The Wrong Crowd [Wattys 2020]

Chapter 27

Dedicated to quaymatttt_ ❤️❤️

Ore could hear a sickening crunch behind her like a hard fist colliding with a jaw. She staggered away, horrified at the wild scene playing in front of her.

The guy who had drugged Ore landed a heavy blow intended at Philip's eyeball. Philip who had sighted the move, swiftly dodged and landed an upper cut to the guy's chin.

The dude fell to his knees, not fully braced for the impact and squirmed on the marble tiles in pain. Philip sidestepped from the guy, shooting him a warning glare and walking over to enfold a trembling Ore in his warmth.

He held her close to his chest and kissed the top of her forehead. They stayed in each other's embrace for a moment before Philip pulled her away from him to scan her face for any signs of bruise. Philip knew the guy who perpetrated the devilish act all too well. He was Dami's coursemate who was known for his seductive flirt with girls.

But what Philip hadn't foreseen was Maro drugging a girl just to please his horny self. That was a punishable crime and Maro was lucky he wasn't in his usual rotten mood, if not the dude would have been sporting a bloody nose.

Ore sniffed the smell of rich leather on Philip's jacket and circled her arm around his waist. Her eyes misted over as she saw Maro grunting loudly and trying to heave himself off the floor. His bony fingers clutched the edge of the counter as he struggled to support his hefty weight.

Philip petted her hair lightly and nugged her with his elbow. Ore smiled weakly as she ran a thumb over her dried tears. Philip linked hands with Ore and guided her back to the parlour which was a drunken ambience of bodies accompanied with the sickening smell of weed.

Ore's head was whirling and her vision was dotted with red and black shadows that disappeared in thin wisps of smoke. Philip's gaze never left Ore as he tugged her along and gestured with a wave for a drunk Tami to follow suit.

Ore inhaled the cool night breeze as soon as they made it outside. The yellow effervescent glow of the lamp posts overhead illuminated the wide circular driveway and the different range of cars that were parked side by side. Philip waited patiently in the awkward silence, he shuffled his feet and slipped his hand cooly into his pocket.

The noisy crowd of heavily intoxicated people; helplessly inebriated hung densely in the air. Ore scratched her elbow and finally lifted her head in shame to stare at Philip. But he wasn't looking at her, his gaze was focused on the house entrance.

"I am sorry for causing you so much trouble," Ore croaked. Her voice was barely above a whisper and Philip's head whipped in her direction, his fingers visibly clenched in a fist.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" He roared causing Ore to jerk in response. He blew a breath through gritted teeth and headed back inside the heated house.

Her shoulders trembled in trepidation, Ore had never seen Philip so vexed other than the night he had a fight with Dami which was caused by his drunken state. She heaved a deep sigh as she saw Philip dragging Tami with much effort that made her legs wobble.

Tami kept on giggling and struggling against Philip's firm hold, she stalled her feet on the floor making Philip grunt in frustration.

"Let me go!" Tami stated edging back and tugging her arm away. Philip exerted force in letting her go and her ass kissed the floor. Ore's eyes widened as she saw Tami crawling on all fours like a nine months old baby.

"Is this what you want for yourself?" Phillip huffed in disbelief at the disgusting sight. "Is this how you want to live for the rest of your life?" He waved dramatically in the air to buttress his point.

A few drunk couples surged past with a half opened bottle in their grasp, they snickered silently at the show before trudging with much effort to their cars.

Philip hissed at their retreating backs and turned to leave.

"Wait," Ore called out taking a step towards Philip. A muscle twitched at a salient angle in Philip's jaw as he threw Ore a pitiful glance. From the small lighting, Ore could see that his face was hardened with a grim line on his full lips.

"Hope you are not going to leave us by ourselves out here," Ore said lowly. Car headlights shone brightly in her direction before dimming somewhat.

"Were you planning on coming before?" Philip juggled his key in his palm and looked at Ore inquisitively.

Tami was wretching her gutt close to the shrub that lined the high fence. Ore swallowed the lump in her throat as she headed over to where Tami was and bent shakily on her knees.

"I am gonna need some help!" she stated aloud.

Philip blew the horn for the third time that night and let out a frustrated breath. Ore jolted from her sleep, she rubbed her eyes tiredly and slowly adjusted her sitting position. She rolled down her window, the crisp breeze from outside tickling her skin.

Ore spotted a uniformed security man scurrying to open the gate. He slid a key into the lock, turned it sharply and pushed open the metal bars. Philip flexed his stiff fingers on the steering wheel before kicking the car into gear.

The young apprehensive looking officer saluted at his duty post and Ore found herself laughing inwardly. If only he knew that Philip was just a student. Ore heard incoherent mumblings coming from Tami who was sprawled out on the backseat and she adjusted the rear view mirror to check if she was okay.

"Thanks for the ride." Ore leaned in, her elbows resting on the window dent.

The night was still with only the crickets chirping and a dog barking in the distance. The half moon shone in the darkened sky casting shadows on the chipped walls of her hostel block.

Philip sighed briefly and shut the car engine. The car lights went off, immersing them both in total swarthiness. Ore gulped, scanning her surroundings for any sign of life.

"Hey," Philip started scratching the back of his neck. "I called Mercy on the way here and she said she will be waiting for you at the common room area."

"Huh?" Ore got out her phone from her back pocket and checked the time. She gasped when she saw it was already few minutes to eleven o'clock.

"I have to go," Ore said shuffling her feet. Philip nodded his head understandingly and spoke with the clearest tone of voice.

"Wait, before you leave, I have something to tell you." Philip cleared his throat, his hand stalling on the dashboard.

"I like you so much Ore but I am not finding it funny the way you are hanging around with Tami these days. She is influencing you badly, can't you see?"

"What?" Ore asked incredulous. "I thought you had something more important in mind, I can't believe this!" She huffed and backed away from the car.

"Drive safe." That was the last word Ore said before Philip inserted the key into the ignition and started the engine. He shifted the gear to reverse and backed away from the parking space.

With tears brimming in her eyes, Ore hung her head low and climbed up the well worn steps. She halted only to glare at Mercy who was in her pink nightie with arms crossed on her chest.