Chapter 70 - Deja Vu
A Few Months Earlier (October 2017)
"Are you ready?" Rachael asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I broke out of my chain of thoughts, snapping back into reality.
"For what?" I asked her.
"Seeing everyone again. Going home, finally. After so many years," she replied. I sank into my seat, sighing.
"I guess we'll find out," I said softly.
"Okay, well, I'm going to sleep. It's a three hour flight and I wanna be well rested when we go back. You should sleep too," she suggested, making herself comfortable.
"Yeah, night," I forced a smile, and did the same as her. However, I knew I would not be able to sleep. Not even for a minute. There was so much going on in my mind, so many thoughts, so many questions, and most of all, fear.
Fear of seeing him again. Fear of seeing him and not being able to talk to him. Fear of him trying to come back to me. Fear of confronting him.
My heart was racing in my chest, and my breath was slightly hitching. I did not want to see him again. All this time, I had thought I had moved on, that I had began to hate him, yet the thought of actually seeing him once again was making my throat close. I felt suffocated in the aeroplane. Huffing, I closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep to save myself from all the trouble of thinking about him.
- - - -
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into my house. Mom instantly came rushing to me, pulling me into a tight hug. I quickly hugged her back, smiling, as a tear escaped my eye.
"I missed you so much," she said, and her shaking voice told me she was crying as well.
"I missed you more," I replied, hugging her tighter.
She pulled away after a moment, and then proceeded to hug Rachael. After that, Rachael and I went to my bedroom to relax, while Mom decided to fix us some snacks.
"How does it feel to be back?" Rachael asked me, grinning.
"Great," I replied smiling. "I really missed home," I said softly, looking around my room. Mom had maintained it, thankfully, so it really looked like how I left it. It calmed me. Gave me a sense of peace.
"Same, gosh, I'm so, so, happy to be home," Rachael smiled.
A while later, my parents and Ash joined us, and my sister also came home to see me. We spent some quality time together, discussing what Paris was like, what happened at home in my absence. Ash had finally found a girl, someone he intended to marry. She was a gorgeous blonde, with freckles dotting her nose, and eccentric blue eyes. He had not told me this over the phone because he wanted me to directly meet her when I'd return, but he could not keep it a secret any longer.
Everything was good. I was finally home.
- - - -
A week had passed by since I returned home, and because there had not been any unfortunate incidents, I finally decided to get back in touch with my friends. There weren't many to contact, since I had ran away from my home at the age of sixteen, when you're not even sure if you're friends with the right people. But there were two to three girls I wanted to regain contact with, of whom only one replied to my text: Brianna.
I spent the next few days talking to her, over calls, texts, etcetera. We met a couple of times, catching up on each other's lives. Turns out she had finally proposed to her girlfriend, and they were going to be married as soon as they would finish college. I always knew they would end up together. They just had that spark. It was obvious they were made for each other. You could glance at them once, and immediately tell that they were crazy about each other. It was truly beautiful.
"Earth to Aliza," Brianna laughed, shaking me by my shoulder.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry," I smiled.
"Hurry up, babe. We need to get there by seven. It's an Indian themed party, and I don't really know how these work," she said, while fixing her jewellery. "But one thing is for certain, it's going to be a lot of fun. Apparently the dude likes Indian outfits and all so he wanted the engagement ceremony to be Indian themed."
"Sounds good," I replied, finishing off with my make-up. I glanced at my traditional Indian outfit, a pink 'lehenga' (a long, flowing skirt) with golden embroidery, with a matching pink blouse, that exposed my stomach as well as my back, and a golden, net 'dupatta' (a type of a shawl or scarf). Even our jewellery was traditional.
"Here," she said, handing me her perfume after she had applied it.
"Thanks," I smiled, applying it as well.
"All set?" Brianna asked, grinning at me.
"Yep," I nodded, smiling at her.
"You look stunning," she placed her hands on my shoulders, and I giggled.
"Look who's talking," I smiled.
"No, really. You've grown so much more beautiful now. Older, prettier, hotter," she winked, making me laugh out loud.
"Pheobe is not going to like this," I shook my head disappointedly, my eyes narrowed at her.
"That's why no one's gonna tell her," she smirked, before she burst out laughing as well. "Okay, we need to go. Joanna is going to kill us if we're late."
"You mean you," I replied.
"No, us. You don't remember Joanna?" She frowned.
"No..." I shook my head.
"Come on, Aliza. I thought you knew all along! Our best friend from fourth grade?" She exclaimed.
"Curly hair, grey eyes?" I asked.
"Yeah!"
"But I thought she moved away," I frowned.
"I could say that about you too, but you're here, aren't you?" She smiled sarcastically.
"Right," I agreed.
"Come on, let's go," she chuckled.
- - - -
We reached the venue in Brianna's car, which was a beautiful mansion, and thankfully, one I had not seen before. Brianna parked her car in one of the designated spots. Checking our looks in the front cameras of our phones one last time, we stepped out, and went straight in.
"What's the name of the groom, by the way?" I asked Brianna on our way in. There were armed guards around the venue, and the amount of security made me feel weird. Brought back memories I didn't really want to think about.
"No idea. She wouldn't disclose it. Even the invites don't have his name," she replied.
"That's so weird," I muttered, frowning. The security began to check us for weapons, making it even more uncomfortable. Finally, they let us in, and my stomach began to twist.
The place was decorated beautifully, it was truly exquisite, and so were the people. Everyone was dressed in beautiful Indian clothes, the women usually wearing 'lehengas' or, a 'saree', while the men wore either 'shalwar kurta', or 'sherwanis'. There was loud bollywood music playing in the background, and in a normal situation, I would have loved the atmosphere, but I could not overlook the few men casually carrying rifles around. People were also drinking, a lot, even though the ceremony had not even began yet.
"This is amazing!" Brianna squealed in excitement, almost jumping and down, while I forced a smile. "What's wrong?" She asked, noticing my worrisome expressions.
"Nothing," I shook my head. "I'm just not really used to all this."
"Well, neither am I," she shrugged. "But we're in this together, so we're gonna make the most of it, alright?"
"Perfect," I smiled, not wanting to ruin her mood.
We went and greeted Joanna, who was extremely happy to see us. She looked gorgeous, with her red 'saree', hazel sparkling eyes, and her brown hair. Her groom was still nowhere to be seen, and she completely dodged the topic when Brianna asked her about it. Her other friends came to see her, and thus she told us to enjoy ourselves, and excused herself.
"Let's get something to drink," Brianna suggested, and I shrugged.
"You know I don't-"
"I know, that's part of the reason why I brought you with me to this party," she laughed. "You can drive us home tonight."
"Hmm, you smart ass," I narrowed my eyes at her, slapping her arm. She laughed and took my hand, leading me to the bar.
She ordered her drink, some kind of a complicated cocktail, and while the bartender got busy preparing it, Brianna received a call from Pheobe.
"Hey, I'll be right back," she told me, and hurried away to talk to her to girlfriend. The music was too loud near the bar, thus she had to move away if she wanted to talk in peace. And of course, the moment I was left alone, something had to go wrong.
"Hey Gorgeous," a tall, brunette smirked, leaning against the bar, right beside me. I looked up into his ocean blue eyes, and then looked away.
"Can I get you a drink?" He asked, flashing me a charming smile. He was really good looking, I had to agree, and that white shalwar kameez made him five times more attractive, but I was not in a mood for getting unwanted attention.
"No thanks," I replied simply, unlocking my phone and scrolling through my instagram to appear busy.
"I insist," he tried, "after all, you're my guest."
"Are you the groom?" I raised an eyebrow, partially disgusted by how he was flirting with another girl at his own engagement ceremony.
"No, no," he laughed. "I'm the Bride's cousin."
Oh. Judged too soon. Who gives a shit though?
"Good for you," I replied, making myself busy in my phone once again.
"Can I at least get your name?" He asked, looking hopeful. God, how desperate could one get? I opened my mouth to wave him off, but I was interrupted.
"Aliza!" Brianna rushed to me, and took my hand. She had worry etched on her features, and I frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"Pheobe's mom had an accident. She's really disturbed. I have to go," she said, out of breath.
"Oh God, I'll come with you," I replied, ready to leave the stupid place.
"You can't," she shook her head. "I have to pick her brothers up on the way, there won't be enough space in the car."
Oh frack. This was starting to feel like an incredibly shitty deja vu moment.
"I'll squeeze in," I replied.
"Aliza," Brianna said softly, moving closer to me. "Joanna is going to feel so bad. Did you notice we are the only ones here from her school friends? She really wanted us to be here."
"Alright, fine," I sighed. "But I'll leave in an hour max."
"Okay. Thank you so much, and I'm so so sorry," she said, frowning.
"It's okay," I shook my head.
"How will you go home?" She asked.
"I'll manage. Don't worry about me. You go," I replied.
If I had gained anything from living in Paris, it was confidence. I no longer felt afraid or insecure if I had to go out alone, whether it be day, or night.
"Okay, great," she smiled, rushing off.
"Here's your drink," the bartender winked at me, handing me Brianna's cocktail.
"Thanks for the quick service," I replied sarcastically, but took it from him. I heard someone chuckle beside me, and realized that the dude was still standing there.
"Are you going to leave me alone now?" I flashed him a sarcastic smile.
"Woah," he raised his hands in surrender. "You're allowed to go away from me. I haven't stopped you."
"Oh thanks," I rolled my eyes, and decided to walk away, but of course. Of fucking course, he had to catch hold of my wrist to stop me. Mind you, the wrist of the very hand I was holding Brianna's cocktail in, making the glass tilt and the cocktail spill on my foot. "The hell?" I snapped, looking up at him furiously.
"I'm so sorry!" He immediately let go of my wrist. "Come on, I'll show you to the washroom."
"No need," I replied, placing the glass back on the bar counter. "Just point me to it."
He did as I had asked, and verbally told me where the washroom was. I climbed the stairs, and immediately found the washroom. After cleaning myself up, I stepped outside, but for some reason, I felt eyes on me. I paused, turning around to see if anyone was there, but I couldn't see anyone. I walked through the upstairs corridor, looking down at the party going on in full swing. I was a little distance away from the stairs when my eyes suddenly sat on someone I never wanted to see again.
I instantly froze, sucking in a breath, as I stared at him, enjoying himself with the professional bar dancers they had called. My heart hammered in my chest, as a feeling of fear took over me.
Simon was there. And he was dancing in happiness. Which meant it was the engagement ceremony of someone close to him. If they were close to Simon, they'd be close to... Him.
He was under the same roof as me.
- - - - - -