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RACHEL
Ihearvoices.It sounds like Hunter is awake. My bruise still aches from the night before and I’ve decided to dodge all mirrors until the pain dissipates. It feels a little swollen and I have a feeling I resemble a chipmunk during fall, stuffing its face full of nuts. Except, for me, it’s only the one side, which I suspect makes it worse.
I throw off my blanket. I hardly slept at all. I kept waking up in the middle of the night to check on Lauren. Every time I looked in on her, I was happy to see her chest moving up and down, to hear her hoarse breathing. I didn’t know if it was better to take her to the hospital. She could have had alcohol poisoning, but it was hard to say.
I shove on my bunny slippers and slowly open my door, wincing at the creak it makes. The voices halt, and I watch as Hunter slips out of Seth’s room. He turns toward me, offering a small smile. I pad out into the hall, quiet so as not to wake up Alex and Lucas. Lucas was so angry last night. I doubt he would be happy if we upset his rest. I have no clue what time it is, but it feels early. My whole body aches and demands that I return to bed, but my mind is awake, urgently wondering if Lauren is going to freak when she discovers she’s not with Josh nor is she home.
“How is Seth?” I ask when I reach Hunter.
His hand lightly touches my bruise and I wince, batting it away. He sighs, shrugs, and I watch him force a smile, his eyes displaying his worry. “He’s alive. Feels like shit, but I think he will be okay.”
“Did you talk to him about—”
Hunter nods. “I’ll tell Lucas to cool his jets for now. I’m hoping Seth will call Dr. Forrester.” He shrugs. “But who knows. Seth has always been quite stubborn.”
I purse my lips. That’s definitely on the nose. Good old Seth, always needing something to be his own idea if he’s going to go ahead with something. Before I can say anything else on the matter, I hear groaning coming from the living room. My heart hammers as worry tenses my shoulders. I rush toward the couch, hearing Hunter padding behind me.
Lauren is sitting up, rubbing her head. Her hair is a knotted mess. The blanket slips from her shoulders as she looks around the room. “Hey,” I whisper softly, not wanting to frighten her.
Lauren jumps, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes widen on me. Her eye makeup is smeared all around her brows and cheeks, making her look like a raccoon. Her lipstick is smeared onto her cheek. Sparkles glitter on her face from the light.
“What?” she whispers with a grimace.
“There’s some water next to the trash can,” I say gently while stepping toward her. “You shook probably have some. You were definitely out of it last night.”
She reaches for the glass as I circle around the couch, sitting next to her, but not so close. Hunter leans against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms as he looks between us.
“Where am I?” Lauren asks between sips of water, her eyes wincing against the light.
“You’re at my place. We thought this was the best place for you since we didn’t know where you lived.”
“Where’s Josh?” She leans in close, her eyes showing her horror as her gaze falls on my cheek. “What happened to your face?”
I glance at Hunter, not knowing exactly what to say. Do I tell her the truth when I know she’s going to call me a liar? Do I tell her some form a lie to save face, only for her to suffer later? Hunter rolls his eyes, straightening away from the counter.
“He tried to take advantage of you,” Hunter says, bitterness in his tone. He strides toward us, leaning against the couch, near me while he stares down at Lauren.
Lauren’s eyes widen and her hands nearly drop the glass. I lunge forward, helping her. Water spills onto her black skirt. “What?” she whispers while looking between us.
“He tried to rape you,” Hunter says, his voice louder than needed.
“N-no,” Lauren says, placing the glass on the ground. She pats herself, searching the pockets in her dress, looking in her bra. “No, that’s not right. Where’s my phone? What happened to my phone?”
“Did you have a purse?” I ask despite knowing there was no purse on her the entire time I was with her. Did she leave it at the party? Or did Josh take it?
Lauren shakes her head. “My jacket. It was in my jacket.”
“It’s over here,” says Hunter while striding toward the coatrack. He brings her jacket to her and I watch as she searches the pockets, relief washing over her as she grabs her phone. “Shit,” she whispers while I peak over her shoulder, seeing that Josh has called her at least ten times and there are about five to ten text messages from him. What a creep! He knows she was passed out. He knows she was so wasted and yet he still calls her and messages her. I feel like he’s merely doing it to make her feel bad. He’s a manipulative asshole.
“I-I need to go,” says Lauren, stumbling out of the couch and nearly tripping over the blanket. She quickly stables herself by bracing a hand on the couch. She groans, her other hand flying to her head.
“No, stay,” I say while rising with her. “You’re hungover anyway. Why don’t you drink some more water and eat something?”
“No, I need to go,” says Lauren while grabbing her jacket and shoving her arms in the sleeves. “Right now.”
“Please, stay,” I say while stepping in front of her shoes, hoping she sees reason, but there’s no reasoning with someone who refuses to see the truth, with someone who decides to pretend like everything is fine, when it is not.
“Oh, my fucking God, Rachel!” Lauren shouts, stomping her foot. “You don’t understand. Will you just get out of the way?”
