Langour ・❥・Joost Klein・❥・

34.

'That door at the end,' Hanna pointed out. The stairs was filled with members of the Joost Klein team while Teun was doing the rounds at bidding everyone goodbye. Aggu accompanied him with a beer in hand and a drunken grin on his face.

Hanna found everyone where she and Fenne had left them; only this time, most of them were drunk. She tried to be subtle in the way she told Apson that Fenne wanted to leave, but Joost's keen hearing piqued from beside him.

'Where is she?' he had asked while standing from the armchair.

'Upstairs. I left her in one of the bedrooms.'

Bounding through the halls and taking two steps at a time, Joost was at the forefront of the group. He had drank a substantial amount but not enough for his mind to be unclear. Hanna's brief explanation of Fenne's sudden illness kicked his actions into motion. He didn't question anything, only told everyone that they were leaving.

Joost turned the doorknob and sighed in irritation.

'Why did you lock it from the inside?' he threw over his shoulder harshly.

'I didn't?'

Looking behind him, Joost looked to Hanna, who stood beside Apson. He checked for any sign of joke on her face and found nothing. He blinked, flicking his gaze up to Apson, then to Stuntje and to Daan.

'Then Fenne must have locked it?' Daan suggested, the air thick.

Joost turned back to the door and knocked.

'Fenne? Open the door.'

There was nothing, so he pounded against it louder.

'Fenne!'

He jiggled the doorknob like it was toying with him. Joost felt a fire burn in his stomach and a shake start in his hands. It was like he needed a cigarette after a day of stress, only if he had one, the symptoms would rage on. His panic turned to anger and at one point, energy rushed to his foot to kick it against the door's wood.

'Can you get Aggu or something?' Joost snarled to his friends who stood idle. 'There has to be a key for this.'

Stuntje took upon himself to lean over the banister of the stairs. He spotted the blonde on the bottom floor with Teun by his side. They were amid of group who dapped them up, trying to convince them to stay longer.

'Yo, Aggu! Can you find who owns this fucking place and get a key for this door?!'

—-

The fear of having no control or clarity was something Fenne had never experienced.

It was dark and quiet despite the noise downstairs. Fenne couldn't remember how she had gotten into the room. She remembered Hanna, but she couldn't hear or see her. All Fenne knew was that she was lying down and it was hard to stay awake.

She groaned, gaining control of her left leg. The tingles came first before she was able to arch her knee off the mattress. It was slow and heavy, like there were weights tied to her ankle.

By the second, tingles buzzed at her limbs and Fenne was beginning to feel again. She felt her skirt against her thighs and the hand that was under it. She felt the weight on the mattress next to her.

'Joost?' Fenne's voice was barely a whisper and shuffles sounded in the dark. Everything was spinning and her sleep was trying to sink in again. But in a desperate attempt to regain control, Fenne focused on what minimal sounds she could hear.

The weight next to her shifted and through her haze, she sensed the presence directly above her.

'H-hey... who are...' her voice wouldn't listen to her and what did make it out, was slurred and mumbled.