Dreamful

 

DREAMFUL

 CHAPTER:36

         ...Destiny thought about the day while chewing on her sandwich. What a rollercoaster had it been... losing sandals before a performance-NIGHTMARE. 'Maybe Stephane didn't take my sandals...maybe they got dropped out of my hand purse while I was in the styling room? I should go check in there '. She made her way to the room, it was all messed up then. Almost the end of the show, everyone was done with their makeup and hair. Blingy scarves and props hung on the hangers and clothing aisle, the hairstylists were packing up their bags, stuffing in combs, curlers, and straighteners along with makeup artists hurrying around the room, packing up their huge vanity bags. Destiny looked across the room and checked the place where her purse was kept, they weren't there.

Not that she had expected them to be. She went back to her room and began packing up the stuff she had emptied from her purse. It was eleven at night and the bus service was scheduled. She got out of the room and turned toward the exit, she examined around to look for familiar faces, Coral, Hannah, or even Edwin, but she found none. She just needed someone to talk to about the day. 

As she approached the exit, she rummaged in her shoulder bag to look for her phone and suffered a panic attack when she couldn't find it. She ran back to the hallway which was almost getting empty, only a couple of girls, moving out of the rooms, lights being dimmed and the hotel housekeeping doing their duties, the place had lost its vibe. She entered the room labeled with her name and sure enough, it was kept on the table beside the full-length mirror. She breathed a sigh of relief, touching her pendant.

 'This day cannot get worse. This is the worst. This is the limit of a day getting worse', she thought, getting out of the room. As she was walking back toward the exit, one of the housekeeping staff said out loud,

"Miss! Hurry up if you're taking the bus! It's already there!", he said, pointing toward the exit. SEE. These were the issues. Can't the distance towards the exit of a 'seven-star' hotel be shorter? Destiny ran the fastest she could, clutching her shoulder bag tight, fearful if anything else might just slip out, almost slipping, realizing she hadn't even changed back to her regular clothes. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER? The dress she wore was pretty, very much, but it made running only much more difficult. She hadn't even removed her makeup or combed her hair back to normal. As she ran her way out of the main gates, she saw the bus a distance away. It had already left.

"WAIT!", she screamed. Cool. She peered down at her vans as the darkness of the night stared back at her. The hotel which had appeared to be a ' ray of hope ' in the early evening had dimmed up its delightful lighting. She walked at a snail's pace and sat on the nearby bench. She saw cars stopping by the luxurious hotel driven by boys who had come to pick up their 'model girlfriends'. She looked on as a blonde hugged a boy with a broad smile before sitting in the car and driving away. She thought of Jason...'Even if I've had him now, he wouldn't have compromised his sleep to come and pick me up.'

It was a Saturday night, and most of the people seemed happy, smiling, laughing, and in party mode. She got up, entered the main gates of the hotel, and scanned the parking section in the lobby for a white Mercedes, Edwin's car. 'He could probably offer a lift?', she thought and cursed herself.

'That's so selfish of you, Dez. That's rude. You are always mad at him, but now that you don't have a ride home, have you come looking for his car? To travel in? That's so selfish of you, Dez.', her inner voice told her. There was no Edwin, nor his car. The only time she had seen him that day was while he was at work and he hadn't looked at her.

   Winds rustled as the trees shattered their leaves. The night felt petrifying as she heard the crickets make their classic night sounds. What should she do now? Avenue 8 was a place with zero public transport available. It was situated in the middle of a woodland. GREAT. The security guard eyed her head to toe as she exited the main gates once again.

"You alone on this beautiful night, miss...?", he said. He was drunk. For sure. For a hundred and ten percent sure. Goosebumps rose on her skin as she hurried to wherever the roads took her.

'On what side is Avenue 7? How the hell do I go back!'.

While the thought of using Google maps did cross her mind but she had already expired every GB of mobile data for the day, texting with Ivy on her way to this forest. This stupid forest which had no transportation. So great. No maps, no people, no transport, no nothing.

'Fine. I'll walk till I reach Avenue 6, maybe I'll get the bus from there?'

 She kept on walking, feeling eerie, crickets still buzzing, getting louder. The only support she felt at the moment was the streetlights and the fireflies which made their way in and around the trees. Fifteen minutes in, she was walking and she was tired when she saw the headlights of a car approaching in her direction. She had thought for it to pass by, but it had stopped a little behind. She turned around to find Edwin getting out. He looked at her and for once, he didn't smile. 

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, DESTINY? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU TODAY?!".Problem with nicknames- people won't use it when they are annoyed or serious or in a giving-you-advice-kind-of-mood. She just looked blankly at his face.She got a pretty good view as they were standing beneath one of the streetlights. He was wearing a light blue tee-shirt which almost matched the color of Destiny's dress, she hadn't noticed that before because she was suffering panic attack number one then.

"DESTINY?!"

"Huh?"

"I'M ASKING YOU SOMETHING?". He clearly wasn't his Edwin-mood, he was...well. Annoyed. 

'Is he yelling at me?!'

"WHY ARE YOU OUT ALONE AT 11:30 AT NIGHT, DESTINY?", he said again. 'He IS yelling at me '. ENOUGH!

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAVE I BEEN THROUGH TODAY!", she yelled back.

"BUT DESTINY YOU'VE GOT A PHONE, YOU COULD HAVE CALLED ME? I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU FOR HALF AN HOUR, YOUR MOM TOO! SHE'S WORRIED, BUT YOUR PHONE? IT'S PROBABLY ON SILENT MODE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

"THINK WHAT?!", Destiny was no less. He took a deep breath.

"Destiny, you cannot walk alone on such deserted roads at such hours! You think it's safe?!", his voice had lowered its pitch now but not quite as much.

"WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE? JUST GO HOME AND SLEEP IF YOU'RE TIRED.", she was still yelling. He covered his face for a second and said,

"No time to argue, let's go.", he said, offering her a hand. 'What's he trying to become? Very romantic after yelling out loud?!'

"I'm not coming with you.", she said, folding both her hands and looking away.

"How do you think you'll go home then?"

"My lookout. Why do you care?", she said, looking away.11:35 of a full moon-night, standing beneath a streetlight they argued.

"Come Destiny, please, for your mom's sake, she's really worried, she called me and asked me to look out for you.". She looked back at him this time and there was plead in his eyes.

"Fine. But remember. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't for my mom, okay?", she said, still folding her hands. He started walking back toward the car.

"OKAY?"

"OKAY!", he said, that's when she started walking.

                                                                           TO BE CONTINUED...

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