I'm Innocent - Jake T. Austin

5: Fancy Facility

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5: Fancy Facility

I feel the air conditioning crawling up my body - seeming colder than usual. I use my arms to roam around the bed searching for the thick hotel duvet to cover my body, but after minutes of struggling, I give up and use my hands to prop me up, causing me to sit up straight. With my eyes glued shut, I stretch my arms out in the air before scratching the back of my head and letting out a loud yawn.

"Well, that is an attractive sight to see in the morning," an amused, sarcastic voice echoes throughout the room. My eyes shoot up immediately as soon as I hear Talon's voice, and I stumble off the bed bringing the comforter of the mattress with me, causing it to tie me up in a large wad. "W-what are you doing here?" I screech the first thing that comes into my mind as I instantly squint barely seeing Talon. His body - clad in only grey sweatpants - is leaning against the door frame as an entertained smirk plays upon his face. He removes his back from the door and approaches me with his smile plastered to his face as he lends out a hand to help me up, "What am I doing here?" He feigns surprise, mocking my confused state, "I should be asking you that question. Why are you in my room?" Right when those words came out of his mouth, I instantly glance around my surroundings and realize this is not my hotel room from what I can see. I quickly look down at my wardrobe, relief and disgust washing over me as I am still dressed in my alcohol-drenched clothes from the night before; I must look like a mess. I divert my attention back at Talon and give him an incredulous look. A thousand questions flood throughout my system as soon as I am given this information, but before I can sort throughout my brain to form a coherent thought, Talon answers me.

"You slept in my bedroom; I wouldn't be such a good host if I let you take the couch," he nonchalantly states. I take his hand with caution, and he quickly pulls me up to my feet, slamming me against his bare chest. He continues speaking knowing that I am still wondering why I am here and not at my hotel, "You wouldn't wake up when I took you to your hotel; I was going to carry you up, but I decided against it since I don't know what room you're staying at," he reaches behind his back and scratches his head while he reveals his straightened teeth with a big smile.

I try to meet his eyes, but a rush of blood inside my head beats against my skull like bulldozers and hammers wreaking havoc. In instinct, I shut my eyes and my hands push down against my skull trying to sooth the pulsating pain. Talon quickly removes my hands and replaces it with his, rubbing his fingers forcibly in a circular motion. I keep my eyes closed as he continues to massage my head, the pain being lessened a few notches. After minutes of his hands pushing against my skull, the silence that overcame the room is interrupted by his voice. "We should get some coffee," Talon states, "It'll ease the pain in your head." He removes his hands off of my head, and I hesitantly nod my head agreeing with his statement, but before I can make my way to the door, his arm stops me from making another step by holding onto my elbow.

"You need to change out of that shirt before we can get some coffee," he uses his free hand to pinch close his nose, "Because it smells awful." I pull my arm loose from his grip and smack his chest for insulting me. He walks towards one of his large black cabinets, leaving me standing by the bed. He pulls open the second drawer from the top, taking out two t-shirts in his hand, and throws me the grey shirt in his left one. "I'll be downstairs; good thing it isn't as noticably as the barbeque stain," he slightly smirks and nods at me before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

At first, I'm confused by his statement, but after I let the silence run inside the room, a memory flashes before me to the time I hung out with Talon for a family picnic in his backyard. That was one of the times his mom and dad still showed affection for each other, and they seemed so happy back then. He was about nine years old, and I was reaching for my drink when I accidentally knocked off the bottle of barbeque sauce onto my shirt. Talon began to panic more than me, and he rushed me into his room and gave me his shirt to change into since he felt terrible for me. He kept pinching his nose, but he wouldn't say a word on how awful I smelled.