The Blood Debt

Chapter 35

Ayla

I wake up to a thumping headache the next morning. Getting out of bed makes the room feel like I'm stepping into quicksand. My brain screams abort mission at the slightest movement I make, pounding against my skull in protest. 

I haven't woken up feeling like this in a long time. I'm a known lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and probably should have known better, but it's the first time in a long time that I've been able to rely on someone else to look after Noah and felt safe enough to unwind, that and the fact that Ismail tells Ricky Fasano that I'm Roman's wife, and that my guests are all Berisha, ensures a steady flow of shots all night long and becomes our undoing. The fact that Ismail spends the night a respectable distance from our booth ensuring our safety also helps. I realize as I hold my head and attempt to sit up for a second time, that we may have indulged a little too much.

I call out for Roman, something I regret instantly when my voice echoes through my skull. When he doesn't answer, I grab my phone from the nightstand and realize why. It's almost lunchtime.  

I peel off the covers, realizing that I have to get to the shower on my own. I'm wearing underwear and an Imagine Dragons t-shirt. I know Roman carried me up the stairs last night, but can't remember how we got home. When I look around the room, I notice my dress in a heap by the bed, but my heels have been put to the side neatly and my clutch is on the dresser.

I catch my reflection in the mirror.

God! I look ghastly. I haven't washed off my makeup and it's smudged all over my face.

When I head downstairs, fresh out of the shower, my hair still wet, I find Lou slumped over a cup of coffee while Nora and Holly are all sitting around the kitchen table in silence looking like they've seen better days. I realize Nora and Holly must have stayed the night, making me wonder the kind of state we must have been in for Roman to have everyone brought back to Brookville.  

I find Roman casually sipping coffee as he stares at each of them with about as much sympathy as I imagine he might show Fasano if he were here right now. His eyes land on me, dark and brooding as I stand in the doorway, unsure of what I'm walking into. He notices my hesitation and nods for me to sit down across from him.

Rejab who's happily eating ice-cream with Noah turns to him with a smile and in unison they start to sing "One little, two little, three little fingers, four little, five little, six little fingers, seven little, eight little, nine little fingers, ten little fingers on my hand."

When the girls all cringe, I'm guessing the song is being repeated for my benefit, and from the way Rejab and Noah look at me on four, I'm guessing I'm the fourth finger everyone's been waiting for. I hesitantly take my seat.

"Ohh, come on now, don't be shy," Roman says, luring me into the kitchen while he nods to Rejab.

"C'mon buddy, let's get out here," he tells Noah, stopping by the coffee machine momentarily to pour me a cup of coffee.

"Drink up. You're gonna need it," he says winking at me with a knowing smirk before he bundles Noah over his shoulder and they leave the room.

"Bye mommy. Bye aunty Nora. Bye aunty Lou. Bye aunty Holly,"  Noah screams, his voice drifting and distorting the further Rejab goes.

I can't help but cringe at the echo it creates, reeling back in my chair, I close my eyes hoping to shut down the sensory overload that's happening around me.

"Those cute little shots aren't making you feel so great today, are they?" Roman says, as his gaze cruises over each of us before it lands on me. There's a glint of something dark in his eyes and I struggle to hold his gaze, realizing this might be about more than us having too much to drink.