Blood

Five

I woke with a start. The light was streaming through the cracks in my curtains and I yawned, rubbing my eyes. I looked at Eli who was sleeping peacefully next to me. I then spotted my clothes discarded in the corner of my room. I could see the blood.

"Shit," I whispered, my mind going to the previous night's events. I sat up suddenly and scrambled to the end of my bed, searching for my phone.

Eli groaned as I crawled over his legs and stood up, looking around my room. "Princess?" Eli said groggily. He pushed himself up onto his elbows. "What are you doing?"

"I need my phone," I said and gasped when I spotted it.

"Daisy-"

"Hush," I ordered and grabbed my phone that was on the floor. I saw a message from Nathan and fell back onto the bed, sighing in relief. "She's okay. Fuck. She's alive. She made it."

"Oh, thank god," Eli said.

I dropped my phone and looked at Eli, swallowing. "Did last night really happen?" I asked quietly.

Eli ran his fingers through his messy hair and sighed, nodding. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"No," I said honestly.

"Come back to bed," Eli said, reaching for my hand. "You can talk to me if you want?"

"Yeah, I don't want to do that," I said and stood up.

"Daisy-"

"I'm going to shower." I walked into the bathroom and stepped under the hot steaming water of the shower. Eli had washed away all of the blood, but I still felt so incredibly dirty. I scrubbed my body until my skin was raw. I still felt disgusting.

Eli sat up in bed when I walked back into the bedroom, propping himself on his elbows. He was silent and I sighed. "Say something," I snapped.

"Are you okay?"

"Say something else," I said and walked over to my wardrobe.

"Princess, there's something I need to tell you about last night," Eli said after a silence.

"Your conversation topics are on point this morning," I said sarcastically and got changed into jeans and a vest top. "Talk about the fucking weather for all I care, just not last night."

"I-" Eli stopped himself and sighed. "Fine. Weather looks shit today, doesn't it?" I gave him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. "What? You said talk about the weather."

"You're fucking annoying," I muttered.

Eli smiled softly and patted the bed next to him. "Come here," he said.

"I'm not discussing-"

"I know," Eli nodded. "Sit your ass down next to me, princess."

I rolled my eyes and sat on the bed. "What, Eli?"

"What are we doing today?" He asked.

"How the hell do I know, it's not like I made any fucking plans-"

"Daisy, stop snapping at me," Eli said gently. He took my hands. "I know you're on edge, I understand, but I'm asking you what do you want to do. You need to be distracted, but you also need to be in control, so you're deciding what we're doing. I'm trying to help, give me a chance, princess."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Sorry," I grumbled and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I know you're trying to help. I do."

"So?" Eli reached up and ran his fingers through my damp hair. "What are we doing?"