See For Me [Editing slowly]

Chapter 21

A/N: Unedited as usual but here it is! Sorry to leave you all hanging for so long!! I love you all! Forgive me!

VOTE COMMENT FAN? :>

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I woke up lying on the familiar mattress of Caleb's bed. It had a distinct feel to it, not too soft and not too hard, but the smell of dirt from a pine forest was a dead giveaway. I took a couple deep breaths and stretched my arms a little. How did I get up here? I mentally rewound the events of the afternoon and lurched upright, stumbling out of the bed to the bathroom. I was sick. I felt my way to his bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet. I felt my throat closing up and a copious amount of saliva willed my mouth. I swallowed in down and took a couple deep breaths. My throat was still tight and I could feel my face flush in a manner unique to illness: hot and uncomfortable with a certain tingle to it. I swallowed back more of my spit I prayed for this to go away or come out already. I hated this feeling so much. Last time I was sick was two years ago. I caught the flu from Heather.

I jolted when a warm hand touched my shoulder. The warm rose scented hand was retracted and I sat back on my haunches.

"Are you alright?" Gypsy asked, concern lacing her voice.

I nodded shakily, still wary of the tightness in my throat, "Yeah." My breath was ragged as I tried to keep the contents of my stomach down.

I pressed a scraped hand to my stomach and grimaced. I braced myself against the cool porcelain of the toilet for a moment before pushing myself up and reaching out for the sink. I felt a little more stable and though I could keep down whatever was on the rise. I couldn't even remember what my last meal was. I rinsed off my hands despite the sting and splashed my face a little with the cold water before slumping back onto the tile floor.

"Eden, what happened?" Gypsy asked softly. I looked in her direction but didn't say anything. "I found you passed out by the patio doors. I don't think that's normal," she joked lightly. I could tell she was trying to lighten the mood but even she was only half into it.

I honestly had no idea how to answer her. What had happened? Better yet, why had it happened? All week―all week! ― nothing even remotely close to this had happened. Nobody had approached me or even talked to me and then all of a sudden I'm being attacked like a piece of meat in a wolf's den.  Was it because my family left? Was it because there were no humans around? That just seemed so unreasonable. Then again reasonable people don't go around trying to rape people, do they Eden? I reminded myself wryly.

I settled for, "I don't want to talk about it," and Gypsy shifted her weight a little before turning and leaving.

I closed and locked the bathroom door before ripping off my clothes and stepping into the shower. I kept the temperature low. I didn't think I could handle any more heat between my hormones and the days' events.

I didn't even catch his scent. I glared at the wall in front of me. How could I be so stupid? I should have caught his scent or paid attention to his voice. How could I not? He was surrounding me for god's sake. He was yelling! Yet the most I could remember was that he was a stranger to me. I didn't recognize a thing about him, I never would. I would be stuck living in this house with whoever he was for another month and a half. I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

I stayed in the shower until I was shivering under an icy rain. The water heater had run out of lukewarm water a long time ago. My fingers and toes were shriveled and pruny and my nose was running like Niagara Falls but I just couldn't pull together the energy to move. I might've fallen asleep were it not for the paranoid thoughts that ran through my head at almost too consistent intervals, like clockwork: he's still here. I can feel it.