Chapter 80 ~Girls' Trip: Blood on the Beach~
(Fiona's POV)
The words of the Shaman kept ringing in my ears as I went about my evening. It hung like a fog, an unanswered question in the air.
I ran a steaming bath and filled the Jacuzzi with roses.
Lately, I'd been having dreams. I dreamt of my mother, that she was dying and I couldn't do anything to save her. Not a far cry from reality, was it?
I'd begun to research new cities to live in. I thought of London, but I hadn't made up my mind - I would tell nobody, when I eventually did, not even Yara and definitely not Xander.
I stepped out of the now lukewarm water and with surprise, I realised that I felt… sated.
I fell into a deep sleep afterwards.
~
I am in front of a large gate made of the finest steel. It has intricate designs woven into it.
Suddenly, the doors of the gate spread apart, revealing a stern-looking middle-aged woman with silver-colored hair.
“Fiona Hepburn,” she is unsmiling as she beckons to me. “Welcome. We've been expecting you.”
I walk towards her, my eyebrows knotted in confusion. Now inside, I am able to have a better view. It is wide; it looks like a mini city. There are people, some walk hand-in-hand, others walk in little groups. Everyone looks focused, powerful.
“Where am I?” I ask, still taking it all in.
“Follow me.” Silver hair ignores my question.
Without saying a word, I follow her. We walk down some flights of stairs.
It leads to a place that looks like a battle ring.
Suddenly, someone pushes me into the ring.
“I'm not ready to fight.” I protest. What am I even doing here?
But my opponent walks in, wearing a mask. And without overthinking, I begin to fight. I throw punches, dodge blows, and I zone out as I fight. My reflexes surprise even me.
I stare at my hands in disbelief as the bell goes off. I look down at my bloodied opponent. They lie on the ground, unmoving. Dead?
Slowly, I unmask them with trembling fingers.
A pale, bloodied face with unmoving green eyes stares up at me.
Familiar, too familiar.
“Mom?” I whisper at first, unsurely. Then I shake her and she doesn't respond. I screamed, “Mom!”
Someone is calling my name, tapping me. But I can't hear them. I want to scream, but my voice catches in my throat.
“Fiona.”
~
“Fiona.” I felt a light tap on my arm. “Wake up.”
I woke up with a sudden jolt, covered in cold sweats. My hands were trembling.
It was all a dream.
When I looked up, three pairs of eyes
met mine.
“Wh- Good morning.” I ignore the numerous questions in my mind.
Yara, Mirabelle and Dr Mel surrounded my bed, looking down at me.
“I think you had a nightmare.” Mirabelle grinned at me. “Good morning, Luna.”
Yara and Dr Mel waved at me.
Fully awake now, I sat up in my bed.
“To what do I owe this ambush?” I smiled.
“Well, we had an idea-” Yara began.
“I brought up the idea.” Mirabelle pouted.
“Whatever.” Yara rolled her eyes, a small smile playing around her lips. “We're all going on a girls’ trip.”
“Girls’ trip.” I repeat flatly.
“Yes, it's a surprise.” Dr Mel smirked. “Do you like surprises?”
“Well, it depends,” I shrugged. So far, the surprises life had been throwing at me —I hated them. “Will my head remain on my neck at the end of the day?”
“Why don't you get dressed and let's find out.”
I faked a look of horror.
“Get ready in fifteen minutes. The Limo is waiting outside.”
“You guys hired a limo?” I widened my eyes.
“With Alpha Xander's card, yes.” Yara shrugged. “We'll be downstairs.”
I groaned. I've not even had breakfast.
_______________________________
I walked gingerly on my heels. I wasn't used to them.
“She's here!”
I was fully made up and dressed in a halter neck silk gown, with YSL heels, and wore my hair in a half-ponytail.
It felt like forever since I just lived. Guess I could take a break from worrying for one day.
“Yup.” I looked at the gold limousine. “So you guys really hired a limo?”
“Yes,” Xander responded.
I turned to see him approaching the vehicle. He looked absolutely dashing, as always.
“You look like a goddess,” he said in admiration, giving me a forehead kiss.
“Thank you.” I tried not to blush when the girls giggled.
“So, I'm being ambushed for a ‘girl's trip’.”
“You deserve it.” He chuckled. “Have fun… but not too much fun.”
“How much did they wreck your card?” I grimaced.
“I'm not sure you'd want to know that.” He shrugged, and that told me everything I needed to know.
The girls turned their faces, hiding from my glare.
The drive was a long one.
We’d drunk champagne, rosé. We'd shouted to lyrics, we'd danced.
By the time we'd gotten to the location, we were tipsy and carefree.
I walked out of the Limo to a beautiful beach-side picnic.
The night stars twinkled. The weather was lovely and windy, blowing our hair back.
“We're here!” Yara screamed into the evening.
There were Egyptian belly dancers and some fire-eaters performing.
We sat down, watching. We ate and got even more drunk.
I watched one of the dancers swallow a bulb of fire from the stick and breathed it out through his mouth.
“Wow!” We all clapped.
The belly dancers danced beautifully, lathered in oil, twisting their waists to the rhythm of the music.
We all ran onto the beach afterwards, splattering water on each other and laughing when Mirabelle almost got electrocuted by an eel.
Then we played two truths and one lie, although I was pretty sure everyone lied.
It was so late in the night before we moved to the beach house.
“Gosh, that was so much fun.” I said as I dried myself with a hot towel.
We were in the parlour of the beach house watching a movie. Mirabelle was already dozing away on the sofa while Dr Mel was making lasagna.
Yara turned to me. “How are you? Truly?” She was smiling, but her eyes looked sad.
How was I really? “Good, I guess. I feel happy today.”
She nodded, satisfied. “That was what I was going for. You've been through a very tough time, and with you planning to leave, a baby on the way…”
“Yeah, I understand.” I clutched her hands. “Thank you.”
When she looked up, tears were glistening in her eyes.
“Food is ready.” Dr Mel yelled from the kitchenette.
“Let's go eat.” She clutched my hands. “Come on.”
I stood up, feeling a little dizzy as we walked towards the kitchenette.
A metallic scent hung in the air.
Dr Mel screamed.
“What?” we asked in sync, alarmed.
“You're bleeding Fiona.”
I looked down to see that indeed there was a trail of blood on my leg. “But, I'm fine.”
I wasn't fine.
I clutched the tabletop as a wave of dizziness hit me.
The last thing I heard was Dr Mel shouting, “Don’t let her fall.”