Amelia was a little dazed and overwhelmed by what she heard. But she was clear with what she wants and doesn't want so she replied aggressively, "Of course I don't want that!" She straightened herself up to show what kind of girl she was. Inside her head she was screaming, "Who in this damn world would want that!"
Shocked by Amelia's answer, the fat man shouted angrily, "Shit! Our boss is a renowned person in the city. How dare you refuse him!" He couldn't believe Amelia's answer but he had no choice but to do his boss' order. The fat man seemed to have lost his patience and his tone became more violent. Anger obviously showed up to his face as he pulled up his sleeves. He was ready to force Amelia and do anything to bring her to his boss, even if it required violence.
Amelia saw the anger in the fat man's face, she squinted at him and asked, "Is your boss a big shot in the city?"
Hearing the sound of Amelia's voice, the fat man realized that she was afraid so he answered proudly, "Of course, everyone in the city is afraid of him!"
"He is a tough guy! He wouldn't let anyone say no to him," the fat man tried to scared Amelia. Amelia nodded, though she knew that the fat man was just trying to scared the hell out of her. With a scornful smile, she said, "Everybody in the city must have some reputation. I don't think he's that well-known. I don't even know him."
The fat man seemed to feel that Amelia didn't take him seriously. He frowned, put his one hand on his waist and pointed at Amelia's face. "I'm asking you for the last time. Do you want to drink with our boss?"
Amelia smirked, pulled her hair up, looked down at the angry fat man and said firmly, "Of course not! Now if you don't mind, can you please go back to your boss and back off!"
She wasn't afraid of him no matter how influential he thought he was. And she didn't believe that this fat ugly man would dare to force her in public. The people inside the store looked at them fiercely so she tilted her head up proudly.
The fat man saw the people looking at them. It made him more mad and upset. He got very annoyed, pointed again at Amelia and yelled, "You are brave! Just wait and see!"
The fat man walked away furiously. He stamped his feet hard to the ground like a child having his tantrums. He exactly knew what his boss would do to him and it made him more frustrated.
Amelia didn’t care about what the fat man said, she thought he only said it out of anger. She continued to eat all the dishes that she had ordered. She wasn't bothered by a babbling fat man who appeared out of nowhere.
But Amelia wondered why did it take Courtney, her friend, so long in the bathroom? She left a couple of minutes ago and still wasn't back.
After looking around, everyone was drinking and talking happily except her. It made her feel pity about herself and at the same time, she was worried about Courtney. She stood up and went to the bathroom to check on her.
As soon as she entered the bathroom, Amelia could hear Courtney's howling. She was frightened for her friend so she rushed in and found Courtney crying her heart out while vomiting.
"Courtney, what's wrong with you? What happened?" Amelia said warily. She slowly patted her back up and down. Amelia wasn't used to seeing her friend in that state. Amelia brought out her towel and wiped Courtney's face.
"Amelia, that bastard broke up with me via text message. What on earth did I do wrong?" Courtney said. "He didn't even have the guts to show up and tell it personally." Courtney was so drunk she couldn't barely stand up. She held the phone up to Amelia's face to show his text message and tears trickled down on her cheeks.
Amelia's heart got broken for her friend too after reading the message. She read it over and over again as she didn’t believe what she saw.
"We are not meant for each other. Let's break up," Kent said in the text message. Kent was Courtney's boyfriend for many years already. They'd been together for God knows how long.
The message was so simple as if they hadn't been together for so long. It was as if they had never been there for each other for the ups and downs of their lives. It was as if he had only broken up with his girlfriend for 5 days.
"Courtney, there must be some misunderstandings. Let's go out first, okay?" Amelia held the cellphone, trembling constantly and thought of the right words to say to Courtney. "Maybe this isn't what Kent meant. Maybe you just got it wrong. Let's go and we will talk to him."
Amelia helped drunk Courtney out of the bathroom. And Courtney said she wanted to drink more…
"Let's go home and stop drinking." Amelia combed the hair out of Courtney's face. She said it patiently like talking to a child.
Courtney broke free from Amelia's grip and pointed at her. "You're my best friend. Let's get hammered! Let's party until the night ends!" she said in a drunk voice, barely uttering the words properly.
Amelia went silent all of a sudden and just looked at Courtney, recalling herself in the same situation as her not so long ago. She remembered the times when she also drowned her sorrows in wine and alcohol. At this very moment, she knew exactly how upset Courtney was. So she escorted her back to the table.
In the table, Courtney drank beer and Amelia didn't stop her. She felt so sorry for her but couldn't do anything about it but to be present for her friend. After all, she knew it was better for Courtney to cry her heart out.
"Hey, what happened? Why are you crying?" A voice came out of nowhere. Suddenly a man dressed in a suit came over. With one hand placed on Courtney's shoulder, he said in a familiar tone.
He brought out his handkerchief and handed it to Courtney. Amelia thought he knew Courtney, so she just looked at him quietly. She examined him from head to toe as he was not familiar.
The man looked about 34 or 35 years old. Tall, dark, and carried himself with pride and amiable smile.
"I didn't cry!" Courtney removed the hand of the man from her shoulder. She wiped the tears on her face, combed her hair with her hands, straightened herself, raised her glass and happily said, "Cheers!"
The glass gave out a sharp, crisp sound due to the force of Courtney's hand. It had almost broken due to the hard force.
The man's expression was a little shocked, but the smile was still on his face. He raised his glass and drank with her. Then, he looked at the quiet Amelia and asked politely, "Miss, may I propose a toast to you?"
Amelia didn't know exactly who he was, she wasn't even sure if he was a friend of Courtney. But for the sake of respect, she still raised her glass with a faint smile on her face and took a sip of beer.
The man noticed that Amelia was hesitant. So he sat down beside her, fixed himself and said with a smile, "This girl looks very sad. How can she relieve her depression if you sit down like this?"
The remorseful look of the man, however, was mistaken by Amelia to be his concern for Courtney, and she thought that Courtney and the man knew each other.
"Yes, she cried, shouted, and got drunk. She would be fine," Amelia answered with a half-smile.
The man took a deep look at Amelia and raised his glass again. "You are beautiful. Here's to you." The sparks in his eyes were obviously saying that he admired her. He couldn't hide it.
Amelia was not the type of person who could be flattered by other people's praise, so she just smiled slightly without saying anything and turned her focus back to Courtney.
Amelia might sometimes be hard-headed and careless, but she was not the kind of person to give in and be casual with others. Especially those whom she had met for the first time like this man. She would rather pay more attention and take care of Courtney than to mingle with him. She needed to send Courtney home so she opted to take only two sips of beer.
"I'm sorry but I have to go. I have to attend a dinner party. I won't disturb you anymore." He pointed at the innermost private room. He said it warmly and modestly as he didn't want to sound rude.
Amelia just nodded to him and then turned her attention back to Courtney, who was also puzzled by what happened.
"Courtney, is the man who just left your friend?" as soon as the strange man left and out of their sight, Amelia asked the drunk Courtney for confirmation.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Since She Met Lucian