LAILAH
TEN
Feeling the sunlight on my face, I rolled over and groaned as my body protested the movement.
I felt like a pinata after it had been attacked by children and split open.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and then quickly shut them.
The sunlight that filled my room was too much for my eyes to handle, sending sharp pricks of pain into my brain.
“What happened?” I rasped, slowly rubbing my face with my hands, trying to clear the cobwebs.
My bedroom door opened, and someone came in, but I wasn’t willing to open my eyes again.
“Can you close the blinds? The light is giving me a migraine,” I asked.
“No problem, Lala. Maggs, can you do that for me since my hands are full?” Cami asked, sounding close to my bed.
I could sense the room darkening through my eyelids, and when I felt like it was safe enough, I cracked them open.
The now dusky-lit room was much easier on my eyes.
Opening them all the way, I looked up to find Cami setting a tray of food down on my nightstand.
My stomach growled at the smell of whatever she’d brought me.
“Come on, let's get you sitting up so we can feed the beast,” Cami said, sitting on the bed and supporting me as I moved.
Maggs stepped up on my other side, pulling pillows behind me so I could lean on them.
Gingerly, I settled into the new position and took a few deep breaths, cataloging my body.
Nothing seemed to hurt too much, more of a stiffness that ached with each muscle movement.
Although my right leg ached deeper than the rest, almost bone-deep.
“What the hell happened to me?” I asked, looking at each of them in turn.
Maggs sat next to Cami, nudging her as if to make her explain.
Maggs and Cami had been dating for a few months now, and they had fallen hard for each other.
Maggs was much more grounded and even-tempered, where Cami was the wild child.
I loved Maggs’s sense of style—true rockabilly pinup, complete with flaming-red hair and soft-green eyes outlined in cat-eye makeup.
She also led one of the off-campus sororities that hosted the best parties.
Cami took a deep breath and grabbed her hand before looking at me. This worried me. Cami never had a problem telling me things like it is—why would she be worried about this?
“Yesterday, Hudson and Jay took you with them out on patrol off the campus grounds,” Cami started.
Memories came back in flashes; we had fixed some weak spots in the wards.
Then we’d discovered something and chased it into the woods.
I remembered fighting, me screaming, the sound of Hudson’s guns going off.
Then the haunting face of the demon hung before my eyes, causing me to lock up once again.
“Lala, it’s okay; you're safe,” Cami said, reaching out to take my hand, grounding me. “You got hurt, and the boys brought you back to the house. The demon that attacked you has venom that runs through its claws, and it scratched you. The wound needed to be cleansed.”
I flashed a worried look between Cami and Maggs, gripping her hand to stop her from saying more.
Cami smiled, then nodded her head towards Maggs. “She’s one of us, Lala. Maggs works in our IT department, tracking those demon cockwaffles.”
Just when I didn’t think I could be surprised anymore, Cami had done it again. If I hadn’t felt like roadkill, I’m sure I would’ve been more upset, but right at that moment I just wanted to eat and go back to sleep.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, but I felt like you had enough on your plate to add me to the list. Cami didn’t want to keep this from you, but I asked her to wait until things settled down; seems like that isn’t going to happen any time soon, though,” Maggs said with a smile and a wink.
“You sure seem to find adventure wherever you can.”
“Trust me, I would love to have things quiet down,” I said, giving her a grin before I turned back to Cami. “What did you mean by having it cleansed?”
“Mr. Creed came and did a ritual to cleanse your wound and purify it so it would heal. He did warn that there might be some side effects to the poison, though. You will be extremely tired and hungry for the next day or so, and the wound might ache more than usual. Less likely repercussions are that it could make you hallucinate or hear voices. But Mr. Creed seemed to think that being a Blessed Warrior might keep that from happening, especially with you being Synergy,” Cami explained.
I leaned my head back, looking up at the ceiling, absorbing what she told me. Not only were my emotions on a hair-trigger; I could also start hearing or seeing things. I could only imagine the delightful things that demon venom might induce to torture me.
“Let’s not dwell on that right now,” Maggs interjected. “We should let you eat so you can go back to sleep. I can already see you're struggling to stay awake.”
She carefully set the tray on my lap, and I looked over what they brought me. A large bowl of creamy soup and a hunk of fresh bread that made my mouth water.
“I asked Sarah to make you potato soup since that is what your mom used to make as a comfort food,” Cami said, grinning at me.
“Thanks, I could use some warm comfort food right now,” I said, digging in and slurping down the first spoonful. It tasted just as amazing as it smelled, but I would expect nothing less from Sarah.
Cami and Maggs chatted about things going on around the school as I ate, keeping my mind off darker thoughts.
By the time the meal was gone, I could barely keep my eyes open.
A warm, full belly did little to help me stay conscious enough to lay back down.
Cami and Maggs got me situated and tucked in before leaving the room.
“One of the boys will be around up here. If you need anything, just give a shout, okay?” Cami said as I gave into my desire to sleep.
I slept the day away and didn’t wake until the next morning, and my stomach demanded that we get up.
This time as I moved, my muscles didn’t hurt so bad—it was more of a mild ache, like the second day after a tough workout.
When I opened my eyes, I had to blink a few times to remind myself where I was.
My head pounded, reminding me what it felt like to be hung over.
I stretched in bed, letting my body work out some kinks.
I took a moment to look around the room that apparently was mine to use whenever I needed it.
The bed was huge—three people could fit comfortably.
The cream sheets were soft against my skin, which made it even harder to get out of the bed.
The whole room was in tones of golds and soft cream, making it very soft and feminine.
To the left of the bed was a set of French doors that led to a small balcony with two chairs and a small table.
In front of the bed was a large fireplace with a simple sandstone mantel that had decorative knickknacks on it.
Two comfortable armchairs faced the fireplace with a coffee table in front, a perfect place to curl up and read on a winter night.
Did all the bedrooms have fireplaces? I guess that would make sense for how old it is, even though they remodeled it for updates.
To the right of the bed were two doors, one I knew led to the bathroom, and the other I could only assume was the closet since I didn’t see a dresser anywhere.
After a hot shower and some more stretching, I was back in action.
My right leg still had phantom pain, but every time I felt around the area, nothing seemed to be amiss.
There were two pink scars that hadn’t been there before, but I was thankful that was all it was.
If something worse had happened and I’d lost the ability to run, I didn’t know what I would do.
It took me longer than usual to get dressed because I was sorting through my T-shirts until I found the right one to fit my mood.
The challenge was deciding what my mood was, but I knew when I saw the right one, it would click.
And it did. Pulling the shirt off the hanger, I grinned.
This would do nicely. Slipping it on, I looked in the mirror, making sure of my choice: Do you see my personal bubble? Pop it. See what happens.
Stepping into my slippers, I headed out of my room and down to the kitchen.
I had no idea what time it was, but I knew I could find something to satisfy my demanding tummy.
Passing through the common area, I saw Hudson asleep on the couch.
He must have been there in case I needed him.
Not wanting to wake him, I tiptoed my way past and jogged down the steps.
The rest of the house was quiet, so that meant it was either super early or everyone was out.
Reaching the kitchen, I glanced at the large clock on the wall, and it halted me in my tracks.
It was three in the afternoon. Either I had only slept half a day, or I had slept a full day and a half.
My stomach grumbled louder, as if it knew that we were close to finding food.
Opening the fridge, I skimmed over what leftovers there were and what would catch my stomach’s attention.
Spotting the tell-tale signs of spaghetti and meatballs, I grabbed the container and tossed the whole thing into the microwave.
Minutes later, I was elbow deep in some pasta, not even bothering to sit at the small table, opting to lean against the counter.
That's how Brayden found me when he walked in from the garage.
“Feeling better?” he asked with a humorous glint in his eyes.
Grunting, I continued stuffing my face while he set his bag down and walked over to me. Gently, he grabbed my arm and escorted me over to the three-person table and pushed me into a chair.