Midnight Memories

Chapter 13 - Crisis

***RUTH POV***

Aria was literally staring at me dead in the eye with her jaw practically on the floor until she finally spoke up. "Hold on, am I seeing things or did Zane just kiss you?"

"I will explain everything late-" I try to respond to Aria until my eyes caught sight of a crowd hurled around in a big circle with their cameras out.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask as I try to scan through the crowd for any familiar faces until I spotted a guy holding his jaw with a bloody lip and Zane bursting out of the warehouse.

"Wait, did I just miss out on a whole fight between freaking celebrities?" Aria gasps as she quickly perks up, grabbing my arm with hers and leading me to the crowd.

The guy with the bloody lip looked at me, a scowl on his face. "You little gold-digging whore-" he says until Axel points his finger at him, "Be careful with your words, or I'll fuck you up even worse than Zane," he warns the guy.

What the fuck? What the fuck is even happening? Why would he call me a gold-digging bitch in the first place, and did Axel just say Zane was the one who hit him?

How is shit moving so freaking fast? I literally blink and look in the other direction and look back to see a whole different crisis going on.

I knew I shouldn't have come. The prick is lucky Axel shut him up, or else I would have done it myself. Who does he think he is? Talking to me as if he even knows me.

He was clearly not anyone that I knew or famous, even. He looked like he was in his thirties, tall, thin figure with a bold cut. He wore a brown suit that was tight on his ass.

My insides curled at the sight of him. He scoffed as he looked me up and down in disgust and walked away.

Excuse me, who the fuck does he think he is? I hadn't seen my friends around until Shay suddenly popped out of the crowd with a fit.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT LIKE THAT?" She bursts out, walking after him until Axel grabbed her by her waist and held her back.

"It's okay. Come on. It's over now. Let's leave." He calmed her down, trying to keep a hold on my crazy-ass sister, who I happen to adore with my whole heart.

"Show's over. You all can get back to your shit now," Elec sends everyone off.

I realize that everyone's eyes were on me. I could have even spotted some familiar faces that I've seen on TV. I could feel my stomach tighten at their stares.

I hadn't noticed that my friends had made their way out of the warehouse, and Aria grabbed my arm and led us out as well.

I hate parties. I hate people. I hate the attention, and I hate when people give me that "poor girl" stare. And that was the exact look that I was receiving from everyone.

As soon as we made it out the door, I let out a deep breath that I had not realized I was holding in.

"Hey baby, relax, just take a deep breath because I know for a fact you're about to have a panic attack," Aria rubs my back as she holds me close to her, trying to comfort me.

She's right, I was breathing rapidly, and I could feel my body sweat uncontrollably. "Okay, let's count to five, okay?" She says, and I nod in response as I count to five in my head and take long deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling the fresh air.

"Perfect, you're doing a great job. Let's go to the others and grab water from the car. Are you feeling better?" She asks me for reassurance.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just-I wasn't expecting that, and their looks--fuck their looks. Fuck whoever that was. You are such a strong woman Ruth. Don't let anyone ever tell you or make you feel otherwise," Aria cuts me off mid-sentence as we finally reach the parking lot.

I nod in response when I finally remember Zane. Where is he? I look around the parking lot. I spot his car, but I don't see him anywhere around.

Suddenly, Shay and Asia come over to me and give me a group hug, followed by Aria. "I swear to god, if I had been there a few seconds earlier, I would have broken every bone in his fucking body," Shay says, her voice filled with anger as she holds me in a tight embrace.

"And I would have torn every muscle in his body," Asia added, "Not that he even had any," She continued as I heard the boys chuckle from behind.

"I would have chopped his balls off," Aria also added. "Okay, maybe not the balls?" Axel called out from behind.

Being around my sisters made me feel safe. They have always helped me at my worst, no matter what it took. And I would do the same for them without a second thought.

The fear and discomfort I felt moments ago were replaced with comfort and love because I was surrounded by the people I happen to call family.
--
We all laughed it off and finally let go of each other. "I love you guys, thank you," I say as my thoughts shift back to Zane.

"Hey, do you guys know where Zane is? I saw him leave, and he said he was going for a smoke, but I don't see him anywhere around."

"He's by the lake," Elec answered me. "I'll be back in a few-" I say, as Elec cuts me off again, "Go get your man. We'll be waiting here."

I shake my head and smile at the fact that they call him "My man." That's hilarious.

"Wait-water!" Aria runs to the trunk of Shay's car, grabs two water bottles, and hands them to me. "One for you, and one for lover boy," she winks at me and slaps my ass as I turn to walk away.

"Sheesh, look at that cake!" Asia yells from behind me as they laugh and whistle, watching me walk off. "Stop staring!!" I yell back at them. "Impossible," Aria responds.

They're insane.