Ice and Fire

Chapter 70 Let Me Take You Home

Stephen froze when his eyes finally focused on the corner she was sitting in. It was a familiar, but

emaciated face, and her figure, as well as her appearance, made him feel an icy quiver in his heart.

Stephen stared at Cherry, and slowly started to walk up to her.

She sat in the corner and blankly stared at all the people twirling around on?the dance floor. She was

there because she missed Emily, not to see other people having fun.

Cherry wasn't aware of the fact that Stephen was standing beside her until he called out her name.

"Cherr, you're here!"

When she heard someone calling out her name, Cherry looked backwards, and saw that it was

Stephen. She tried to quickly adjust her mood, and a reluctant smile appeared on her face, which was

even more uglier than a grimace. She said, "Stephen, how did you know I was here?"

Stephen suffered when he looked at Cherry's face, and he had no choice but to withhold himself from

speaking.

"Don't forget that this is my territory. I always know when you're here, " said Stephen.

Cherry believed that what he said was true. After all, it was his bar, and that meant that everything was

under his watch, her included.

Embarrassed, Cherry quickly replied, "I'm so sorry..."

However, Stephen felt an unbearable pain pierce his heart. He fixed his eyes on Cherry, and said,

"How are you doing these days?"

She was shocked by his greeting, and because Stephen acted just like a friend, this reminded Cherry

of Emily one more time.

"Fine, not so bad, " said Cherry.

Stephen stared at her all the time during their talk. He said, "Not so bad, but it seems that you're not a

bit happy at all."

When she heard him, Cherry looked down, and lowered her voice. She replied, "No, I'm actually

leading a good life now."

Stephen tried to say, "Cherry, Emily..." but his words were quickly stopped by her before he could finish

them.

Cherry immediately raised her head, looked at Stephen straight in the eye, and said, "Please, don't talk

about Emily. I came here just to relax." She tried to hide her sadness, because she didn't want it to be

mentioned, or noticed, by anyone else.

Stephen then stopped, But after a while, he asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

"A cocktail, thanks, " said Cherry. She hoped that the alcohol would do a quick job to anaesthetize her

feelings.

Stephen gestured to a waiter, and told him to bring several glasses of cocktails to her table.

The waiter soon returned with the drinks, and as she looked at the full table, Cherry couldn't help but to

pick one up and down the whole glass.

"Drink it slowly, " said Stephen, a bit worried when he saw that Cherry was so anxious. He knew that

she still missed Emily very much, and he also knew that she couldn't get her off of her mind, even

though she had been long gone already. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

But Cherry didn't listen to Stephen for a second, and instead kept on gulping one drink after another,

almost emptying all of the cocktail glasses on the table in a very short amount of time.

As she stared at the empty glasses, Cherry said to Stephen, "Give me some wine now, please."

Cherry just wanted to soothe her heavy heart, and to release all the sadness that had been built inside

of her for so long with alcohol.

Stephen wanted to stop her when he saw her do that, but he also knew that she wouldn't listen to him

for one moment.

In the end, Stephen followed Cherry's wish, and called the waiter to bring some wine to the table.

As soon as she saw the wine, Cherry started to drink again, despite of the fact that she started to feel

uncomfortable and wanted to vomit. She ignored her nausea, and instead kept on gulping wine.

But as soon as she tossed another glass of wine, she immediately felt sick to the brim. Cherry started

to feel like throwing up, and when she eventually realized that she couldn't hold it anymore, she got off

of her seat and quickly ran towards the toilet.

After he saw Cherry's unexpected move, Stephen hastily ran after her.

He followed her to the ladies' room. He ran directly inside, and didn't pay any attention to that because

he was worried about her.

One of the custodians was cleaning the toilet, and she saw a girl running into the toilet, bending over

the sink and puking. A man also came inside after her.

When the custodian realized that it was Stephen, she immediately greeted him with respect, "Mr.

Stephen!"

When he heard that some called him, Stephen calmed down, and stopped when he saw that Cherry

was vomiting in the sink. He said to the custodian next to him, "Put an 'Out of order" sign for the

moment on the door."

"Okay, okay, " said the custodian, and quickly got out.

Stephen then suddenly walked up to Cherry, and while he gently touched her shoulder, he asked,

"Cherry, are you okay?"

Cherry was still feeling ill, and didn't answer Stephen's question.

After some time passed, Cherry felt much more better, but her stomach was still cramped, and she

couldn't figure out the reason why.

Stephen saw that Cherry was feeling better than before, and asked again, "How are you feeling now?

Would you like to go to the hospital with me?"

Cherry waved her hand, and in a weak voice, said, "That's alright, I feel better now."

Stephen saw that Cherry had gotten up from the sink, and he held Cherry's arm and helped her get out

of the toilet.

He brought her to his office, and made her sit on the sofa in the office room. He poured her a cup of

water, and after Cherry drank some of it, she felt much more better than before.

Stephen again looked at Cherry with a spark of concern in his yes, and asked, "Are you really okay?"

"I'm okay, " said Cherry.

When he looked at Cherry's face, Stephen was sure that Cherry was indeed feeling much more better

than before, and didn't ask her anything more.

Cherry had just recovered from her sad state when she realized that she was in Stephen's office room.

She said, "If you have work to do, then I'll leave you to it." Cherry then intended to stand up and leave,

but her arm was suddenly seized by Stephen.

Stephen felt rather worried about leaving Cherry alone, and said, "No, I don't have any work to do now.

Just stay here and rest."

"No, I'd better go back, " replied Cherry, insisting on leaving.

Stephen knew that he couldn't convince Cherry change her mind, and when he saw her stubborn face

he compromised, and said, "Well, then at least let me drive you back home."

"No, I can go back myself, that's alright." Cherry didn't want anybody to help her.

Stephen stared at Cherry, and with his eyes filled with incomparable affection towards her, said, "But I

can't bear to see you like this."

She then raised her head and looked into Stephen's eyes, and saw in them little sparks of misgiving,

different from the ordinary concern between friends.

Finally, Cherry acquiesced Stephen's advice, and looked at him and nodded.

Stephen was happy when Cherry agreed to let him take her back, and cheerfully said, "Let's go, I'll

drive you back."