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“Because,” she said, leaning closer and kissing me on the cheek. “Under this mask made of meek and mild that you think is fooling everyone, you’re a little brawler, aren’t you?”
“A brawler?” I chuckled. “That’s one word I’ve never been called.”
But she did it again, deflected and turned, sauntering away, making me feel like I was prying into things I shouldn’t be.
“My little brawler,” she repeated, and disappeared around the doorway and into her own room.
I stood there until the hiss of the shower drifted to my ears, then slowly turned, making my way into my own bathroom.Bartering women and favors.Yeah, that sounded like Cosa Nostra to me. No wonder Finley was distant. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t push the thought out of my head.
“You’re a fucking idiot,” I whispered to myself, reaching around to unhook my bra. “A stupid fucking idiot.”
I was going to get my damn heart trampled by a stampede of pain.
I just knew it.
I washed and soaked, taking time to shampoo my hair.
Wait!The memory of my own voice drifted from the darkness as I dropped my head backwards into the spray.
Anna?Finley’s voice followed.
Fragments of images filled me. The bright overhead glare of the classroom lights slipped in, bringing with it a sharp, cloying stench, one that plunged down my throat.
Anna!Finley’s roar was desperate now.
I lifted my hand with the memory of something pressing over my face. My pulse sped, making me slam the faucets and turn off the spray. I stumbled out of the shower, still dripping, and grabbed hold of the vanity.
“A gas leak?” I whispered, and met my own haunted gaze in the mirror.
But the memories I had weren’t of a gas leak…
Anna, come on, honey.Finley’s voice resounded.
It’s too late. The drug’s already in her system,someone else said.
Someone who wasn’t Finley…and who knew what had happened to me. I clung to the vanity until the water cooled on my bare skin. “I was drugged,” I whispered, and grabbed a towel from the rack.“I was goddamn drugged.”
I tried to piece it all together. But the moment I started, the ache in my head came back with a vengeance. Knots of agony throbbed along the base of my neck. I reached behind me, pressing and kneading the muscles as they clenched.
“I’m going!” Kat called out. “We’ll be back later!”
“Okay!”I forced through clenched teeth as my brain exploded in agony.
I wrapped the towel around my body and stumbled to the bed. There was two of my phones when I sat down…actually there were two beds, as well…and two closets. I closed my eyes and lay back down. It was too much…automatically, I reached for the phone to call Finley. But the moment I pressed the button and stared at the blurry screen, I remembered what Kat had said.
Poker night and women…coming to my damn rescue once more sounded like a mood killer for sure. So I slid my phone along the bed and closed my eyes. I dozed, waking sometime later when it was still night.
The pain wasn’t as bad, moving to behind my eyes like a damn migraine. I rose slowly, pulled the towel from my body, and slipped on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Finley’s t-shirt. One I'd worn before that’d been washed, folded, and placed back into my closet.
I made my way into the kitchen and found a container of fresh pasta and carbonara sauce. I heated some up and made my way back to my room. A few mouthfuls, and I was feeling much better. My phone gave abeep,and when I looked over, there was only one now…which was a massive improvement.
I grabbed my cell as I stabbed the handmade pasta and twirled.
Fin: Are you okay?
I could imagine him now, dressed to perfection in black pants, and the open neckline of his black shirt as he texted me with one hand and cast a thousand-dollar chip across the table with the other. Heat burned through me as I thought about Kat being there. She’d look stunning…
I shoved the ache of jealousy aside and pressed the button, taking me out of messages to my Netflix app…enter account information.
