Chapter 6

Vanessa blurted out without thinking, "Yeah, where's Xander?" Why was someone else holding his phone? Where was he? "He's wasted. Come get him." The guy's tone was gruff and totally unfriendly. "Where exactly?" Vanessa frowned, not giving up. The guy spat out the location, then hung up right away. Honestly, she really didn't want to go. But that idiot was still her brother-like it or not, she couldn't just ignore it. With a sigh, she glanced around, trying to recall where the bar he mentioned was. The elderly man she had just helped noticed her worried look and kindly offered, "kiddo, want my grandson to drive you? He's got a car..." "No need, sir. I can handle it. Please be careful on your way home." Vanessa gave him an apologetic smile before hurrying off. She took the bus to the bar. Thank goodness she could pay via Facebook-being able to unlock her phone with just a fingerprint saved her from being stranded. The bar was huge and fancy, with luxury cars packed into the parking lot. Wearing what basically looked like rags, Vanessa made her way inside, only to be stopped by the bouncer. The way he looked her up and down was anything but friendly. "Sorry, not everyone gets to walk in here." "I'm here for my brother. Someone just called me and said he's drunk." She kept it calm and explained. Just then, a staff member approached from behind the bouncer, giving her a once-over. He walked over and asked, "Are you Xander's sister?" As soon as he spoke, Vanessa recognized the voice-it was the same guy who'd called her. She quickly replied, "Yeah, where is he? I'm taking him home." The man squinted at her before nodding. "Follow me." Vanessa trailed behind him up to the top floor of the bar. The lower three levels were buzzing with music and noise, but up here, it was all rooms-definitely not regular ones, either. Everything screamed ‘luxury suite.' But seriously, how did a student like Xander even afford this kind of place? Suspicious, Vanessa suddenly stopped. The man looked back. "Xander's in that room. Why did you stop?" Just as she was about to say something, a room door opened not far ahead, and someone stumbled out, completely plastered-arms and legs flailing. No doubt about it-it was Xander. At this point, she couldn't care about anything else. She rushed over to help Xander up, planning to get him out of there. But the guy who brought her suddenly said, "He's totally out of it-you sure you can drag him out like this? The suite's already paid for. Why not stay here with him until he sobers up?" Xander might still be young, but he was pushing six feet tall. With his full weight leaning on her, it felt like carrying a mountain-there was no way she could manage that on her own. Vanessa shot the man a complicated look, gave a quiet nod, mumbled a thank you, and helped her brother into the room. Xander was already proving to be a handful. Not long after hitting the bed, he started whining about being thirsty. Just as Vanessa turned to get him some water, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her, holding up a spray can, and hit her right in the face. She realized something was wrong, but it was too late-her head started spinning and everything around her blurred fast. Just moments ago, Xander had been a drunken mess, reeking of alcohol. Now, he bounced off the bed, fully alert, and caught Vanessa before she collapsed. His eyes locked onto her dazed ones, and he let out a low sigh. "Idiot." Vanessa fought to stay awake, clinging to her last bit of clarity, and asked, "Why...?" Before she could get an answer, she passed out completely. Xander gently moved her to a different room nearby, muttering to himself, "No one's using this one. Just rest here for a while. The rest's on me." Then he stepped out and made a call. Not long after, a woman with a curvy figure walked into the room where Vanessa had just fainted. A bit later, a chubby man, eyes gleaming with desire, snuck in too. Seeing the door to that room close, Xander finally let out a long breath and turned to leave. The second he walked out of the bar, Grace's call came in. Xander stared at her number, a flicker of coldness in his eyes-gone the next second. "All done? Xander, everything settled?" Grace's voice was warm, almost motherly. He gave a sarcastic sniff and answered in his usual careless tone, "Relax, Aunt Grace. If I'm handling it, how could it not get done?" Grace was clearly thrilled. "You're the best, Xander. Didn't you say you wanted money for your game? I loaded up your card with ten thousand, and threw another twenty into your account. Go treat yourself." "Thanks, Grace!" he said brightly, faking excitement with ease. After hanging up, he glanced back toward the bar. In his heart, he silently muttered, "Stupid Vanessa." Xander thought the room he left her in was empty. But not long after he left, a tall, lean figure stepped through the door-signaling that things weren't over just yet.