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I blink slowly and a figure comes to view, Damien.

“Mister Caldwell.” My voice cracks and my throat feels so dry as I push myself up to sit up, leaning my body against the headboard.

“Now you won’t call me Damien again?” He turns around to look at me, “Fine then, good morning, Miss Vitelli,” he says sarcastically.

My mouth feels dry like I’ve swallowed a handful of cotton balls.

“Why are you here?” I tell him blankly, reaching for the bottle of water sitting on my nightstand.

“I brought you back here because you were too drunk,” he replies, handing me the bottle I was trying to reach for. I watch him zone in on some of my drawings.

“Still unfinished,” he whispers.

I don’t reply and let him pick some of them before putting them back where they were. Then after a few seconds I ask, “Do you know what happened?”

He shifts in his chair before shaking his head at my question. “It looked as if you could have been drugged.”

I blink rapidly, some images of last night returning in my head. A plague mask, a laugh.. then warmth.

“I’ll ask around the venue you were at and see if there were any unfamiliar faces there last night.” He adds, as I sink further into my bed, pulling my covers up to my body.

“You get nightmares, don’t you?”

“Why would you say that?” I ask, confused.

“You were crying out in your sleep.” I watch him sit back in the chair, glancing up at the ceiling. “I won’t ask questions if you don’t want to talk about it.”

I didn't know what I could reply, so I stayed silent for a moment.

“Here, take these,” he says gently. “They'll make you feel better.”

I glance down at the bottom of the bed, noticing the bottle of aspirin. “Thank you, sorry for last night. I’m going to rest a bit more today,” I reply bitterly.

He nods and whispers something before leaving, “Next time, call me sooner. Don’t give me the chance to arrive too late.”

I pull the blanket higher, as if it could hide me from what he just said. That’s when I hear the click of the door closing behind him as my thoughts continue to swirl around in my mind.

The feeling of someone going out of their way to take care of me feels so foreign. I never know what to do in these situations, so I allow it to wash over me as I settle back to sleep for a little bit longer.

“What's wrong with me…” I whisper to myself, covering my eyes with my hands. I focus on steadying my nerves.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Like a mantra, I continue doing this method focusing on how the air enters my body and expands my lungs. It should work. It always does.

“Mireya!” I hear Hayzel’s voice as she bursts through the door, yet again.

“Hayz, I’m not in the mood,” I tell her honestly as I close my eyes harder.

I hear her scoff as she drags the covers off of me.

“I need to tell you about the guy I met last night.” I wince as I open my eyes, adjusting to the lightening of the room. Hayzel must’ve switched the lights on when she came in.

“What guy?” I grumble.

“Reya, he was so mysterious.” She pauses for a brief moment to fan herself, and I bite down on my tongue to stop myself from laughing at this.

“I take it you slept with him then?” I ask her with a smile.