“Gabriella? Gabriella?” a cool voice whispers in my ear. I feel someone gently shaking me. I begin to stir, struggling to open my heavy eyelids. The light is too bright and I squint against it. “Gabriella, wake up, baby.” It’s Dorian! I have brought him back from the darkness!
“Dorian,” I croak. My mouth is parched and feels grainy. It tastes terrible.
“I’m here. Wake up, little girl,” he breathes into my ear. My eyes flutter open and I realize that it was only a dream. Dorian was never in the darkness, luring me from my family and friends. He was right here next to me.
I try to sit up but my aching head feels like a ton of lead. Dorian eases me up by my shoulders and props me against a mound of fluffy pillows. “Here take these.” He hands me what looks to be pain medication and a glass of water. The cold liquid feels like heaven in my dry, cottony mouth. I down it all and lay back on the pillows.
“What time is it?” The bright sunshine indicates that it’s at least late morning. Dorian is freshly showered and groomed, looking handsome as always in a cerulean blue tee and jeans. I must look like death.
“About noon. I would have let you sleep longer but it sounded like you were having a nightmare.”
“I’m ok.” I muster up the strength to sit up and swing my legs to the edge of the bed. I need to use the bathroom and wash this nasty taste out of my mouth. I shouldn’t subject Dorian to my ghastly breath any longer. The walk across the room to the bathroom is torture with every step but I suck it in. It’s self-inflicted; I wanted to get drunk and I got my wish. Now I must pay the piper.
When I emerge from the bathroom, looking ten times better than when I entered, the aroma of fried food hits me, causing my queasy stomach to churn. I know I should eat since I didn’t have anything last night, but the threat of vomit makes me reluctant.
“You need to eat something fatty and greasy. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but it’ll make you feel a lot better,” Dorian says, taking in my repulsed expression. “I know from experience.”
Dorian looks glorious. The beautiful cerulean blue of his shirt brings out his eyes even more. The effect is hypnotizing. I realize it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him wear a bit of color. He’s always dressed in dark tones, and while they look incredibly sexy on him, the bright hue makes him seem youthful and vibrant.
“You know, you should wear that color more often,” I remark, sitting down at the dining room table.
Dorian has taken the liberty of ordering every hangover food possible from French fries to pepperoni pizza. I take a small slice and a bit of Lo Mein noodles. I don’t know how he managed to get Chinese food at the Broadmoor but he’s pulled it off.
Dorian looks down at his shirt and shrugs. “You think so?”
“I do. Makes you look younger. And I like it when you haven’t shaved in a few days.” Dorian has let the bristly black stubble grow over the weekend, making him look like the bad boy I’ve always imagined him to be.
“Well sorry to disappoint, but it’ll be gone in the morning,” he says rubbing the tiny hairs on his chin with his hand. The reminder leaves an ache in my chest. Tomorrow I’ll go back to my normal mundane life. School, work, and the threat of a Dark One trying to kill me. No big deal.
“So as a last hoorah before graduation, my friends and I are planning to go to Breckinridge for the final weekend of ski season so the guys can get in some snowboarding. I’d like to extend the invitation to you, though I’m not sure I’m still welcomed to go with them,” I chuckle weakly, trying to mask my unease.
“I’m sure you’ll patch things up with Jared. Actually I have to leave for a while. I have to go back to Greece and will be gone until around that time.”
Dorian takes in my forlorn expression, though I’m trying hard to mask it. Spring Break is coming up and I was hoping to spend the entire time in his arms. What the hell keeps calling him to Greece so often?
“How about I meet you there?” he suggests. My face instantly transforms and a hopeful smile plays on my lips. “Take these next couple weeks to make things right with all of them and then I’ll join you there. Enjoy the first day or so with them, ensure them that nothing has changed. Then you and I can have our time together.”
Dorian’s plan is genius. I need to give my friends my undivided attention so I can prove to them that I am the same old Gabs. God only knows how much time I have left with them. I give Dorian a genuine smile and take a bite of my noodles. He really does have the answer for everything. I’m even starting to feel better just being in his presence. It’s as if he knows what I need before I even know I need it. Yes, a little distance will be good for us so I can fix things with Jared without the distraction of Dorian. I just hope I’m not writhing with emotional and sexual turmoil the entire time he’s gone. Or that the Dark doesn’t get to me before I get to say goodbye.