The party pulsed with neon light, streaks of violet and blue flashing across the crowd as the bass rattled the floor. Sequins caught the glow like sparks, dresses twirling, glasses clinking in constant rhythm. Waiters slipped between bodies with silver trays, the air heavy with perfume and champagne.
" Have you seen them!?" Mo yelled to Meg, the party's music sounding so hard and deafening.
"No!" Meg yelled back. Her gaze went steadily round as they made their way to the dance floor, but she couldn't even get a glimpse of any of the girls. Morgan tried dialing their numbers again. Rose's was switched off.
Emily called just as she was about dialing her number.
"I was about calling! Where're you guys!?"
Emily's voice was cracking over the line. Mo couldn't hear her well.
"What!?"
"Dance floor!", she finally heard, and the line was disconnected. Meg turned to her as they squeezed themselves between the dancing groups of youngsters.
"Didn't know there'll be so much people." Her voice sounding stiff as she tried catching a breath behind a muscular sweaty guy. His cologne filled her nose and felt intoxicating.
"Emily said she's at the dance floor.... Oh, I can see her already." She was dancing sexily with a guy when she saw her. She was always like that, timid at times yet didn't give a damn.
"Girls!" She waved at them as she saw them. "Come, come let's dance!"
Megan smiled. Just as she was about joining Mo, someone held her waist, dragging her back.
"No, let's dance instead." The voice said over her ear, his breath sending shivers down her spine as it came to her neck.
Who the hell was that?
She spun immediately, and it was Michael. Looking daringly handsome, looking like the angel Michael she was taught about that dwells in heaven.
"How dare you!" She said in a low tone, also trying to sound indignant as she tried freeing her waist from his grip. They were already away from the dance floor as Meg sighted. Mo was shaking hands with the guy then laughing with Emily. He wasn't looking bad for an admirer. Just that, he must be a Canadian. She felt betrayed as Michael gently dragged her away from them. Rose wasn't even there.
"I didn't know you would come to this party."
"Me neither." Meg said, her tone indifferent as she finally grabbed his wrists out of her waist, facing him.
"You don't have right to do that."
"Why? We're in a party. Come on, dance with me."
Meg gazed at him and didn't know when she let out a laugh.
"I'm in no mood to dance Michael. I would rather love to drink first." She said, already taking a glass of wine from a tray passing by. The server was a guy, brows furrowed. Michael did same.
"Let's drink then." He said, clicking his glass with against hers. "You look lovely tonight."
Meg felt her cheeks blush a little. Jeez, it's not like he's ever been the first guy saying this so why? There were tons of them. There has always been.
"Well, thank you," She replied after all, her voice trying to be composed. "You're not bad too." She stated. It was enough than over saying it. His eyes glinted again as he smiled.
"You really don't think I'll be your man, Megan?"
She almost choked on her wine at this statement. Who does he think he is? She didn't know when she gulped down the whole content as she blinked in surprise. Her skin was getting hot.
"Look, Michael. I don't care what you say but I don't think I can date you. I've never had a boyfriend and I don't like men. They're...well, not my stuff."
Michael was stunned. "Really? You've never had a boyfriend? Hmm..."
Meg gazed at him as he smirked. "What're you..." She was cut short by her phone vibration in her bag. It was Mo. Finally, someone realized she's been missing.
"Meg! I thought you were with us!"
"Well, I was. But something came up....or rather, someone." Michael chuckled and took the phone from her.
"Mo. It's me, Michael. I'm with her so don't worry."
"Oh, really. Then, I really hope you guys enjoy yourselves. Sorry for interrupting," Mo's tone was screaming excitement. "And Michael please, do make sure you keep her around, she really goes missing quite well." She laughed and ended the call. Michael grinned as he looked at Meg. She was just standing, not knowing whether to be angry or calm. Michael was getting too arrogant.
"What?" She demanded as he kept on gazing at her.
"Well, your twin says I should keep you around that you have a habit of going missing."
"What!?" Now, she was angry. "Mo...I won't forgive her."
Michael took her empty glass and his untouched wine, returning it to another tray passing.
"If you don't want to dance, we can go outside perhaps. You're sweating."
"Ofcourse." Meg replied with a frown, embarrassed. She went before him, already getting agitated at everything. Just as they made their way through the exit, her black heels became woobly. She held her head and stopped abruptly. It was as if everywhere was spinning, and her head was pounding heavily.
The sweetness on her tongue curdled into something sour and heavy. She was wearing an uncomfortable smile, but the smile dissolved as a cold band tightened at the base of her skull. Light streaked and doubled; the chandelier above fractured into a dozen cruel suns. Sound went distant, as if someone had turned the world down to a whisper; the music still thumped, but it felt far away, like a heartbeat through water.
A ringing began inside her ears, sharp and insistent, and the edges of the room softened until faces melted into smears of color. Her arms felt unfamiliar, leaden, as if she were wearing someone else's limbs. Panic tried to rise, but it came out sluggish, robbed of clarity. Her breath came shallow and quick; the air tasted thin. For one terrifying second she knew where she was—Michael's hand at her waist, the pressed fabric of his suit, the way he leaned in—then the world tilted and the floor gave.
"Are you alright? Don't tell me you're already drunk." Michael said as he held her arm to keep her from falling.
She was silent.
"Megan?" His tone became serious. "What's the problem?"
"I don't know," she said weakly. "My head....the wine..."
She sagged against him, the room tilting into a tunnel of light and shadow. Michael's face swam closer, features huge and distant all at once. He called her name, urgent and raw; her hearing narrowed to the timbre of his voice and then, mercifully, the sound slipped away. Darkness pulled like a tide, and Megan let herself be carried on it.
Fear gripped him like ice. He shook her violently.
"Megan! Megan!" No blinking. No shaking. Her body became so cold instantly.
"Oh my God." Sweats tickled down his forehead. Carrying her away from the party, he dashed straight to his car. There, he called Mo.
"Michael?"
"Come quickly to the nearest hospital from here. We'll be there, your sister has been poisoned."
"What?! Oh Jesus."
"Mo, what's wrong?" Emily halted in her dance seeing the panick on Morgan's face.
"It's Meg. She's been hospitalized. Em, I have to go."
"I'm coming with you."
~~~
She held her cold hands beside her sick bed, balls of sweat mingling with her tears. Emily stood at the other side of the bed, stroking Megan's ruffled hair. "Please wake up Meg. Wake up."
She had left the Canadian guy behind at the party. Megan's life was all that mattered to her now. She took out her phone and dialed Rose's number again. It was still switched off.
"Oh my goodness. Should I also be worried?"
Mo raised her head and looked round for Michael. Luckily, he came in immediately with a doctor. It was a very fair lady, with a petite face. She came and checked Megan's pulse. It was faint.
"Doctor? Is she going to die?" Mo asked in tears.
"No, she'll survive it. Luckily, she was brought her on time before the poison could get to her heart. So she'll wake up soon. I know."
Morgan nodded with hope as she kissed Megan's hand. "Thank you."
"I'm going back to that party Mo," Michael whispered to her, his voice stiff and hoarse, his brows etched in fury. "I'm going to find whoever that served that wine. I think I can recognize him."
"Thank you Michael. Please be safe." She said as Michael nodded and stomped out. Then, she turned to Meg, "You better wake up Megan, else I would never forgive you. Please."