Chapter 29

Demetri's POV

I hadn't seen Chala since she opened her present and that was an hour and a half ago. That struck me as unusual because this was her party and she would normally be dancing and socializing to the extreme. I followed her scent until I picked up the sound of quiet sobbing. I lurched forward and burst through the door of the Ladies Lounge to find Chala sprawled across the couch with a tear stained face.

"Chala, what's wrong?" I questioned, the concern obvious in my voice. Only one word was clear through her bubbling sobs. "Alec."

What had he done to her? I had never known Alec to make her cry. "Chala, I'll be right back." I told her, my anger starting to overtake my concern. She mumbled something incoherent and I dashed out and down to the ballroom. I found Alec surrounded my gyrating females, dancing. His body was moving to the music but his eyes were angry and far away. I shoved him and he spun to face me, his expression immediately aggressive.

"What the fuck did you do to my sister?" I demanded. "She's in the Ladies Lounge crying her eyes out."

"I didn't do anything to her," Alec said coolly, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his weight. "She kissed Justin Beiber, so I broke up with her," he told me.

I took a moment to think about that. Chala had been wrong for what she did, but Alec still must have reacted pretty harshly for her feelings to be so hurt. She was obviously drunk and this was her birthday. I shook my head. "You did something to deserve it." I stated.

By this time people had noticed our conversation and were watching quietly. Alec sneered sarcastically. "I don't give a damn about Chala." My anger took over and I lurched towards him to swing. Hannah and Bella were suddenly there, attempting to hold me back with their feeble human strength, but it immediately stilled me. I couldn't risk hurting them. Felix had an iron grip around Alec's shoulders.

"Stop!" Bella's sweet voice pleaded. I shook my head and Alec and spat in his direction. Then I turned on my heel to go back to Chala.

When I got back to the Ladies Lounge, Justin Beiber was now in there with her. "This is all my fault, Chala. I'm really sorry." The singer apologized.

"It's not your fault. I kissed you." Chala sighed sadly.

"But I knew you had a boyfriend and that you weren't sober. This is seriously all my fault. I'm sorry I ruined your birthday." Justin continued. I cleared my throat to alert them to my presence. I had entered silently and they didn't even seem to notice me. They both jumped and looked my way.

Justin's face paled and he quickly came over and held out his hand. "You must be Chala's brother, Demetri? I'm Justin. I'd like to apologize." He stammered. I took his hand and shook it, and his face grew even paler at the touch of my cool skin.

"Thank you. I think it's best if you go now." I said. Justin blinked and then nodded quickly.

"You have my number, and I have yours. Again, I'm sorry. I hope you and Alec work things out. Goodnight." Justin said sincerely, bending to kiss Chala's cheek and hurrying past me with his eyes straight forward like he was afraid I was going to grab him around the throat. Believe me, I wanted to. If it were not for him, this might not have happened.

Hannah's POV

I was relieved when Demetri finally reappeared with Chala in tow. Her eyes were red rimmed and she wore a devastated expression. Bella and I were standing by the stage while Chris Brown sang, so I grabbed her arm and we went over to where Demetri and Chala were standing, talking quietly. "What happened?" I asked, concerned. Who had ruined Chala's birthday? This was supposed to be the best night of the year for her!

Chala didn't respond. Demetri sighed. "The idiot behind the bar gave her a drink after she saw Alec dancing with a bunch of girls. Then she kissed Justin Beiber and Alec saw so he broke up with her."

Bella pulled Chala into a hug. I sighed. Only Chala. "He'll forgive you, sis. He loves you and you love him." I said soothingly. Chala sniffled and broke free from the hug.

"When's this party gonna be over?" she asked glumly.

"You have an hour to go." I replied. "Come on, forget about Alec and let's get some food." So we all made our way over to the buffet and made plates. Chala picked at hers. I felt really bad that this night had turned out so badly for her, but I knew her and Alec would resolve things soon. They never fought, so this wouldn't last long. Plus, she had her new car and her license. If anything, that would cheer her up once she had a good night's rest.

Alec's POV

My feelings were hurt. Chala and I had been together for a while, and she sees me dancing with a few girls and goes and kisses a damn pop star. I knew I had hurt her feelings, but she had cheated. I could hear slow, melancholy piano music coming from the music room, and I knew she was translating her pain into music. I also heard strains of her soft weeping. It hurt me, but I couldn't forgive her. Vampires don't change often, but when they do, it's serious. Chala's love was the biggest change of my long immortal life, and she had betrayed me. Call me dramatic, but that's how I felt.

A loud, insistent knock broke me out of my reverie. "What?" I called angrily. Who wanted to harass me now?

Felix came bursting through the door, Demetri, Hannah, and Bella behind him. "Seriously, man? You break up with Chala because she kissed someone while drunk? Chala's just a kid, and she loves you. You're a fucking pussy." Felix accused. My anger reached new heights.

"Fuck you, Felix! I bet if Hannah kissed Chris Brown, who we all know she has a crush on, you'd be pretty pissed off too! Chala has posters of Justin Beiber all over her walls, he sings to her on her birthday and then she kisses him. I have a right to be pissed off!" I exclaimed, lurching forward to shout in his face.

"Hey! Don't bring Hannah into this!" Felix shouted back, pushing me. I pushed him back and then all hell broke loose. Felix may be the strongest vampire in the world, but tonight I didn't give a damn. Demetri jumped between us and Hannah and Bella screamed for us to stop but my rage blinded me. The room was fucked up by the time Demetri finally managed to separate us. Although Bella and Hannah couldn't hear, I could see the recognition of Chala's sobs growing louder in Felix and Demetri's eyes. Felix spat on the floor at my feet and stormed out, presumably to go comfort Chala. Who would comfort me?