Love Sucks

Love Sucks - 4

Chapter four;

The morning sunlight washed over me. Even with my eyes closed the light of the sun still blinded me. I moaned softly and rolled over, my duvet warm and pulled tightly over my body, protecting me from the cold of the night last night. My alarm on my phone rang loudly in my ears, so I felt around the space on the matress next to me for my phone, still with my eyes closed, and eventually was able to turn it off. I lay there for a few more silent moments. I could feel a soft breeze swaying around the room, and I could hear not only my curtains swaying, but the birds in the tree outside my window singing at the summer morning. Despite that and some far away cars in the distance, everything was silent as the city of Southampton still slept. I knew that somewhere in the house my mother would have passed out and forgotten everything about last night. I’ll admit my mind was hazy, and I pondered with my thoughts as I recollected a strange dream I’d experienced. It was all about some guy, I can’t recall his name… Alex I think it was? Yes, that was it. This man I’d met at Grace’s party had bitten me in an alleyway just a block or so away from the club. He had uttered taunting words that I never wanted to hear again, and looked at me with beautiful emerald eyes that, if I ever saw them again, I would rip them out.

Other than that disturbing dream, everything felt okay this morning. It was going to be a nice day: the sun was up, the birds were singing, summer was still here. The only minor set-back was the headache I experienced as well as a stiff neck.

With a sigh I sat up in my double bed and glanced around my bedroom. The open window was on the wall to my right, and a desk with a computer and some folders atop it sat facing the wall next to my bed, also to my right. My walls were painted a nice violet purple with little odd white starts and curls here and there – something I remember painting with my Dad. My ‘wall of memories’ was directly opposite me, on which had some pictures of our family when we’d been on past holidays together, and some of the friends I’d acquired growing up. Just one friend actually – Dina, but she moved away to Florida when I was in year seven. My acoustic guitar was propped against the corner of the same wall, its case lying underneath it from when I’d recently played it. Then to the right of my closed bedroom door was my chest of drawers, next to which was a full-length mirror. I didn’t have that many possessions, but it was enough.

My body feeling stiff, I stretched before I stood up. I ran my hands through my hair, and almost fell back onto the bed as my head span quickly for a few seconds. This morning, I noted, I was feeling quite irritable and extremely tired. I felt like I’d slept for just an hour or something! Once I’d finally regained my balance, something at my feet caught my eye. So I looked down to see what it was, only for confusion to set in. Dirt coated my feet, as did blood, as if I’d been walking for miles in barefoot. My high heel shoes were dumped by the door I noticed, but I couldn’t recollect taking them off. Or coming home. My short skimpy black dress was ripped ever so slightly at the hems, and a lot of the sequins had decayed off the dress. Slightly startled I stumbled over to the full-length mirror to see what other damage – if any – had been done.

My hair was knotted into clumps here and there, and it hung strangely past my shoulders, the butterfly clip gone. I had panda eyes; my black make up had smudged on my eyelids and beneath my eyes. Black lines streaked down my cheeks as if I’d been crying. Not only that, but my neck was coated with dried blood that looked like it had been there all night. On my palms blood had dried too, perhaps when I’d clutched my neck?

And then it all shot back to me. Before my eyes the entire night’s events flashed before me. It wasn’t a dream – it had been real. It had been very, very real. Alex was real, and he had bitten me. I’d passed out on the dirty floor of the alleyway, and that was as far as my memory went… so how did I get home?