Hiraeth

7.

7.

I wake up with a headache, and feel a familiar scent fill my nostrils. It's soothing and reminds me of home. Yet as I slowly open my eyes, I realise I'm not in my room.

What the hell am I doing in Charlie's room?

I sit up in a panic and take in my surroundings and notice Charlie on the bed next to me. "You all right?" He asks with concern, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"What's going on? Why am I here? I ask and look down at my attire. I'm wearing a tee, one that's not mine and my bottom half is only wearing a thong.

What the fuck? Has Charlie seen my bum?

"You don't remember anything?" Charlie asks with a yarn, and I stare at him in confusion, wanting to get out of bed, but also not wanting to get that exposed in front of him. My head is spinning as I try to remember last night's events, but right now my mind is blank and my head is killing me.

"Cheryl suspects you were drugged. She brought you home—" he says, and my eyes widen.

Drugged?

"–and before you start wondering, she undressed you and helped you into a tee of mine. I wanted you to get comfortable."

I gulp.

What?

"But why am I here?" I ask, not making much sense of his words.

"She slept in your room. I promised to keep an eye out for you, make sure you were okay," he says, and I eye him, noticing how red his eyes are.

"You didn't sleep, did you?" I wonder.

He shakes his head. "Had to make sure you were all right, didn't want you choking in your own vomit."

My heart sinks, and I think I fall a little harder.

How is he always this considerate?

"But how'd you know I was all right?" I ask, feeling the events of last night resurface. I remember the two guys, although I don't recall their names, and I remember how I started to feel funny all of a sudden.

"I didn't. That's why I stayed awake. Called the hotline, they told me what to do in case your state worsened. Told me to make sure you were sleeping on your side and not your back. You know it's like you barely breathe when you're sleeping. I had to place a hand in front of your nose to make sure you were actually breathing."

"What?" He's not making any sense.

"You're not making any sound when you sleep, you practically scared me half to death when I thought you weren't breathing. You were so quiet. Hope you weren't doing it just to scare me."

I chuckle, "I promise, I didn't do it on purpose, I didn't know I slept like that."

"You look very cute when you sleep," he adds, and I blush as my heart skips a beat. Hopefully he doesn't notice the slight change of colour in my cheeks.

"Thank you, by the way. I feel really bad about waking you in the middle of the night. I should leave so you can get some sleep too, you must be exhausted."

"Just happy you're all right, you scared me, you know," his voice is soft, yet I think I can detect the worry in it.

"I'm sorry," I say, feeling bad. I can only imagine how I'd have felt if the roles had been reversed. I'd have been worried sick.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," he says, and I notice his teeth clench and his fist tightens. "It's just—hearing what happened made me so angry, I don't want to think about what could have happened if Cheryl hadn't been there. What if she'd left you alone with that guy."