Little Dark One

20 - up in flames

Keira

I spent my day in bed with the curtains drawn, searching for anything to distract me from my regretful thoughts. I found solace in The Office reruns, mouthing the words to all the famous Michael Scott lines. I've seen every episode at least five times.

My anxiety heightened as the clock in the top right corner of the tv inched closer and closer to 8pm. I hadn't seen a single soul except for the housekeeper who knocked on my door with a tray of food this afternoon. Food I felt too nauseous to even look at, let alone touch. I sat on the floor of the shower for what felt like hours, and finally braved a bright journey onto the balcony to investigate. 

The usually lively compound was quiet, confirming my suspicions. Something was definitely going on, and my curiosity was killing me. 

I tried to ignore the worry I was feeling for Tommy, but I never had much control over my feelings, I don't know why I thought I could now. I spent every hour of every day fighting a brutal war with my feelings, and every night succumbing to my subconscious taking over my dreams. 

His face dominated those dreams, and there were nights I'd wake up with vivid images of him dominating every part of me. Those dreams were the hardest to wake up from, knowing he was just across the hall, but untouchable. I sucked my lip into my mouth, wondering if he had the same dreams about me. 

After every dream I would snap myself out of it and repeatedly remind my subconscious and any other part of me listening, that I hate him, but hating him felt just as powerful as my lust. 

I snapped out of my reverie and wrapped myself tightly in the comforter as I flipped through the channels searching for new entertainment. 

I shot up to a sitting position when I almost skipped past something I never expected to see. A local news anchor was standing with a microphone to his face gesturing to a large building up in flames, a red banner screaming "BREAKING NEWS" stretched across the bottom of the screen. I slammed my finger against the volume button, desperate to hear the words coming from his muted mouth.

"Earlier this evening, guests and hotel employees evacuated the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills after reportedly hearing gunshots. As police arrived at the scene, the building went up in flames, the fire originating from an explosion on the top floor." I stare at the screen in shock, that is where I was supposed to be tonight. Where Alejandro ordered me to meet him. The top floor of the Waldorf Astoria at 8pm. Conspiracies swirled through my mind as I turned my attention back to the attractive news anchor. "Authorities believe this to be the work of local gangs at war and the police have taken multiple suspects into custody. Casualties are unknown at this time, we will continue to update y-" 

I switched the tv off, too close to a panic attack to continue watching. This had to be where Tommy was all day, blowing up the Waldorf. Had he been caught? If the police have him or any of his men in custody none of us are safe anymore. 

The nausea rose in my throat, I ran to the bathroom and heaved over the porcelain toilet, throwing up bile and water. My stomach was empty but that didn't stop it from constricting, I felt like I was experiencing an exorcism in its purest form as my body fought against me. 

A knock on my bedroom door forced me to take deep enough breaths to calm my stomach. I stood shakily and rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash. Someone knocked again and I knew it couldn't be Knox. He wouldn't even knock to begin with. The thought caused my breathing to become irregular again and I stared at my ragged appearance in the mirror. 

"Everything is fine Keira, everything is fine." I whispered to myself. Willing my mind to believe my words. 

"Keira?" I walked out of the bathroom to see Blaze peeking his head in. "Are you alright? I knocked." he gestured to the door when he saw me approaching.

"I'm fine." I responded, unable to hide the shaking from my voice, he frowned, not buying my answer. "Just trying to cure this killer hangover, they always hit me hard." 

He shrugged and his lips pressed into a hard line, he didn't fully buy it but he wasn't going to push the subject. I noticed his lips were puffier than usual and his bottom lip was split. I was unable to detect any bruises but I assumed they were developing. He wasn't in great shape but he held his head up. 

"Get dressed and meet me in the dining room. Dinner is almost ready." he ordered gently. 

"What happened?" I asked, pointing to his busted lip. 

"It's nothing, these kinda things happen on the job all the time." He waved my question away casually. "You should see the other guy." He winked. 

I rolled my eyes, deciding ignorance is bliss for now. "I don't think I want to.." I mumbled. 

"I gotta go take care of something before dinner. See you downstairs in ten." He turned to leave. 

"Wait, don't I need the code to get out?" I'd never left my room alone before, I was surprised he was asking me to.

"No, we got new locks installed today. It's fingerprint activated." He clarified, slipping out of the door. 

"How did you get my fingerprint!" I yelled after him. He just chuckled and continued down the hall in a rush. 

I stumbled into my oversized closet, intimidated and overwhelmed. I felt like shit and had no idea what to wear. I'd never been down to dinner before, I have no idea what to expect, or what to wear. 

I decided on something casual. A long sleeve, black cotton dress. It was short, but my legs were one of my best assets and I hoped looking good would help me feel better. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and brushed some light makeup on, not enough to be noticeable, but just enough to liven up my lifeless features.