Firefly

59: red lights red emotions

Chapter 59: red lights red emotions

Justin

"You were right," Holden clinks his glass with mine. "Red light really does change the vibe." 

I raise my eyebrow giving him a know-it-all smile as I take a sip from my single malt whiskey. Red light parties are paragons of sensual themes. Holden wanted a change, I wanted lesser colors and dimmer lighting. The red light theme just fit like the perfect puzzle piece. 

"Your sister's launch is a glory. To Eden's caSTORE!" He exclaims like a toast before doing a bottoms-up. 

"She's talented." I down the hatch with my drink too. "And she's had such dedicated help for the last five days, it's no shocker." 

Holden gives me a disapproving shake. "Okay, she didn't speak to you for five days because she was helping Eden. She was busy." 

I scoff. "Of course. Busy enough to ghost me but not busy enough to block me on every fucking social media platform." I gesture to the bartender for another refill. "And that's not even the worst part. I put her to sleep the night before. And guess how brilliant my morning was when I found out I was fucking blocked." 

I ignore Holden's laughter and take another wicked sip from my freshly poured glass. "She used you. It's an ultimate revenge plan." He definitely snubbed my glare. "There's a reason why people call karma a bitch, buddy." 

She used me to sleep. What awfully ironical yet completely contrary revenge it was. I fell for it with my guard down and face first. The betrayal stung but the five days of silence were harder than I expected them to be. 

"Is Dylan okay?" Holden says eyeing the farthest corner of the club where Dylan Summer is dancing with a blonde. 

"Looks like it." I focus on his playboy smile. "He crashed at my place for two nights. On the third, he got drunk and cried. Fourth, he decided to go home with flowers because it was either accepting his father's new relationship or becoming an orphan." 

"Wow," Holden acknowledged. "Rough days for that family." 

No, I beg to differ. I was having the roughest days. Everyone was allowed to go to their house except me. And it wasn't Dylan objecting anymore. It was Elena. 

Caleb had to secretly click pictures of her while Spencer gave her a YouTube-guided trim to show it to me. Her hair brushed across her shoulders. She looked extremely adorable. And if anything, I loved the look a lot more than her frustrating long hair getting in her face. But I very surely knew that lost hair was all my fault. 

I wondered if she licked it. She looked like a splitting image of her mother in pictures. But with everyone around her lately, she looked happier. Compared to Day 1, when Caleb showed me her picture today, her smile was definitely back in form. 

"Also, did you find those envelopes you were looking for?" Holden asks. 

I shake my head. "No. She's taken it. She was the only one in that closet and I asked everyone else. No one would dare to steal anything from my closet." 

"Except her." Holden pointed out. 

"Except her." I agree. "And if she's taken it, she's read it. Which accounts for invasion of privacy. I was denied a human right." 

Holden hops down from his chair, smirking. He smacks my arm. "Invasion of privacy? You totally deserve that." He gulps his drink and smacks his glass on the bar table. "As I said, your girl is a mindfucker and that's just one of the many things I admire about her. She puts you in your place."