A Beautiful Lie (COMPLETED)

Part Twenty- six

Nicole woke up feeling the ache in her skull as it ebbed and flowed like a cold tide, yet the pain was still there. She understood now why they call it a hangover, for it felt as if the blackest of clouds were over her head with no intention of clearing until late afternoon.

She tried to recall how many drinks she had finished but she could not remember. This was so unlike her. She groaned when another pain hit her head.

"I prepared some hot soup and some meds for the hangover. You will feel better in no time." A voice emerged and it sent panic to her throbbing head. Did she come home with a stranger last night? Her eyes snapped open, and she saw a smiling Eric in front of her. Her gaze roamed around an unfamiliar place. A realization hit her; she's not wearing her clothes! She touched herself in panic and tried to remember if something happened. Did she just hit rock bottom? She thought.

Eric chuckled. "Relax Nicole. You're in my place. Last night I asked Kate where you live but you kept on saying no danger something, so I just decided to bring you here instead. Kate wanted to go with you, but she was also a bit drunk, so her boyfriend had to take her home. And calm down, it was my help who stripped you of your clothes I promise. Nothing happened so erase that thought from your pretty head." He explained explicitly.

Nicole sighed. "You have a helper?" she asked out of nowhere.

Eric laughed at her untimely question. "Yes, but she is not here now. She only came here if I wanted her to clean up the place and my laundry. Last night I called her in to take care of you." he uttered.

"Thank you Eric and I am sorry for the trouble," she said feeling embarrassed.

He just nodded and smiled. 'Don't worry about it" he added.

He gestured to eat the food in front of her. She took a few bites and sipped the hot soup; she sighed at how good that felt. After she had eaten, she took the medicine in and gulped some water.

Eric let her be so that she could take a shower while he prepared some extra sweatshirts and pajamas for her. Her clothes were still in the laundry after she vomited last night. She blushed even more when she heard about her actions. She made a fool of herself. It was so embarrassing!

After she took a bath, she asked Eric to take her home. She was so happy he did not talk about what happened last night. He did not even ask for details on why she got herself drunk. She liked the fact that she did not need to explain everything to him. Eric told her that he asked someone to bring her car to her apartment unit later that day, so she does need to go back to the club and get it.

How reliable! She thanked him all over again.

They were silent for most of the ride and when they reached her building, she invited Eric up. She was about to open her door when she noticed that it was not locked. She swore that she locked it before she left last night. Eric noticed her uneasiness and went in first. He gasped, following his reaction she went in and saw the state of her room, it was torn apart like a madhouse. Someone broke into her apartment and was looking for something she was not sure what.

Is this a random break-in? or is it related to the incident the night prior?

She watched her things break and tossed like garbage. Eric readily called in the local authorities to get there as soon as possible.

When the investigators came, she narrated to them the threat she had received the other night. Eric was there listening intently. He sometimes clasped her hand giving her moral support. She was thankful for his presence.

Nothing valuable was missing based on her observation.

"Maybe this is just an act of threat to scare you off, but we will coordinate with the security of your building so that we can give you protection and check the cameras." One of the officers spoke.