He had a five o'clock shadow that made him look older and weary, and he kept his lips tightly pressed into a thin line. 'You look terrible.' I muttered, my voice gruff.īlake's hair, which had always been cropped and nicely trimmed, was now longer and sticking up in all directions uncontrollably. Against my will, the corners of my mouth pulled, and I smiled. My eyes locked on the person standing at the feet of my bed. Luckily, the haziness was gone, and so was the spinning. The tickling of the wind licked my skin, cooling me off instantly. I heard the sound of someone unlatching a window, then, a cold wave of air swooped over the thin layer of sweat that covered my entire body. I snuggled against them, pulling them up to my nose to smell the fresh scent of lavender. The sheets felt soft and silky against my skin. My eyes closed at the familiarity of the scene, and in turn, I relaxed as the strong arm that had slid behind my neck slowly laid me back down onto the bed.

There was that familiar warm liquid cascading down into the back of my throat. I tried to focus on my surroundings hoping that it might help, but before I knew it, the shadow towered beside me. The room spun uncontrollably I was going to be sick. My hand shot up defensively, and I cowered behind my shaky arms. I opened my eyes in time to see a door swung open. There were distant footsteps and a loud thud from somewhere in the room. It reminded me of the dark place I had just emerged from, and I sat up, trying to get it off me, as if it were a burning jacket. The air felt thick as it entered my lungs through the ragged, short breaths, like clouds of smoke. The air around me was still quiet to the point I wanted to scream just to cut through it, and warm, suffocating warmth that seemed to stick to my skin like gooey caramel. Maybe the fall meant one had to actually fall from Grace. The room was barely visible, and my whole body ached. Even behind my closed lids, everything spun out of control.Ī crippling headache crashed onto me the moment I tried to open my eyes. I pulled out of the dreamlike state slowly, feeling my body's weight once again.

Fallenmore by Lucy Swing