Chapter 9 Hatred And Jealousy

• (Rachael)
• “Come on, please? It’s tonight, and I don’t feel like going alone.” Emily begged for the tenth time already.
• “I have a son to take care of, I can’t just drop everything like that,” I replied, trying my best to argue my way out of what she was asking of me.
• “I already asked Brady, and he said no, you’re my only other option. My parents expect me to be there tonight and I don’t want to go alone.” I sighed, knowing that Emily wouldn’t stop bothering me until I agreed with her.
• “Fine I’ll go, but you’ll owe me, though.” That got a squeal from her, which had me covering my ears. She hugs me and nods her head.
• “Thanks a lot, babe! I promise I’ll pay you back somehow. I hate going to that hotel alone no matter if it belongs to my parents.” I nodded my head in understanding because I was the same.
• The Pearl Bay Hotel was one of the largest hotels here in Manhattan. It was where most celebrities would stay when they visited. It’s a five-star hotel as well and extremely expensive. Emily didn’t have to work if she doesn’t want to, but she wanted to be independent, so she chose to leave the nest and follow her dreams.
• Her parents were still pushing her to not work, though, and that made her not want to be around them. But, there was an event going on tonight, and she didn’t want to go by herself.
• “I’ll pick you up at eight. Don’t worry about driving there, I’ll make sure you get home safe as well. Just wear a dress or anything you feel comfortable wearing.” Emily hugs me once more before she leaves.
• I arrived home earlier than expected and saw Cole and Mariah in the living room while she was helping him with his schoolwork. Cole ran up to me, and I picked him up while struggling since he was big and I was weak.
• “Welcome home, Mom,” Cole said, making me smile.
• “Thanks sweetly. Hey Mariah.” Mariah smiles and waved at me, while Cole told me to put him down, which I did, and he sat back down on the sofa. Sitting next to Mariah, I groaned from how comfortable my sofa felt compared to my chair at work.
• “Did you hear the good news?” Mariah asked, and I shook my head.
• “Tell her Cole.” Cole turned to me with a smile on his face.
• “Someone donated to my school, and they even brought some stuff there as well. Now, we don’t have to worry anymore. They are going to repair the school soon, though, so classes will be canceled for a week or so until it’s done. I’m not so sure when that will happen, though.” Wow, that was the best news so far. Now I don’t have to worry about Xander saying no when I asked him.
• “That’s great hunny, I’m glad that it happened,” I replied, and Cole nodded his head.
• “Hey Mariah, could you babysit for me for a while? I’ll pay you extra. I have to accompany Emily to this event that’s keeping at the Pearl Bay Hotel, and I’m not sure when I’ll be home.” I looked at the time and saw that it was 7: 15 pm already. I had to go and get ready.
• “Sure thing, I don’t have anything else to do, and I love taking care of Cole,” Mariah replied with a smile.
• “Thanks, I’m going to go and get ready.” I kissed Cole’s forehead and hurriedly made my way toward my room. Luckily for me, I could get ready within a half hour because I didn’t wear a lot of makeup as other girls do, just lipstick, and I’m good.
• After my shower, I decided to wear my hair down just for tonight. I didn’t usually like having it down since it was too long, but tonight was an exception for that. I then grabbed a short orange dress that I had never worn before and put it on. I smiled when I saw that I was looking good already.
• Next, I put my earrings in and applied my lipstick, lotion, and perfume. As I said, it didn’t take long for me to get ready, and by the time I was done, Emily was already here. I grabbed a pair of white slippers and put them on since I hated wearing heels. Once I went downstairs, they turned to me as their eyes became wide with surprise at the way I was dressed.
• “Wow, Mom, you look different, a good different that is,” Cole said, making me smile.
• “Thanks, baby,” I replied and pulled him towards me for a hug.
• “Let me take a picture,” Mariah said as she held her phone up and took my picture.
• “You’re outshining me, Rach. My black dress has nothing going on for it.” Emily pouted playfully, which had me laughing.
• “Don’t be silly, your dress is so short it’s surely going to give a guy a heart attack.” That had Emily laughing.
• “Ok, let’s go. I don’t want to get on my parent's bad side for being late.” Nodding my head, I waved goodbye to Cole and Mariah and walked away with Emily.
• It didn’t take us long to arrive at the hotel, and I was shocked to see that it was already crowded. Celebrities from all over were heading inside, and I didn’t miss a couple of men looking my way with lust in their eyes. Rolling my eyes, I made my way inside with Emily and sighed when I realized that this was going to be a long night.
• What did I get myself into? I know that I should have said no to Emily, but I couldn’t. She’s been my friend for quite a long time, and I didn’t have the guts to say no.
• “Ok, stay close to me and don’t take any drinks from strangers. If you need to socialize, let me know so that I don’t have to be worried about you.” Emily said, and I raised my eyebrow at her.
• “You’re acting as if I’m a child,” I replied, which had her shrugging.
• “Sometimes I feel like I’m your mother. Oh wait, a damn minute, is that Mr. King?” I followed Emily’s gaze, and she was right. I furrowed my brows when I realized that he wasn’t alone.
• While I was glaring at his companion, I didn’t notice that he was also staring at me. But, the way he was watching me had me thinking, what the hell did I do wrong?