lacuna

Chapter Thirty-Two

Fallon's pov

My phone started ringing. I glanced at it. It was Asher. Despite wanting to ignore it and get back to it later, I felt like I had to pick it up. I picked up the phone, careful not to get the blood everywhere.

"Hi," I said.

"Home of the Hotel Taj Plaza," he said.

"W-what?" confusion filled me.

"What's the Home of the Hotel Taj Plaza?" he repeated, his voice muffled as if he was chewing on something.

"Um...Agra" I replied, recalling the one time I answered for a test.

"Ha!" he exclaimed and he sounded farther away next, "I told you it's Agra!". A smile perked on my lips.

"You little fucker, put that phone away" Eli's voice chimed in.

"Why? It's your girlfriend on the line" Asher's voice turned playful. I could practically imagine the grin on his face.

"You called Fal for this?" it was Eli.

Asher laughed, "So she is your girlfriend".

"Shut the fuck up" Eli grumbled whilst I sat there with blood pooling around my arm and my cheeks a bright red. The blonde was back, now much closer to the phone as if he placed it back on his ear again.

"Hey, you free tonight?" he said.

I suddenly felt uneasy, "Um, I'm not really in the mood to go out today...I'm sorry".

"What? No, don't say sorry. It's fine" he replied, "What do you say if we come over then? Only if you're comfortable".

Why didn't that fill me with unease like before? Instead, what my mind did was confirm the fact that it was a Wednesday and that my parents won't be home. I would have to switch off the security cameras like before. They would be too wrapped up in their work to notice anyways and it was a risk I was willing to take. But I made a note in my head to turn them back on before the next day.

"Yeah. Sure. Is it just the three of you?"

"Nope. Wren's here too. Is that okay?"

"That's great" I smiled despite the pain shooting up my arm, "See you guys, then".

"Be there in twenty" he said and we ended the call.

What did I just do? I sighed, getting up off the bathroom floor. I carefully removed my clothes, cautious not to get blood on them. After cleaning off the small droplets of red fluid on the floor, I stepped into the shower.

*********

Him. It smelled like him.

I inhaled the scent, pressing the overly long sleeves against my face. It was the shirt he'd left as a 'souvenir' after his drunk night at my house and the hem of it reached halfway down to my knees, showing off my thighs but I wore a black tight short underneath. My hair was down, still slightly wet from the shower. For some reason, I didn't feel any discomfort when thinking about being in a room alone with three boys and a girl who has become quite important to me.

I was cleaning up my arm when the doorbell rang. I slid the sleeve down, letting it dangle as I made my way towards the front door. I couldn't help the smile that made itself onto my face, as I stood next to teh door, hearing their voices on the other side.

"Dude, look at you. You're like this loyal dog waiting for her to open that door any minute" It was Asher. Eli grumbled something. I clicked open the door, forming my face onto a neutral expression as if I hadn't been listening and the moment I did, Eli lost his balance and made one of my mum's flower pots topple over.