Out of the Darkness (v2.0)

Chapter Six

 Cold and clammy.

Ellanor placed her hand upon Dallas' and moved it away from her stomach so she could get out of bed. The musky sheets slithered off her skin and landed in a pile upon Dallas who was in too much of a serious hangover to wake up. Unfortunately, even the light pressure on her stomach made her want to throw up even more than she already did.

She staggered her way across the alcohol-soaked floor and towards the bathroom, having to grab onto the door post halfway there to support her shaking self. Her stomach lurched forward, as it often had, but this time was much worse than usual. She coughed harshly to herself and swallowed the bile forming in her mouth, only to remember that the sour salivating in her mouth meant that whatever food she'd eaten recently was going to come up quite soon. She couldn't remember last night quite clearly after forcefully blocking the memories from her mind. Did she drink? She almost never drank unless Dallas made her...

Oh, no.

Upon urge, Ellanor practically threw herself upon the toilet seat and grabbed its side as if holding on for her life, retching and gagging out the half processed remains of last nights dinner. Once. Then twice. Third and fourth followed, but nothing came out then.

It was disgusting, but it made her feel better in the end. The stench of the vomit hit her face, and she was swift to get up and flush it down the toilet. Grabbing some toilet paper, she dragged the material across her lips and instead moved towards the sink to rinse the remaining taste from her mouth.

Maybe she'd become sick due to staying up late -- almost always until midnight at Asmund Industries. It had been approximately a month since she was accepted to work there, and people looked at her like she was insane with the dark circles under her eyes, constant yawning, overdosing on caffeine and bad hair days. The office became more of a home than 'home' could ever be. She had friends -- well, not really friends -- but friendly acquaintances she could rely on to spark up a pleasant conversation every now and then. Espresso became a regular need, and one could mistake her for a sleepless college student with how much she would make for herself, not just Elijah. Still, she would do whatever she had to in order to avoid coming home to a still-awake Dallas, and that meant sacrificing sleep for safety, even if it would cause her even more than the average when he was awake.

And sick... How could she be sick? After throwing up, she didn't feel sick.

Maybe it was something she ate.

She rubbed her stomach gingerly, trying to calm its aching self, and finally stood up properly. Though her legs still trembled ever so slightly, her head was cool and clear. Even if she was sick, she wasn't missing a day at work for the world.

** * *** * **

"You've been looking a little sick there lately," a raven-haired woman pointed out in a worried tone from her desk just as Ellanor set down a stack of folders. "You sure you're alright and don't need to stay out of the office for a sick day or two?"

The redhead glanced up from the papers and shook her head, donning a small smile upon her face. "No, thank you, I'm alright, Miss Aldrik," she answered politely.

"Athena," the lady chuckled to herself after devouring another bag of chocolate-covered wafers. "Ellanor, you don't have to use formality around me. Heck, I'm not even former to my subordinates...," she added in a whisper, and even quieter-- "Maybe that's why they think it's okay to annoy me so much."

Ellanor smiled slightly at the note. "Well, I'll be on my way now. Mister Asmund is making me run around, doing all the chores," she stated, turning on her heel to leave, but Athena shot up from her seat so quickly that one could think she'd sat on a thumb tack.