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Twenty Three

My eyes slowly crack open in the early morning light as the sun rises in the window across the room. I try to pull the sheets tighter around my body for some warmth, but the lack of Sebastian leaves me feeling a type of coldness that the blankets won't help. I sigh and roll over to look at the clock.

10:00am.

I haven't slept this late in a long time. Not since-

Oh shit.

Oh shit.

Aurelia.

I jump from the bed and run into the living room, frantically searching for my girl as I head toward her room. I swing the door open but find the room empty.

I take a few more steps into her room, confused as to where she would be. Maybe she's hiding.

"Aurelia?" I call for her. No response.

"Aurelia?" I say a little louder as I start to tremble. I walk back into the living room and begin looking in all her favorite hiding places before making my way to the kitchen to check the cabinet she likes to hide in. That's when I see the note on the counter.

I took Aurelia. We're going to stay with mom until I cool off.

-S.

Oh.

I flip the paper over to look at the back to see if there is anything else written on it before wadding it up and throwing it back on the counter.

The apartment seems to shrink around me. The lack of sound and people leaves it feeling eerie and less like the home I had come to love.

My head drops to my hands as I lean my elbows on the counter. This is what happened when Sebastian left Alexia. He took Aurelia in the middle of the night and left. The pit I feel inside of myself grows with the realization that I made Sebastian relive that night.

My phone rings in the bedroom and I run to grab it. I sigh and ignore the call when I see it's just Tara. I don't want to talk to anyone but Sebastian or Aurelia. I notice the notifications that have been popping up on my screen from Twitter. Most of them are paparazzi accounts tagging me in the videos of the fight. Others are comments from different people. Sebastian's fans have started sharing their thoughts on the video and most of them seem glad that Alexia was finally put in her place. Some of his fans say that I should have left it alone and gone home. The rest of the comments are people supporting Alexia, saying that I am too unstable to be around Aurelia.

I feel tears welling in my eyes again as I shut my phone off.

You've done it now, Madelaine.

Way to go.

I curl back up in the cold bed, breathing in the smell of Sebastian's cologne that radiates from the sheets. My tired, bloodshot eyes close and I somehow manage to drift off to sleep. Escaping from the harsh reality I have made for myself.

I wake up again around 2:00pm. My bladder refuses to let me stay in bed. After I use the bathroom, I return to my cocoon. My body feels weak and my head pounds with every car horn that honks on the streets below. I finally drift off to sleep again.

Someone banging on the door wakes me up around 6:00pm. I don't leave the bed as I listen to the voice calling my name.

"Madelaine? Are you in there?" Kayla asks.

"Open the door, Madelaine. We saw your car downstairs." Tara calls.

Great. They're both here. I groan and roll over, tucking my head under the covers and closing my eyes again. Maybe they'll just go away.