Scorched Earth: A Revenge Romance

Chapter Four

"Get up."

Mina pokes me with her index and middle finger. I groan and retreat to the other side of my bed, but she refuses to relent. Even with my eyes closed, The bright orange hue behind my eyelids tells me she's probably thrown open my drapes.

"What?" I croak, finally cracking an eye open. The morning sunlight streams through my window, forcing me to squint to protect against its sharp glare.

"You need to eat something, especially after last night."

Oh yeah. Last night.

Images of last night flash through my mind: Dylan following me around. Meeting Adrian. Finding Mina. Finding Mina with him. The rest blurs together in a whirlwind of chaos. I can't help but let out an involuntary groan at the memory.

"Is Adrian mad?" I ask sheepishly, pulling the covers under my chin. I feel bad about making a mess of his place. Especially considering how nice he was to me.

Mina shakes her head. "You can ask him yourself. He slept in the living room last night to make sure you didn't need a ride to the hospital. I had enough to drink, so I couldn't have driven last night. He's not the one you should be worrying about, though. What happened?"

"Migraine. I didn't have any medication," I explain throatily, my voice still waking up. Mina and I had been roommates for a couple of months. She's witnessed once before how severe my migraines can get. The more intense the migraine, the more dizziness and nausea that comes with it. I haven't had an episode like that in a while.

"Oh shit! Why didn't you tell me!" She plops herself down on the edge of the bed, her expression now concerned. "How is it now?"

"Well, I tried to find you after you disappeared. It started after we got there." I say pointedly, giving her a pout. She rubs my shoulder sympathetically as I continue, "It's practically gone now, though."

We sit in silence for a while, both of us contemplating the events of last night. The memory of it slowly bubbles up, growing more ridiculous with each passing moment. I can feel the laughter building in my chest, threatening to burst out at any second. I try not to look at Mina, knowing that making eye contact would be my undoing. My eyes dart around the room, focusing on anything but her— the pile of clothes slumped over my desk chair, my faded stuffed unicorn at the foot of my bed, and the half-empty water bottles on my bedside table. But the harder I try to avoid her gaze, the more I want to look.

Finally, I lose the battle with myself and glance at Mina. Her lips are pressed tightly together, curled inward in a valiant effort to contain her mirth. Her eyes are crinkled at the corners, sparkling with barely suppressed laughter. She looks like a cartoon character about to explode, her cheeks puffed out with the effort of holding it all in. That's all it takes.

I disintegrate into a fit of laughter, the sound bursting out of me like a dam breaking. Mina follows suit almost immediately, her laughter joining mine. Last night's disaster will definitely be added to our list of inside jokes.

"What a night. You're a clam-jammer, you know that?" Mina finally says between gasps, trying to control herself. She flops over onto my bed as she continues to laugh.

"Oh my God, I can't believe that happened," I squeak out once I've regained my composure, sitting up in bed and wiping the sleep from my eyes.

It takes me a second to register what she just said. "Wait," I say, startled. "You weren't actually thinking of sleeping with Kian?"

"Thinking about it? Babe, I was planning on it." Mina laughed, "I mean, did you see him? How come you never told me you went to high school with guys like that?"