Just like Jade guaranteed, Walter and Jade rounded about the driveway to Knight's Hampton's mansion.
Around two p.m., Eliza found herself crammed between Max and Mia in the backseat of Walter's Corvette, wishing that she would've never assented to go to that party in the first place.
Unfortunately, it was too late, they were on their way back with a monster hangover and an awkward conversation that Eliza entertained her one night stand with.
Needless to say, such uncertain perplexities along with the rush hour traffic on the highway wasn't helping her lack of excitement to return back home and into her university accommodation, away from Max and Mia.
"How long did you say this drive was going to be?" Eliza asked squirming as she attempted to make herself more comfortable.
"Two hours," Walter answered for the umpteenth time, sounding like he was already fed up with her. "Although with this traffic, I'm thinking more like three or it can go for as long as four or five."
Max groaned leaning back in her seat, accidentally elbowing her friend in the chest as she crossed her arms. "This is so stupid. If only your dad would've let us borrow the jet."
"It's in Australia, it'd take like twenty-one hours just to get here," Jade argued, more like whined, glancing back at Max via the rearview mirror. "You should've bribed your pilot a little more."
Max acknowledged the fact that they could've bribed the pilot for a trip back but the chances of them getting ensnared would've multiplied. Kim WooBin needed his private jet almost every day for his round the globe business trips and their mother - Kim MinJu needed her private jet for her high society meetings around the globe. Which left Max and Mia with their own jet but unfortunately the pilot was under MinJu's payroll. Which meant, he was under strict orders to report back to Mrs. Kim if the twins were ever about to leave New York.
Although last night's bribery had been an enormous success with fruitful outcomes, there was no guarantee that the pilot wouldn't snitch on them if they bothered him again.
Mia groaned from beside Eliza and turned to shoot her friend an antagonized look. "I love being with every one of you but if y'all don't shut the fuck up, I'm gonna lose my mind."
"Go to sleep, Mia." Eliza snapped at her, grabbing her cell phone from her bag. That's when Eliza noticed that her Chanel handbag was a trash can with a strap. Every wrapper and receipt was jammed into it along with broken lipsticks and lidless pens. With the thick black leather strap over her shoulder, her right arm would bulge outward just the same as if she were carrying a fresh-baked loaf of bread. From deep within the straining sides always came a faint rattle, as if she never traveled without pills of some kind, and the whole thing had an odor reminiscent of tapioca pudding.
Eliza mentally noted to go shopping with the twins before their final term started. She could not afford to show up at her university with a trash can for a bag. That would be social suicide.
"So, who was the guy who sneaked out in the morning?" Max nudged her friend with her elbow, making Eliza drop her phone on the car's carpet.
"Some guy." Eliza tsked, as she bent down to pick it up with a soft groan. "I don't even remember his name."
"Touché." Max chuckled, plopping her head onto the window pane with her AirPods plugged in. The music was blasting loud enough for Eliza to hear it and she let out a small chuckle at her friend's song selection. Max may have a great taste in fashion but she lacked taste in her music playlist.
Eliza wasn't sure when during the ride she had fallen asleep, but the next time she opened her eyes, the sun was down below with its saluting rays burning through the window with glassy snow glistening onto the car rooftops. Her phone told her that she was already on song ninety-nine, Eliza remembered the first five or so, but everything after that was a mystery.
Yawning, Eliza pressed the pause button and gently pulled her AirPods out, taking into the soft music playing in the car. Both Max and Mia were fast asleep and even Jade was snoozing upfront with her head against the window. It was odd to see everyone napping; they all looked so innocent which they definitely weren't.
"Hey." Walter murmured, shooting her a crooked smile through the rearview mirror. "Had a nice nap?"
Eliza grinned and massaged her sore neck. "How long have I been out?"
"For a long time." He replied as he flipped on the turn signal, smoothly merging into the left lane. "We're almost in the upper east side now."
Eliza nodded and looked out the window, the sun cast its golden rays down upon the clouds of billowing smoke, turning them bright red; fire red. She watched with an unwavering gaze, as a fiery red orb of light slowly sank beneath the horizon, and threads of light lingered in the sky, mingling with the rolling clouds, dyeing the heavens first orange, then red, then dark blue, until all that was left of the sunset was a chalky mauve, and then that melted away in turn as stygian darkness took over the sky.
Sequin-silver stars like the glowing embers of a dying fire winked down at her, illuminating the atramentous curtain of sky, and then suddenly the clouds parted, and Eliza found herself looking at a lustrous, argent disc casting brilliant rays of moonlight onto the dark grounds. Walter was right, it did take them a very long time to be back home.
Beautiful as the evening was with its glacier snow and gloriously beaming moonlight, Eliza lost interest and turned her inquisitive eyes onto Walter.
After close to five hours behind the wheel, he had slipped into his own little relaxed world, navigating the highways with ease. His left hand loosely gripped the wheel and the other was on the gearshift, only coming alive when they slowed down or sped up. His fingers occasionally drummed along to the melody of the music.
The moonlight from outside casted shadows on his face, causing his already high cheekbones and strong jaw to appear even more defined. His dark hair flopped against his forehead and out of his eyes as if he had been running his fingers through it over and over again to get it to stay in one place.
"What time is it?" Eliza's groggy voice snapped him out of his trance as he looked at her from the rearview mirror.
"Seven p.m." He smiled. "It was your birthday today."
"I'm aware." Eliza leered although she was grateful for its quick end.
"Any plans for the rest of the evening? More partying perhaps?"
"Gee, no. I'm not touching alcohol until I graduate. And thankfully, my birthday is nearing its end." Eliza replied wistfully, though her grin made it obvious that she was joking.
Walter rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips. "I'll never understand why you and your sister hate birthdays."
"Something to do with clowns." Eliza teased.
"I'm kidding." Eliza could've disclosed the real reason but it wasn't just her secret to tell. If Walter wanted to know, he needed to hear it from Jade and not her.
Hence, she let it go.
"Did a clown crash your birthday party or something?" Walter's grin slipped into a crooked smile. "Or was it like the IT movie?"
"Maybe." Eliza played along, trying to think of something that'd divert them from that specific topic.
"Nonetheless, this god awful day is over." She trailed off, still attempting to formulate the sentences that didn't come out.
"You never have birthday parties." Walter began, his eyes glancing over to Eliza with skepticism. Although Eliza tried to steer the conversation away from her past as smoothly as she could, Walter knew she was stalling. But he didn't ask her what she was hiding. "So, why, on your twenty-first?"
"Technically, I didn't have a birthday party this year either." Eliza shrugged, rolling her eyes at the twins' devious plans. "Max and Mia threw me a party yesterday. Cunning people, both of them."
Walter chuckled with his deep hoarse voice. "I beg to differ. It was clever."
"So what'd you do on your little date yesterday?"
Walter's cheeks turned red, with a blush red color trailing its way onto his face. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Eliza raised her eyebrow, her voice filled with intrigue.
She knew they did a little something more than nothing. Honestly, Eliza was quite content with how things had turned out. Both her and Jade had been through enough trauma and she believed that they deserved delirium. It was about time.
"Well, we went to dinner and," he trailed off but luckily for him he didn't have to complete that sentence. Instead, he narrowly avoided being slapped upside the head by a stretching Jade, who had finally just woken up from her nap.
"Thank god, we're finally here." Jade moaned in relief. "I thought we'd never get out of Montauk highway traffic."
Jade's loud observation roused the two identical-looking girls beside Eliza.
"We're here?" Mia questioned sleepily, rubbing her eyes as Max wiped a trail of drool from her chin.
"Almost," Walter replied, turning into a narrow street and onto a darker, more secluded stretch of the road. "We're almost near your penthouse."
━━━━━━━━━━━━
After stopping briefly at the front door to punch in a complicated passcode, Max continued down the house. Eliza gazed at the living room, taking in every corner as soon they'd have to bid a bitter goodbye to that place and move into their respective student accommodations.
"Home, sweet home," Max exclaimed, shoving her bedroom door open as soon as they entered their apartment. She was quick to strip off last night's party clothes and into a pair of shorts and a hoodie.
Mia and Eliza followed soon, both of them glad to be out of the cramped quarters. Jade and Walter however refused to come up and drove off to Walter's penthouse in the West Village.
Mia plopped down on the couch with a slight bounce as she flipped her head to face Eliza. "What'd you wanna have for dinner?"
"Anything but alcohol." Eliza sighed, reminiscing the fanatical birthday night they had and the throbbing hangover to follow. Although it might've been the best sex she ever had, the conversation to follow was certainly not something she'd engage in ever again, sober or drunk.
He was too persistent and looked a little desperate. He might've been adorned with every speckle of charm and splendor but he sure didn't know how to handle rejection.
"I was thinking maybe Indian?"
"No, my stomach can't handle that right now." Max exited her room and crouched down near the couch, her head resting on the sofa's edges.
"Mexican? Tacos?" Eliza pulled her legs up on the couch so as to avoid any involuntary kicks to Max.
"Maybe we should just have spaghetti with meatballs." Placing the soda bottle in her hand, onto the glass table Max tilted her head to look at the girls plopped onto the couch.
"I'm down." Eliza shrugged.
"Me too." Mia grabbed the remote from the side table as she switched on Fox News for daily updates - something Mia did every day like an atomic habit.
"So who was the guy?" Max's head turned to her friend.
"Seriously, I don't remember his name," Eliza answered rather candidly. She remembered the gut-wrenchingly awkward conversation but she just couldn't remember his name. To be honest, Eliza didn't find him important enough to remember his name.
"Was he at least good?"
"You betcha." Eliza winked, maliciously. "But he ruined it by asking me out."
"Gee, that must've been awkward."
"It certainly was." Puffing a frustrated gulp of air, Eliza grabbed Max's bottle of soda before taking a sip. "You have no idea how persistent he was. Things got weird when he got down on his knees."
"Kinky."
"Not like that." Eliza rolled her eyes before taking a large gulp from the bubbly water.
Although they'd done things a lot kinkier, the previous night than just getting down on one's knees, Eliza didn't want Max to savvy it.
"So, back to Columbia, huh?" Snatching the bottle from Eliza's hand for a simultaneous sip, Max's eyes met her friend's briefly.
"Yeah." Eliza sighed. They had been living together since the summer of their high school graduation which was also the day Eliza returned back to New York from Australia. She couldn't imagine spending time apart from the Kim twins anymore.
They had been separated for eight years during the time she spent in Australia. She couldn't picture what it'd be like, isolated in student accommodation with unhygienic bathrooms and no sibling rivalry.
Preliminary to the immigration to Australia- Max, Mia, and Eliza were inextricable taking into consideration Darius and Mr. Kim were business partners. They'd often let the kids have a play date whilst they discussed business plans and that time spent together was the only memorable memory of her childhood amidst the trauma, blood and hospitalization.
The day of Eliza's departure was harder than ever, the three kids bawled their eyes out begging Darius to leave Eliza in New York with the Kim family. But Darius Knight has always been a very overprotective father and although he trusted Mr.&Mrs. Kim with his step-daughter's upbringing, he didn't trust them with her safety.
Which was Darius's main linchpin- getting Eliza out of New York and someplace safe, hence round-the-globe migration.
"It's gonna be hard, living without you." Max grasped her hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
"Harder than Yale-law?"
"Gee, no." Max chuckled letting her friend's hand loose. "Few more months?"
"Few more months." Letting a sigh of contempt, Eliza blinked as a silent assurance to pushing through. "We'll move in together for our master's degree, right?"
"You bet your ass we will. If anyone objects, they better be prepared for a very expensive Mercedes running them over." Max flashed her friend a villainous but pointy look which roughly summed up the solemnity and earnestness in her threat.
Eliza chuckled, smacking her shoulder playfully. She couldn't fathom living without those two. Yes, they had their occasional disagreements, and yes, max and Mia didn't share anything from their high school with Eliza but the bond they had formed over these past four years, was unbreakable.
"Mia, it's your turn for kitchen duty." Max nudged her twin's leg but to no avail. Mia was passed out on the couch with her mouth wide open and her arm hanging off the hand rest or that's what she wanted them to believe.
Because it wouldn't be the first time Mia had fooled them by making them assume that she was fast asleep in order to avoid kitchen duty or talking to Kim MinJu.
"I know you're not sleeping." Max shoved her leg which was rested on Eliza's thigh once more. "I'm your twin, I know when you're faking it."
"Oh, fuck off Max." Mia groaned flipping to her other side; back faced to the T.V. now.
"Wow." Max looked taken aback from the smooth flow of curses from her twin's mouth. But she recomposed herself and retaliated almost immediately. "Who died and made you such a ray of fucking sunshine?"
"She's really knocked out, eh?" Eliza chuckled, patting Max on the back before making her way into the kitchen.
"Knucklehead." Max shoved Mia's leg one last time before following her friend near the stove.
"I'll help you." Max plopped herself onto the kitchen counter. Her definition of help? Sit through the entire recipe and offer her mouth for tasting whilst Eliza did all the work.
"So, Jade and Walter, huh?" Flinging her legs on from the countertop, Max grabbed a block of cheese. Devouring it as they spoke.
Eliza sometimes envied Max's metabolism rate. No matter what that girl ate, it never seemed to saturate into body fat. She could live off cheese and aerated drinks for a month and there would be no weight gain. Eliza on the other hand? She had to work out to burn each and every calorie she ate.
Some just have it easier than others.
"Yeah." Eliza smiled, the tug almost reaching her eyes. Her gaze fleetingly landed on the cheese, contemplating whether she should just chuck her restraint and give in to her temptations. "She seemed happy, didn't she?"
"Happier than ever." Max chuckled. "Better happy than crazy."
"What?" Wiping the imaginary drool off her face, Eliza sliced green onions and some veggies to go with the spaghetti, receiving a look of disgust from Max.
"She's been acting crazy for the last twelve weeks of her pregnancy. With Walter back in the picture.." Max sighed, avoiding finishing that sentence almost contemplating whether it would sit well with Eliza. "..well, safe to say, at least now I won't be at the receiving end of an aggressively thrown flower vase."
"You deserved it, Max. You gifted her a condom as a present on receiving the news of her pregnancy, at her party." Eliza emphasized and rolled her eyes as she held back a chuckle.
"It was for any future mistakes. Better safe than sorry. Am I right or am I right?"
"Max!"
"Alright, I admit. It wasn't an appropriate present to gift amid a crowd of her lawyer co-workers." Max waved her hands in apology but Eliza knew her friend felt anything but sorry. "Next time, I'll give her contraceptive pills. Classier, gift-worthy, and much more sophisticated than a three-year-old condom that I found at the back of my purse."
"Disgusting."
"Hey! You can't judge me. I've seen what your purse looks like."
"You're terrible." Eliza hauled out another pan for the sauce as a giggle escaped her mouth. Kim MinJu had taught her this recipe with her secret ingredient, she never really told Eliza what it was made of but the spice always managed to uplift the flavor.
Every time Eliza used it in any of her cooking, she'd always get nostalgic about the days when Max, Mia, and Eliza used to huddle around the kitchen table in the Kim Mansion where Mrs. Kim would cook them wonders.
Out of every dish Kim MinJu ever cooked, Tteokbokki and kimchi were Eliza's favorite. It's a Korean dish which is basically spicy red rice cake and kimchi is spicy fermented vegetables which are more like a side dish.
Although Darcy was the head chef, Sundays were Kim MinJu's days. No other staff was allowed in the kitchen but her with her three girls.
After dinner, Kim Woo Bin- professionally known as Paul Kim would take the girls out for ice cream and long walks on the Coney Island Boardwalk which was a thirty-four-minute drive from the upper east side.
At the expense of sounding ungrateful- Eliza often wonder what turned Mrs. Kim into the pressurizing, insensitive, and soul-sucking parent she was now.
In spite of everything, a little part of her, always wished if she could go back in time and never grow up. Eliza wished she would've just agreed to stay with the Kims that day and not tagged along with her mother.
Only then Eliza wouldn't have endured everything she did at the juvenile age of five. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She often wondered how her life would've turned out if not for that one particular event.
It's funny if you wonder how a single Butterfly Effect can change the course of your life forever.