Golden Boy

S E V E N

Bad Bunny's voice sounded muffled, the music streaming in from another room. My eyes felt heavy as I tried to pry them open. Every part of my body felt sore as if I had spent the whole day running a marathon. My head pounded against my skull, and my throat was so dry that the thought of speaking was unbearable.

Through the slits of my eyes, I saw that I was in a bedroom the size of my living room. I was on a king-sized bed, the white duvet weighing me down. The room was mostly bare except for a brown dresser and an armchair in the corner. My eyes involuntarily shut, unable to withstand the light streaming in from the open door.

"...I'm so sorry that she's passed out. Thank you for letting her crash here tonight."

"It's no problem, Cami. I'll make sure she's taken good care of." They spoke in hushed tones, thinking I was still unconscious.

"Should I stay with her? Maybe she'll be less embarrassed in the morning that way."

"No, you should go back to the party—have some fun."

"Okay, I'll see you."

The door closed and footsteps stopped short next to the bed. I tried my best to pretend that I was still asleep after hearing Jace convince Cami to leave me here alone. It was unnerving how easily Cami was persuaded to leave her best friend, who was passed out drunk, alone so that she could continue drinking. Clearly, she wasn't thinking straight since this was the beginning plot of a very traumatic experience.

"I know you're up." The closeness of his voice made my heart jump.

"Barely," my voice cracked. My throat was so dry that it hurt to get out even one word.

"Your friend is really trusting."

It took all of my energy to turn my head to look at him, "I blame your face." A slow smile formed, making him look more innocent than I knew he actually was. Every moment alone with him reminded me that he was a stranger and shouldn't be trusted.

"You sound pretty bad," he crouched so we were at the same eye level, "Do you want some more water?" He said in a sickly sweet voice.

I groaned and shifted my head so I was looking up at the ceiling again. The last thing I wanted was more of that cursed water.

The door open and closed again, a man coming into my scope of vision. Jace stood back up and greeted the newcomer. He stood tall at 6'2, a couple of inches over Jace, with jet black hair, some of the long pieces hanging in front of his eyes. His presence was immediately intimidating, from his mouth naturally forming a frown to his body being built like a linebacker. I couldn't help but shrink back into the bed.

"Is this her?" he asked coming to stand next to Jace. Being alone with Jace made me uncomfortable, but I would prefer if it was just the two of us again. This new guy looked to be out for blood.

"Yup," said Jace devoided of emotion.

"Well," he glanced at me, "how should we do this?"

"Just because I know some of your secrets, doesn't mean that you have to kill me," I said, my voice sounding like I've smoked three packs of cigarettes every day for twenty years.

Jace let out a dry laugh, reaching for something on the nightstand that was outside of my scope of vision. He presented a Poland-springs water bottle in front of my face. "You're probably going to damage something if you keep talking with that dry throat."

The bottle of water looked like the most precious thing on earth, but I knew that I couldn't trust Jace. He noticed me eyeing the bottle suspiciously so he took a sip of it first and then offered it to me again. I wanted to reach for the bottle but I was paralyzed under the covers, incapable of moving otherwise a stinging pain would ring throughout my entire body.