For this dedication, I specially came back to this chapter. I just had to. Ember_, you're killing me, girl. I love your comments. Thank you <3
***
I woke up in an unknown bedroom. I was laying in a bed, buried in soft, dark gray covers. Something about them seemed familiar, but I didn't know what exactly. It was silent, apart from the quiet pounding sound coming from somewhere in the distance.
I sat up slowly, letting the covers pool around my hips. Looking down, I noticed I was still fully dressed, and dressed in my own clothes. That was good.
Yawning, I looked around the room slowly. The dark lids hid the window, so I didn't know if it was night or day outside. The walls were painted some dark color, but there was too little light in the room to tell what exactly. A familiar scent hung in the air, like rainwater and something musky. I took a deep breath, trying to connect the dots. And when I did, my eyes snapped open.
I quickly threw the covers back and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. Blinking furiously, I ran a hand through my tangled hair, my fingers getting stuck in the knots. I looked over my shoulder in search of some clock. My eyes stopped on the blue illuminated numbers on what I supposed was his bedside clock.
7:24. Oh, my.
I jumped off of the bed and drew open the lids. The sky outside was completely dark. The quiet sound I'd heard earlier was coming from the drops hitting against the glass. It was raining heavily.
I stumbled around the room, looking for the door. I found it on the opposite wall and stormed outside. And face-planted the wall.
"Woow." the wall spoke in a deep voice. "For someone who's spent the last two hours sleeping, you are extremely active right now, Sweetie."
I took a step back and lifted my chin. Dominic was standing in front of me, his usual smirk in place. I wrinkled my forehead, staring at him.
"What have you given me?" I demanded.
His smirk turned into a grin.
"Ah, about that." he scratched the back of his head. "Remember when I told you the painkiller was quite strong?"
I nodded.
"Well, turns out it must have been a bit too strong for you."
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"It was the type of painkillers we usually take. Me and Max." he explained. "Giving it to you, I didn't think it might be too much for your, er, slight frame."
Huh. I have been called many things in my life. Bony. Skinny. Sticky. But not once have someone called my post-anorectic body a slight frame. Against everything, I got the sudden urge to smile.
"It means that what usually helps us," Dominic went on when I didn't say anything. "knocked you off your feet. Literally."
Oh. Well, I didn't think about it, either.
"So you decided it would be best to let me sleep and move me over to your bedroom?" I asked.
"I figured you'd be more comfortable there than on the chair." he shrugged. "And I promised I wouldn't sit you on the couch."
So the guy had a conscious, after all? Well, who would have thought?
"Thank you." I said, not quite meeting his eyes. "And, um, where is Max?"
"I sent him back to school to drive Sierra home while I stayed here in case you woke up, demanding where you were."
Oh, shit. Sierra finished her classes over two hours ago. I could just imagine what she'd gone through when she couldn't reach me through the phone. Or when Max came and told her she was supposed to come with a stranger, because her best friend decided she didn't care.
God, how many more times was I going to do that?
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, where is my phone?" I asked Dominic, my eyes wide.
"It's lying on the table."
Rushing to the kitchen, I grabbed my phone and dialed Sierra's number. I waited for her response with my heart in my throat.
"Relax, Sweetie." Dominic said, entering the kitchen. "I wouldn't send Max for her if I wasn't one hundred percent sure he was going to -"
"Hello?" Sierra's voice rang in my ear.
Oh, thank God, she was alive.
"Hi." My voice was quiet.
"Ab? Jesus, Abi, where are you? What the fuck is going on? Are you -"
"I'm fine." I cut her off. "Are you home?"
"Are you crazy?" she exploded. "How am I supposed to go home with him?"
I turned to Dominic, who was leaning against the cupboard.
"I know it's not Dom. But Max's his best friend. He'll drive you. I don't like him but I trust him enough to let him drive you."
"Drive me?" Sierra's voice pitched higher than usual. "On a bike?"
My heart stuttered. "On a -" I cut off. "Why didn't you tell me Max rides a bike?" I demanded, covering the phone's speaker with my hand.
He shrugged. "I didn't think it matters."
"It does!" I placed my hand on my forehead in a nervous gesture. "When did Max leave?"
His eyes snapped to the clock.
"About two hours ago?"
Oh no...
"I'm so sorry." I told Sierra. "We'll be there in a moment."
"You better." she snapped. "But better hurry before I kill him or he kills me."
I heard some voice in the background, followed by Sierra's 'shut up'.
"Just tell me where you are."
"I'm at school, hiding under some freaking roof! And where are you?"
"Wait. Just wait. Don't move. I'll be there in ten." I told her.
"But wha-"
I cut her off by ending the call. Then I hid the phone in my back pocket and rushed to the hall.
"Take me to the campus! " I yelled at Dominic, putting on my chucks.
He appeared a second later, confusion marking his features.
"What?"
"Take. Me. To. The campus!" I repeated, putting my hands into the sleeves of my jacket.
"But why?"
"Goddammit, just do it!" I exploded, opening the door.
Before he could react, I stormed out of the apartment and rushed down the stairs. By the time he came down, I was already pacing next to his car.
"Could you tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked, unlocking the SUV.
I jumped inside and buckled in.
"Your trusted best friend is trying to kill my best friend." I told him.
He raised a brow.
"What?"
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"I didn't know Max was driving a bike. Sierra... She'll never get on one. That's why she refused to go with him."
Dominic thought about it, reversing out of the parking lot.
"I did tell him to take my car."
"Well, his mighty brain didn't register it, then. They are still standing there, arguing."
Dominic let out a long breath. Neither of us said anything for the rest of the drive, which I've spent wondering what the hell was going on.
We came to the campus even in less than ten minutes. The second Dominic drove onto the parking lot, I jumped out and started searching for Sierra. I found her standing under the roof of the closest building, shivering and wet as hell. She was vividly arguing with Max, who was in no better state than her.
"Ab!" she rushed to me when she spotted me running towards her. "God, you're alive!"
"And so are you." I hadn't been sure during our drive here.
My eyes searched for Max.
"Why didn't you take Dom's car?" I demanded.
"Why would I be taking his car when I have a bike of my own?" he shrugged. "It's not my fault that no matter what I do, she refuses to let me help her."
"Because I won't get on your death trap!" she yelled back, clearly on the verge of losing her shit.
Max threw his hands up and murmured something. I ignored him and approached Sierra who looked like hell with her hair plastered to her cheeks from the rain and her arms curled tightly around her for warmth.
"I'm sorry." I said quietly. "I had no idea."
Sierra's voice wavered. "He wanted me to get onto his bike."
"It's not a regular bike." Max cut in, sounding offended. "It's -"
"I don't care what it is." Sierra snapped at him over her shoulder. "When it kills me, it will be all the same."
My chest squeezed. Sierra was deadly afraid of bikes after she participated in an accident almost two years ago. She was riding in the back with a guy when he lost control over the machine and the whole thing fell over, taking both of them with it. She was wearing a helmet, but it was still pretty serious. She ended up in a hospital, with shattered ribs and a brain damage. After that day, she swore to never sit on any bike again.
"I didn't know Max was driving a bike. I didn't know he was going to come for you at all." I told her quietly.
She nodded but didn't speak. I knew she was pissed and that it was all my fault.
I was a shitty friend.
"Can I get my keys back now, please?" I asked Dom. He still had them after having driven my car home fr the campus.
He reached into his pocket and handed them to me. I took them wordlessly and approached Sierra.
"Let me know what time tomorrow you'll pick me up." I told Dominic.
Then I turned around and headed for my car, stopping to check if Sierra followed me. I could hear the boys murmur something, but I didn't know what they were talking about. The rain was falling heavily, soaking my jacket and hair. But all I cared about right now was getting both of us home.
We kept quiet during the whole way back. Sierra kept her head leaned against the window. I could tell she was tired after all day spent at school. Adding the past two hours spent out on the cold, arguing with Max, I knew all she wanted right now was to crawl into her bed and never come out.
I drove as fast as I could, with the rain pounding down on the car and the slippery roads. By the time we got home, it was nearly eight. We slowly made our way upstairs and into the apartment.
"I'm sorry." my quiet words broke the silence.
Sierra looked at me from where she was standing in the kitchen, boiling water for tea.
"For what?" she asked.
Well, not the response I was expecting.
"For everything." I replied, dropping my gaze. "For leaving you alone. For falling asleep at Dominic's. For making you stand in the rain at the evening, having to argue with Max. It wasn't supposed to look this way."
She shook her head slowly, sending little droplets of water from her hair flying around the kitchen.
"It's not your fault." she said, pouring hot water into the mug.
I approached her, leaning against the counter.
"Tea?" she asked, glancing at me over her shoulder.
I nodded, wondering if I was dreaming. There was no way she was offering me tea when I expected her to yell at me.
"But it is." I insisted, referring to her previous words. "I shouldn't have let Dominic take me to his place. I shouldn't have taken this stupid painkiller. I shouldn't have slept for two hours. I shouldn't have forgotten about you."
She picked up the mugs and moved over to the couch. Then she sat down and set them on the coffee table.
"Let's start with the fact that I have no idea what you are talking about." she said.
Well, shit. I guess I haven't had time to tell her what was happening with me during the last three hours.
"Well," I started, sitting beside her. "I hit Max."
She raised a brow, taking a sip from her mug.
"I knew I wasn't imagining this huge bruise on his jaw." she said.
I smiled lightly, nodding.
"Yeah, that was all me."
"What has he done to piss you off so much?"
I shook me head, reaching for my mug. It was my favourite one, green with a sticky guy painted on it. When I took a sip, the taste of mangoes and peaches filled my mouth. Oh yes, the tea was my favourite one, too.
"Let's just say he went over the line." I explained. "But that's not the case."
I told her everything, from the moment Max called my name on the campus to the second I called her. When I got to the part with my injured hand, she demanded to examine it, but I just flipped her off. It still hurt a little, but not as much as it used to. I could move my fingers enough to pick up the mug with both of my hands.
"But why haven't you called me when it happened?" she asked, drawing her knees up to her chin.
I set my mug down and matched her position.
"I knew you were some two important classes." I shrugged. "I didn't want to interrupt you. Besides, I was really sure Dominic was going to drive me here. It's not my fault that he's a stupid bastard, who always does what he wants without asking for permission."
She grinned.
"One more day, huh?"
I sighed.
"And then it will be aaaall over."
Or at least I hoped so.
"Well, we better go to sleep, then." she suggested, yawning. "You will have to be well-rested tomorrow."
I threw my head back and groaned.
"Tell me about it." I replied, lifting my head. "But no. I've slept enough. But you go, I'll try not to make much noise."
"And what will you be doing?" Sierra asked, standing up.
I weighed my options for a moment.
"I think I will watch some TV." I finally said.
She raised a brow.
"Supernatural?"
I grinned.
"Supernatural."
"Okay, hell with it." she sat back down and the whole couch jumped. "Sleep is for the weak."
I laughed and got up to get my pen drive, where the seventh and eight season just waited to be watched. On my way back, I grabbed the plate of cookies I'd made yesterday. We were going to need it.
When I turned the first episode on, I couldn't help but smile. Even if all the hell broke loose and the everything was falling around us, as long as we had cookies and Supernatural, all was right in the world. I leaned my head against Sierra's shoulder and tugged the blanket up to my chin.
And with a bright smile still on my face reminded myself that this time tomorrow, I will be free.