Damage Control

Chapter 27

Everything was dark, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember anything. Searing pain shot through my head like a bullet making it seem as if my brain was on fire. I groaned and shifted positions to get comfortable but ended up rolling off an edge, falling to my death.

Or was this the floor? Did I roll off a bed onto the floor?

Where was I, and how did I end up in a bed? The last thing I remembered was being angry, getting into a cab, and going to a bar.

Oh gosh, please don't tell me I drunkenly fucked a random stranger, and now I'm in his bed. The only way to find out was to open my eyes, which I found very difficult to do. Did someone glue my fucking eyeballs shut? Pain soared through my head again, but with it came flashes of my missing memories. I saw myself walking into a bar and demanding the bartender to keep drinks coming my way until I told him to stop.

Many men tried flirting their way into my panties over the course of time, but I surprisingly turned them down, so that rules out the theory of me being in another man's bed. I slowly cracked my eyes open and looked up at the clock that read 12:02 AM, but that was all I saw. My vision was too blurry to register anything else.

I took a deep breath and lifted my heavy body off the floor, and plopped down on the edge of the fluffy bed. No more than five minutes later, my vision finally became clear. I scanned the area to find myself in the hotel room Nathaniel had booked for the two of us. I remembered demanding to get my own room, but he simply ignored me like he always does.

How did I go from the bar all the way back to the correct hotel room on top of being drunk out of my mind? Come to think of it, why the hell was I at a bar in the first place? Wasn't I supposed to be at the ball with Nathaniel?

I groaned again, irritated at my foggy memories as I trudged into the bathroom looking for any type of pain reliever. I rummaged through all the cabinets until I came across a bottle of ibuprofen. I quickly twisted the bottle open and popped four pills into my mouth, silently hoping I wouldn't die even though I already felt like death.

I sighed and leaned against the counter and stared at my reflection in horror. I wasn't wearing my dress anymore, only my bra and panties I had underneath it. My makeup was smudged and cakey while mascara ran down my eyes all the to my cheeks. If I was auditioning for a horror movie, I would've definitely gotten the part.

I felt completely sober after scrubbing my makeup off, taking a cold shower, blow-drying my hair, and brushing the faint taste of alcohol out of my mouth. By the time I was finished cleaning myself up, it was already nearing 2 AM.

After chugging two water bottles in a row, I sighed heavily and collapsed onto the king-sized bed, wondering what the hell happened tonight. As soon as I squeezed my eyes shut to try and get my memories back, I heard the door to the presidential suite burst open, followed by heavy footsteps. I was too tired to get up and defend myself, so I was simply ready to die if this person was an intruder.

The heavy footsteps got closer until the person was standing right outside the only room in this suite. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the intruder to find me, but curiosity got the better of me, and I cracked an eye open only to find Nathaniel barging in like a madman as his eyes frantically darted around the room until it landed on me.

He looked like complete shit.

Dark purple bags hung low under his dull eyes, and his hair was wild and disheveled beyond repair. The bow tie that was tied around his neck earlier was no longer there, and his shirt was unbuttoned halfway, leaving his dark chest tattoos on display.

He stood there staring at me the moment his eyes found mine as if he couldn't believe I was real. Minutes passed, but he continued standing in the doorway in silence, taking in every detail of the room, my appearance, my beautiful gown on the floor in front of the bed, the tangled sheets from when I fell. And that's when my memories came flooding back with force.