When she and Primo went back to the party, it was chaos. Amara instantly became a babysitter as Primo tried mixing every known alcohol on the planet. He lit up the party and everyone was too happy to complain.

Natasha appeared as the clock struck twelve. "Is he okay?"

"Watch him," she said and went to shut the music off. Amara clapped her hands. "Okay! Party's over."

She ignored several groans as she escorted her guests to the exit. Amara thanked them though some were too inebriated to hear her. She ordered some of them to be driven home before she went back inside.

Primo was hunched over, throwing up as Natasha looked with worry.

"Can you drive him home?" Amara asked.

Natasha's head jerked up. "Me?"

Amara wanted to laugh at her question. She was about to answer when Primo grasped her hand. "No... Not home."

She nodded hesitantly. His mother would ask questions he wasn't prepared to answer.

"Help me," she ordered, putting Primo's arm on her shoulders. "Come on, Natasha!"

Natasha flinched at her sharp tone but moved to assist her. They were at the staircase when Elijah helped them.

The girls breathed a sigh as Elijah managed to put Primo in the guest room. Amara grabbed a face towel from the bathroom, soaking it in warm water, and handed it to Natasha.

And once again, her clueless face infuriated Amara.

"Never mind," she mumbled. "You two go home."

She managed to clean Primo and get him ready for bed. Primo never got wasted unless it was about his real dad. But that only happened twice so she was as clueless as Natasha about drunk men.

That girl... if she didn't care for Primo, why did she even accept him?

If she thought back to that first double date they had gone to, Amara did notice how high Natasha's walls were. But that changed when they went home... and before that... Primo and Natasha had seen Amara and Elijah together.

Was that the moment Natasha decided to move on?

Oh, god. It was her fault.

Then, she couldn't waste time. She needed to fight back. And wake the girl up.

Natasha belonged with Elijah.

Not Primo.

✘✘

Amara didn't bother to knock when she entered the guest room. Her best friend was sleeping with his back to her. She grabbed her phone and played the police siren sound.

The girl watched with glee as he scrambled to sat up and clutched his head.

"What the...?" Primo groaned and winced before falling back to the bed.

Amara marched towards him and gave him a change of clothes. "Make yourself presentable and go home."

He dug the edge of his palms over his closed eyes. "My head hurts!"

"Be glad you're still alive after mixing whiskey and vodka."

"Did I at least managed to kiss you?" Primo immediately paled and rushed to correct his words. "I mean—"

Amara snatched a pillow and slapped his face with it. She could hear his muffled complaints before he rolled away.

"I'm sorry!" he grumbled, grabbing his shirt from the night before. His brows knitted as he took in her off the shoulder blouse and denim shorts. "Where are you going?"

"I have something to do," Amara replied. "You better be gone when I come back."

Amara heard his annoyed chatters as she exited the room. She drove to the Queen's Palace where her dad's casino was also located. The building was a project of her father and her uncle Franco.

She planned to see her uncle Vince and find out where Elijah and Natasha had been last night. And maybe, she could avail of their services too.

Amara entered the building and went to the third floor where the casino was located. She stomped to her uncle's office. "Mr. Vince!" she called out.

The man flinched on his seat, looking up from his calculator and documents on the table. Two men in suits stood next to the door while another one sat on the sofa with a laptop in front of him.

"Amara?" Uncle Vince blinked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanna have a copy of last night's CCTV footage."

"Wait! What?" Uncle Vince shot up from his seat. "Does your dad know about this?"

Amara chuckled at his questions. "Uncle, there's no need to involve my father in a high school drama."

"That's what you're here for?" Uncle Vincent scratched at his forehead. He let out a sigh. "Amara—"

"You're can't say no to me." She crossed her arms. Amara sat next to the man with the laptop. "Come on. Show me the footage from last night."

The man eyed Vincent for a second before he typed commands on the laptop. She watched with rapt interest as grids of images appeared on the screen.

"Around ten," she said as a video played. Amara narrowed her eyes to see Natasha's face as the man played it with twice the speed. "That's... Pause that."

Elijah and Natasha were together but she couldn't see what they were doing. The camera angle wasn't wide enough.

"Damn it!" Amara rose, pacing around the room in distress. "I guess I'll have to hire someone then."

Her gaze flitted from one man to another. "Hey, you. What's your name?"

The man stood from the sofa, straightening his wrinkled cuffs. His gray hair was barely noticeable with his undercut. "I'm Benny, Miss Luciano."

"Nice to meet you, Benny." Amara yanked an envelope from her shoulder bag. "This is what I have on them for now. I'll give you two days. You better give me twice the information in there."

"Amara—"

"I swear, Uncle! This is for a high school drama." She rolled her eyes at his concerned tone.

"Isn't that too much effort for a high school drama?" he asked.

Amara smirked, tilting her head to the side. "That's because I don't do things half-assed."

She walked away and trudged to the exit when someone bumped into her. Papers fell on the floor as a deep voice cursed softly.

Amara bent down and helped him. She returned the papers to the man, a gasp tore from her lips as their eyes met. "My—"

"You—"

"My crush!" she exclaimed.

Zeke frowned. "What?"

Amara cleared her throat and beamed at him. "Nothing. Do you remember me?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Volleyball girl, right?"

"Yeah." She was a tad disappointed at his choice of words but at least, he recognized her. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm gonna apply for part-time work." Zeke put the papers in his backpack before swinging it over his shoulder. "How about you?"

Amara debated whether she'd tell the truth or not. She didn't want to lie but she didn't want to appear boastful either. "I... I will also apply for work."

What now?

✘✘

votes and comments are appreciated!