake when I said that. He merely nodded and groaned. He is completely giving up on my obstinacy. "I am done with this life." I overheard him murmur, "I want to live longer." I just smiled at the camera and shook my head. When Marco motioned for us to take a picture, I smiled even bigger. I let Elias go after a few takes. He took a hasty step away from me. His foot got trapped in the chair and he almost fell. He sighed deeply as he walked away from me. Because he is so pale, he appears to be on the verge of losing his mind. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Thank God." "Bro, I will pray for your soul," Josh said, I am completely oblivious to the fact that Josh had returned to our table. His invited relative had arrived earlier, so he went with him first. "You fucker, Marco!" Elias snarled fiercely at Marco, who was now texting on his phone with a devious smirk on his face. "What?" Marco said, his face innocent. Elias felt increasingly angrier as a result of this. "Give me your phone," he growled, his teeth clenched as he approached Marco. What is the deal with these two? Marco smiled as he handed Elias his cell phone. Elias took it in his hands and examined it. "He is on his way to annihilate you." Marco said solemnly, "May God bless you." He even went over to Elias, who was now astonished, and patted his shoulder. Next to me, Josh burst out laughing. He"s as if he is watching a drama between these two, and he is thoroughly enjoying it. "You jerk!" Elias yelled at Marco fiercely. He chased after Marco who was now quickly huddled with the dancing people to escape the screaming Elias. I am only able to shake my head at them. They act as if they are in elementary school. I simply knelt down on the table. My dizziness worsens as time passes, and the obnoxious light and loud music do little to assist. "What is up, Anna? Do you want to go upstairs, first? For you to relax," Josh whispered alongside me, adding, "I cannot take care of you." I merely give him a shake of my head. Because his parents were not at home, he was able to have a party at their home. If what I hear from their chat is right, I believe they are out of town. I now believe that in the saying that, when the cat is gone, the rats have fun. His parents were on vacation, but he"s here, acting like he is escaped from a cage and partying. "Hey, I will just double-check on the available room for you to rest," Josh said. Before he leaves, I notice him softly fiddling with my hair. Why do these three pals always manage to ruin my hair? Tss. Someone sat next to me a few minutes after Josh left me to go upstairs. My brow was furrowed. What gives him the ability to return so quickly? Is he one of the Flashes? The speed with which he can return, eh. Because my eyesight was whirling, I did not bother to lift my head to look at him. I"m not sure how long it has been since I arrived here. I became disoriented and lost track of time. I feel someone messing and gentky massaging my hair. I smile. They have a nasty habit of messing up my hair. I grin. Despite the fact that they have just recently met me, they treat me as if I were their younger sister. That"s how they deal with me. When I felt the touch of a large palm on my exposed shoulder, I flinched. The person gently caresses me there, as if sliding his hand over my silky skin is a pleasurable experience for him. I tensed up. My brother"s friend would never touch me in this manner. I am half sober, yet I am still aware of what is going on around me. I gazed at the man, who was still shrugging my shoulders, with blurred eyesight. "Let go of me," I muttered, slurring my words. I heard him laugh, but he did not let go of my hand, which was still gripping me. I looked for his face but could not find it. I am unable to do so due to my foggy vision. I attempted to free myself from his grip, but instead of releasing me, he tightened his grip even tighter. In anguish, I winced. I fought to free myself from his grip. Despite the fact that I had beaten him, he refused to let me go. He is more powerful than I am. In addition, I have the sensation of spinning and my vision is fuzzy. I am starting to feel anxious. I a. not sure what he was thinking when he touched me, and I am not sure what he expected from me. But there is one thing I am certain of. I know whatever he wants from me is not good. I was still fighting to get free from his clutches, but it was futile. My chest throbbed harder the longer his skin was on mine. I began to feel out of breath, and tears welled up in my eyes. This emotion of mine is already taking me in a direction I do not want to go. I am experiencing a panic attack. Right now, all I want to do is get out of here. I"m unable to think clearly. I am now in a dimly lit area, surrounded by individuals who are dancing and drinking. Almost everyone is inebriated. My eyes are welling up with tears. I am down on my luck. I just wish Josh or Elias had remembered me and returned here, but they still had not returned after a few minutes. I am sobbing uncontrollably, begging the stranger to let go, but it never happens. The stranger"s grip on my shoulder had not loosened at all. I sensed him leaning in close to my neck. I fought hard, but his power never let me down. A strong punch forced him to let go of me just as he was inches away. What happened astounded me, and I was left speechless while crying. The touch of that man is still lingering on my skin. I can still hear his terrifying laugh and feel his firm hold on my shoulder. The way he almost presses his face into my neck. The way he sneezes at me. My tears continued to pour unabated. This is the first time something like this has occurred to me. My entire body is trembling. I can no longer hear the deafeningly loud ringing from the speaker. The earlier dancing and rowdy mob had vanished from my view. It was as if I was staring at nothing, but my tears did not stop falling. Someone is shaking me, yet my entire body is numb. "Hey, darling, look at me," says a voice I barely hear. Neither does any of my trembling come to a halt. "Angel, you are making us nervous. Please speak." I hear another man"s voice, but I am still numb. When I am experiencing an emotional outburst, I am like this. I am in a state of numbness. "Hey, jerk! Later, assassinate that imbecile. Anna is struggling to take a breath!" A panicked voice said. The noises are audible, but my brain isn"t processing them. My entire being appears to be floating. Someone tenderly wiped away my tears soon after. "Anna, baby, stay with me," he said, despite the fact that wiping away my tears was futile because they kept falling. "It is all right, I am here. Breath, baby," he kept saying in my ear, pushing me to take a deep breath and stay with him. Gradually, my vision improved. The previous loud sound from the speaker has vanished. A small crowd had formed around me. "Hush now, Anna. Breath." My brother Alessandre"s calming voice says, "Breath, baby." When I saw him in front of me, I thought I was hallucinating. I started crying again. "Please, take a deep breath," he begs. His eyes were filled with emotions that I couldn"t put into words. All I can clearly see is his frightened expression. "Take a deep breath, Anna," he pleaded almost beggingly. I am gasping for oxygen with my mouth open. I kept track of his inhale and exhale. It was not until then that I noticed I was having trouble breathing. Even though I do not have asthma, I feel as if I am experiencing an asthma attack. "That is it, baby." He wiped my tears and murmured, "Breathe." I sob, "Brother..." For an embrace, he drew me closer to him. I started crying again. He is, in fact, present. I am not imagining things. My brother has arrived, and he has come to my rescue. He simply hugged me till I was no longer agitated. Even though my tears had wet his garments, he did not complain. He just let me hug him and kept whispering words into my ear. He assisted me in standing up after I had calmed down. Unbeknownst to me, I had been crying on the floor earlier. I look around the entire space with my eyes wandering. The folks who were before rejoicing have vanished. We were the only ones left, with the guards strewn about. When I heard a moan of anguish, I tensed. I knew it was from the man who tried to injure me even though I did not look. My terror had returned. I was about to glance at him when my older brother intervened. "Do not." He shortly said and helped me to his car. He opened the door and gently ushered me inside. He took off his jacket and put it on me. After that he closed the door. I saw him approach his friends. They talked and based on my older brother"s expression he was obviously angry. Older brother did not take too much time talking to his friends. He got back in the car and started the engine. He kept his gaze on me. Maybe he was worried about me. I cannot blame him. That was the first time he had seen me in such a situation. I avoid letting other people know about my condition. I do not want people to notice how I am feeling. I am weak and vulnerable, and I am aware of it, but I do not want others to be aware of it. But here I am, having just exposed myself to my brother and his friends. "Brother..." I say, my voice trembling. Before speaking, I cleared my throat. I began, "Aunt Lila and Uncle Sandro..." Brother Alessandre seemed to get what I"m trying to express. He gave me a friendly nod. "Do not worry, I will not tell them," he continued, his gaze fixed on me. "For the time being, let us stay at my condo. I will simply tell them I picked you up so they will not bother you with any more inquiries. Just relax, Anna," he urged as he drove. I gave a shaky nod. My body"s trembling continued unabated. Even the thundering thud of my heart remained. I tried to ignore what had happened before by closing my eyes. Maybe something awful would have occurred to me if my older brother hadn"t come. He is my savior. I had no idea I had dozed off during the journey. I fell asleep easily, probably due to a combination of weariness, worry, and crying earlier. I simply awoke with the sensation that someone was lifting me. Brother Alessandre"s cold blue eyes greeted me as I cautiously opened my eyes. He is taking his walk quite seriously. He is deep in thought and his jaw is clenched. He did not see I was awake because he was deep in contemplation. He is carrying me in a bridal style. Because everyone was staring at us, I called his attention. "You have the ability to take me down, brother. I will just stroll," I responded, a feeble smile on my face. He only grimaced and did not seem interested in what I had to say. He merely kept walking as if he didn"t mind if we were drawing attention to ourselves. All I could do was cling to him. He also appears to be uninterested in what I have to say. I encircled his neck with my arms and leaned on his neck to shield my face from the critical and curious gazes of the folks in his condominium"s lobby. I was able to take a deep breath as soon as we entered the elevator. On the fourteenth floor, the elevator came to a halt. When he got to the front door of his condo, older brother came to a halt. I glanced at him with surprised and perplexed eyes. "Take the key from my pocket," he murmured, his piercing blue eyes staring at me. I took action right away and did exactly what he recommended. Because the key was hidden in the pocket of his shorts, it took me a while to find it. He could just take me down and let me walk on my own to get out of trouble, but he"s obstinate. When I got the key, I opened the door. Only then did my older brother drop me off when we reached the living room. He sat me on the sofa and left me to go to the kitchen. He also did not took long and returned immediately. He was already carrying a glass of water and a medicine box when he return. After I drank the water he offered me, I looked at him with interest. He then knelt in front of me and tenderly treated my arm"s scrape. That was something I hadn"t noticed previously. Probably because my anxiety and fear won out. I spotted his wound on his fist while he was healing my wound, so I treated him when he finished treating my scratch. When I took his hand in mine and guided him next to me, he was even more surprised. He just stare at me as I treated his wound.