Frozen in Time by Radia Al Rashid (the speed reading book .TXT) 📖

in unison.

“You guys are impossible.” I chuckle following them to the inside.

“So, this is our girl, Samantha!” Sloan beams brightly while pointing to someone.

“Wow! You’re gorgeous!” I blurt out like a weirdo. She actually is so beautiful and no wonder she’s Aron’s sister. The finest gene they must have gotten.

“Hey! Thanks! That’s so sweet of you honey. And you?” she shakes my hand with a bright smile that twinkles her ruby green eyes.

“I’m Evelyn Walker. I work with Aron...”

“Evelyn! Aron told me about you. It’s really great to finally meet you.” She pulls me into a hug.

He did tell people about me then, huh! He’s certainly making it harder for me. I mean, I cannot date him cos clearly, I’ll think about his friend whenever I see him! That’s messed up.

In reply, I just smile a little.

“Hey, Evelyn! So, you came.” Mr. Aron Wilson in all his glory comes towards my way smiling like a fricking model. Dang it! Why is he so beautiful or is it just me!

“Hi! Yeah, I guess so. How are you?” before I can be done with my awkward session, he hugs me... and that cologne! O boy!

“You look breathtaking!” he eyes me, in a good way. Or at least, I wanna consider it as good because he’s such an eye candy.

“So, do you. I mean, you look really handsome, as usual but a little more maybe. Okay, I’m becoming really dorky at this point, so, where are others?”   

He laughs at my silly statement, “You are so adorable. Anyway, before you go there, is it okay with you to face Richard?”

“Sure!” I blurt out before he even finishes asking which shows the lie in my words as clear as the morning sun.

“That was quick! I can take it as positive, then?”

“Totally! He’s just fine, you know!” I shrug.

“I hope so too.” He looks a bit dubious as he is looking at my face which is undoubtedly screaming, I AM NERVOUS.

Madison and Michael come forward to make the environment a wee bit comfortable for me.

“Hey! Eve, you are...”

“Glowing?” I ask recalling the comments from before.

“Woah! Confident, huh!” Madison smiles.

“Nope! It’s nothing like that. You see, that girl over there, Melissa and her friend said the same thing so I just inferred.”

“Cool! But I’m sure she was gonna say the same.” Michael chimes in.

Then, I see the Greek god stepping hesitantly towards the way I am standing. I am not going to describe how my heart stops and the world spins and everything else becomes invisible except for two of us! And obviously I am not even getting started on how sinfully attractive the guy is looking and how awfully my idiot heart is malfunctioning to conspire me to death, maybe! I am truly shoving all the details aside or else this novel will never end.

“Hey, how are you?” before I can comprehend, I am grinning foolishly at Richard.

He looks a bit startled as he clearly hasn’t expected this sort of behavior on my side, “Hi! I am alright, I assume. How are you, Miss Walker?” he smiles. Jesus! My heart! This smile cannot not be mine! I want him so bad.

I clear my throat while blushing like a joker, “I am doing okay! Thanks for asking.” What is with the formality! No wonder I am going to act more weirdly around this guy tonight! God, help me.

“Good to hear that.” He sustains his smile to let all my internal organs get tangled up with each other and kill me. Melissa comes rushing to us at the very moment.

“Babe! You got to see the cake they ordered! OMG! This is magnificent.” She clutches his arm like a frigging koala. Okay, I am being mean to her cos I’m jealous. She doesn’t deserve to be treated this mean.

I smile at them, “Cool! I gotta go talk to my colleagues then.”

“Or you can come with us, OMG Eve, you’re gonna love the cake.” She is making it worse.

“No! I don’t like cakes… wait, what! What came over me. God! “I mean, I will have a look at this marvelous cake later cos I just remembered that I have a really important thing... you know to discuss with Aron.” Failing to understand the sense of my own words, I simply rush towards the other way of the hall leaving both of them a bit baffled.

“She’s acting weird!” I can hear Melissa’s voice from behind.

“You can’t just call people weird. She must have her reasons.” I halt a little to hear Richard’s reply. He is just being nice, no big deal.

Chapter Fourteen

 

“Oh! I’m so sorry.” I quickly turn to my side to find the lady I just got bumped into.

WHAT! Is it… wait what? How?

“It’s alright, um... do I know you?” Annabelle Gaston quirks her brows.

Is it some sort of time machine situation going on with my life? how can all the people from my insidious past be literally walking around me now? like after 6 years? Why do they keep coming back? I’m feeling totally frozen in time, right now! and yes, I’m feeling like throwing up. Will Anna pull off some crazy avenging scene here tonight? Among all these people! Eve, just die… please, die.

“I don’t think so.” I nervously tug my hair while trying in vain to change my voice a little.

“Are you by any chance, Evelyn Lawrence?” she asks directly. As straightforward as ever.

“What, no? I’m not Evelyn Lawrence...” before I can finish my disordered sentence, Madison chimes in, “Ow! She’s Evelyn, that’s right but her surname is not Lawrence, it’s Walker.”

“O wow! How amazing!” Anna smirks with an evil look.

I start sweating and shaking inwardly. This be the last thing I wanted to end up with in this party.

“So, yeah if you excuse me, I need to go the washroom.” I stammer.

“Me too! Let’s go together. I mean, obviously not in the same washroom though.” Anna gives a bright smile underneath which I can feel her brewing anger.

“Yeah, sure.” My head slowly begins to spin.

“Don’t think you would imagine seeing me here.” She whisper-yells in my ear.

“No, I couldn’t! why are you here?” I feel infuriated as her cocky remark.

“That’s expected Miss Law… wait nope, it’s Ms. Walker now.” she laughs making me disgusted and scared at the same time.

“What is your problem, Annabelle Gaston? Can’t you see I’m trying to avoid you?”

“Aw! Are you? Why can’t I see it then? Maybe because I’m a psychopath coming out of a psychic clinic!” her voice becomes shrill at the end.

I quicken my pace to reach the washroom fast. People already start looking our way a little baffled by the heated argument.

“What? Now, you don’t have anything to say, huh? You, shameless bitch!” she snaps again.

“Anna! I am not a wee bit interested in talking to you right now. can you not make the scene more dramatic with your unnecessary presence here?”

“My unnecessary presence? O wow! That’s unlike the ever-scared Evelyn I’ve known for years.” She definitely is in the mood to pick a fight.

“Why are you here?” I open the door to the restroom and face her.

“I could ask you the exact same question but I’m neither interested in asking it nor am I bound to answer your question.” She smirks, “You are going to pay for what you did to me.”

“What! What the heck are you saying? You NEEDED help, Anna.” Her fierce look is actually freaking me out at this point. What is even scarier is that she doesn’t look like she’s even recovered. She must have found some loophole to flee from the clinic.

“Say it again, it’s so godawfully funny!” she lets out a shrill laughter making my heart jump to my throat.

“Look, if you logically think about it, you’ll understand how dangerous your condition was growing to be for everyone around you. In fact, you, yourself were vulnerable to your condition. Do you not think it was the best idea to bring you under treatment?”

Her face drops at this, she seems to be comprehending my words before looking at me, “You know what? You are still the same foolish and stupid nerd I saw you as 6 years back. You think it was a CONDITION I was having? Seriously? It was my own fricking choice to kill those ugly dumb animals. What is so wrong with that? And you are telling me I was dangerous to everyone around ME?” she laughs again, this time more like a sneer. “Why? Did I kill your sister or her dead fiancé? Or, wait did I kill you? Did I do any harm to that asshole lover of yours? NO, I DIDN’T AND NOW I THINK I’VE DONE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE BY NOT KILLING YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE.”

“Anna! Calm down. It’s a fricking party and you have no right to yell at me like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! And tell me why you’re so enraged at me after all these years? I wanted only good for you where honestly no harm was intended. Anna, you were my best friend.”

“OMG! Now you’re the same frightened little rat again to make me emotional with your shitty pep talk? you’re ridiculous! O yeah? You really want to know why am I so enraged still? Hear me out then, you made me waste 3 years from my life and I dropped out of the college for the trauma! And wait, here’s more, nobody wants to give me any job after all this time only because I’ve been in that clinic and they think I’d be some sort of a threat to their employees. You understand now?” she pants hysterically.

“Trust me, Anna I didn’t mean to...”

“Shut up, you little insecure slut! You were too insecure about me and your lover Richard to hit it off and start dating and this is exactly why you plotted the whole thing.”

“What is wrong with you? You very well know that’s not even close to the reason why I did that. It was you who killed the innocent animals like a fricking monster. And it was you who almost damaged Julia’s health a great deal. Now, you’re making up some fat lies to make me the bad guy? You are sick, Anna! You still are a psychopath.” My head starts pounding as anger invades the whole of it.

“Wow! Cool! You’ve always been so self-centered and I can see you after all these years are holding on to the victim mentality. You are such a two-faced demon!” she smirks, “Oho! Did you get the luck to see that beautiful girlfriend of your love? Tsk tsk, I feel sorry for you! He looks like having a great life with her. You know what? Everyone becomes happy getting rid of an edgy bitch like you. Are you wearing this slutty dress to compete with Melissa? No, darling! You cannot even stand up to her beauty. Being ugly is not your choice after all. I am sorry my dear.” She pouts.

Although I know she is just deliberately throwing the mean words at me, my ever-present insecurities and anxiety attacks threat to come crawling back. I feel like crying but gulp at the thought of making her doubly happy by breaking down before her like this.

“Whatever the reason you are here today, I just