Page 18 of Reckoning

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“Sofia?”

I groan, turning my head at the sound. My body feels so stiff. I’m lying at an angle with one of my legs suspended above me and as I come around more I realise it’s resting on the couch like I simply fell off it and forgot to get back up.

“Sofia?”

My brother calls more urgently.

I try to sit up, to force my arms to work and they do for a millisecond before they give way and I land back in the spilt milkshake.

Roman rushes to me, helping me up. Thank god the bathrobe covers me enough that I’m not indecent.

I mumble his name. My mouth feels so dry. My tongue feels almost scratchy.

“Jesus.” Ben murmurs standing behind him and my face heats more with shame at the fact that he’s here.

“What happened?” Roman asks.

I screw my face up trying to remember. Forcing myself to remember.

The metallic taste, the haziness, the man.

“I was drugged.” I say.

Roman and Ben exchange a look.

“How is that possible?” Ben asks.

“Someone was here.” I state. “A man. Dress, dressed in black.”

Roman struts over to the phone, picks it up and starts barking orders to whoever is on the other end. Within minutes the hotel manager is there, in my room, trying to answer the barrage of questions my brother is half shouting at him.

Ben sits beside me, wrapping his arm around as if what I need right now is comfort. But I’m so tired I lean into him anyway, ignoring the way my body hates the physical contact, the way it protests against it.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?” He asks quietly.

I shake my head. I don’t feel like anything happened, although it’s hard to explain that out loud.

Roman all but grabs the manager, forcing him out of the room and while they’re gone I just sit there, in silence, trying to calm the panic that even now, is right there, all but consuming me.

When he returns, his whole demeanour has changed.

“What is it?” Ben asks.

Roman glances at me then sinks down onto the other end of the couch.

“There’s nothing in the footage.” He says quietly.

“You mean they got in another way?” Ben replies.

Roman frowns more. “Sofia, are you absolutely certain you saw someone?”

I feel my anger spike. “Of course I did.” I snap. “One minute I was fine and then next I was passed out.”

Ben looks down at the plate, at the tray, at the drink that’s still lying on its side on the rug. He picks it up giving it a sniff.

“How many of these have you drunk?” He asks.