In My Dreams

Chapter 10

"I'll be home late tonight, so make yourself dinner. Oh, and I bought chicken yesterday, it's in the freezer" Lenn had called around 8:00, just as I was unloading myself of my jacket. I shrugged my phone closer to my ear,
I wasn't too fond of her working so late, so I gave nothing more than a displeased hum.
She laughed "don't be such a grump, I'll make it up to you, promise" the tone of her voice made a chill of excitement crawl up my back and I smiled "you better".

When the line ended, the guilt slowly simmered in the pit of my stomach. My rough night yesterday had left me completely flustered all day.
I sighed and rubbed my temples, running a hand through my slicked backed hair and messing it slightly. My medication found it's way into my hands shortly after.

The shower was my first destination, prodding my body in the mirror for any remnants of last night. I blew out a sigh before stepping under the scorching water, imagining that it was washing away the feeling of her hands on me, washing away any impure thoughts.
I turned and drenched my hair under the stream of water, looking up at the ceiling light of the shower.

Did My medication always make me feel this heavy?
I didn't become aware of my fatigued state until I was stumbling into the glass shower door for balance, my vision becoming unfocused. The slickness of the glass provided no friction and sent me crumpling to the tile floor.
I managed to get the glass door open before I realized that I wasn't crawling anymore and my mind went blank.

_____

"Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug!" Chanted all around me.
My eyes opened with ease from the dim lighting that was only interrupted by a few cheap black lights. Figures crowded a beer cluttered living room, the subject of their attention shotgunning a beer.

Neiva.

She was red in the face with intoxication, huge grin on her face when she pulled the can away from her mouth.
I didn't peg her as the party type.
Her outfit of choice made my eyes wander, but I quickly pulled myself together and stood up.
Nobody noticed my presence as I swerved through the crowd, following after Neiva as she was dragged off of a coffee table and led upstairs.

The room blurred around me, as if I was spinning in place, then came to a sudden stop.
I was now in a kitchen and Neiva stood with her back to me, talking to a boy I recognized. He leaned on the island counter with a solo cup in his hand, eyeing her over the rim as he took a sip.
There was something about the way he looked at her that made me uncomfortable.

"—I usually don't come to these type of things, but I'm actually having fun" she took a sip out of a solo cup before setting it down on the counter "Hey, where's your bathroom?".
"Down that hall, to the left" he pointed in said direction and she stumbled off.

My attention returned to Blythe as he fidgeted with something in his pocket before taking out a white bead-like object and dropping it into her drink.
My heart sunk.

Was this happening tonight?

"Fucking asshole" I muttered under my breath, ghosting past him just as my vision began to spin again, melting into an image of a house.
I knew the neighborhood just by the urban look of the building, catching a glimpse of the numbers on the mailbox.

1046

The numbers stuck to my brain like gum as I felt myself start to stir, cracking my eyes open to a worried Lenn.
"Ugeene!" She gently cupped my face, pressing a cold cloth to my forehead. Her brows scrunched in worry.
"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!" She was still in her work attire, shoes still on. I groaned and slowly sat up, my current nakedness only excused by a bath towel she had laid over me.
Lenn cracked open a bottle of water and handed it to me, I declined and went to stand up, clutching the towel over my lower region.
"I have to go.." I murmured more to myself than her, stumbling into the counter. "What? No, come lay down, honey" she pulled me out of the bathroom but I shook her off, shaking the grogginess out of my body as I ripped open our shared closet.
Lenn simply watched in worry as I slipped into a pair of shorts, pulling a navy hoodie over my head.
"Ugeene, I'm not sure going out is a good idea, when was the last time you've eaten?" She followed me to grab my keys, all the way to the front door. My mind was running in a straight line and I closed the door right in her face.
When was the last time I've eaten?..
She would understand, she would do the same.

My heart hammered in my chest as I wrenched the ignition of the Royce and pulled out of the driveway, almost missing a stop sign.
The little clock on my dash ticked another minute just as I turned to leave the neighborhood.
It was just past midnight. I hope I wasn't too late.
I convinced myself that anyone would do this, soothing the guilt that solidified in my stomach again.
I pulled off of the highway into a stretch of large houses, slowing to a cruise to read the house numbers.
It was impossible to miss the house, people lingered around the outside and music pulsed the street. I got out of the car, jaw clenched as I brushed past a couple leaning on the doorway of the house, the living room dark and body filled.

"Mr. K?" My head swiveled towards my name over the music to where Jane stood, rocking an outfit no less revealing than Neiva's. But her worried facade could be seen through the dark, and her hair was a mess.
"What are you-" I cut her off with a firm grip on her forearm.
"Where's Neiva?" The question left her looking just as frazzled as I felt, her eyes flickering around in a panic "I-I don't know! I've been looking for her everywhere. I left her with Blythe" I dropped my hand away from her arm and stood up straight, scanning over the crowd, spotting a staircase that disappeared into the second floor balcony.
Jane swerved through the crowd behind me, a few people who were coming down the stairs moving to the side as we came up. The black lights lining the ceiling lit up the row of doorways.
"I'll check the bathrooms and the pool, she should have her phone on her, so I'll try calling her again" Jane pulled her phone out of the pocket in her skirt and pressed it to her ear, scurrying back down the steps.
I few people brushed past me as I walked up to the first door, pushing it open in one swift motion. The couple on the bed didn't even seemed fazed, continuing their make out session on the guest bed. I cringed slightly, continuing down the hall, the second door, locked.
I was just rattling the door handle on the third door when a gentle ringtone ring echoed from a nearby bathroom. The door was cracked open just a smidge.
Pushing open the door, my gaze fell to a figure that laid slumped against the toilet, quiet sobs racking their form.
"Neiva"
The figure paused, slowly raising their head and looking over their shoulder. Her mascara was smudged all over and the dim red lighting didn't help at all.
Her eyes shot electricity through my entire body.
Crouching down with my hand on the counter for balance, her ringtone died out, her phone laying cracked on the bathroom floor.
"Ugeene, I-, he-" her voice cracked and my eyes briefly glanced down to her trembling lips. I placed a hand on her back, slowly coaxing her toward me until she wrapped her arms around my neck.
"You're safe now, Neiva. I'm so sorry" she sucked in a breath through her teeth, clutching onto me harder as her body shook. The fact that she had said my first name slipped my mind, now wasn't the time to question it.
"You're okay"

Her breaths heated my neck and I stroked a hand along her nearly bare back, scooping her legs up with an arm before standing up.
The music had died down and the signature red and blue lights flashed through the downstair windows.
Jane must've called the cops.

I silently thanked her as I curled my arms tighter, securing her against me as I decended the steps and slipped out the back door.
Jane stood by the pool, her shoulders visibly relaxing at the sight of Neiva in my arms. "Oh my god, what the fuck happened?" She met my eyes for an answer.
"I need you to take her to a hospital, I'll talk to the police" Jane nodded and when I loosened my grip on Neiva, her arms tightened around my neck.
With a bit of patience, I gently pried her arms off my shoulders and handed her off to Jane, along with her smashed phone.
The two women went through a gate in the fence that led to the street and I stood there until I completely lost sight of them.

Only then did I become aware of how bad my hands were shaking, brushing them off on my shorts before steering back towards the house. A few police were stationed at the front of the house, waving flashlights in front of people's eyes.
An officer stopped me just as I caught a glimpse of Jane hustling Neiva into a lime green Honda.
"Sir, could you give me your name?" I looked down at the sharp nosed woman with deep bags under her eyes, her pen tapping impatiently against her notepad.

"Ugeene Kane, I made the report"