Quickly, avice scurried through the crowd back to the bar and bent to pick one piece of the broken cup on the floor.
"What're you going to do with that?" Brice leaned over the counter to ask.
"Just do your job". She replied and hurried to the dance pole. Thankfully, her shoes were still there, just fallen. Someone probably kicked it away without anyone realising. And she was going to pick it up also, without anyone realising.
Avice walked to the shoes and crouched. No one was watching her. Each and everyone was either focused on themselves, the pole dancers or Blaze. Acting like she was going to stand the fallen shoes properly, she slipped the glass piece inside one of the heels and stood up.
Avice retracted her steps immediately, not wanting the pole dancer to sight her near her heels. As she dug her way out of the sweaty crowd hurriedly, she found herself on the other side where people were chatting near the pool. Knowing she had confused the back door with the front door, she decided to stay. It was cold and yet comfortable near the pool and it was nice to see people just talking under the dazzling light.
"Shit, I missed this". She muttered, memories of the times she used to be one of the girls lying on the deckchair evading her head. She used to be very rich and comfortable. Only if she hadn't trusted and dated the man who ran away with all her money. She'd have been thankful if he only ran away with her money, but emptying her bank account wasn't enough. He went as far as borrowing money under her name and leaving her in an endless debt. The debt kept coming in.
Suddenly, the people around the pool started rushing inside and Avice didn't know their cause of disorder until she looked at her hands. And then up.
The rain was spontaneously falling from the dark sky and before she knew it, it became heavy. Avice, being the last person outside, turned and rushed to the door but before she could reach there, the pole dancer opened the closed door from within.
When avice's eyes dropped to the pole dancer's leg, she saw that her left leg which was hanging in the air was dripping blood. Her two arms were draped on two girls' shoulders for support and her eyes were shooting raging fire at her.
Hell, she should have ran home. How did she find out?
Avice stood wet like a chicken in the rain, the thunder jerking her off a bit. When the rain poured harder and she couldn't bare standing under it anymore, she continued her steps.
Avice occupied herself with the thought of feigning ignorance as she walked. But when some hefty men walked through the door and charged towards her, her chest dropped.
They weren't going to beat her, were they?
With heart pumping almost faster than the day she realised she had been scammed, she drew back. Her head swept from left to right, hoping to see an emergency door or something that'd desperately take her away from the danger she had willingly swam into.
When the men closed in, she turned to start running to wherever but two of the three men caught her, one pulling her short red hair.
"Fuck! Let me go, bastard". Her body instinctively reacted to the pain the man brought her scalp. Before another word could leave her mouth, another man slapped her senses out of her head, sending her to the floor.
It took a while for Avice to regain her sight and snap out of the short tinnitus the slap brought. She licked the corner of her lip and hissed when she tasted her blood.
A man crouched down next to her and pulled her hair again, forcing her to look up. When she obeyed, she saw the pole dancer in front of her, under an umbrella someone else was holding. With the way the people around her acted, Avice knew she had messed with the wrong person. She wasn't just a regular girl at a party.
"Because of a wrench like you, I'll have problem walking throughout this week. What? You thought no one saw you pick up my shoe?" She turned to a man whose hands were crossed on his arse and slapped him. "You fucking dickhead, how could you not see her put something into it?!"
The man who didn't budge admist the slap threw his head down to bow. "I only saw her pick up your shoe. I didn't know—" His words hung in his throat when another slap met his stiff face.
After the whole scene with her bodyguard ended, she ordered them to haul avice's body up. Avice was ready to receive any punishment they had to offer. She had been going through series of embarrassment ever since she became a debtor. Some would even tear her clothes on the street.
There was no way of escaping. She had no money and could not travel out of country. She had thought of ending her life countless times because of the continuous banging at her door every minute. The was no way she could pay off millions of dollars with the little jobs she kept getting fired from.
"How dare you". The pole dancer gritted and limped closer to Avice. Avice, not wanting to be slapped again shifted back. She limped again and Avice shifter farther backward. She didn't stop limping and Avice who had no idea the pool was behind her kept shifting. "I sincerely hope you can swim". The girl smirked.
Avice stopped to look behind her and tensed when she saw she was only three steps away from falling into the pool. She swallowed and clenched her fists. Her iris slid from side to side in fear of drowning. Of course she wanted to die but drowning was out of the options. She wanted a painless death and drowning wasn't close to painless.
"Bye". The girl wiggled her finger.
"Wai–wait–". With both hands, she was pushed into the pool. Avice, at first sank deep into the water and it took a moment for her to find out the pool wasn't that deep. No pools were.
As she struggled to swim up to her feet, a bright lightening struck the surface of the water, dragging her down with force. She tried to resist, flailing her arms and kicking her legs, but she couldn't fight it.
Her body oxygen supply was cut off and fear gripped her as she struggled for air, but all she could take in was water. The sudden ache in her chest caused her not to breath and that automatically weakened her. The water sucked her into the depth of her terror as she watched a bright moon replace the dark sky.
Avice closed her eyes in defeat, feeling her life draining from her. Seconds like eternity passed as she felt herself sinking deeper and deeper. She was drowning. Drowning in defeat, drowning in pain and regret.
Finally letting the water take over her body and the remaining tidal air in her lungs, her vivid memories flooded through her, reminding her of the good times she had in life.
...before the frigid water enveloped her.