Leila woke with a pounding headache. She grabbed her head and groaned, wishing the drilling in her skull would stop. Her eyes roamed the room in confusion.
Where was she?
The room she was in looked foreign and her gown was different. She shot to her feet and sat down immediately when another wave of dizziness hit her.
There was an empty glass and a bottle of water on the drawer with notes stuck under the bottle. The first note read: Check the drawer, take two.
Leila opened the bedside drawer and found a bottle of Advil, she popped the pills and drank directly from the bottle. Minutes later, her head calmed and she reached for the second note.
This note was lengthier with a familiar handwriting. Charles. Panic crept under her skin. Underneath the robe, she was fully naked. Where was her gown?
Hey Leila,
I'm guessing you're awake. You must have had a little too much to drink last night. You blacked out after throwing up all over me and your pretty dress (which is why you are wearing something else). It was almost like the first time we met all over again. I love you, Leila.
Bile rose to Leila's throat, she closed her eyes and forced her ragged breathing under control. She needed to finish reading what was in the note, to get some explanation on how she got here. Where was her husband? She wanted him. Her eyes fell on the note, she picked it and continued reading.
I promise you, I didn't touch you. Someone else did, a female. She helped you out of the dress. I had to lodge you in a hotel close to the venue because I wasn't sure calling your husband was a good idea.
Your phone is in the second drawer. You can stay here for a while, order breakfast and check out later. Please think about my proposal, we can work this time, Leila.
All my love,
- CB.
Leila crushed the note and tossed it into the dustbin. The only part of his note she agreed with was blacking out. Sure, they spoke last night. Charles left her and that was all she could remember. Taking out her phone, she scowled at her screen. There were no texts or missed calls from her husband. It made her more furious than she already was.
Kelvin wasn't worried about her.
The last set of missed calls from Kelvin was around the period she left the hall. Not only did he lie to her, he also didn't care to find out how she was faring. In that case, she wouldn't go home. Leila texted Freya to let her know she was on her way to her house.
Her best friend's reply was prompt. She was home.
Leila clutched the robe and staggered to the window, she drew the curtains open and winced when sunlight poured harshly on her face.
What was her plan?
Closing the curtains, she returned to the bed. There was a new set of clothes at the foot of the bed. She dialled room service to order breakfast and jumped into the bathroom. Scrubbing herself clean in case Charles lied about touching her, she didn't stop until her skin was red.
Her mind wandered to various places as water rolled down her body. Her husband didn't call or text her. How could he be so cruel? Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the water rushing down her face. She screamed in the shower. Stupid. Stupid man. Evil husband. Wicked liar.
Her bath took longer than necessary, but when she got into the room, she was feeling better than she did last night. The headache had eased but her eyes were red and swollen from crying in the shower. A knock on the door caused her head to jerk up, she adjusted the towel on her head and smoothed the white robe.
She opened the door to reveal an unfamiliar face. The trolley before him reduced some of her fears. "Hey."
"Good morning, ma'am. Room service."
Leila took over the trolley from him with a tight smile, she didn't let him enter the room.
Breakfast was light, she forced herself to eat something because she ate nothing last night. Everything tasted bland in her mouth, and she turned on the television to keep from drowning in her thoughts. It worked only for a few minutes before she was crying again. Why was she crying? After all, she refused to pick his previous calls.
What if he didn't want her anymore? It was the same case with her parents. She wiped her tears with the hem of her sleeve and took a bite of her crepes. Sitting cross-legged on the bed in a strange room made her feel even more lonely. If Kelvin didn't call her, she wasn't sure she would call him. He was in the wrong, he should grovel and beg at her feet.
After trying and failing to finish her food, Leila left the hotel feeling worse than she did when she found out Charles was related to Kelvin. Her Uber driver was out front when she stepped out of the sliding doors, she crosschecked her phone to verify the plate number, then entered the car.
The ride was silent, the walk to Freya's house was even more quiet. She knocked once and the door opened. One look at her face and Freya hugged her.
Leila was crying again before Freya could say a word. Her best friend guided her inside the parlour and led her to a couch. A box of Kleenex appeared on her knees, she took some out and blew her nose. Freya returned with peanut butter and a spoon. Leila laughed before taking it from her.
"What happened?"
Leila's lower lip trembled. She took a greedy scoop of the peanut butter before saying, "I don't even know. I didn't go home last night and Kev didn't call me. What if I had gone missing?" Tears filled her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She sniffed. "What if something bad had happened to me? He doesn't even care about me. I hate him."
"You don't hate him, Leila." Freya collected the jar and spoon from her. "You're just angry."
A bark and a meow drew her attention to the door leading to the kitchen. The cat and dog were staring at her. Leila waved at them and the dog rushed to her lap, she stroked its fur the way Kelvin loved to stroke her scalp.
"Where were you last night?" Freya asked. "What happened?"
Leila feigned deafness till her friend slapped her knee. She dropped the dog to the floor and faced her best friend.
"If I tell you, you can't be mad at him, okay?" Freya laughed but the laughter died down when she noted Leila's seriousness. She nodded. Since meeting with Kelvin, her best friend and her husband have been cool with each other. They were working on Darren's project. So far, it was going fine. "We kind of fought."
"Why?"
Linking her fingers together, Leila rolled her shoulders. "He is kind of related to Charles." Freya gasped and the tears she held back rolled down her cheeks. "I found out last night at the charity. So I left angrily."
Freya was beside her in an instant, hugging her close. She didn't know when she told her best friend about blacking out and waking up in a hotel room with Charles's note. But the words tumbled out of her lips and she didn't stop till her best friend knew everything up to the events leading to this moment.
"Get up!"
"What?"
"I said, get up." Leila didn't understand why her best friend was screaming at her. Freya pulled her to her feet amid her protest. "We are going to a clinic now."
It happened so fast. They were in the cab when Freya told her she was going for a sexual assault test. More precisely, a rape test.
"That note is fucking bullshit," Freya said with a vehemence that surprised Leila. "How come you believed it?" She shrugged. The fog in her brain hadn't cleared then, she had been more worried about Kelvin's silence than Charles's note. "Have you forgotten so soon, Leila?"
The painful memory flashed behind her eyes and a shudder trickled down her spine. Leila could never forget but she had no answer to Freya's question. It made sense when she first read the note but hearing her friend's worry made her realise her stupidity. He tried to rape her once, who was to say he wouldn't try something funny on her while she was asleep?
What happened after he left?
They got out of the cab and walked briskly into the clinic. Freya did most of the talking on her behalf. Leila was pushed into a room by one of the nurses. Each personal question was accompanied by a smile that did nothing to make her comfortable. She was made to run some rounds of tests with a reminder to return tomorrow for the results. The hospital requested to keep her clothes, and she relented but Freya was prepared for that. She offered Leila a new set of clothes and they left the clinic.
None of them spoke till they were back at Freya's house. Freya brought out cookies and a jar of milk. There were no calls from Kelvin and her chest tightened so hard she winced. She couldn't eat so she stopped trying.
Curled on the couch, she smiled when Freya dragged a quilt over her body. "Can I stay here?" she asked her best friend.
"Sure." Her friend sat on the floor beside her, running her fingers over the quilt. "Darren will be back next week, so yes, stay here. We can have a girls night."
"Do you think I should tell Kev?" Leila asked midway into the film that was showing. "He has not called."
The lights had been dimmed to create the perfect atmosphere, she could barely make out Freya's face. "I don't think so. It's not necessary until we get the result." Freya paused the movie. "But I find it odd he hasn't called you. Isn't he worried?"
"Maybe he's upset." Her excuse sounded as lame as it did in her head. Between both of them, she had more reason to be furious. "It's the first time I'm sleeping out of the house or going this long without talking to him."
Her phone appeared in her line of vision, she frowned at her friend pushing the phone to her lap. "I think you should call him," Freya said.
"No."
"Fine. Give me your phone, I'll do it myself."
Since a part of her wanted to hear his voice, she relinquished the phone to Freya. Minutes later, her best friend looked up to her with a sad smile. Freya hopped off the floor to get her own phone. Leila waited with bated breath as Freya dialled Kelvin's number from her phone. No response.
Kelvin was ignoring her. But why? What did she do wrong?