“I can’t…” I gasp for air. “Did we fuck last night?”
He slowly pulls out the chair next to me and sits.
“No. You passed out on the floor in your own vomit and piss. Did you get shit-faced last night?”
Panic seizes my chest. I shake my head. Tears gather in my eyes.
“I don’t know. I don’t remember how I got home from lunch. I remember being in the café with my friends.”
“It’s okay.” He wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight. “We’ll figure it out. I promise. Has this happened before?”
Something triggered me to black out.
I nod. “I’ve woken up in unfamiliar places.”
His eyes narrow as he strokes my face. “How often does this happen?”
“It hasn’t happened in a couple of years.” I squeeze him tighter. His warmth engulfs me, and I inhale his cedarwood scent deeply. “I—I’m sorry.”
He tilts my chin and strokes my hair. “You have no reason to be sorry, Lilac.” He pauses. “Did something happen with your mom?”
Shit. What did I tell him last night? I untangle myself from him and wrap my arms around my body.
“Why are you asking?”
He eyes me cautiously. “You said, ‘I’m sorry, Mom.’”
I don’t respond.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
I yank away. “Thank you.”
He gets up from his seat, piles food onto a plate, and sets it in front of me.
“Eat, my princess.”
I’m not in the mood to fight with him, so I gobble down the delicious meal.
He sits across from me, studying me carefully.
“You’re skipping class today. You need to rest, princess.”
I stare at him, debating whether to argue, but I choose not to. I’m still exhausted from how the blackouts make me feel, and I’m extremely hungry.
Irvin intertwines his fingers with mine. “We’re going to watch TV and relax.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Don’t you have classes?”
He nods. “But I can skip them for you. You’re more important.”
I want to cry because, in twelve days, he’s going to be married to someone else, and I won’t be close to him like this anymore.
I gulp down the fresh orange juice as acid churns in my stomach.
After breakfast, we settle on the couch, and Irvin clicks the remote. Netflix pops up on the screen.
“What movie do you want to watch?” he asks.
