Foreign

Chapter 28

In my room I take a few deep breaths. I still can't believe what just happened. The look on Hero's face, Melany's smile, Scott's haunted look. That reminds me to invite Scott too. He looked like he could use a drink. I text him before I take a shower. The hot water feels good against my skin and helps me calm down. I've made my decision, now I have to live with it. I believed Hero last year when Melany appeared out of nowhere. I was furious that he didn't tell me but in the end I forgave him and I believed him. I believed him again when we first got here and he spent a lot of time with her. And tonight I almost believed him again. I had promised myself I wouldn't fall for it again but he sounded very sincere when he told me what had happened so I almost fell for it. Again. But not this time. He lied about the kiss so surely he's lying about the sex too. I have a hard time deciding what to wear. I haven't been to a bar in town yet because Hero and I used to stay in my room whenever we had a night off. I call Brody to come over.

"Okay honey, it's a pretty small town so the bar isn't that fancy and it'll probably rain tonight." He takes a look in my closet and takes out a pair of ripped jeans and a long sleeveless red shirt with buttons from top to bottom.

"Okay, wear this with those sexy red heels and fix you're make up!"

"Yes sir!" I salute him and put on the clothes he picked out. Now I know I've lost a lot of weight. My shirt is very loose around my body.

It's a Friday night so the bar is full of people. We manage to find a booth near the bar and close to the dancefloor.

"Okay, first round is on me!" Josh says.

"Can we do some shots first?" I sound so excited.

"Yeah, sure!" Brody is with me on this. We first drink some shots and then we order some pitchers of beer. I drink very fast and probably too much but after a second round of shots, I feel the soothing fog of alcohol in my head. The pain is less, the heartache is numb.

"Okay, this round is mine!" I stand up and try to walk to the bar in a straight line. Josh has been giving me worried looks all night and I don't want to alarm him. I'm a bit more drunk than I'd expected.

"Hi, can we have two pitchers of beer please?" I ask the bartender. Of course he asks for my ID, they're so strict in America!

"Hi there, I haven't seen you before. Having fun?" I hear a strong accent. I turn to the guy next to me and give him a broad smile.

"It's my first time. I haven't had a lot of time to explore."

"I have seen your friends around. You're working on that film too?" He has a tanned skin and black curly hair. His teeth are very straight and white. He looks like he just walked out of a magazine.

"Yeah."

"You must be an actress, you're very sexy!" He winks at me. If I were sober, I wouldn't have talked to him after that comment. But here I was, drunk.

"Nope, I work as an assistant." The bartender puts the pitchers in front of me and I give him the money.

"Well, see you around," I say before I leave.

"Oh, I certainly hope so!"

My heavy drinking continues and soon I'm very drunk. I'm having a good time though. Josh, Isabella and Brody are very good company. Scott is very silent. He's almost as depressed as I am. He sure is drinking a lot too.

"Hey, maybe you should slow down a bit," Josh whispers in my ear. His soft hair tickles my neck and I start giggling.

"No, I'm having fun!"

"Yeah but you'll regret this tomorrow." He smiles at me.

"No I won't!"

Josh says something else but I can't hear it because of the music. I lean in and I suddenly I realise how good he smells. I lean closer and I sniff his neck.

"Uhm, what are you doing?" He's uncomfortable.

"You smell so good!"

"God, you're so drunk!" He starts laughing because of my goofy smile.

"Come on Joshy, let's dance!" I jump up from the booth and try to drag him along.

"No no no, I'm perfectly comfortable here." I pout but he doesn't give in. I join Brody on the dance floor instead and soon my friend from the bar joins us.

"You've got moves babe," he shouts in my ear. He slightly grabs my waist and I dance closer to him. A wave of cold wind makes me look up and I see Hero standing in the doorway.