Madame

Chapter 25

Ari's POV

I can't hear myself speak. With all of these lights and the loud ass speakers I feel like my whole mind is numb. But that seems to be the idea of this place. Make your mind numb enough to control. I can see the drugs splayed across the table, the white powder coating the noses of the poor girls susceptible enough to dabble.

The scent of sweat and heat has become even thicker in this room than the other. My dress is sticking to my thighs and my chest has become sticky.

"Hey, do you know where the bathroom is?" I ask a girl who seems not yet to have dabbled in the many illicit products in the establishment. She points to my right to a door with no bathroom sign. I look at her for a confirmation and she nods, quickly turning back to the group of girls she seemed to be with.

I start to make my way through the crowd, arms swinging into me and heels stepping into my foot. I bite back insults as I try my best to keep my head down.

I know he's here. They're all here. Hugo didn't even try to be sly about where he was. On his private instagram he had photos in front of some sports car in front of this place, the man obviously thought that through. Maxime isn't here, as I suspected. This is too shady for him, he'd rat my uncle out for this, breaking an alliance for a man he barely knows is crazy shit.

Andrew looks out into the crowd of girls, his drink in his hand, his hand on the shoulder of my uncle who is looking at these girls like their heifers waiting to be sorted and slaughtered after a show. Makes my stomach turn.

I see his gaze slowly coming to my area of the room so I quickly duck away, into a small hallway and into the room the girl had pointed out earlier. I quietly close the door behind me, pulling out my knife from my bra as I do. I clear the hallway and listen at the only door, waiting for some sort of noise but there's nothing. I slowly push it open, revealing a storage closet. I should have probably looked this place up before coming, it's going to be a little bit more complicated but nothing too crazy.

The door to my right, the exit door, makes a loud pop noise. I freeze. Chills running through my body, my grip on my knife becoming stronger. Another louder pop and the door slams open. I rush into the room, pushing the door closed as quietly as possible in my panicked state. I retreat to the end of the closet, trying not to trip over anything that may be on the floor. I wait for footsteps but none come. The exit door seems to close.

After a few moments of waiting I make my way to the door and press my ear against it. Nothing. I crack open the door and there is no light and no one. I quickly close the door behind me and leave.

I duck into the hallway and try to find any sign of a bathroom to get this sweat and second hand smoke off of my body. I find myself in the first room that I was in, in here there's mind numbing music but at least no one's sorting coke off of someone else's tits.

I finally find the bathroom where I dab water on myself, relieving myself of the gross feeling of all clubs.

I walk out and go to the other room, Andrew has now sat down and is chatting with Hugo who has a smug look on his face per usual. A familiar face crosses my vision, a woman. She's turned to the side so I can't quite see her but she's focused on a man who has his back turned to me. I walk closer, trying to see who she reminds me of.

All of a sudden I get hit with a wave of girls, pushing me back as they push their way into the narrow hallway and out of the second room where Andrew and Victor are. I don't want to get noticed so I turn to leave, seeing the whole group that was originally seated, get up.