Queen of Diamonds

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

White noise of indistinguishable voices hovered over me as I went in and out of consciousness. Car rumbles, footsteps, and body heat surrounded me. Was I dying? Did I just have a heart attack like my dad? In the midst of my fight against the dark curtain looming over my eyes I was able to make out blurry figures hauling me into a vehicle. Andrew and Derek both struggling over who was the rescuer of the damsel in distress as Nicki tried calming Kara's hysteria beyond us.

"She's going to be fine Kara," Nicki reassured her. "She just had too much to drink."

"No! She was fine all night!" she shrieked to everyone in earshot. "It's this damn heat I swear," she mildly cussed. She was definitely in Kara freak out mode. "And why is there no food! I just want to feed the pandas!

I could feel arms around me positioning my body to sit up to fasten my seat belt. My eyes flicked open to see Andrew's face peering over my mine, his tousled hair tickling my nose.

"Hey there, champ," he whispered. "We're going to get you and your loot home," brushing strands of hair out of out my face tucking it behind my ear.

"Get Kara Panda Express," I murmured my head nodding sideways.

"I want orange chicken!" she yelped from outside the car.

Then I heard a heavy thud next to me, which I thought was the car door closing, but was actually Kara laid out on the chess board driveway.

"What the hell is going on?" Nicki fumed.

"Just get her in the car," Derek quickly rushed in. "I'll explain later."

With another thud Kara toppled into the other side of the car getting loaded into the backseat like grocery bags. I could still feel a hand stroking my arm and with a few more clicks and closes of car doors Derek ordered, "Let's go."

"Sleep well, Ava Lennings." Andrew's hand was gone and my door was the last to close as Derek pealed out of the madness.

It felt like I closed my eyes for two minutes and already Derek was unbuckling my seat belt. He helped me out of the car as the sole knight in shining armor. I was able to weakly stand now, his strong arm tightly wound around my waist as I slung one arm over his broad shoulders leading me into the house. I stumbled as we approached the first stair to go up the second level of the house. Making our way into the bedroom Derek gently sat me on the bed and I immediately curled into it.

"Mmm, this feels nice," I mused sleepily as Derek quietly left the room and I heard the sink turn on. When he returned, he was holding a damp cloth and moved me up the bed sitting half up.

"Where am I?" I asked looking around taking in my scenery. Navy blue striped walls, piles of clothes exploding out of a closet, slight scent of woodsy cologne, and a window framing the moon.

"My room," he whispered, softly dabbing the cool rag over my arms.

"Your room?" I questioned again.

"My parents are out of town for the weekend, we can all stay here tonight."

"What are you doing?" I said as he kept rubbing the wet cloth over my warm skin.

"Doesn't it feel good?" he replied, as if he already knew the answer as I "mm'ed" in satisfaction at the cold on my skin wiping the sparkles away. "This stuff," he paused. "The Carat Cream, is a diamond crushed drug that got you high as a kite."

"What!" I exclaimed becoming more with it. But he pushed me back down to keep wiping my body, pulling down the spaghetti straps of my dress off my shoulders to drag the clothe across my chest, lightly dipping into my cleavage.