Everyone Is Connected

The thing back at my mind Chapter 12

Elouise's POV

I woke up with a pounding headache and a weird, heavy feeling in my chest. The first thing I noticed was the smeared makeup on my face. My eyes felt heavy, and my mouth tasted like a bad decision. In a daze, I stumbled toward the bathroom, trying to find my makeup remover. My hands were shaky, and my mind was foggy, as if I were trapped in a haze.

When I finally found the remover, I wiped it off my face, but it didn't make the fog in my mind clear. Something felt off—more off than usual. I glanced around, confusion creeping up on me. This wasn't my apartment. This was Leon's. How did I get here?

I tried to piece it together, but the more I thought, the more the fragmented images came rushing back. John... I shocked him. And then... Leon. We kissed. My face burned as the memory hit me full force. I felt like I could crawl into a hole and never come out.

I rushed into the living room, and there he was—Leon, still asleep on the couch, looking... tense, even in sleep. His eyebrows were furrowed, as though he were in the middle of some sort of battle. I knew I had to leave, to get out of here before things went any further, before I did more damage.

I grabbed my things quickly, my mind still spinning, and made my way to the door. But as I opened it, I froze. There, standing in the hallway, was Ada. She was about to knock on Leon's door, her hand raised to do so. She was dressed in that confident, poised way of hers, but I could see the flicker of surprise in her eyes when she saw me standing there.

I could feel the tension building in the air, and I hated how much of an outsider I felt right now. But I didn't stick around to see how it would play out. Without a word, I turned and walked away.

Just as I stepped toward the door, I heard Ada's hand move toward the doorbell. The sound of it echoed through the silence, sharp and clear. Of course, that was enough to wake Leon. I could hear his footsteps approaching the door, and before I could even react, I turned to face him.

There he was, standing behind me now , looking confused and half-awake, only to find me right there in front of him. Ada was standing also in Front of him, her expression clearly pissed off.-She didn't even try to hide it. And honestly, seeing her like that gave me a small, twisted sense of satisfaction. It was nice knowing she wasn't the only one who could throw a look full of attitude.

I scratched my head awkwardly, avoiding Leon's eyes as much as I could. "I'll head out now. Thanks for, you know, making sure I got home safely," I muttered, trying to sound nonchalant even though I could feel the heat creeping up my neck.

I didn't wait for a response. I couldn't. I just turned on my heel and left, trying to block out the voice in my head that told me everything had gone wrong.

By the time I got to my apartment, I shut the door behind me and collapsed onto my bed, my stomach twisted with shame. What the hell had I done? What was I even thinking?

I buried my face in the pillow, wishing I could erase everything from my mind. But the more I tried, the harder it became to escape the reality of what had just happened.

Leon's POV

The door swung open, and Ada stormed in, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. Her eyes narrowed the moment she saw me standing there, still trying to make sense of what had just happened with Elouise. I could tell by the look on her face that I wasn't going to get a peaceful moment to figure things out.

"Really, Leon?" Ada's voice dripped with sarcasm, a mix of amusement and jealousy. "I thought you were better than this. Getting tangled up in that mess with her?" She took a step closer, crossing her arms over her chest. "How long were you planning on keeping this little game of yours going? Or were you just waiting for her to implode so you could save her again?"