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“I wonder what I could possibly need you for…” Her lips wrinkle around the edges as she fights a smile. Laughter bursts from behind her door as I pull it shut.
Rushing to my bedroom, I shut the door. I reach for the bottom of the shirt and shuck it off. My pants quickly follow. I throw myself onto the bed, I rub the tension from my eyes. My mind inevitably tracks to the woman across the hallway. The sweet scent of figs still lingers in the air, calming my racing thoughts.
33
My brain pulses to the rhythm of my heartbeat, battering the inside walls of my skull. I try to open my eyes, but the movement feels stiff. My arm feels weighted as I lift it up to my face. After rubbing my crusted eyes for a moment, my eyelids decide to start doing their fucking job. The moment my eyes are open, searing, blinding pain comes crashing back. My body feels as though it’s on a tilt-a-whirl. My mind begins to rush with the last moments I remember as panic floods my veins.
“Hey, hey, hey…don’t sit up.”
My anxiety immediately eases at the sound of Ethan’s voice, which might as well be vocal painkillers. I take in the room, and memories from the short time I spent here come flooding back to me.
“I’m assuming you brought me back to your place?”
I turn my head to the side, and my heart sinks instantly when he comes into view. He hasn’t shaved, and his red-rimmed eyes are haloed by dark circles as he looks down at me.
“Your sister is here.”
Which one? Oh, my head hurts. My head hurts too much for this.
“Please tell me it’s Litza?”
He nods, and I let out a breath. I love Zarya, but if she were here, I’d have to worry about the curtains going up in flames.
Thank fuck.
Ethan begins telling me something, but my eyes are too heavy to open again. They fall shut to the sound of his voice.
Three terrible days of headaches have me itching to get out of bed. I’ve been ready for days. My head may be banged up a bit, but I’m not dying. I look to the warden currently sitting by the bed—Ethan. Asleep. Now’s my chance.
The sun beaming in my eyes sends a jolt of pain, which I feel deep in the roots of my brain. My head still throbs with every heartbeat. Slowly, I scoot to the edge of the bed. Lifting the covers off me, the cool air kisses my skin. Shifting in the chair behind me has me halting my efforts of escape.
“What are you doing?”
My head snaps in the direction of Ethan’s voice eliciting a bolt of pain running down the side of my face.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I whisper as I rub the pain from the side of my face.
“Let me help you.” He takes three quick steps to the edge of the bed.
“I’m not that delicate.” As I stand, the room begins to shift in my vision. My mouth begins to tingle as lightheadedness takes hold. When the edges of the room darken, Ethan’s strong arms wrap around me. After a minute, my vision returns.
“All right, I may have needed some help getting up. But I can handle walking now.” I smile and look at Ethan. Judging by his pursed lips and furrowed brows, he does not agree with my assessment. “Listen, I need to use the restroom and take a shower. I smell horrific.”
“Let me help you to it.”
The thought of that sends a shiver down my spine, and my body recoils.
“No. No. Absolutely not. Why don’t you make some coffee?” I say, patting his hand.
Instead of scurrying off, he stands there looking down at me with a confused expression. When I don’t see that he’s any closer to accepting my request, my temper starts to wake.
“All right. I’ll go make some coffee. But don’t lock the door.”
I nod.
Slowly making my way into the bathroom, I close the door, leaving Ethan looking as though he wished invisibility was his superpower. My lips pull into a smile as I make my way further into the room.
I turn on the shower to let the water run. When I see my reflection in the mirror, my upper lip flips up in a cringe at the mess staring back at me. Jesus. Not even my first few displays looked this bad. A large bruise falls across the left side of my forehead, dipping into my eyebrow and eyelid. What a fucking disaster.
