ecstasy | corpse husband

chapter 31.

elliott bay, washington
day twelve

the first thing elowen sees when she wakes in the morning, is herself naked.

she's lying in the delightfully comfortable bed, on her side, with a pillow at her stomach like she'd been cuddling it. she's never done that before. the more pressing matter, though, is her lack of any attire whatsoever when she opens her eyes and witnesses herself in the mirror on the wall adjacent to the bed.

It wouldn't be completely unusual, if she were at home in her own bed. she often went to sleep in only her underwear on weekends or even weeks when her father would be out of the house for work. It would make her feel daring, more adult, and was also just more comfortable. except, she is not at home nor is she in her own bed.

when elowen sits up, her head throbs and it's dizzying to try and stand. her mind is reminded of the copious amounts of alcohol she took in last night, though she never realized how much at the time. there is also a stark feeling of discomfort coursing through her, something unsatisfied, like a thirst that was never quenched. Is this what it feels like to be truly hungover?

pushing through it, she makes her way around the room to make herself decent again. the sky outside the window is clear but grey, hinting at possible rain later in the day. she wonders how long it will be before they make it back to land, especially because the boat still seems stagnant, but remembers part of their conversations last night and how they might not be docking the ferry after all.

It's then that she realizes what she has to do today.

after dressing herself in a stranger's left over clothes from the dresser—a fitted black long sleeve paired with beige cargo pants that are a bit too long—she goes to exit the room. her head feels too full with the stress of the awaiting discussion with the others. nevertheless, she can't stay cooped up in this room forever. she's hungry.

the door is already unlocked when she goes to open it, and all she can think is, if anyone had walked in, they would have gotten an eye-full. perhaps someone did while she was asleep. what on earth was she thinking?

she finds everyone in the dining room, which is good for her. everyone is already gathered.

they're sitting around the same table from last night where they had dinner, except the food and drinks are replaced with plates of eggs and toast and the drinks with orange juice and mugs of...coffee? It has been so long since she's had a cup of coffee she almost can't believe it's actually real, sitting on the table in a pot. her legs take her there first.

"good morning!" anette is the first to greet her, energized as always and beaming more than usual.

elowen smiles faintly in greeting. "I see I missed the breakfast call."

"oh, don't worry. It hasn't been that long. we saved you a plate, of course." she slides a plate of eggs across the table in front of the empty chair.

"I would have gone to wake you, but we weren't allowed," flare informs her, and she watches as his eyes dart to the other side of the table and land on corpse.

considering the state she was in, she is grateful for his intervening.

but when she turns her head to look at corpse, the sight of him makes her head spin, and she loses her breath a little as a surge of emotions—good, bad, and dirty—overloads her. he won't meet her eyes, and she quickly remembers why.

"sit," flare says after she stares idly for too long. he pulls out the chair beside him, which is also across from corpse.

elowen sits. the plate of eggs takes her full focus while shards of memories crumble in her head and it becomes impossible for her to remember details of last night, or even vague images, but she gets the big picture. while she can't remember clearly the words they exchanged, she remembers full well the way he made her feel.