Chapter 1: Why Are You Arriving So Late?
In December, the air was cold and dry, and the night was as black as ink. “Here we are, Miss.”
The yellow taxi stopped in front of a brightly lit building with the letters Gravity Bar on it. It was continually shining back and forth.
Cathryn had been staring blankly at the outside of the window, and it wasn’t until the driver called her that she came back to the world of the living. She opened her wallet and paid the fare. She then quickly opened the door and got out of the taxi.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
Cathryn walked towards the bar as soon as she got out of the taxi, but the driver had to stop her. “Here is your change, Miss.”
Her mind was elsewhere. “Thank you, sir,” said Cathryn. She took the change from the driver’s hand and smiled reluctantly. She didn’t know whether her smile looked real or not, but she had tried her best.
“Please pay attention to safety, Miss.” While he looked at her trance appearance, the driver tried to encourage her with the best of intentions. The driver spoke with an accent of Douglas City, which warmed Cathryn’s heart and made her muddled mind sober up.
“Thank you!” Cathryn smiled at the driver again. She wrapped her coat around her and started for the Gravity Bar. She had high heels on and was walking at a slow pace. Something was holding her back.
It was midnight, it was cold and empty outside the bar. When she opened the door and walked into the bar, it was like entering another society. It had neon lights shining in all directions, hitting the multiple mirrors surrounding the room. There was a deafening sound of music, and the voice of the DJ singing was piercing to her ears. She could hear the screams of all the intoxicated men and women, which felt like a steel bar being inserted into Cathryn’s ears. The loud, piercing sound made her subconsciously step back.
In the packed crowd, all you could smell was alcohol, perfume, and hormones, which fermented on the dance floor and drowned the whole bar.
Cathryn frowned and glanced around, biting her lower lip.
“Here, Cathryn!” Someone calls out to her.
“Oh no,” she thinks to herself. She was terrified. All she wanted to do at this exact moment was turn around and run as fast as possible. It was too late. The person who had called her name had come to her and took her swiftly by the hand.
“Why are you arriving so late?” She asked. The woman who was dressed up in punk style was named Abigail. Her parents had a particular position in the entertainment circle.
“I have never been to a place like this before.” Cathryn thought to herself. She was then abruptly dragged by Abigail, but her body subconsciously retreated. She only came because Abigail called her and asked her out.
Abigail and Cathryn were new acquaintances. They had seen each other several times before when Cathryn had played a small role in Abigail’s father’s film.
They never really talked to one another, so she couldn’t understand why Abigail suddenly had contacted her. Supposedly Cathryn had been through one of the most painful moments of her life, and she intended to vent. When Abigail called Cathryn, she apparently indicated that she would help Cathryn get a role in her father’s new film. When Cathryn heard this, without thinking, she immediately came over.
Abigail pulled Cathryn into a room without giving her a chance to run away. It was much more appealing than outside the bar.
Several men and women were embracing each other. However, all she could hear was the sound of drinking and the singing of the running tune, which were mixed together, making Cathryn frown even more tightly.
As soon as Abigail pulled Cathryn into the room, the men, who had been kissing the ladies, took one glance at Cathryn and were immediately attracted by Cathryn’s appearance.
Although Cathryn was a little-known actress in the entertainment circle, her appearance was not inferior to those of famous female stars, but her eyes, her eyes showed her inner soul. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Cathryn’s appearance was entirely out of line with her silly, sweet temperament, but instead, she was very charming and gorgeous. Her eyes were like seawater, and a nevus under the corner of her eye added a bit of charm. Her nose bridge was high, and her lips were full of red and very tender.
Men always found this very intriguing. Her face was fair with a timid expression, giving no man the ability to move their eyes from her.
“Who is this, Abigail?” said a short man in a hat as he quickly approached them. He stood there gazing at Cathryn while looking her up and down. It made Cathryn feel very uncomfortable.
“This is Cathryn, a new actress, different from the women you see at ordinary times,” said Abigail proudly, pulling Cathryn to the seat.
As a matter of fact, they were playing a game of Truth or Dare. Abigail lost the game and was asked to call the tenth one on her address list to come over and drink with them. It just so happened that Cathryn was the tenth one on her list. Was this only to deceive Cathryn into coming over, or did Abigail really mean what she said to Cathryn about having a chance to act in her father’s movie?
Cathryn felt like a fool. All she could think was that she had been deceived. Cathryn came over on an impulse and asked herself over and over again, “Why would Abigail do this to her?”
Her mind was in a state of chaos, and she thought that coming out to find something to do or talk with others would relieve her pain and that it might help her take her mind off of what was going on in her life. “The pain, the pain,” is all she could think about.