Leila groaned for the hundredth time that evening. She would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying the girls company but this game of cards was so stupid.
"Alright. Time to show your cards," Lily yelled.
The three of them sat cross-legged on the floor and the coldness of the tiles helped to keep Leila at alert. Her competitive side had been struck awake and she would win.
She must win.
Leila squeezed her eyes shut to let the first wave of dizziness pass. It had been a while since she was challenged to a drinking contest.
"Fine," Susie murmured. Among all three, she was the most relaxed. She waved her card in the air and winked. "You asked for this, losers."
She slapped her cards to the floor and a combined groan escaped Lily and Leila.
Royal flush. Again.
Leila stared at the cards and their arrangements. Her eyes lowered to the bottle of scotch and the glass shots lined beside it. She smacked her lips at the thought of taking another shot. She wanted nothing to do with it.
The rules of the games were simple. You lose, you take a shot. Right now, eight shot glasses were empty and she had downed five of them. Susie had only lost once. Lily, twice. If anyone was going to take another shot, it has to be Lily.
Leila spread her cards on the floor, body terse with her fingernails digging into her palms. Her cards were arranged in a lesser order than Susie's. There was hope for her to win if Lily's cards were below hers. Her heart galloped when Lily held her cards to her lips. Lily must not win.
"Lily." Leila's voice was stern, masking the war going on inside her. "Show your cards. Now."
Lily made a show of dropping the cards before putting them on the floor. The cards were in an order higher than Leila's. Another groan. Leila lost. Again. This was not her lucky day. Lily laughed at her as she uncorked the bottle of alcohol.
The dark liquid disappeared into the shot glass Lily offered Leila. Under her friend's gaze, she accepted it with a fake smile. Her head buzzed a little, she raised the glass to her lips and gulped the entire drink. The scotch burned a path down to her stomach, her belly was aflame for a second or two, then she relaxed.
Leila was the one who picked the cards and shuffled them. There was a chance she could win this round if she managed a royal flush.
"Are you still playing?" Susie asked. She moved to the bed, laid on her stomach with her feet up in the air. "Why don't we continue tomorrow?"
The remote dangled from Susie's hand, she flipped through channels until she settled on a music channel. Leila blinked at the cards. Her vision was blurry but she continued shuffling the cards. She pictured herself pouring the scotch for Lily and Susie to drink. The image motivated her to keep going. They could stop after she won.
"Yeah," Lily said with a yawn. Her hand went over her mouth and her voice came out muffled. She picked the glasses and the near-empty bottle of scotch and disappeared out of sight. On her return, her hands were empty. Leila blinked twice to clear her vision. "I think we should call it a night. It's late and I'm tired."
Another wave of nausea hit Leila and a growing seed of fear planted itself in her stomach. The skies were dark. She hadn't thought to inform Kelvin she would be out this late. She didn't think she would stay this long. But it was okay, Kelvin lied to her. She staggered to her feet. They hugged and Leila left for her room.
On her way up, she retrieved her phone and switched it on to send Kelvin a text. He might be a liar but he deserved to know she was fine.
Her steps were disoriented, Leila leaned on the wall, pushing one wobbly foot in front of the other until she got to a door she hoped was their room. She tapped on her phone's screen.
Messages poured in, a call came almost immediately but when she tried to pick, she mistakenly swiped on the red button. Using her fingers to massage her throbbing temple, she tried to figure out why the names on her screen were in doubles.
Kelvin's name was everywhere, each time she tried to tap on the call button, she missed it.
What was happening to her?
Has she gone crazy? She was seeing everything in twos, even the door to their room. Where was Kelvin? Leila fumbled for a bit before she regained her footing. Balling her hand into a fist, she knocked.
No answer.
She knocked harder than the first time, then stopped. Her eyes flitted to the card glued to the door. Words were written in black ink.
Rest... R. E. S. T. R. O. O. M. Wrong room.
Leila groaned as she began the slow, torturous walk to what she prayed was the right direction to her room. Hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, Leila pressed her hands to her head.
The footsteps were too loud.
A blurry figure appeared in front of her, she heaved a grateful sigh at the silence.
"Where were you, Leila?"
Was the voice real? Leila stretched out her arm to confirm her suspicions but her hand sliced through thin air. A yelp slipped from her lips as she was swept off her feet and the footsteps reverberated all over again in her head when the person started walking. Her fists pounded into the chest of the person carrying her.
"Make it stop," Leila cried. "Please."
Everything was too loud. His heart was beating too fast, too loud in her ears. The lights were too big and bright. She didn't want to be here.
The next time Leila opened her eyes, she was in the right room. Finally. Her relief wavered when she realised she was in a stranger's arms. Leila struggled in the grasp of the person until he set her to her feet. She wobbled for a few seconds but found her bearings pretty quickly.
Her eyes adjusted to the room. Everything was as it was when she left this morning. She took a step in the direction of the bathroom but Kelvin stopped her. He stood in front of her with his tie askew and jaw clenched.
Sexy man. Leila giggled and touched his lips. It was as soft as she guessed it would be. She threw her arms around his neck, giggling harder than before.
"My husband," she whispered. She buried her nose in his neck and took a satisfying sniff of him. He always smelt nice. Kelvin tried to pry her hands off him but she stomped her feet like a spoiled brat. "Stop." She was crying again, unashamedly. "Please. Stop. Let me touch you."
And he did. He removed something from her ear-the flower and the forgotten wave of anger crashed over her.
Liar husband.
Bad man.
Evil boss. Leila punched him on the shoulder.
"You lied. You are a liar." Her tear ducts leaked as the rest of the conversation from this morning filtered into her mind. He lied about them being a team. If they were a team, he would have consulted her first before punishing Mike. "You fired Mike. Why did you do that?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Leila went wild. Her hands were everywhere but nowhere at once. She wanted to hit him but he kept dodging. It made her head hurt more. Why wouldn't he stay still so she could hit him to her heart's content? He apologised, then fired Mike. That action hurt her feelings. Why did everyone like hurting her? She wasn't a bad person.
"Stop it, Leila."
Her husband's voice was harsh but it had the opposite effect on Leila. She made a funny face. Kelvin's hands wrapped around her wrists to restrict her movements but she didn't stay put. His pink lips puckered in frustration and Leila pressed her lips to his before he could voice out his annoyance.
It was so sudden, so unexpected that Kelvin lost his hold on her. He staggered like he was hit by a train, an odd emotion climbing into his eyes. Leila wanted to laugh at his reaction to the kiss but she couldn't. Her stomach rumbled and bile rose to her throat. Leila wrapped her arms around her stomach.
She needed the bathroom.
"Kev, I think I'm going to throw up." As soon as those words were out of her lips, Leila vomited all over the rug. "Sorry," she said with a laugh. "But I warned ya."
Stars dotted her vision, she moved back and forth on unsteady feet, giving into the darkness that welcomed her.