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A loud thud makes me slowly open my eyes. I see a bathroom floor and a shower that is not mine. Nothing has worn off though, everything is still fuzzy and spinning.
I hear the doorknob shift and a surge of panic overtakes me.
It opens and as soon as I see Jacob's eyes the panic is gone in a second.
"Jia, oh my gosh." He says and rushes over.
"Am I dying?" I ask, feeling as if my limbs are being ripped apart and an angel has been sent to try and save me.
"You're not dying, you're going to be okay." Jacob says. "Can you focus on me?"
It takes all my strength to lift my head up and focus on his blurry outline.
"Okay we're going to stand up and we're getting out of here." Jacob says and I feel an arm wrap around my waist and he gently scoops me up.
I don't want to cry in front of in. I hold in the urge to scream and sob as I see Jiyong passed out on the bed as if nothing happened.
I close my eyes as I feel myself being carried down the stairs and soon enough I'm hit with the cold air outside. I feel like I can breathe again.
The next thing I know I'm sitting in the passenger's seat of Jacob's familiar car. He holds my hand the entire way as he begins driving.
"Wait," I say suddenly. "I-I can't go home."
"Why?" He asks and pulls over.
"If my mom sees me like this she's going to get mad and she's not going to believe me. I'm not allowed to drink and I-I just can't deal with that right now."
"Okay, is it alright if I take you to my house?" Jacob asks and I nod silently. This is the fastest he's ever driven and my head spins as he turns and stops and accelerates the car.
I'm not sure if I was asleep or unconscious or both but soon enough I'm stumbling through his front door and he gently closes it behind me.
"Can you make it upstairs?" He asks and I shake my head, feeling as if I might be sick. "I'll just carry you, the couch will be bad for your back."
Jacob drags me up a flight of stairs and into his one bedroom. When he lays me down on the bed, I suddenly get that same feeling as earlier. That feeling of someone else's mattress on my back and I sit up abruptly, leaping off the bed and Jacob jerks his hands away.
"What's wrong?" He asks and I bite my quivering lip.
You'd think that being saved and brought to someone else's house would make you feel better after a traumatic experience. But it turns out nothing heals that easily.
"...I still don't feel like myself," I say as I sink down to the floor.
"I'm sorry." Jacob sits next to me and slowly reaches his hand out to rest on top of mine. "But it'll be okay now, that's never going to happen again and you're safe."
