Vexed

08: Houndin

The ignition was off, but I didn't move to open my helmet. My head felt slightly dizzy so I closed my eyes, thinking it would help. Goosebumps rose up my skin, leaving me to shiver even under the suit jacket. I opted for a business casual look. My shirt was black with pants that were the same cream color as the jacket. Simple but elegant. It was all paired with moderately high heels that were currently in Matteo's car. I was by no means going to ride my bike with heels on.

"One delivery of nude heels," Jaquelin joked while presenting me with them. I finally opened my helmet and breathed in the fresh air. "Thank you," I murmured.

"Violet, look at me," she commanded, and I complied. "You didn't sleep last night," Jaquelin stated unamused by my actions.

I took my heels from her and sat on the pavement next to us. She was not happy that I am running on bare minimum sleep, and the fact that I am probably ruining a perfectly good pair of suit pants wasn't going to work in my favor either. "I had to go over a few things," I told her while changing my shoes.

"You know everything there is to know about all of the motions" her voice reeked with concern. On multiple occasions, she has told me that I overwork myself. I didn't see it before, but one time I brought it up to Astrid and Kay and they agreed without even thinking about it.

I leaned forward and rested my head on my knees. Suddenly I wasn't feeling so good. I tried to control my breathing; it was like enough oxygen wasn't circulating through me. I felt my sister-in-law's hand on my back gently doing an up and down motion to help me calm down.

"What's wrong? Talk to me." She tried to persuade me. Jaquelin's warmth was comforting but my concentration was elsewhere.

My vision was blurry.

'Near,' I heard a voice in my head. It wasn't through mind-link, it came from somewhere deeper. I shook my head and tried to look in front of me. Everything was still unfocused, so I blinked a few times. The voice next to me sounded very muffled.

There was a ringing sound in my ear. It was paired with a low-pitched monotone note. There was a sense of urgency for something and I needed it desperately. My heart is longing for something but all I could do was to place a hand on my chest while trying to calm myself down. I felt someone shake me slightly and soon I was slowly able to focus. The silhouette was very familiar.

"Matteo?" I mumbled.

"Can you hear me?" He scooted down to meet my eye level. My brother stopped shaking me, but his hands were on my shoulders.

I gently moved them away, "yes. Can you stop being so loud, people are going to start looking at our direction."

"What the fuck just happened?" My brother asked while Jaquelin pulled me closer to her. I let my head rest on her shoulder. She didn't attempt to answer him for me and I was glad because Matteo didn't need to worry about me on top of everything else. Although, I may have already failed at that. I didn't know what to say so I kept quiet. I was just exhausted, probably dehydrated and certainly having auditory hallucinations.

Jaquelin gently held my face and made me look at her. "Follow my finger," she instructed as she moved it from one side to the other in front of my eyes.

"She is okay" she announced to her husband, "babe, can you get some water? And put her sneakers in our car." Matteo left us to carry out the tasks he was given. I embraced Jaquelin into a side hug before sitting up straight. "I am just overwhelmed," I informed her keeping my voice neutral. I didn't want anyone to look at us and see me visibly tensing.

"What day is it?" Matteo asked when he came back. I took the water bottle from him and chugged down its content. Taking in a deep breath I handed the empty bottle back to my brother, "It's the day of the Accords. Stop questioning me, I am just a little tired, nothing I can't handle."