"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Jessa inquired, giving a side glance at Sara, who was seated beside her in front of the passenger seat. She tucked her ginger strands behind her ear, keeping them out of the way.
Sara was quiet, her face still blank, but when she noticed the scrutiny from Jessa, she offered a faint smile.
"Don't give me that ghost of a smile, Sara. You and I know that I won't take that," she said, glaring sharply at her before returning her focus to the road. As much as she wanted to be happy to have her friend around now so that their plans could go on, she couldn't overlook the blankness in Sara's eyes.
The air around her felt cold and distant that she had thought she was someone who looked like Sara when she first met her at the airport. Something major must have happened to change her so much. But she didn't know what.
"Did you finally realize that he is a scum?" She joked, trying to get a reaction from Sara. Anger was better than the blank expression she had on right now. Her silence was scaring her. Normally, Sara would reprimand her and anyone who talked that way about Adam. She was so protective of that man, his name, and his image in general so much so that no one dared to say anything bad about him in her presence.
But to her surprise, Sara nodded her head, hummed, and then said, "I did," she replied with a half smile. "And I also realize that a woman doesn't need a man. I don't need a man," she emphasized.
Jessa blinked and blinked, staring at Sara with an open mouth. She even forgot that they were still on the road.
"You are going to hit that car," Sara pointed at the red car driving in front of them, snapping her attention back to the road. "Focus on driving for now. I just need a moment to peace and quiet," and drink 'til I knock myself out. She completed the rest in her mind.
"..."
Jessa didn't say anything. She didn't know how to reply to those words. Just what did Adam do that got Sara to this point? She felt anger bubble up inside her, but she couldn't let it rule her. Not now. Not when she didn't know what the jerk did to her best friend. Once she found out, then she would think of a way. But for now, she would focus on driving safely to the bar where the girls were waiting.
°°
°°
They arrived at the bar and headed into the private booth Jessa booked for them. Inside, there were two other girls. A blonde with pale blue eyes and dark brown hair with eyes to match it.
They were talking until the moment Sara and Jessa walked in. The anger on Jesse's face had them frowning but the presence of Sara came as a surprise. The two women exchanged glances before looking at the other two.
"Should we be worried?" Anne the blonde asked, looking at Jessa who looked like she was ready to go to war.
"And… What are you doing here? Don't you have an important birthday to celebrate?" Sandra, the browned haired woman asked. They were confused. Jessa left them almost an hour ago saying she was going to pick up a surprise for them. But she returned with Sara and looked beyond pissed. While Sara acted as if she didn't care if the world crashed and burned.
Sara found an empty seat and sat down, picked up a bottle of whisky from the table in the middle and a glass. She poured out the drink until the glass was filled before she placed the bottle back on the table.
"No. The birthday has been canceled," Sara replied and downed the entire glass in one go. She coughed after swallowing it and patted her chest until she was able to breathe again. After her breathing stabilized, she reached for the bottle again but Anne quickly grabbed it.
"You didn't come here just to drink, right?" She asked, passing the bottle to Sandra who was farthest from Sara. There were other drinks but the whisky was the most concentrated and that was what Sara wanted so they couldn't allow her to keep drinking it.
"I did," Sara replied, picking another bottle. "Just for tonight, I want to get wasted," she poured the wine in the glass and drank it but she didn't get the satisfaction she was looking for. "Could you give that back to me?"
"NO." All three ladies replied.
Sandra and Anne visibly sighed in relief hearing Jessa agree with them.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Sandra asked Jessa since Sara didn't seem to be in the right state of mind.
"Adam happened," Jessa replied, sighing in the process. The girls frowned, not understanding what could have happened. Was there trouble in paradise? "I don't know the details, she'll have to tell us herself."
With everyone's eyes on her, Sara sighed and dropped her wine glass. Perhaps it was better to talk it out rather than keeping it all to herself. So she began to narrate her story. What surprised her was that once she finished, she didn't feel the pain she thought she would feel.
She was numb.
Even as she spoke, sometimes even mimicking the sounds they made, how lustful their voices were, she felt nothing.
But the same couldn't be said about the other three. They were shocked and angry but at the same time, glad that she finally saw the light. The true nature of the man she loved so much.
Sara had been in love before she met Adam. He was not her first man but those relationships weren't as serious and she didn't have much hope in them. When those failed, she cried but still moved on. But with Adam, she was willing to spend the rest of her life with him. For someone who finds it difficult to trust a person, she trusted him wholeheartedly and gave him her all but he did this to her.
Everyone of them knows that once Sara's trust was broken, there was no fixing it. And this added another layer of worry to their hearts.
"Are you alright?" Anne asked, she left her seat and came to sit beside Sara.
"I am. Do you see me breaking?" She asked. She won't break and she won't cry. "I just know that I am done with men."
"Yeah, they don't deserve you," Sandra said, coming to sit on the other side of Sara. Only Jessa remained seated in her spot but her expression was grim.
Sara may have gotten over it but she hasn't. Adam couldn't be let off easily.