LILY
My chest was pounding heavily as I slightly woke up. I almost fell out of bed.
I woke up drenched in sweat all over my body. I clutched my chest because my heartbeat grew louder and faster. I was feeling anxious. I thought my dream was real—a man was following Arlo and me, pointing a gun at Arlo’s head, and refusing to let go of my hand.
“Arlo,” I muttered.
I sighed. I looked around for Arlo, but it seemed like he still hadn’t arrived. I felt thirsty, so I carefully got out of bed.
“What time is it?” I wondered to myself.
I grabbed my cellphone from the side table. When I turned it on, the battery was low. I took the charger out from the drawer and immediately charged my phone.
After plugging it in, I opened the sliding glass door of the balcony in our room. These past few days, I preferred the breeze from outside overturning the AC in our room. I stepped out onto the veranda and remembered the car I saw last night. I still couldn’t get it out of my mind.
I rolled my eyes, trying to check if there was a car outside the gate. I didn’t see anything, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Even the insects were probably asleep. Arlo really didn’t come home because his car wasn’t in the mansion’s parking area.
After a while, I went back inside but left the sliding glass door open. I stepped out of the room to get a drink of water in the kitchen.
In my deep sleep earlier, I didn’t know if Nikki and the others had come back to the mansion. When I checked the time on the wall clock, it was already 3 a.m.
After drinking water, I felt hungry. I searched the fridge for something to eat. It seemed Nikki and the others had come home last night because I found fruit salad and cassava cake in the fridge.
But it felt like my stomach was craving something else. I didn’t take out the fruit salad and cake. There were leftover spring rolls from yesterday. My eyes lit up, and my mouth watered as if I hadn’t eaten for days.
After reheating them in the microwave, I eagerly prepared to eat five pieces of spring rolls. But when I started eating, the taste felt off. Even with the sauce, I didn’t like it. The smell made it worse. My appetite disappeared, and I ended up throwing them in the trash.
It feels like my hormones are acting up. I just ate an apple and went back upstairs. Once I was in the room, I let my back fall onto the bed, and it seemed like my sleepiness had vanished. While biting into the apple, I stared at the ceiling. I glanced at my cellphone, which was charging. I was about to check it, but I changed my mind.
Before I knew it, I had already finished the apple I had eaten. Eventually, I closed my eyes again. But I got up again because I couldn’t sleep; I had been too worried about Arlo since yesterday.
The sun rose, yet my eyes still hadn’t rested.
When I heard the sound of a car, I peeked out the window to see who had arrived.
I saw Arlo step out of the car with his hair messy and his suit jacket in hand. I quickly moved away from where I stood and returned to the bed. I pulled the blanket over myself up to my chest, pretending to be asleep.
I heard the door open. I didn’t move on the bed until he went into the bathroom.
After a few moments, he came out and lay down beside me. He hugged me and kissed my arm up to my neck. His warm breath touching my skin sent billions of volts coursing through my entire system.
“I’m sorry, babe. I wasn’t able to reply to your messages right away; I got busy at the company. I only read your message late at night, and when I called you, your phone was off,” he said softly, tightening his embrace around my waist.
I smelled the scent of alcohol on his breath. If he was busy, why did he smell like alcohol? I shifted slightly.
“Babe,” he called in a gentle voice.
