BABYLON //a.f.i//

• W E S E E W H A T W E W A N T•

•••Cora•••
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Who was she scared of?
Why?

I really was tired. So much so, the rest of the night had been a blur. I remember it all blurring together. The blues and the yellows. The reds and the greens. All of it blends together in my peripheral, ever so slightly making me feel like as if I'd gone mad.

I woke up with a start, clutching at my surroundings. The last thing I saw before I opened my eyes were Demetria's ice blue ones filled with fear.

"Nightmare?"

I jerked my head over to where I heard Ashton's voice. He sat at a table in what seemed to be a small, cramped room. I was on the bed, on top of the covers. Yet again, I had no memory of how I got here. Exhausted. I really had been exhausted.

"How did I get here?" I sat up, rubbing my eyes in what I could assume was a very unflattering way. "I barely remember leaving the club."

Ashton chuckled. "You wouldn't. I carried you through that club and up every single stair to the car. You didn't even stir."

I felt slightly embarrassed at the revelation. "Shit, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, just all of a sudden I was so tired. And everything was just so loud... and bright... I just wanted to close my eyes."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Cora. You've had a long couple of nights. This business has had far worse effects on people than sleep deprivation."

There it was. This business. What did that truly mean? The memories of Jimmy and Demetria's words began to piece themselves together in my conscious. I looked up at Ashton and crossed my legs. "I have no idea who you really are, do I?"

"Why would you? We just met." He have a coy smile.

"I think we're far past the point of just met. There's clearly a lot more shit involved with this whole 'Michael is missing' thing than I first realized. When I got into this, I thought we'd just be looking for your friend. Clearly it's much more."

"I told you I had enemies, Cora. It pays to read the fine print."

I scoffed. "We all have people who don't like us, Ashton. What you didn't tell me is that you're some drug forerunner in this city."

"I thought you said powerful men don't scare you?"

"I'm not fucking scared, Ashton. I just think that if this, me helping you, is going to work, you're going to have to start being a lot more honest with me."

"Honesty goes both ways, love."

"Oh really? So what the fuck do you want me to say? I don't run some high-end drug ring. I don't have powerful enemies. I don't have dangerous friends nor any missing ones. I don't have any secret underground connections, and I most certainly don't have any power. I'm not the threat here."

"So you're threatened by me?"

"Stop twisting my words. Secrets are what I'm threatened by. Because as long you keep me in the dark, the longer I'm strung into this game completely blind. I don't like feeling vulnerable, Ashton. So either you enlighten me on what this situation really is, or I walk."