Chapter 91: The Aftermath

Stacy woke up when the sun was rising the next day. It was the same single bed in the same small room. She got used to it. After listening to the story of her birth, she deducted that the current bedroom might be the best one she’s ever lived in.

She’d gotten used to the liveliness of the place and the stares those men gave her. Turned out, she never belonged there all along. Rather than fixating on the useless predicament of her social situation, she decided to live comfortably. She made herself at home and disregarded the opinion of others.

She entered the kitchen to see Jack sitting on the same stool. His clothes were the same ones he wore the day before. Dishes piled up in the sink. “Don’t tell me you’ve been haunting this place the whole night,” she said as she tried to look for a clean plate for her breakfast. Finding none, she turned to the sink.

The pile looked awful. She scrunched her nose at it before grabbing a slice of bread and stuffing it into her mouth. After taking two more slices, she settled beside Jack.

The man didn’t even acknowledge her. His eyes were open, alright. As she chewed, she turned to check on him. “You look like shit,” she said, her voice muffled by the bread she held with her mouth.

His eyes drifted to the right for a quick glance at her before coming back to focus on the spot in front of him. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent. “I think a truck ran over me,” he rasped. “Figured. Did you sleep at all?”

“I don’t know,” he said as his head landed on the counter surface in front of him. After a few seconds, he straightened himself. “Contrary to what we thought, you actually look better after knowing the truth.”

She shrugged. “I know their version of truth. I feel the emotions, but I don’t remember the details of my experience. Not having my initial judgement makes me think with a clear head. Not sure if this makes sense.”

“It makes sense if you think it is. I can’t judge now. Head throbbing,” he said.

James joined them in the kitchen. “Woah,” he was taken aback by the condition of the kitchen. “Did a war happen here?”

“Nah, just a drunken man having a cooking contest with himself and a whole party to digest the product of the contest,” Stacy replied with her mouth full.

James inched further into the kitchen. As he entered the counter to pour himself a glass of water, he came face to face with Jack. “Woah!” His eyes widened as if he just saw a ghost. “You look like shit, man,” he said to Jack’s face.

“Gee, thanks,” he deadpanned. Stacy almost spit her bread out to laugh. “You missed the feast,” she told James. “I was on duty,” he said, “but my buddy here will make another feast for me.” He made a clicking sound and smirked at Jack.

“Kill me before you make me cook this month,” he groaned into his hand. “Wonder how’s those two doing,” Stacy mentioned casually. “Which two?” James was obviously out of the loop. “The one who drank with him and the one who went to make sure he stayed alive.” Stacy nodded at Jack.

“Huh? I don’t think that answered my question, but okay,” James shook his head.

“That one is sleeping. And this one is spent,” Chad appeared as if summoned. “You don’t look good,” James commented. “I didn’t feel good,” Chad corrected him, “but I’m better now.” Jack took a look at Chad. “Why is it ‘you don’t look good’ for him?” He rasped. “Because he looked tired?” Stacy replied. “But he told me ‘you look like shit’,” Jack’s tone was flat as he pointed at James.

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping for a week,” Stacy replied nonchalantly as she left her seat. “Do you need a mirror?” James offered, “I can get you one.”

“Your words throb in my head,” Jack said instead as he massaged his temples.

Stacy walked over to Chad. She offered him her last slice of bread. He accepted it gratefully before she threw herself at him. Her arms tightened around his middle as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was taken aback by her action.

While he was gaping, James pulled Jack from the stool. “We’ll head off to bed,” he said as he dragged Jack out of the kitchen. “You are too fast,” Jack’s grumbling faded out as they went further. “Slow down! The world is spinning!”

Stacy laughed into his shoulder. Chad was also smiling. His free hand rested on her back. “You alright?” His voice sent a deep feeling of warmth in her heart.

“I’m the one who should ask the question,” she said as she lifted her head to look at him. “I’m fine, just tired,” he said, “I heard you visited him last night. How are you feeling?” She smiled up at him. “Fine. Free. Happy.”

“Good,” he gave her a simple reply paired with a smile. She let go of him and nodded at the bread in his hand. “Quick, finish it and have some rest.”

He pulled her back into a hug. “I think I’m not tired anymore, now that I see you.” That made her roll her eyes. “Still, eat it,” she said as she took the bread from his hand and pushed it to his mouth, forcing him to take a bite. His eyes never left hers as he ate. Everything felt like a dream. Since when did their relationship come to this? The transition seemed normal. When did things start changing?

While he was still trying to figure it out, she was pulling him by his hand out of the kitchen. The men around stared openly. Some shot them with nonchalant looks.

It didn’t bother her at all as she dragged him up the stairs.

“Where’s your room?”