Two Steps Ahead

dark was the night

Murmurs. Beep. The first thing my consciousness registers is the murmurs around. Darkness. My eyes feel heavy, as though my lids were glued together. No matter how hard I try, they remain shut. When I did manage to slowly open my lids, I winced from the blinding lights. The place is blurry, till my vision starts adjusting.

Two pairs of eyes are staring down at me, one of which is familiar.

"She's up!" His eyes glow as he takes my name, "Mae, feeling better?"

Why does my head hurt so much? I try to lift my hands to touch my forehead, but to a failed attempt, I can hardly move. Why the hell is he here?

"What time is it?" I shift my eyes from Aiden, my ex boyfriend, to the white ceiling of the room and close my eyes.

"It's seven in the morning. You should have this your head must hurt," handing a strip of medicine to Aiden, she replies. In front of him stands this long haired slim girl with a gentle voice. Reaching for the bottle of water kept beside my bed, he takes the pills from her then hands it to me.

There is this awkwardness and tension around the room that I cannot pinpoint. It's not normal for him to be here with this girl I have no idea of. "What brings you here? Why is my head paining?"

Aiden lets out a slow controlled breath and runs his fingers through his hair; something he only does when he is stressed. He paces back and forth, arms crossed and shoulders hunched forward. There is a tenseness to my muscles that makes me more like a mannequin on this soft mattress than a woman of flesh and bone.

"Mae, do you not remember what happened?"

I nod my head no. I stare into those bright blue eyes filled with fright, as my heart drops. His tshirt is half soaked in sweat. Holding my hand tighter, he scoots closer to me.

"Mae, were you in a fight with your roommate.. last night?"

I search my brain for any recollection of events that occurred last night. It is a little foggy in my head and my thoughts are a jumbled mess, but even so, I am quite aware I was not in a fight with anyone last night. Talkless my roommate Grace, whom I've known for a little over a year now. Besides we never had an argument.

The door to my room slams open and Grace's boyfriend Alex enters. Alex looks at me with eyes burning with anger and something else.. fear maybe? His pale blue shirt is covered in dried blood while his hair is a greasy mess.

At this point, I'm beyond certain something has happened, for there is no plausible explanation as to why Alex will come in uninvited with nerves made for a serial killer. What is going on?

"What you did is wrong! I won't let you stay here!" Alex tries to grab me but Aiden shoves him off. Neither of them are speaking to each other. If looks could kill, Alex would have been seventy feet beneath the ground by now. It was as if the alpha high above the chain was staring right down at his prey, disgusted. Alex stomps off to the living room.

"Will you please tell me what's going on? You, this girl, Alex.. I'm so confused!" By then my words were a jumbled mess. It is a real struggle trying to speak..

Aiden motions the girl standing behind him, who I've learnt is his 'new girlfriend' to go after Alex. Not moving an inch, she says something in Spanish while she folds her hands. She has a calm demeanor around her and a gentle voice with a tinge of roughness. Aiden stands up to her to hold her hands and mumble something into her ear. In no time, I know the reason behind her reluctance. She's hesitant to leave us alone in the room.

When she closes the door behind her, Aiden slowly walks towards me.

"Say something, will you?"