CHAPTER TWO: YOUNG, WILD AND FREE

MONET'S ANNOYING chuckles awaken Annaztaxia the next day. The sun's rays feel like a burning ember in her eyes. She wants to close her damn curtain but her body is too heavy to stand up as well as her head is throbbing badly and the last thing she wants to hear today is her friend's fucking mirth.

She called this early just to ask Anna about the outcome of her drama.

Like, seriously?

Anna wants to spit curses at her friend but her voice just won't participate. Aside from it being still hoarse, her throat is running dry as well. She already asked for water from the intercom but for heaven's sake, she's still left waiting.

"Don't blame the liquor for what you did last night, girl. It was already your nature. You were born a bitch!"

Monet's voice held so much humor it eventually ended up with flirty waves of laughter. Well, she can't be a Killjoy here and stop Monet from being this jolly. Anna made fun of her as well, back when she dared her dear friend to make a scene in her ex-boyfriend's matrimony.

She was just rolling her eyes from time to time. Alright, it's really funny. The shittiness she just experienced last night was some sort of terrible joke. Imagine, a lady like her— who's used to adoration, of drooling boys around her, of fondness—got treated that way by her best friend?

That was so uncool!

She felt like she just lost her reputation because of what happened last night. Matthew did not just reject Anna. He also made her feel small, he pushed her away and worst of all, he wiped his lips with disgust blazing in his eyes as if her kisses were poison.

So merciless!

And that will never fade in her head no matter how painful it is right now. Matthew, that asshole will pay big time. He should!

"It may seem like an epic fail but I still did something better," her tone sounds proud though. Though her lips keep on pursing whenever waves of pain are hitting her head once in a while.

The pain is getting bearable!

Where is the server once again? Any traffic down there for Daisy to be so delayed? If Anna is just in the mood, somebody will go home crying today.

"Better?" Monet held her giggles just to give her a tone of confusion. "What do you mean better? I can't see anything good about what he did to you last night and yet, he pushed you away knowing you were wasted. He even let you go home alone. Now, tell me where in that part is a better thing?"

Finally, her server came up with her glass of water and some pain reliever in her hand. The girl bowed her head when she found the rage written on Anna's face, she didn't wait for any curse from Anna anymore. Carrying all the fear, she dashed out of the room right away.

"Well, I'm already done with my damn confession. He's aware of my feelings already, I don't have to fake my sweetness to him anymore. The ball is in his court now."

"True. You throw the ball on his court but he chose to throw it away. He rejected you, remember?"

That pisses Anna a little but Monet was just telling the truth, right? If her memory serves her right, the poor boy declined her love for the sake of his supermodel girlfriend!

He let Anna hang down because he doesn't wanna make sin behind Cherry's back.

"We both know how powerful the venom of Annaztaxia Mariah Contreras could be. No one could resist it, nobody based on history. . . just this one nerd slash long-time best friend of yours, and I kinda like to congratulate him for that. May I know his address, please?"

Monet barked with a burst of playful laughter again like it was her mannerism, she's making Anna's head hotter to the point of exploding... but if only her body would cooperate.

"Now that you are done with your confession, what will be your next plan? I mean, he declined to choose you because his love for Cherry is as legit as your bad attitude... After what happened last night, your best friend will surely avoid you from now on. It's not like it's easy to forget that Annaztaxia Mariah Contreras kissed somebody like him."

Oh, God! Now that she has mentioned it once again, everything that happened between them last night suddenly flashed before her eyes. The hate and annoyance from his bloodshot eyes and the way he wiped his lips with disgust— can she just smash her goddamn head against the concrete wall and have permanent amnesia?

That way she will forget everything including the frustrations and embarrassment. Dammit!

"I don't really know." She shrugged from the bed.

As of now, Anna can't feel anything severe but her throbbing head. She cannot think of better things to do. Well, that used to be her mother's usual nag. It was funny to think that she's giving justice to that right now, mothers are really amazing and at the same time annoying. Ugh!

"Come what may? After all, I do not wanna see his face anymore, he humiliated me and called me desperate. Can you imagine that? He broke his vows just for his bitch."

Matty rejected her and just like what Monet said, it was the first in history. That bastard! Anna can't hide the loath growing inside her chest, her mind is kinda feeding her some bad things such as revenge but due to the hangover she is currently experiencing, it seems impossible to execute one today.

"Just like that, really?" her curious tone was mixed with surprise. "No plans of revenge? Wait. . . am I still talking to my Maleficent friend?"

Anna's eyes rolled skyward, feeling all the heaviness in her body. She badly wanted to be with Monet today just to have the chance of pulling her hair a little. She wished a genie would pop out somewhere just to grant her wish but then if that happens, she will wish for something ill for her damn best friend instead.

Definitely, not for death because that would only shorten his suffering but how about... his balls get broken?

That would give her so much satisfaction for sure!

"I just don't feel like doing my shits today," she simply said while rolling herself over. Now she's lying on her back, the beige ceiling above looks quite boring in her eyes. She ran her fingers through her long hair slowly. "Let them savor the moment for now. Lucky them if I found no time for my vengeance, although that's impossible. Sooner, if Matty won't do anything to fix this war between us, he will end up being dumped like the past toys I had."

The gleam of deviltry flashes in her bare face.

She heard echoes of claps on the other line followed by more giggles from Monet. "Hail to the queen! I know you won't let him break you this way. Finally, my friend is back! I thought you would really let him change you and make you drop on the ground."

Her statements made Anna smile despite her current estate. Her lips pursed again after a wave of pain hits her brilliant head.

A hangover is not really a friend, never!

"That won't happen, alright. He is just some sort of goddamn weak boy who wants nothing but love, love. F*ck that thing! Aren't they tired of finding that illusion in every corner of the world? Like, nobody gets rich because of that sickening love!"

Well, that is what life made her believe for a very long time of her existence. Love is just a feeling, an idea, a dream which everybody works to have except for Annaztaxia.

Annaztaxia Mariah Contreras is really badass and she's very much aware of that. She badly believes that nobody was born like a saint; nobody can possess perfection in this quite imperfect world. Everyone has their own flaws to keep and their sins to pay.

For her, everyone is capable of making mistakes. Some might not be aware of it while some can't live without doing a bunch of it in a day. People tend to do bad things, commit sins, break rules, swore, and whatsoever just name it! It differs from the measurement and intensity, because if others can do bad things once in a blue moon. . . Anna can do it like some dose of multivitamins and she can't last a day without it.

She could be a bitch to anyone and anytime she wants. She is a spoiled brat too, the reason why her own mother can't love her fully. She hates Anna so much that she is always complaining about her actions, her decisions, and maybe her existence in this world. But on the other hand, she can't blame her mom for it because she's been aware of her behavior in the first place.

It's a long time ago when she started to change herself into the girl she became today. Out of all the good things she dreamt to be, nothing had been appreciated by her family particularly her perfectionist mother and old-hag, grandmother.

What's visible in their eyes was her mistakes, her bad attitudes, her flaws, simply because they don't love her.

Well, who would love someone like her?

A cheater, a loser, a shoplifter, and in addition to those proof of how far she has reached she also learned from her dear friend Monet her skill of toying with boys' feelings.

Anna was the type of person who's never been involved in a mature type of relationship, nor a good relationship with her past boyfriends with thousands of "s"! That's how her heart rules— if she does not want someone any longer, she would just leave the poor boy even if he is on his bent knees and crying his heart out.

She is heartless when she wants to be.

That's also part of the reason why all of her classmates during college used to call her flirt, slut, or a bitch. But she did not find it offensive because she has been used to it. People nowadays have always been like that. Do a thousand good things for them, yet they can easily judge you after a mistake.

They will always have a say whether you are in silence or trying to build fame, that is how their narrow minds work. Sometimes, it's hard to find your place in this huge world. It seems like you gotta find a map to follow to get the peace everybody dreams to have, but that's kind of fictional.

Might as well, just enjoy everything you have and don't bother yourself thinking about those who will just destroy you, because Anna knows very well that she's young, wild, and very free.

"But, how about your heart?" Monet suddenly cracked that crazy question to her. Anna was caught off guard, why the hell did she have to ask her this question? "Whether you admit it or not, I know you really have a feeling for him. You don't believe in love but your heart did, Anna. You can't fool me like what you used to do on Matthew."

Well, Monet knows her very well. It's been almost six years of friendship, what can she expect? She is not sure how Monet memorized her actions and all, but yeah!

She really likes Matty, it may seem that she doesn't really care about him at all. That's actually her talent; she can act cold as an iceberg. She can fake her actions and emotions because her current situation trained her to be.

Nobody can lend her an ear because, for them, Anna's words were all nonsense. She cries over shallow reasons, she's just a poor girl who always yearns for attention and affection. It sickened her to the point of changing herself, it turned her into the stone-hearted woman she is right now and because of that she also succeeded in keeping her feelings toward her best friend for almost ten years.

Anna is not a fan of Cupid nor his powers. For Anna, love is weakness, a liability that will pull you down to the ground and look where it brought her? Into misery, into frustration, into tears.

And what did that shameless Matthew do? It's not like she always does gamble for the sake of her crazy feeling in her hopes that he will finally reciprocate it in a way she always wants him to, but what did he do? He threw so many daggers at her chest that he caused more damage to her heart!

"Love can't break me, Monet. Matthew is not my ending but this doesn't mean I'm throwing the towel away. This is actually the start of our story, may it be romance, drama, or horror..."