Raven's Song

After Effects

I was shivering. My mouth tasted horrible as I opened my eyes. I could see stars. Actual stars, I was pretty sure. My head was pounding as I sat up. My stomach churned and a small groan slipped through my lips.

"Here," a voice said softly, putting a bottle of water in front of me.

My eyes traveled up the bare arm to the face that belonged to it. Tylor was frowning as he crouched in front of me. His coat, I realized, was draped over my shoulders. Why was I outside? I took the water from him and took a small sip.

"What are you doing here? Wherever here is?" I asked as I put the cap back on.

He ran his hand through his hair. "You called me and didn't say anything when I picked up. I figured something was wrong, so I used your social media location to find you."

I arched an eyebrow, pulling his coat tighter around me. "I don't remember any of that."

"You were passed out in the bathroom in a puddle of your own vomit. I didn't figure you would," he said. Even as shitty as I felt, I could hear the anger in his voice. "I had to pick the fucking lock to get to you."

"I just had too much to drink, I guess," I mumbled.

"I don't think so," he said as he sat back and drew his knees to his chest. I stared at him. "I think someone put a date rape drug in your drink, Kenna."

I rolled my eyes. "How would you know that? You only found me passed out on the bathroom floor."

"Right. But only because Alec was looking for you. He saw some guy slip something into a drink that Alec watched you drink before he could get to you."

"And Alec just knew that you were looking for me?"

Tylor rolled his eyes. "Who else would I be here for, Kenna?"

My stomach churned. I didn't think it was from the party, though. "I guess you're right." I took another small drink of the water before I slowly moved to sit next to him. "Thank you. Even fucked up me knew that you would come through."

He cleared his throat. "I wouldn't put a lot of faith in me."

I tentatively put my head on his shoulder. Instantly, his muscles tensed, but he didn't pull away from me. I closed my eyes as I tried to let the breeze carry away all of the what-ifs.

"One day," I said softly, "you will let me in. You just need more time."

He laughed. It wasn't sarcastic nor was it pure. More like making a noise to fill the silence. I waited to see if he was going to say anything. Partly because I was curious, but mostly because I felt like I would puke if I said anything.

"You don't want to be let in," he said so softly the wind almost swallowed his words. "My world is not even close to being good."

I closed my eyes. "Then why have you decided to be friends with me?"

The wind filled the silence for a moment before a low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. I pulled Tylor's jacket tighter around my shoulders as I waited for him to respond. If he didn't have an immediate answer, it made me wonder if we weren't actually friends. Maybe he only saw us as peers. Maybe he'd only asked questions about my life because he was trying to be polite.

"Because you needed me." I lifted my head. His dark eyes bore into mine. "You would have failed at dissection without me."

I smiled. Not because I believed what he said, but because I didn't want him to know that it stung for him not to be honest for once. He was entitled to his privacy. I wasn't going to push him if it wasn't ever going to go anywhere. All I wanted to know was just a sliver of who the person I was starting to rely on was.