P l e a s u r e

30 - Hate me

*throwback to the night of the qualifying afterparty*

I left the club and started walking. I had no idea where I was or which way to go, but all I cared about was getting away from Charles and Charlotte as quickly as possible.

I definitely shouldn't have drunk that last tequila, because the sidewalk felt unstable under me, and my legs didn't want to cooperate.

"Hey." - I heard a loud shout from behind.

I was sure it wasn't directed at me, so I continued on without any reaction, heading who knows where.

"Milla." - he shouted again.

That's when I recognized the voice.

I needed him least at that moment, so I gathered all my remaining strength and started walking even faster.

"Could you please stop?" - he called after me as his footsteps quickened too.

I was practically running, which others probably wouldn't call running, but it was the most I could do.

"I'll catch you anyway, so you can stop now before you get hurt." - he sighed from behind me.

I wasn't willing to, even though I knew it was hopeless to try to escape because he didn't even need to jog to keep up with my pace.

"Would you tell me where you're going?" - Charles caught my wrist suddenly to finally make me stop.

"Since when do you care?" - I yelled at him in frustration as I turned around. - "Go back and make sure Charlotte is happy and leave me alone." - I tried to pull my hand away unsuccessfully.

"You don't have to worry about her, but yourself." - he looked me up and down. - "You can barely stand."

"You're lucky it's not your problem." - I grimaced.

"Well, it is my problem... I can't let a girl in your condition wander the streets alone at night in a foreign country." - he said, taking his phone out of his pocket, still holding onto my wrist so I couldn't escape.

"I always forget what a gentleman you are." - I rolled my eyes.

He didn't react, just lifted the phone to his ear to call a taxi.

As I stood there, his voice became increasingly blurred, and I could barely make out what he was saying as the world spun faster around me.

"Merde." - he mumbled the next moment as he caught me to prevent me from collapsing, then quickly put the phone down to help me sit on a bench.

"Are you okay, Milla? Can you hear what I'm saying?" - he asked with concern in his voice, squatting in front of me and brushing the hair from my face.

"Mhm." - I hummed, but I didn't have enough strength to even open my eyes.

"I need your phone; hope you don't mind." - he took it out of my bag, then I felt him take my thumb and place it on the screen to unlock it.

I no longer sensed much of the world around me, so I let him do whatever he wanted. I didn't care.

"I can't leave Charlotte here, but don't worry, you won't be alone." - he held my face to make sure I was listening - "Carlos will be waiting for you at the hotel, and I shared your GPS location with myself, so I'll keep an eye on where you are."

"Mhm." - I hummed again, but even sitting was difficult for me now, let alone understanding what he was saying.

"Oh my god, come here." - he said as he sat down next to me on the bench, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled my head onto his shoulder so I could rest a bit.