Surviving The Borderlands

Chapter Thirteen

Rose woke the next morning with a pounding headache. Too much Vodka – way too much vodka. She was also tucked against someone's chest, slowly she peaked up and saw that the tall girl with dreads was holding her.

She tried to remember what the hell had happened last night, it all came back to her in a flood – the game, kissing Niragi, kissing Chishiya, the guy at the club, hands around her throat –

"Hey, hey, its ok" the girl stroked her hair holding her tight "You're ok I promise" she kept speaking quietly helping Rose to calm down.

"Thank you" Rose said quietly against the other girl's chest.

"It's ok, want some water?"

"Don't leave yet" Kunia chuckled a little but didn't leave, they stayed wrapped in each other's arms even after Chishiya and Niragi had woken up - pretending to still be asleep. Finally, they parted and Kunia reintroduced herself.

"I saw you, my first day here, you were staring at us" Rose said studying the girl before her.

"and you gave me the deadliest evil eye I have ever seen" she smiled widely; Rose laughed.

"Thank you for helping me last night" the words came out quietly, Kunia nodded.

"You need to be careful with that coping mechanism, one day you might not find your way back" Kuina warned softly, squeezing Rose's hand. A knock on the door alerted the two to Chishiya's return.

"Morning, glad to see you both awake" he said handing a container to Kunia and looking away. It held enough food for the two girls and a large grin stretched across her face – he had never brought her food, even on her worst hangovers he only threw her a granola bar – this girl certainly had a hold on him.

The girls thanked him and ate quickly, Kuina doing her best not to make a smart remark to her blonde friend out of fear he would take her meal. Rose finished first heading into the bathroom. Her reflection was jarring to say the least, hair a mess, eyeliner running and a deep purple bruise around her throat. The flash backs from last night started again, her breathing grew faster as she fell back against the wall behind her.

Stop, Stop! she screamed in her head. Throwing herself to the sink where she splashed water on her face, washing away the memories. Focus on the water, focus on right now, get it together. Breathe in and out, in and out –

A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Just a minute" she called out, her voice thick. With another deep breath she pulled it together.

When she had calmed her breathing and her body returned to her control, she quickly washed away the tear tracks from her cheeks and took a final steadying breath. Chishiya was waiting when she opened the door, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. He almost looked ready to scold her for something, it seems the drinking last night had no lingering effects on him annoyingly.

"Where'd Kunia go?" Rose asked breaking the silence.

"To shower in her room, are you feeling better now?" the question came across a bit forced,

"Yeah, I'm good, sorry about all that – seems I drunk a bit too much last night" a lazy smile sat on her face as she lied through her teeth to both him and herself. While he was well aware she drank too much, he knew that she was likely feeling effects of last night, the alcohol and attempted attack. Kunia had told him to be kind before she left, it was now his turn to watch over her although he didn't understand why. She was more than capable.

"Let me look at your throat" he sighed pushing himself off the wall, he could see some bruising but seeing as she could talk the damage appeared mostly superficial. Her hand absently went to her throat running over the tender skin.