Touch of Darkness

Chapter 19: Zedd's Place

It was the first time in a long time that I slept without having any dreams. When I woke up it was to the sound of typing. The room was dark with only a lamp illuminating Zedd's silhouette sitting at a desk. He seemed to be focused on whatever he was working on. After glancing around I saw that I wasn't in the old herbal shop anymore. I was on an actual bed with a blanket draped over me. I tried to get up but my head was still dizzy and I lost my balance. My hand gripped the edge of the bed and I groaned.

Zedd turned around and, seeing that I was awake, rushed over to me right away to steady me

"You shouldn't try to get up so fast." He propped me up on some pillows so I was sitting up.

"Where am I? What time is it?"

"You've been asleep for a day, and I took you to my house."

Taking in my surroundings, I saw that the room I was in was fairly plain. The walls were a dark navy blue and the bed was small. The only window had its curtains drawn; a small sliver of moonlight managed to peek through the edges. There wasn't anything that stood out except for some clothes and a bookshelf. A thought occurred to me and I tentatively asked.

"Is this your room?"

He nodded, "We don't have any spare rooms and Alessia doesn't like others in her room. And I couldn't just let you sleep on the couch."

I tried not to let the awkwardness show on my face. My head was dazed but I could still recall that I made a fool of myself before.

Zedd continued, "How do you feel?"

"Lightheaded, but I'm not in pain anymore."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. You had all of us worried. I let your friends know that you got the medicine to heal you but it was mainly a matter of waiting to see how your body would respond." He stared at my face for a moment, and that's when I noticed how tired he looked. If I was sleeping in his bed, then where did he sleep? Or did he sleep at all? There seemed to be a cup of coffee on his desk, and his hair did look a little disheveled. I wonder if he was waiting for me to wake up the whole time.

A set of clothing fell into my lap.

"I'll get you something to eat, change into those for now," he said before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

With everything that was happening, I hadn't realized I was still wearing the same dress. There was still blood spattered over it, and even though it no longer hurt, thinking back to what happened made me feel uneasy. I quickly changed into the clothes that Zedd had given me. It was a black hoodie and a pair of black joggers. Both were definitely too big on me; he must not have wanted to dig through Alessia's closet and tried to make do with whatever he had. It was comfortable enough to move around in, though.

Zedd knocked on the door and when I said I was finished changing, he came in carrying a cup and a plate of toast.

"Sorry, it's not much," he said as he placed them on the table next to the bed. I picked up the cup and the sweet fragrance of jasmine tea entered my nose. I took a sip and my body already felt warmer. After that I lifted a piece of toast to my mouth and took a small bite. The outside was crunchy while the inside was soft, and even though there was nothing else on it, it still tasted delicious. I guess I must've been hungrier than I thought I was.

The entire time, Zedd was watching me eat. He had pulled his chair up next to the bed and leaned back with a satisfied smile on his face. When I couldn't handle his constant gaze anymore I stopped eating and asked, "Is watching me eat that entertaining?"

He smiled and reached his hand toward my face, "I'm just...happy. Watching you eating, drinking, breathing..." his finger brushed some crumbs off the corner of my mouth, "I'm glad you're alive."