Hold Me Close

Chapter 2

- 4 months later -

It was early in the morning when I heard the doorbell rang. I didn't want to get up, seeing as I crashed at 5am, I was in no position to wake up. Not when I had a crazy night of drinking and partying with a group of my friends. I looked at the time and it was only 1pm. The doorbell did not stop ringing.

" I'm coming, give me a sec!!" I screamed, even when it hurt my head.

I grunted before trying to get up to make my way drowsily to the door.

Before I could open it, the door burst opened. Standing infront of me was my best friend, Hanli.

"Oh my god where have you been??? I was calling you the entire night, you disappeared again!!!"

She looked at me worriedly and was checking to see if anyone was around.

"Hanny, inside voices...." I covered my left while whispering.

"what do you mean where was i? Here the entire time" I walked towards the kitchen to get myself an aspirin and a glass of water.

"Please... we were drinking and then you just suddenly disappeared. Did the party get too boring for you?"

"No, of course not, I was drunk and decided to call it a night like the responsible adult I am" I smirked at her while leaning against my counter.

Please... we all know you are far from a responsible drinker. Did you bring home someone and get a little freaky?" She smirked and nudged me.

I almost spilt my drink. I slapped her and rolled my eyes.

"stop... you are gross Hanli Cooper" I said while slapping her arm.

"oh come on, how long are you going to realise Theo isnt coming back"

"Of course I know that. I gave up the moment he walked away from me 4 months ago"

"oh reaaally?" she raised her eyebrow staring at me.

That was a lie.

I waited for Theo to call me for a month before I realised it was stupid. How could I be waiting for someone who just didn't want me the way I wanted him?

Soon, I tried to move on. Trust me it was hard especially if you've spent every single day with the same person for 12 years (not forgetting the 4 years he liked me).

As soon as the break up hit me after the 1st month, I took it hard.

I wouldn't get out of bed. I wouldn't eat. I just didn't want to live.

My friends tried to take me out, be there for me but all I wanted was just to shut off all the lights, curl up in bed and cry some more.

But eventually, I got better, don't get me wrong, I think of Theo every single day. What he's doing, Who is he with, Whether he has eaten.

"Earth to Ayla? Hellooooo?" Hanli waved her hands vigorously infront of my face.

"huh? yes yes what?" I snapped out of my head and looked at her.

"So what's today's plan? Going to the gym? Going for brunch? Having happy hour? C'mon its a Saturday! Let's do something!"

"Let's just relax and get ready for tonight's party" I said while taking my glass of water to my living room. She followed me and settled herself down beside me.

I'm not a rich rich girl like people might think. I think the rich one is Hanli. She stays in a penthouse. As rich as it gets, she has 3 cars, one for going hiking, one for her chauffeur to drive her around and one to drive herself around. Lucky for Hanli, not only is she rich, but pretty too, blue eyes, blonde wavy hair that reaches her waist. I swear its no wonder guys are attracted to her.

As for me, well, what can I say, I'm just a typical mid length brown wavy hair with light brown eyes and a few freckles on my nose kind of girl. I would say i'm very normal. I'm Aylana Michaels. Or just Ayla for short. My parents are the kind of parents whose sheltered me from everything evil when I was young. Evil I mean no drinking, no staying out late, curfews are at 7pm. So you can see I didnt have much freedom as people might think. Even having Theo has my boyfriend had been my 8 years secret (probably think my parents knew but didnt know what to say).

When I turned 18, that's when my parents started giving me more freedom. I could go out late, have fun with friends, go on short trips. I enjoyed my freedom as much as I could.

When i turned 23, that's when i moved out and had my own place. I begged Theo to come live with me but thank god he kept rejecting. Theo had a very conservative way of thinking. Where we had to be married to move in. Not that there was anything wrong with it. I just wanted him close to me. Thankfully after our break up, I was relieved he didn't stay with me. It would have been an awkward situation to see him pack his bags and leave.

"what party?" Hanli looked at me, confused.

"oh my god Hanli, it's your 24th birthday party. What are you on about?" I sat on the couch and gave her the look.

"oh right... let's go to Mace or Attaboy. I think we can find you some good hot men over there"

"eh.... sure whatever you want. I need to pick an outfit for tonight then" I took one big gulp of water before setting my glass down on the coffee table and standing up.

Before I could head to my wadrobe, Hanli pulled me back to my seat and shook her head.

"no no, we're getting new outfits to wear. We need to be on fleek for the night. My treat! Go get ready, we're going shopping!"

"on fleek? what century are you in boomer?" I laughed and dragged myself to the bathroom to shower and get dressed.

That's what I love about Hanli, not only was she the greatest best friend I've ever had, she wasn't stingy with money. She was always the kind who'd give whatever and not complaining if she couldnt last the rest of the month (not that she was poor, she loves to save).

I got dressed. Wore my sweatpants and cropped graphic t shirt and put on some sandals before grabbing my bag.

We got out of my apartment and I followed her to where she parked her car.

"So what are we driving today?"

"Well, my brother wanted the chauffeur to drive him to New Jersey, and the jeep is in the car wash, so we'll have to do with the BMW" She took out her keys and unlocked the car.

See, what'd I tell you? Rich.

We drove down to Soho and went straight to the shops and started our shopping spree. I used to love shopping. I loved dressing up for events. From parties at the club to wedding parties, I used to have every outfit planned out and bought for the occasion. After my break up with Theo, I dressed down almost every day. Maybe it was because I didn't want to go out either but slacks and t shirts became my go to. Hanli was always dragging me out to shop and get something nice for me to wear. Her excuse was that she needed a plus one and that she wanted her plus one to look good. AKA me. So eventually I got dragged out to accompany her and get myself something.

We tried on different kinds of dress until we found the one we were looking for. By the end of the shopping spree, my feet hurt from all the walking. We then headed to Hanli's house to get ready for her big night.