Caught Up

Ch. 11

A/n: If you have any fan art or anything related to the story, you can DM me in instagram. It is @madisonharless I'll reply as soon as I can!
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Caught up: chapter 11
The music plays loudly, giving my drunken mind a slight headache. I find myself standing between a random man and a familiar masked person.

There is sweat on my body from dancing, and not all of it is mine.  I tilt my head in confusion, "go?" I question. He grabs my arm and tugs me away from the man I once was dancing with. "Salix, what the hell?" I yelp, glaring at him.

The man put his hands up in defense, "hey, man, I didn't realize you two were a thing.. I just caught her when she fell."

I furrow my brow in frustration," What? No. Him and I are not a thing.. far from it." I state, motioning my finger back and forwards from me to Salix.

The man gives us both a suspicious glance before turning around and wordlessly walking away into the distance.

I turn around to stare at Salix angrily, "What the fuck was that for?" I yell, jerking my arm back. He murmurs something under his breath but I can't make out what it was due to the loud music.

"What was that?" I ask, raising my eyebrows and crossing my arms. He tilts his head at me, "I said it's not safe. Especially with people you don't know" he raises his voice so I can hear him. I roll my eyes upset.

"I'm kidnapped!" I yell, "I don't think I'm exactly out of harms way." I finish, flinging my arms around.

He rests his hand on his chin and sighs, "you don't know these people like I do-" he starts, but I cut him off, "No, Salix, You're right. But I don't care!" I yell, slurring my words slightly. "Why do you care anyways?" I question, patiently waiting for an answer.

There's a small pause, both of us stare at each other in silence. He shifts his position slightly and scratches the back of his head.

"You are important. Our plan wouldn't work with you dead." He murmurs and looks off into the crowd of people.

I go to reply, but am cut off by a feminine voice, "Salix, Bella! Come on!"

I can recognize the voice as Asteria. I give Salix a cold glare before walking off to where She sits.

Salix must have followed closely behind me, because he sits on the stool next to me.

"We are doing shots!" She exclaims, lifting her mask up to only reveal her mouth. She tilts a small glass and swallows what I'm guessing is alcohol.

I shrug and grab a shot glass but Salix quickly takes it out of my hand, "You're already wasted." He says, placing the shot to the opposite side of where I sit.

I scoff and rest my chin in my hands. "One more shot isn't going to hurt anything sal." Asteria says, pulling her mask back down to cover her face.

"No." He says sternly causing me to groan, "you're more strict than my father."

I hear a cough and a stiffled laugh. Jaces voice speaks up, "I mean.. at least he's not destroying society unlike your father."

Salix's head snaps towards the direction and he immediately stands up and presses his finger up against Jace's chest. "You wasn't suppose to leave her alone." He says in his normal, cold voice.

Jace pushes his hand off from him and groans, "dude, it's not like she could have left."

I roll my eyes and point at myself, "right here." I say, resting my hand on my forehead and looking over to Asteria.

She shrugs and gently nudges me another shot. I chuckle and advert my eyes to see Salix and Jace still arguing. I quickly down the shot, the taste of liquor burning down my throat.

She leans towards me and whispers, "follow me." I nod slowly and keep a questioning look on my face. I watch as she hops off from her chair and grabs my hand. We both look over to see Salix and Jace distracted. She takes this as her cue to go, and she tugs me along behind her.

Separating ourselves from the sweaty and drunk- driven bodies, she leads me to a door. She reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a set of keys, jingling them in front of me with a grin.

She unlocks the door and pulls me into a dim-lit room. The door immediately closes behind us and she walks in front of me, her heels clicking against the hard tiles.

"I figured you would want to get away from the noise." She hums. She lifts her hands and pulls the mask off from her face, revealing her dark green eyes.

The room looks like a locker room. We sit on the bench that is placed by a row of metal lockers.

"I usually go here to get away from all the ruckus. It's fun at first but after you drink it becomes a headache." She states, looking over at me. I look down and shrug.

"I never liked it to begin with." I say, letting out a huff of breath. She tilts her head slightly and hums shortly.

I remember seeing her sat on Salix's lap this morning, reminding me of a question I was going to ask.

"So you and Salix?" I ask, smirking over to her. She chuckles and raises her eyebrows

"Nooo," she drags, "Salix is just someone to help pass time. A non-committed type of thing." She informs me.

I shoot her a questionable look.

"You act as if you've never had a fling." She hums.

In fact, she was right. I'm a Virgin. I always made up this impossible, perfect scenario in my head. I imagined my first time to be with someone special.

Of course I wouldn't let her know this.

"No.. I get it." I lie, laughing nervously. I don't want to look vulnerable and inexperienced.

She lets out a small breath and looks at me for a second. The look on her face was almost as if she was about to tell me dreaded news.

"Listen.. I actually brought you in here to warn you.. about Thomas." She says, lowering her voice.

The once chill and peaceful vibe left, and was replaced with a more cold tone.

"What about him?" I ask, looking at her with concern.

She bites her lip and breathes out. I can smell the alcohol on her breath, and I can tell what she is about to tell me is not meant for me to know.

She looks at me and begins, "He told me that he is going to-" she is cut off by the opening of the door.

"There you are!" Salix says. He walks over to me and snaps his fingers, "get up." He demands. I stare at Asteria, "he's going to what?" I ask, but she instantly gags and throws up all over the floor. I crinkle my nose in disgust and Jace walks in and runs to her side.

"I should get her home." He says, helping her to her feet and looking over to Salix. "I haven't seen Thomas, I'm pretty sure he already left." He states, grabbing asterias mask and putting it back on her face.

Salix nods and I watch as Jace and Asteria walk out. The door closes and I look up at Salix, his mask still covering his face. "Get up." He repeats.

I shake my head, "she was going to tell me something.. something about Thomas." I murmur but all I hear is a groan and I feel a hand roughly jerk me to my feet.

The sudden movement causes my head to feel dizzy and I fall against Salix's chest. He grabs my waist to help hold me steady and I close my eyes, "I don't feel good." I mumble.

I hear him sigh and he picks me up, carrying me in his arms bridal-style. I feel to ill to even fight against his hold, so instead I just allow it.

"I told you to stop drinking." He murmurs in aggravation. I groan in response.