Chapter 19: Third Time’s a Charm
It was a sensation of movement that woke Rylee up. The slight sway of someone carrying her, while her cheek rested against their chest. The shirt had a fresh smell to it that reminded her of the lake. When her eyes opened slightly, she could see the small cut on the side of his mouth. But she was too tired to reach out and touch it.
She drifted back asleep with the hum of music around her. The melody seemed familiar, but she was too exhausted to focus on it. The rumble of a car almost overpowered it, and she disliked the sensation. In fact, any sound was starting to make her head hurt.
Rylee murmured unhappily in her sleep, only to feel a comforting hand touch her hair. It put her mind at ease. She was safe. The noise was tolerable with someone there...
The next morning came with more clarity. Her mouth felt like it was covered in something unexplainable sweet. Bandit licked her face and whined for attention, which forced her to open her eyes. She was in her room, on her bed, but still wearing that silly sundress. It was wrinkled, tangled under her legs and caught up in her blankets. Her hand groped for her cell phone, eventually finding it and unlocking the screen. It was still early in the morning, but she felt like she already slept for weeks.
"Rylee, did I hear you moving in there?" Tara asked, head appearing in her doorway. Rylee sat up with a groan, wondering why everything hurt so much today.
"Did we crash a car again?" She asked, rubbing her head and wondering why she felt so disoriented.
Tara chuckled, coming over to sit in her desk chair. "No, but I wouldn't be surprised if you has a hell of a hangover."
"Hangover?" Rylee didn't drink. She couldn't imagine choosing to start now, especially after her recent trip to the hospital.
"You has a mix up with a bottle of alcoholic fruit punch. Zane left it in the fridge, Evan didn't know, I'm sure they'll apologize more when they see you." Tara had an expression like she was torn between anger and humor. "The good news is you didn't take any of your medication yesterday, so we avoided some nasty side effects."
Memories tricked through her mind like sand. Rylee could remember working with Evan, realizing what his comic was, and then going to find something to drink. She remembered a girl with dark hair and a kind smile, and pizza. She definitely remembered pizza.
"I feel... confused. And my stomach is upset. But you always complain about your head," Rylee commented, wondering why she lacked the splitting headache Tara always got when she drank.
"Well, they hydrated you, fed you, and we let you sleep it off. Seems like that did the trick."
Rylee felt somewhat touched. The guys did a lot to make sure she was okay. She couldn't blame them for the mixup either. It wasn't like Evan gave her the glass.
She pulled her pillow behind her and leaned against the wall, fingers touching her side. While her head felt fine, her body felt worse than it had before. The bruises had darkened on her legs, the cuts covered in scabs, beginning to feel itchy. After having Tara help her to the bathroom, she wriggled free of her dress and bandages, and gazed at the injuries, heart becoming heavier. The long gash ran across her hip, twisted over her thigh, and stopped above her knee. The stitches held the wound together, but there were still scabs of blood in the deepest spots.
Rylee limped carefully to the bathtub, and held the wall so she could stand and clean up. The water stung her body, and she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stay put. When she was clean, she reapplied bandages and changed into a fresh dress. Feeling exhausted, but more presentable, she limped her way back to her bedroom.
"Hey! I told you to tell me when you were done!" Tara's words were sharp behind her back. Rylee started to look sheepish, until she noticed her roommate has the wheelchair.
"Are we going somewhere?" Rylee asked hopefully.
"I'm taking you over to Evan's," Tara responded.
"Again?" Rylee hoped she didn't sound rude, but she was genuinely surprised Tara was letting her return.
"We said you could help, and I think we should follow through. I have to cover your shift today, so I'd rather not leave you alone."
"You act like I'm on probation," Rylee complained. She sat in the chair but it didn't stop her from sulking.
"I didn't realize you disliked seeing Evan so much," Tara replied.
"No! It's not that!" She blushed deeply and looked at her hands. "I just hate feeling so helpless. I mean, on the one hand, I'm helping with his work, but the other makes, it feel like I'm being babysat."
Tara snickered, "I would have fired them if they were actually in charge of keeping you out of trouble, Ry. Bringing you home drunk was not what I expected. You need the distraction, though. I like seeing you spend time with real people not just online friends."
"My online friends are real..."
"Yeah, where do they live? What are their names?"
Sensing she was losing, Rylee gave up.
The car ride was free of further conversation, the only noise being Tara's loud radio. The heavy base beat sent vibrations through Rylee's teeth, and she felt she may have been premature in saying she didn't have a headache. When they got to Evan's, Rylee accepted the help into the chair, and let herself be rolled into the house. It wasn't until Tara drove away that either spoke, sitting back in the computer room.
"So, the next thing I guess you can help with is this commission for a bakery logo. I sent them some drafts and they narrowed down their favorites. I picked out fonts to try, but I'll need help with the lines and some of the coloring. That shouldn't take long... then we need to work on the panels for next Monday's update." He paused, catching her gaze.
"I thought about what you said, and I let my followers know you would be helping, and they're on board. They liked what you did and gave us the green light, so you don't have to worry about that," he explained. Rylee felt relieved, and a little nervous.
"I just hope I don't let you down. I mean, your kind of trusting me with your reputation right now," she gulped.
"You did great yesterday, just don't overthink it," he put the pen for his tablet in her palm. It was like metaphorically passing the torch.
She started finishing the bakery commission without much trouble. Evan had blocked out most of it, she just had to clean up some lines. The comic was more complicated. There were dialog bubbles, frames, and several layers to navigate. She found herself chewing her lip with thought, brow knot in concentration as she settled into a groove. Evan came and went, keeping the distractions to a minimum. He only stopped her when he felt it was time for lunch.
"I made roast beef sandwiches. If you don't like them, I also have lunch meat. I know it's not very exciting," he apologized.
"No, it smells great," Rylee remarked as he helped her into the kitchen. He used the oven the melt the meat and cheese, and also warmed up a sauce to dip them in. It was simple, but it tasted delicious. It took self control for Rylee not to scarf it down in one bite.
"If you can cook, how come Zane is always bringing over pizza?" Rylee asked when she was finished.
"I guess it's just sort of a habit at this point. We had a lot of nights back in college gaming and ordering pizza because we were too busy to cook. Now I have the time, but rarely the company."
Rylee felt lucky to have her roommate. Sure, Tara was a little obnoxious sometimes, but they shared food and were always within reach. "Do you ever get lonely living alone?" She asked.
Evan considered it, and finally nodded, "Sometimes. But Zane spends enough time here, he almost is my roommate."
Rylee wondered how she managed to miss so many chances to meet Evan, but maybe the time just hadn't been right. They were on separate paths doomed to cross, and now that they had, it felt almost disappointing it took so long.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone