CHAPTER NINE
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It was eleven o'clock.
Yet, Sophia was still nowhere in sight. Usnavi had been standing near the entrance for the last hour, awaiting for her appearance. He didn't know if she went home to change, or if she was going to show up in a completely different outfit. Every woman that entered, he had to perceive closely to see if it was her.
Usnavi started to feel like he was being stood up. He was starting to wonder if she was playing a joke on him. He wouldn't be surprised if she did stand him up. He just was mad at himself for being dumb enough to fall for it.
"Usnavi!" The familiar voice shouted. Usnavi turned to the side, seeing Sophia rushing her way up to him. He instantly noticed her unsettled look. Sophia gripped onto his wrist the second she got up to him. "Let's go dance."
Usnavi glowered at Sophia. "Why are you late?"
Sophia ignored Usnavi's question and tugged him to follow her. She swiftly looked over her shoulder, releasing a sigh of relief as she saw that she had lost Damien. He was the reason Sophia was late to the meeting at the club. Damien wasn't who she thought he was, and it also meant that his little sister Marta wasn't the angel Sonny believed she was.
"Are you hiding from someone?" Usnavi asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder to look the same direction she did. Usnavi looked back at Sophia who wasn't giving him any answers. "Are you all of a sudden just going to give me the silent treatment?"
As Sophia and Usnavi descended down the stairs, she went from holding Usnavi's wrist to sliding her hand into his. Usnavi's eyebrows shot straight up, but Sophia knew from doing that certain action, it would distract him from asking anymore questions. Usnavi glanced down at her decision to hold his hand, then snaked his eyes up to look at her. He tilted his head quizzically as he noticed a cut on her cheek.
"What happened to your cheek Sophia? That wasn't there before," Usnavi acknowledged loudly over the blaring music. Usnavi knew darn well that Sophia heard him, but she still didn't say a word. Once the two individuals made it to the bottom of the stairs, he forcefully prevented Sophia from going any further. "I ain't playin' with you Sophia. What happened?"
"Usnavi-"
Before Sophia could say another word, a bunch of voices shouted her name. She turned around, only to get sucked into a large crowd of people who were hugging her and cheering for her return. Sophia never expected to be known by so many people. As for Usnavi, he was practically being shoved out of the way, further and further away from Sophia. He tip-toed, trying to keep his eyes on her, but ended up getting all the way pushed to where the bar was.
He stumbled into area with the bar, noticing that Benny was already present there. He was chatting up with the bartender. Usnavi didn't even bother to look back and walked straight up to Benny.
"Mind getting your buddy a drink?" Usnavi proposed, clutching onto Benny's shoulder, getting his attention. Usnavi stood beside him and leaned on the counter. "I'm going to need one."
"Let me guess, you lost Sophia?" Benny guessed, snapping for the bartender to get his buddy a shot of tequila. "In your eyes, that should be an accomplishment. You should be actin' happy, why aren't you?"
"Well, she had this cut on her cheek, and she ain't tellin' me where she got it from."
"Man, do you even hear yourself right now?" Benny questioned, moving so the bartender could slide the shot of tequila toward Usnavi. "You've gone soft for her man. Accept it. You're catching feelings for Sophia."
"Will you stop it with that nonsense I don't-"
"Sophia you say?" An unfamiliar voice asked, making Usnavi look to his right. He scowled as he saw that it was the hot lifeguard from earlier in the day. "You're not talking about the beautiful Sophia Lopez?"
"You're the one who saved her life, so you should know."
"Damien is the name," Damien introduced, disregarding the nasty glare that Usnavi was offering him. "Sophia and I hit it off very well earlier today, and I heard that she was going to be at this club tonight."
"Yeah, so?"
"I just haven't seen her yet," Damien said, looking out into the dance floor. Usnavi narrowed his eyes at the brown-haired guy. He retracted back to the conversation and looked into Usnavi's eyes. "What did you say your name was?"
"My name is Usnavi," Usnavi answered, straightening out his posture. "I actually happen to be Sophia's boyfriend."
Benny about choked on his drink as those words left Usnavi's mouth. Usnavi cleared his throat. He remembered that Damien was the man that Sophia wanted to make jealous, so Usnavi went on his own to start the story. Damien chuckled and lowered his eyes.
"Sophia never mentioned a boyfriend," Damien muttered, licking his lips afterwards. He swung his eyes back up to meet with Usnavi's. "She's way out of your league anyways."
Usnavi grinded his teeth as Damien spoke to him like that. Damien caught someone approaching them from the corner of his eye and looked to the side. It was Sophia.
"Yo man, I finally got out from all those people," Sophia yelled, walking up to Usnavi. She paused as noticed Damien's presence beside him. "Oh um, Damien, hi."
"Quite a coincidence seeing you here, isn't it?" Damien blurted, slowly making his way up to her. Sophia had to refrain herself from fighting Damien, mainly because she was in front of Usnavi and Benny. She didn't want to cause a scene, and Damien knew that. He was trying to push her to the point, but she was strong. Damien put out his hand. "Would you like to dance? I mean, only if your boyfriend approves."
Sophia noticed that Damien specifically looked over at Usnavi when he said, "boyfriend" Which didn't mean good things. She knew it was a fake story, but it meant that Damien now knew who Usnavi was, and now he was in just as much danger as Sonny was. Damien grabbed Sophia's hand aggressively before she could even answer. Sophia tried to show Usnavi through her facial expression that she didn't want to, but Usnavi just shrugged.
Damien took that as an approval and forcefully hauled her out onto the dance floor. Sophia looked back at Usnavi who went back to talking with Benny. Sophia was surprised as Damien spun her around and pressed his body up against hers.
"It was nice meeting your boyfriend back there," Damien mocked, smiling maliciously down at Sophia. "It's going to be just as fun torturing him as it will be torturing you."
"You hurt him, I kill you."
"Damn Sophia," Damien exclaimed in surprise. "You know, for a fake boyfriend, it seems like you actually care if I hurt him."
Sophia grunted as she shoved herself off him, but he grabbed onto her wrists, pulling her straight back to him. He made sure this time, his grasp was tighter. Sophia muttered uncomfortably as Damien lowered himself to whisper in her ear.
"Stop resisting or else I'll cut you again."
Sophia's eyes fluttered shut. She couldn't escape. She knew if she were to start fighting him, everyone would see it. She didn't want Usnavi to know about her situation. Sophia breathed in a deep breath, but as she exhaled, all the lights in the club immediately turned off, engulfing the entire room in complete darkness. Sophia felt Damien's hand slowly slip off of her wrist as she heard everybody scream at the top of their lungs in horror.
She couldn't see what was happening, but she knew that this was her chance to escape. While everyone was pushing and shoving, Sophia broke free from Damien and blended into the crowd. Hoping to get as far away as possible from Damien, while also trying to find Usnavi before Damien gets to him first.
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