Chapter 4 DON'T TELL ME TO STOP

After a whole day of dealing with a patient who didn't seem to have the will to leave but the doctors keeping on bringing him back, Andrea walked out of the hospital towards where Gabby was waiting in the parking lot. She got inside, adjusted her seat and leaned back, sighing heavily.

"You are still alive," Gabby stated.

"Yeah,but barely. Two surgeries, one to relieve the pressure in his head and the other one to remove fragments of the crash from his arm. I barely had time to attend to my other patients and I wanted so bad to be with them than be in the same room with him."

"How does it make you feel...you know, seeing him lying there not sure if he will survive the accident or succumb to it?"

Why was Gabby even asking this and why was she using that tone on her? She didn't want to be pitied. Nicholas was just an uncaring prick who wasn't even worth any of her worries and Gabby treating her like she needed him and would break down any moment if he happened to die was the last thing she needed on this uneventful day. She raised herself up and faced her.

"I want to drink myself to sleep and never have to think about Nicholas or anyone else for that matter."

"Oh,no sex today?" Gabby said as she started the car. She gave her a death glare which she shrugged off with laughter. "Come on, don't kill me I'm just kidding. We'll go for a girls night out and you can tell me all about Nick."

"It's Nicholas and no I'm not going to be talking about him," she said with finality and remained quiet the rest of the way until they got home.

★★★

Two hours later,Andy followed a jolly Gabriella down the stairs of an underground club she never knew existed looking around her suspiciously and hesitating at the entrance as she talked freely with the guards. She frequented several bars in town but this one looked like it didn't want to be found by any human being except that Gabby found it which puzzled her because she was not as outgoing as her.

"Come on. Don't just stand there as if you are lost." she pulled her hand and led her inside. The noise that met her ears once they were inside was deafening and unbelievable since it hadn't been evident from the outside.

"What is this place?" She asked over the music.

"Somewhere I thought you might like a change of environment." This she said while still looking around for something. Or was it someone? "Let me introduce you to some friends."

"What? No,no friends," she tried but Gabby was already leading her towards a group of women, some seated at a table and some playing pool. They all jumped when they saw her and a minute later, she was surrounded by a group of- she blinked her eyes not believing that she was seeing right then turned to Gabby when she realized that everything she was seeing was real. "A gay club, really?" she asked in disbelief.

"It will be fun,they are all cool I promise."

Gabby had barely uttered the last word when one of them stepped forward,circled around her then stopped in her face and pulled a few strands of her hair.

"Oh my God." She muttered under her breath wanting to slap the hand off her.

"Hey gorgeous," she smiled.

"Nettie, boundaries. How many times do I have to remind you? Also, she is not interested."

"Oh I think the pretty girl can speak for herself Gabbs," the woman, Nettie replied and turned back to her. "Right?"

Andy remained silent but her eyes spoke volumes and were it not for the fact that she didn't want to be rude in front of her best friend's friends, she would have already said something to insult her for her lack of respect for boundaries. It was clear that she was drunk and a little push would send her falling on the table behind her but somehow she didn't feel the urge to do just that. Who knew? The woman might have been nursing her soul like she wanted to do that night.

"Andy, when you are done, I'll be at the bar drinking my frustrations away,"she stated and left without another word.

A minute passed, then two and without realizing it, thirty minutes were gone without a sign of her friend. She didn't even know why she wanted her to be by her side so bad and as minutes passed by without seeing her, she ordered a shot after another until she was sure she had consumed almost half a bottle. She was a lightweight so the alcohol kicked it pretty quickly and she couldn't control her thoughts anymore. Memories appeared before her in flashes, kicking in and overloading her mind to a point that she felt the need to relieve the pressure.

"Why Nick? Why now?" She heard her voice ten years ago,a twenty two year old with a tear stricken face looking at the guy who was supposed to be her soulmate,to stand by her,to stand by each other and follow their dreams supporting each other. Yet there he was, breaking her heart, calling off their engagement two days to their wedding for reasons she couldn't even grasp.

"I have to Andy. If I don't,this opportunity will never present itself again."

"Then we will find another one together. It will not be the end of the world if you don't go."

At that point,Nicholas raised his voice in anger. She flinched as she remembered how his words had torn through her like a hot double edged sword.

"We won't Andy! Okay? And neither will calling off the wedding be the end of the world. You are a fucking kid and I am too. We both have dreams we need to follow and ours are different paths that can never cross, okay? We need to follow them separately!"

A fresh batch of tears escaped from her eyes as she remembered his words to her,his face as he said them and what hurt her most at this point wasn't the way he had looked at her. It was the way she had let herself see him beyond that layer and still be in love with him,still see the person who had made her fall in love blindly not just during the first year they had met but also throughout the four years they had been together. She motioned for the bartender.

"Two more please."

"You might want to take it slow at this point or you are gonna kill yourself."

She looked up slowly and fixed a glare at him which she hoped would render him into submission but when he didn't move, she asked. "Are you paying for it? Are you going to lose anything if I die?"

"Chad, give the lady what she wants. She is paying for it after all. She turned and met the eyes of another guy who was observing her with interest. "Hi, I'm Jacob but you can call me Jake."

"I don't need a fucking spokesman, Jake." She stressed on his name then swallowed a shot, dropping the glass back on the counter with a loud clink.

"I know that. I'm just minding a fight breaking out and ruining my property." She turned away from him not wanting to say anything more. "Who is it? An ex girlfriend? Ex- wife?" She looked at him awkwardly. "I know a heartbroken face when I see it."

"I'm not gay and no I'm not heartbroken."

"Well,that makes two of us."

She stood up and staggered back, gripping the counter tightly.

"I wasn't looking for company but now that you are here, point me to the bathrooms?"

"On your right, down the corridor."

"Thank you." She turned and walked away several steps then crashed into a wall. Luckily she didn't fall but she felt sick. A wave of dizziness swept over her face and head. She lifted her hand and palmed her forehead.

"Hey,are you okay? Do you need some help?" She shook her head but in the next minute,a glass of water was shoved into her face. "Drink this,you will feel better." She accepted the glass and gulped down it's contents and sure enough, the dizziness left her. She stood upright and handed him back the glass then started walking away. "You shouldn't go there alone."

She turned,"What, you want to take me?" She looked at him from head to foot and forgetting that she had decided to avoid any sexual contact with anyone,all she could see at that moment was a person to help her balance her emotions. A person to use rather. "Yeah, sure take me to the bathrooms then Jake."

He had barely let go of the main bathroom door when she turned, pulled him to her face and kissed him fiercely. The swiftness with which he grabbed her showed that he had been wanting her and instead of thinking that he was taking advantage of her, the action exhilarated her. She pushed herself against his body, placing his hands on her hips. He understood the signal and squeezed her ass making her moan with delight. She however wanted more than just that. She trailed her hands along his belt, struggled to unbuckle it but just as she was about to succeed,he stopped her and pushed her back gently.

"Hey,hey, this doesn't feel right. We should stop."

She grabbed him by the collar and glared at him,"Not now!" She spelled out each word firmly. "Don't tell me to stop."