A Night To Taste

Chapter 11: Katerine

A faint voice of something or someone rings in my ears.

"What happened? What- what it is? Kate just tell me what the hell happeneddddd?"

I don't know what am I doing? Where am I? What happened? Who is here? Who am I? What's my name?

I think with eyes closed as images run in my head.

Me and Nate partying. Some strange voice. Club. Him. Sex. Fuck. And lots of fuck. I don't remember next. Me lying on bed. Rapid fire with Nate. She going to the kitchen. Me staring at mirror. Black fumes. Someone. Black cloak. Inked fingers. Crystal ball. Me inside the ball. In a blanket. Staring at something. And then I'm...

Oh.

Black fumes are gone.

I'm. I'm safe.

There is no crystal ball. No cloak. No man.

Just me buried in Nate's chest crying out my heart.

Thank god I am wrapped up in her otherwise I would have died.

Her hands are patting my back and my head. Her mouth is flooding me with soft kisses on the top my head affectionately at every five seconds.

"Don't worry. I'm here. Stop crying my child. Stop."

I would have smiled at her words. Her habit of calling me her child is weird and adorable at the same time. I love it and I hate it too. I always laugh when she says that. But this is traumatizing so all I feel is a little bit of comfort.

I would've literally and figuratively died here if she weren't present. And by die I fucking mean it. What if the person inside jumped on me and killed me. Worse. Raped me? I'm not in a position to think of that. But it could have been pretty fucking dangerous. He looked dangerous.

"What happened Katerine? What scared you?"

Katerine. She is really, really worried.

I lift my head to see her eyes. Those caramel eyes giving me all I need. The presence of home.

Tears gather in my eyes as I stare at her.

I want to tell her everything. The ball. The reflection. The man. The fumes.

But I am unable to open my mouth to say anything. It feels sewed.

I bury my head again and weep silently.

I weep in silence.

I am doing nothing but cry since last night.

Weep in silence.

I close my eyes. Tears still flow down like a river.

But I gather courage and try to look up at the mirror. No fumes. Me in Nate's arms looking devastated. And that's what I actually am. Devastated and ruined.

Devastation and Ruin. These two words make me want to throw up. These words make me want to scratch myself to death. Make me want to burn my hands and watch them as I cry. Make me want to put a knife to my throat and slash it open.

But to no avail. I cannot die like this. I may want to die. I want to die. But I do want to live for my family. I want to live for Nate. For my mother Valentina. For her mother Charlotte. For our fathers Anthony and Jackson. For my grandparents Bella and Antonio. For her grandparents Madison and William. For everyone I love. And for someone I can't name. Something which I feel is buried inside my heart but I'm unable to dig into it and reveal that secret to myself.

I try to think of everyone I love but fail.

I try to think of something happy like me and her. Our parents. Our friends.

But the only image which comes to my mind is..

Black hair.

Black eyes.

And something.

Still nothing.