Fading Star

11

The club was obviously low class. It was dimly lit, full of people. The music was loud and the smell of alcohol was pungent in the air. I went to the bar and ordered whisky. My mind was still on what happened at home. I looked behind me at the dance floor. People were Moving to the music without a care. I wished I was like them. I was lost in thought for a moment when someone tapped me. I turned. A woman in a shiny black short dress sat in the stool beside me. She had long black hair. She looked beautiful in a mysterious way. She was definitely Nigerian
"Hello, I'm Annabelle. Friends call me Anna"
she stretched her hand to shake me. I was in no mood to start a conversation but I thought it would be rude not to reply her. I shook her hand.
"Nice to meet you Annabelle. I'm Alison"
I replied a bit unenthusiastic. She smiled. She had a perfect set of teeth.
"Please, call me Anna. Can I buy you a drink? You look like you need a couple of shots. Bartender, two martinis" I smiled and sighed. "It's that obvious huh?"
"Uhuh... you look like something the cat dragged out of the dump, no offence. Though I must say, you're beautiful. Tourist?"
I winced. I didn't know I look that bad. I took a gulp of my drink. I took my time before I replied her. "Thanks for the compliment. I'm not a tourist" she was quiet for a while just looking at the glass in front of her. She was obviously expecting me to say more but I wasn't comfortable. The silence went on for a while then she looked at me, like something was on her mind. I was becoming more uncomfortable. I felt like she was reading me. "I'm a psychiatrist by the way. I've been watching you since you came in. You seem disturbed. Now, I'm not asking you to share your troubles. It's not even my working hours but here's my card. My office address and my phone number is there. You can come by some time, Alison. You've got yourself a shrink friend" she smiled and reached out to pat my hand. I smiled back. We had a little chat for a while then she left. She kept my mind away from my worries for a while. I didn't want her to leave. She was a nice company.
Few drinks later, my head was a bit foggy. A young man asked me for a dance. I thought "sure, why not... Richard can go to hell" I let myself lose. I stopped thinking and got lost in the music. The man was obviously a good dancer and he was fun to be with. We had a few more drinks and I was wasted. My mind was lost. I just wanted to have fun. I couldn't even remember where I was or who I was with.
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  I felt a searing pain in my head. I tried to open my eyes. The light was blinding. "Richard..." I said and stretched my hand to touch him, my eyes still closed. His skin felt so cold . I opened my eyes. The man beside me wasn't Richard. I screamed and jumped out of the bed. The man on the bed woke up startled, rubbing his eyes. "Keep it down woman. What the hell is wrong with you? I'm trying to get some sleep here." he really looked like he needed it. His eyes were red. I looked at my body. I was wearing a man's shirt but thankfully I still had my underwear on. The man was wearing only shorts. I feared that I'd been kidnapped. I started sobbing. "Please who are you and where am i?". I looked around. It was a clean room. Sparsely furnished. Just a bed and a closet and a mirror by the wall. "Calm down I'm Tony, the guy you met at the club last night." it started coming back to me. "Oh no Oh God nooo... what happened last night?" I started sobbing harder. "What happened? Did we...."
"Nothing happened." he replied before I could finish. "You were so drunk you kept throwing up. You slept off before we even got here and you kept calling some guy named Richard in your sleep. I wanted to sleep on the couch but I wasn't comfortable I had to share the bed with you. And your dress, well it was covered in alcohol and vomit so I had to lend you my shirt. It looks good on you by the way. Don't freak out. You can leave as soon as you want and I can peacefully go back to sleep. Don't even think about breakfast. There's milk in the fridge though." I sighed and rubbed off my tears. "Thanks. I have to use the bathroom." he nodded. "Second door by your left. Don't tamper with my stuff" I left the room and went to the bathroom. It was small. I found my dress hanging on a peg. It was clean and dry. I took a hot shower and wore my dress. I looked terrible. There were dark circles under my eyes and my head hurt like hell. I thought for a while. I can't go back home to Richard and I have no parents to run to. Delilah's place was the only option.
I left the bathroom and went back to the room. Tony was snoring loudly. I didn't want to disturb him. I found the kitchen and drank a glass of water. My purse, my phone  and my car key was on the kitchen slab. I opened the purse. Everything seemed to be in place. I removed a wad of notes and placed it on the slab with a thank you note. I checked the time on my phone . It was 1pm. My battery was low. 20 messages and 36 missed calls. I sighed and headed towards the door. Time to deal with my troubles. I left the apartment and went to my car. I used GPS to find my way out of the unfamiliar surrounding and headed to Delilah's house.
On getting there, I saw Richard's car parked. I wanted to turn and head somewhere else but something was holding me back. I decided to go in and find out what was going on.