ADAMTwo nights later, Henry visited my penthouse, but he wasn’t alone. Demi came with him. As much as I didn’t want to speak to any of them, I wanted to know what the hell happened.
“Adam, just let me speak,” she pleaded. I guessed she’s back to being Demi again.
“Say it, I don’t have a lot of time.” I strolled back into my living room and slumped on the couch. She remained standing.
“I was wrong, I know. I told you I was still fighting this, but sometimes I just can’t help it.”
I buried my face in my palms briefly. “What is it that you two really want to tell me?”
“I’m here to say goodbye, and this time, I’m not coming back,” Demi announced, her voice filled with regret. “We’re here to end this, Adam. All of this.”
“Adam,” Henry interjected. “You know how it was before. It’s unavoidable.”
“And you’re fine with this, Henry?” I cracked at him instead. “That isn’t what I saw when you met her“Don’t be so cruel, Adam. You know sheI stood and faced him. “Just say it, Henry. It’s Sofia. Sofia can hear “But you don’t understand. I promised to take care of her back then. If it weren’t because of you, Sofia wouldn’t shut off!” he barked.
“Henry, no!” Demi grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Don’t, please. You know how much agony we’ve been through because of this, and it is time for me to correct things. We already talked about this, right?”
He didn’t answer.
I held his shoulder. “Henry, I know that it’s been hard for you, too. You couldn’t let go of her all this time.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“But you have to,” Demi said softly, then held his hand. “Henry, you have to help me.”
“And how are you going to tell Julia this?” I questioned. “She’s hurt. How are you going to explain this to her?”
He shut his eyes and exhaled sharply. “I’ll tell her myself.”
JULIA“I don’t know how we ended up here, actually.” Megan took a sip of her Cosmo. I honestly didn’t have anyone to call right now, aside from her. “I haven’t seen you these past two months. How come you just called me in the middle of the night? But it’s your birthday, so it’s fine with me. Happy Birthday!”
“My birthday was two days ago, but thanks.”
“You said your boss—your hot boss who’s in love with you—has this little brother who’s totally into you, but they also have this supermodel ex-girlfriend, who’s trying to take your seat,” she rambled. “Is that what you were trying to say over the phone? I just summarized everything.”
“Adam isn’t in love with me,” I corrected.
She clicked her tongue. “That poor woman. She has DID. She doesn’t know what she’s doing, so it’s really unfair if you blame everything on her. It’s your boyfriend. Does he still have feelings for her or something?”
“I’ve been asking myself that, but I don’t want to talk to him right now.” I looked at her.
“Hmm…” She put her empty glass on the table. “I need more drink. What about beer?”
“Sure. I need that right now.”
“Okay. I’ll just go and get some,” she said, then she stood and left.
When she returned, she was holding two bottles of Bismarck, but she wasn’t alone. She sat next to me with a blond guy. Apparently, he seemed charming but looked more casual in his preppy outfit.
“This is Nathan. He’s with his friends, and he asked me if we could join them, but of course, it’s up to you. Why don’t you say hi,I felt the color drain from my cheeks. “What? I didn’t even say anything,” I complained in a whisper. I grabbed the bottle of beer from Megan.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Nathan said.
I ignored him and chugged the liquor and grimaced at the bitter taste.
“Easy. You’re not really a drinker, are you?” he observed.
I shook my head.
“Do you dance?”
“No.”
“I’m a good teacher.” He grinned.
“No. I said no.”
“I think your friend is bored,” he said to Megan. “I think I should leave.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Why ask me to come here if we’re not going to dance?”
I sighed in defeat. “Alright! I’ll dance, but I will dance on my own.”
“Okay!” Megan shouted, lifting up her beer, then drank it straight. “Game on!”
Nathan ushered us to the dance floor but joined another guy and moved away. The loud noise from the hip-hop music was unexpectedly entertaining. Nathan moved to the middle, and he began to dance like liquid with his graceful twist and turns.
I grinned. He’s good.
He glided towards me and showed me some shuffle and freestyle moves as if his shoulders and arms were locking in supple rhythm.
“Come on. I can teach you,” he invited. With my consent, he grabbed my hand and spun me around, so he was behind me. He slipped his hands on my waist, still keeping the distance between our bodies.
“You move your hips like this,” he instructed. I didn’t know, but I let his hands move me from the left then to the right. “Simple, right? You just have to give a little more beat, ready?”
“Okay.” I didn’t know why, but this felt amazing. It’s like I was free. I turned around again and faced him. “Quit the gentlemen thing and teach me.”
Nathan grinned, and he brought my arms up to his shoulders. Then we began swaying my hips in accord with his body movement. It felt good.
“I never danced like this before!” I shouted between the loud music. He chuckled.
“I always love dancing. So tell me, miss. Will I see you again?”
“Not gonna happen.”
“Can I give you mine instead? Don’t worry, I am not a thug.”
“Not sure.”
He laughed. “Okay. Let’s just dance for now.”
I didn’t know how long we’d been dancing. I just danced and danced, forgetting about everything.