Page 131 of Twisted Truth

She gives me a wry smile. Then Jenkins, who also slept on the plane but who does not look or act like a freshly turned zombie, takes my coffee from me, insists on holding my arm with his, and orders me to hold onto the railing with my other arm while we walk down the stairs of the private plane and onto the tarmac.

He gives me my coffee back once I’m buckled into the back seat of a large, luxurious black car.Is that the only type of car Asher uses?But my wonder dies in the haze of sleepy brain and the sleeping pill that took things too far.

I notice with some disdain that no one escorts Matthew toddler-style down the stairs of the plane.

I lean heavily against the window since my head has doubled its weight, and set my coffee in the drink holder. I don’t trust myself not to drop it since remembering to keep agrasp on it with my hand feels too taxing for both my brain and hand.

I doze off and fall back into a sleep coma as soon as the car drives away.

“Ms. Hale?”a soft voice calls.

“Hmm?”

“Ms. Hale? We’re at the hotel,” a man’s voice says.Is it Jenkins?

“Ella,” a sharper voice says. That one is definitely Matthew’s.

“What?” I say, trying to sit up.

“I’m never giving you a sleeping pill again. Why didn’t you tell me it would knock you out beyond repair?” Matthew says, lightly tapping my cheek with his hand.

“I only took half.” I think my words are slurry again.

“Yeah, well next time we’re going toAlice in Wonderlandthat shit, and you’re only going to lick the pill a couple of times. No more ingesting for you.”

“Okay,” I agree in a sing-song voice.

“She didn’t take anything else, right?” Jenkins asks, and his voice sounds tense.

“No.”

“Motherfucker. She doesn’t take any prescriptions that it would react weird with, right?”

“No. She’s not on any prescriptions. She just has no tolerance for things. I knew she could get drunk easily, I just didn’t expect her to be this affected by half a sleeping pill.”

“We can’t walk her through the lobby like this.”

“Ella,” Matthew snaps. “You have to wake back up. You can lie down once we’re up in the hotel room.”

“How is she worse now than when she got off the plane?”

“I fell back asleep,” I mumble. I can hear their conversation, and I understand it, but adding to it takes a lot of effort. “If I fall back asleep, it’s extra hard to wake up.”

“Open your eyes.”

“They want to stay closed.”

“For fuck’s sake. I’m just going to carry her,” Jenkins groans.

The car door opens, and a cool breeze slithers along my face. That helps me blink my eyes open a little. But they’re still so heavy.

“Come on, Ms. Hale. Let’s get you upstairs.”

I feel myself being lifted up out of the car, and I wrap my arms around Jenkins’s neck and let my head flop onto his shoulder. My body sways with the motion of his walking, but I can’t bring myself out of the fog of half-conscious sleep to pay any attention to where we’re going. I vaguely hear thedingsof elevator chimes and the opening of elevator doors. Then I hear the sound of a voice I’ve grown to know all too well these few weeks, and it sounds mad.

“What the fuck is going on? Why are you carrying Ella?” Asher demands.

Matthew sighs dramatically. “Because she took a sleeping pill when we left New York. And it’s knocked her the hell out.”