Dayton

Chapter 21

Wednesday night, I am at work, and my exhaustion has increased horribly instead of decreasing. Sitting at my makeup table, I stare at myself in the mirror with a large sigh at the dark circles under my eyes that I have to cover with makeup. Grabbing my concealer, I start apply this to the dark circles when Archer and Apollo appear in the mirror with deep frowns toward me.

"Are you alright?" Apollo worriedly asks as they stare at me, and I stare back at him with confusion.

"Yeah, I am fine, just tired is all," I reply, trying to give them a reassuring smile, but they do not seem convinced.

"Is Darien waking you during the night?" Archer asks, seemingly worried about his nephew now, too.

"Yeah, he is having normal childhood night terrors," I admit with a sigh. "Along with D's night terrors, school is kicking my ass, and I cannot wait until I am finished with school."

"Do you need to cut your days down here? If that is the case, that can be arranged," Apollo offers, and I am tempted to take him up on the offer.

"Can I think on this for a couple of days? Also I want to speak with with Ajax on this, too." I say, finishing my makeup, and body glitter since I am dressed in my outfit for the night.

Apollo nods; "That is fine, but let me know by Saturday night, so I can figure out next weeks schedule."

"Will do, thanks Apollo," I mumble, trying not to yawn.

"Sure thing, kid," he nods before leaving Archer and I to head out to the floor before the first group dance is to start in a few minutes.

"Is Ajax helping you with Darien's night terrors?" Archer questions with a raised right eyebrow, like he thinks he is not helping me.

"I do not wake him when Darien has his night terrors because he needs his sleep for his work," I defend Ajax. "He has to be on his game to handle his clients, and his court cases. Do not be upset with him, Archer."

"Fine, I won't, but I do not think it is right that you do not ask him for help," he grumbles. "You work, too, attend school, care for D, and deserve a full night's rest, too."

"Please stop," I whine, standing at the end of the bar with him to get a bottle of water from Julie, the new bartender.

Archer drops the subject, but I can tell he is not happy about this, and I know he is coming from a good place, and is trying to protect me. By 2 a.m., I am beyond ready for bed, and to be cuddled up with Ajax in our bed.

"Please drive carefully," Archer pleads as we prepare to climb into our respective vehicles.

"I will, but if it will make you feel better, I will text you when I get home," I offer with an exhausted smile.

"I would appreciate that," he nods. "Night."

"Night," I answer, climbing inside my vehicle, and prepare to drive home.

Pulling out of the parking lot behind Archer, I turn the radio volume on a high level, along with the heater fan, and roll the window down, trying to keep myself wake for the drive. Fighting to keep my eyes open, I swerve when my eyes slam shut for longer than a blink, and I open them quickly in terror.

"Fuck," I hiss, and that is the last thing I remember for several minutes.

Snapping my eyes open in fear, and I do not know what has happened, how much time has passed, or where I am. My entire body hurts, and I can feel something dripping down from my mouth and nose, and I figure it is blood as I look around my surroundings with fuzzy eyes. I am still in my running car, and the car is nosed slightly in the ditch. According to the clock radio, five minutes have passed according to the time on the clock on the radio.

Placing the car in reverse, I back out onto the road once I make sure there is no on-coming traffic, and head toward home again. Arriving home a few minutes later, I let out a sigh of relief as I park next to Ajax's truck. Climbing carefully out of the vehicle after turning off the engine, I shut the door, and rush as quickly as my trembling and achy body will allow to the front door. Entering the house quietly, I am surprised I can see an end table lamp light on, and Ajax anxiously pacing the carpet in the kitchen while he talks on his cell to someone.

When he turns toward me, he catches sight of me, and lets out a sigh of relief before quickly saying; "He just got home, and he is bleeding, gotta go, Archer."

He tosses his phone into a pocket of his black sweats as he rushes over to me, and takes my forearms gently in his shaking hands as his eyes scan my entire body from top to bottom; "What happened, Dayton? Archer called because you were supposed to be home a few minutes ago, and text him when you arrived because you were exhausted. You are bleeding, so let's go clean you up in the bathroom."

He bends at the knees to grasp me by the back of the thighs to quickly carry me to the bathroom. He places my ass on the closed toilet seat, opening the cupboard above my head to grab a wash cloth that he wets with cold water at the sink. He wrings out the extra water before squatting down in front of me, between my knees while holding my thigh with his left hand to steady himself while he cleans my face free of the dried blood. He is silent the entire time, and seems angry yet concerned.

"I fell asleep behind the wheel for a few minutes," I mumble, realizing that the right side of my upper and lower lips are swollen, and my nose hurts like hell. "When I woke up, the front of the car was slightly in the ditch, but not enough that I could not back out, and continue the drive home."

When he does not reply, or even look at me, my eyes fill with tears that slip down my cheeks. I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that he is angry with me despite taking care of me right now. He looks at my pupils for several seconds, I think to look for any signs of a concussion, but does not comment on my tears.

When he finds it, he takes care of the washcloth by hanging it over the shower curtain rod to dry, and still has not said a single word to me. He just leaves the bathroom toward our bedroom as I strip out of my clothes to shower, where I sob hysterically as I clean myself.