The Unwavering

CHAPTER 4

I wake to Yasmin knocking on my bedroom door.

'Ariyah? You up? It's seven, and we've got work in an hour.' I rub my eyes and sit up in my bed. There's a groggy feeling in my head, and the base of my skull is pounding. I groan and Yasmin pushes the door open.

'Ari? Are you okay?' She looks at me holding my head in my hands. 'How much did you drink last night?'

'Not a lot.' I reply with another groan. I have the feeling I had a dream last night, but I can't push through the fog in my mind to remember it. I roll my aching shoulders back in a circle to relive the tightness. Everything is sore this morning. I'm not sure why, I haven't done any exercise, apart from some dancing last night, along with the walk home.

'And about last night. What the hell were you thinking, punching Nathan?' Yas asks as she leans against the doorframe. I look at the floor. What was I thinking?

'I don't know Yas...' I lift my head and meet her eyes. 'He's been trying to get my attention for a year now, even after I've told him so many times that I'm not interested. I guess when he tried to kiss me last night, I just snapped,' I explain.

'He tried to kiss you?' Yasmin closes her eyes and wipes her palm against her face, the pale skin dotted with freckles.

'I know Nathan can be annoying, but he's a nice lad. Why don't you give him a chance? You might discover you like him.' Her eyes soften. 'I know full well that you sometimes have issues with your anger. But punching a friend? That's extreme Ariyah.'

'I-I... I'm sorry.' I look down at my hands. 'Is he okay?' I ask.

'You dislocated his jaw.'

My head snaps up, my eyes wide.

'What?'

Yasmin sighs and pushes herself away from the frame. She walks over to my bed and sits on the edge, peering at me with big blue eyes from under thick lashes.

'He's fine though. No serious damage. Just one hell of a bruise.' She grins slightly and I relax. It can't be too bad- Yas isn't angry at me.

'I'll take him some cake from the Coast later and apologise,' I say. The Coast is the café Yas and I work in, famous around the area for its cosy atmosphere and killer muffins. 'Plus I'll clearly explain my feelings towards him so this doesn't happen again.' I smile, relieved. Yasmin leans towards me and covers my hand with hers, stilling my fingers, stopping me from picking a hole in my sheets.

'You know you can always talk to me if you need to get stuff out, instead of letting it build up, right?' She looks seriously into my eyes, searching for indication that she can help me. Sometimes I think Yas feels as if it's her job to help people. She's so caring, and it's just another reason to love her more.

'Of course I do. I really appreciate everything you do for me, Yas. Honestly. And I'm sorry for ruining your night.'

She scoffs. 'You should be. I spent my birthday celebrations in A&E instead of getting up close and personal to Ben.' She throws me a wink as she climbs to her feet. 'I expect you to make it up to me with my present and our night out next week.'

I grin at her, knowing how much she'll love the gift I got her.

'You'll have to wait until tomorrow for that. Now get out. I want to go on a quick walk to the Pentire before work.'

Yasmin wrinkles her nose at me in disgust, her eyes sparkling.

'You might need to shower first. You stink.' She giggles, dancing out of the room. I throw my pillow at her retreating back and hear her laughter from the kitchen.

I shake my head, smiling softly as I pull the duvet off my legs. It gets tangled up between them as I do so and I suddenly remember falling out of bed in last night's dream. The man in my room- what was his name? Something to do with fire? Burn? For a brief moment, I remember the brilliant light shining from his body, his piercing golden eyes, then just like that, the image has gone, escaped from my mind. I leave my room and shuffle into the bathroom, my legs sore from the walk back home yesterday.

I think back to that hike. It's a walk I've taken often, and one I know well. So I don't understand why I feel so off about it- there's a niggling feeling I should be aware of something concerning it. I try to think back to my leaving of the club, but my head throbs from the effort mixed with my hangover. Maybe I got a taxi most of the way home. I shrug it off. I had been drinking. I'm home now.

The humidity of the small bathroom indicates that Yasmin has already been in here. I pull off my nightshirt and drag my pants down my legs, leaving them in a pile on the floor, and I step into the shower cubicle. I lean my head against the wall as the hot streams of water massage my aching muscles and relieve me of any stiffness. After I've washed away the remains of last night's makeup and rinsed my hair free of shampoo, I step out of the shower.

I look at my bare face in the mirror, the same face I've looked at for the last twenty years. But today, I feel different. I search my features, the coffee coloured skin, deep brown eyes, dark, defined eyebrows. My eyes roam over my cheekbones, the cupids bow of my lips, my sloped nose. I look exactly the same, yet something feels off. I close my eyes as I feel the dark tendrils of my headache fade away. I cover myself with a sea green towel and wrap my dark hair up in another towel, this time white. I take one last look at myself before unlocking the door and stepping out into the hallway.

Just a short filler, thank you so much for reading, it means a lot❤