Harwal, book 3

Chapter 3

I passed out. Fainted. Right in front of someone I shouldn't.

I woke up at five AM. It's half seven now, and I haven't budged an inch from the bed. I'm quite amazed at my state of mind. My head is empty, and it has been so for almost two hours. The only thing I've managed to do is check the clock and think about the fact that I fainted.

If I'm going to Joddel with that man... What if I faint again? He can easily just leave me on the street, leave me to fend for myself.

I sit and rub my face, then stare at the smudge of mascara on my palms.

I push my blanket to the side and rush to the bathroom, and stare at the horrifying state my face is in. Did I really pass out? I swear I fainted, but the condition of my face tells me I've cried. A lot. My mascara has dried up all over my cheeks, right on top of the red splotches that cover them.

I drag my palms on my cheeks and whine. There's nothing I can do now, except pray that I cried in my room. The last thing I need is that I had some kind of panic attack that I don't remember about.

"Damnit," I mutter and lean on the sink. This doesn't bode well if I want to help the big guy. He must feel horrible... I snort and shake my head. Zohra don't feel anything. He probably just thought it was an inconvenience to his day.

Gathering myself and showering this mess is a priority, then I need to go and find Jas, tell her of my Joddel experience, and pretend nothing happened yesterday.

After finishing the shower and getting my makeup back on, I go to the diner, but it's empty. I grab a cup of coffee and head to the command center and find Rita with Greece there, fiddling with the controls of the ship.

"Morning," I say with a smile. "You guys are up early."

"Rita stayed up the whole night," Greece says, rubbing her eyes. "I just woke up. Is that coffee?"

I hand her the cup, and she slurps it all down like water. "Do you know where Cap is?" I ask.

Rita turns to me with hideous dark eyebags. "She's still fucking, I guess? Could you grab me some coffee too? I'm being worked to death."

"Sure." I take the now empty cup from Greece, take her order of coffee, and grab them a round. As I come back to them, there's a visitor. Someone I didn't want to see, and definitely not in the morning.

I freeze at the doorway and stare at the hulking guy. Oh boy. Gather yourself and pretend nothing is wrong.

"Morning," I whisper and avoid his eyes, ducking to Greece's side, handing them their cups.

"Greetings," the guy mumbles after a moment of silence. "This Harwal was told to come here to get the information for the Shurak."

"I swear I've been working all fucking night!" Rita yells and slams the arm of the chair. "I can give you what Greece and Candice wrote, but that's all you're getting right now. I had some contacts lined up but it turns out those fuckers are dead. So too bad, come back next time. I'm trying to track some fuckers right now so I would like to be left with my stupid machine."

Greece scrunches her nose and scans Harwal up and down. "You might want to wait at the door, I'll go gather the notes."

"I'll go get them, you guys are busy," I say and pat Greece's shoulder. "You guys are doing God's work, so just focus on that. I need to go see Cap anyway."

"They're still at the dining table, Reyes organized them. The ones we wrote are under the red binder," Greece says and sips her coffee.

"Can you guys go?" Rita asks with a mean glare. "I really want to focus right now."