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‘I don’t think I can stand. The room is spinning.’
I carry her off the floor and deposit her in my bed. I open my bedroom windows and undress her quickly, while trying not to look. Once I have her down to her vest and knickers, I place her under my duvet. She almost instantly pushes it off, complaining that she is too hot. My shower. I make the temperature of the spray a little cooler than normal, and place her, still in her underwear, on the floor of my walkthrough.
‘Stay?’ she asks, holding on to my hand.
I strip down to my boxers and sit next to her. With the water beating down on us both, I fold her into my arms until it starts to run really cold. When she starts shivering, I turn it off and get us some towels.
‘I’m going to have to take off your vest and knickers, okay? I won’t look. I just need to put you in some dry clothes. Is that okay?’
She nods as I do my best to focus on the task at hand. I put her in a clean T-shirt from my drawer and my boxers. I know I am an arsehole. I should have grabbed her clothes, but didn’t because I told myself I shouldn’t be rifling through her knicker drawer. But truthfully, I love seeing her in my clothes. I put her in my bed and arrange the covers around her. I pull her into me and lie there next to her, until she starts her cute little teddy bear snores; then I place a double-lined bin next to her before I head back into the living room.
I call Nicole. I don’t give a shit how late it is.
‘What the fuck are you playing at?’
‘Ha! Ariella? She’s fun.’
‘What did you do, Nicole?’
‘You weren’t talking, so I decided to ask her instead. The drink wasn’t working, so I added a little something to it. She just became incoherent and kept saying that she wanted to go to yoga. Booooring.’
‘I’m reporting you to HR.’
‘Go ahead. Did I mention that I got that “something” from Lara?’
‘You need to stop this shit, tout-fucking-suite, because—’
She hangs up and I feel powerless. She plans to take Lara down with her. When I return to the bedroom to check on Ariella, she has discarded all the covers, so I replace the duvet with a light blanket.
‘I’m going to look after you, I promise,’ I say. I’ve disappointed her with Dash. I’ve disappointed myself with the way things ended on Friday night. I should have done things properly, like I’d planned. I should have resisted and kept walking. If I had done that, though, I wouldn’t have a piece of her with me. I felt like I was flying before Zachary’s little intervention.
I email work and say we have food poisoning. If Nicole gave her what I think she did, she’ll need a good twenty-four hours until she is back to normal, so I’ll wait it out with her. I really want to get into bed with her but now she’s asleep, I’d be getting in purely for my benefit. I grab the pillow she’s somehow tossed off the bed and the discarded duvet. I make a bed on the floor beside her and I fall asleep easily, listening to her breathing.
I check on her before I go for a quick run the next morning. I have some breakfast while I prepare her grapefruit, knowing that when she gets up I’ll be in the firing line.
She eventually surfaces, pissed off, at almost noon.
‘What did you do, Caleb?’
‘I didn’t do anything. You came home drunk and on something last night, declared your love for Nicole, threw up in my bathroom and passed out. I put you in bed and told work we had food poisoning, because I have no idea what Nicole put in your drink.’
‘Nicole spiked my drink?’
‘Yes, and it scared the shit out of me.’
‘I’m calling HR and then I’m calling the police,’ she starts, walking to her bag on the sofa.
‘You can’t. She got it from Lara.’
Ariella stops. Yup. Nicole 1, Human Decency 0.
‘Want some water?’
‘I’m calling Lara.’
‘That’s not a good idea. Let’s just deal with one crime at a time?’
Lara is downright feral. There will be no polite conversation with Nicole.
