PAINTED LOVE

TWENTY

loïse madden

.  .  .  .  .  .

The doorbell rings me awake. I open my eyes, still sleepy and feeling confused. I take a look at my bedside table and the clock tells me that it's noon already. 

I don't usually sleep that long?

I hear the door open and I'm glad that Luna or Crystal got it. I rest my head on my pillow again, and listen to the muffled voices. The door closes again. 

Great, whoever that was is gone now. I can continue sleeping. 

I hear some footsteps. Then, a soft knock on my door. I hum, allowing my friend to come in. It's Crystal. She leaves the door open after stepping in and takes place at the side of my bed. 

"Hey girl", she tells me softly, rubbing her hand over my arm. "How are you feeling?"

I nod my head in response, as I'm too lazy to actually say something.

"So", Crys continues. "Sebastian's here and he wants to talk to you."

I shoot upright. 

Sebastian. 

It hits me. 

Everything.

Everything that happened last night, the party, the spiking, the hospital, the fight, the shouting. 

"Why is he here?", I ask, panting. 

"He wants to talk to you about last night. If you don't want to, I'll shove him outside. Don't feel rushed or obligated to."

"Where is he now?"

"Kitchen. Do you want me to get him?"

I don't know. What if he gets mad at me? What if I hear about things that I don't remember yet. I recall the doctor telling me, last night, that it's normal to not remember anything for the next 24 hours after the incident. It's been around 10 hours and most of my memory is back. 

Sebastian telling me that he doesn't care where I go, is back. 

"Loïse?", Crystal asks.

I nod my head. "Yes, it's fine", I tell her. "He can come in."

She nods and gives me a soft smile. "Call me if something happens, okay?" 

I nod my head. "I love you, Crystal."

"I love you."

She walks out of the room and closes the door behind her. I hear her say some things in a warning tone to, who I suppose is, Sebastian. I take my hair out of my bun and adjust my shirt, so half of my body isn't exposed anymore. 

"Hi princess", I hear suddenly. I look up and Sebastian's standing there, all gloriously- looking deliciously hot. 

"Hey", I say quietly. He walks forward and sits down right next to me. Instinctively, I move away from him. A sharp head ache makes me groan. 

"Is everything okay?", Sebastian asks quickly. His hands reach out to my head when he sees me hiss, but I move them away. He looks down and swallows hard as he finally realises that I don't want him to touch me now. 

"What are you doing here?", I ask, looking straight ahead. 

"I, uh, wanted to check in on you."

"Okay."

"Loïse, I'm sorry", he says. I can tell he's nervous from the way that he's fiddling with his fingers. "I'm so fucking sorry, I- I don't know what happened suddenly, how it went so fast, I shouldn't have gotten into that fight and whatever other shit I did."