13 Chapter 13: Errand Boy

-Micah-

When I realized that I lost the girls I walked over to the booth they were sitting at to assess the situation. Their bags were gone and their drinks have been taken away. I had no idea when they slipped out of the club but I know my time here is over. I walked out of the club and enhanced my hearing hoping I would hear one of the girls. "What were you all about to do to her?", I heard from a distant. That was the voice of Liz's friend. I ran over as fast as I could and when I reached the alley way where the girls were at, I heard a lot of punching and fighting. My face was flushed with rage and anxiety because I thought she was being beaten. I peeked over the side of the building. What in the…this girl handled three grown men on her own? I thought I needed to diffuse the situation, but this girl handled herself and protected Liz at the same time. I was genuinely impressed at the scene before me. The three men were on the ground moaning in pain while the friend rushed over to Liz and embraced her. I guess this is when I should offer some help. I walked over to the girls and helped the friend get Liz out of the smelly alley way. Liz was bruised in the head with rigid cuts near her hair line, my guess is it was from the violent assault one of the men did to her to knock her out cold. She'll mostly likely suffer from a concussion and a sickly hangover. I carried Liz in a bridal position to the car and gently placed her in the backseat before seat belting her. "What is your name?", I asked as I started the engine. "Zariah, but most people call me Zee", she answered as she sniffled beside me. Right! Her name is Zee, the friend who always snuck Liz out late at night when she lived in the city. I can't believe I didn't notice her.

We drove to Liz's house in silence; I kept my eyes on the road while Zee quietly cried to herself. I pretended not to notice but it was hard not to with her hands constantly wiping her tears away. I parked in the driveway and slowly carried Liz out of the car carefully maneuvering her body so it didn't hit the car. Zee unlocked the door for us and I carried Liz directly to her bedroom. "Why don't you change into something a bit more comfortable. I'll watch Liz for you", I offered after I tucked Liz into bed. She mouthed a 'thank you' and headed to Liz's private bathroom. After Zee disappeared to the bathroom, I quickly went downstairs to brew some honey chamomile tea, gather a bowl of warm water and towel, and look for the first-aid kit. I returned to Liz's room with a tray of all the necessities I needed to care for Liz's injuries. I started with a warm bath towel and gently patted her face with it. As I cleaned off her makeup and her wounds, she scrunched her face and sleepishly moaned at me. Occasionally she would push my hand away as if she didn't want to be bothered. After I have cleaned the blood and makeup away from her injuries, I bandaged her cuts and applied ointment to her bruised bumps. In the process of my clean up, "Micah?", I heard a faint whisper. I looked to the bed side and saw Liz squint her eyes at me. "What are you doing here?", she asked with a dry scratchy throat. I helped her sit up, "Zee asked me to take you home", I said as I poured her a cup of tea. She took a sip of the tea and reached for her head, "Zee? You know Zee?" she asked. "No, I don't, I only met her today", I answered as I sat on her bedside. "My head feels like a tornado lives up there", she expressed as she reached for her head. "Where's Zee?", she asked before taking a long sip of her tea. "She's changing into something a little more comfortable; you should too", I said as I looked at her red dress. After my suggestion, Liz heaved all over her dress and her comforters. Great, just great. A stench of stomach acid, alcohol, and half-digested hor d'oeuvres attacked me. "I am so sorry! This is so embarrassing," she said as she gagged again. She flung her comforters off of her and ran down the hall to the second-floor bathroom. I followed close behind her but was greeted with a slammed door in my face. "Liz, are you alright?", I knocked on the door. I hear loud gagging on the other side of the door and "ow" a few times before I decided to enter. "Go away. This is super embarrassing", she said avoiding eye contact with me. She gagged again, "I'm here to help you; I'm putting the judgement aside", I said as I pulled her hair away from her face. With my statement, she was able to let go and vomit her bad decisions into the toilet. I rubbed her back as she puked and offered her toilet paper every now and then until she could no longer puke anything else out. I helped her up from the ground and walked her back to her room. Liz's bathroom door opened, "Liz! You're awake!", Zee yelled as she ran towards Liz. "Quiet down please, my head is spinning", Liz said as she sat on her bed. "Oops, sorry. How are you feeling?", Zee asked as she wrapped her hair in a towel. "I do not feel too good. I feel really sick", Liz said as she rubbed her chest. Zee sniffed the air, "what is that?", she asked as she covered her nose. Liz rolled her eyes at Zee, "My vomit. Please…don't start", she said as she raised a hand to Zee. Zee silently laughed to herself before she got up to help move her comforter off the bed. Zee helped Liz lay back down on the bed as I went down to the garage to look for a spare set of comforters. I stopped in my tracks. What am I doing right now? I could have left as soon as I got Liz safely inside. Why am I being an errand boy now? Am I volunteering my time because I feel bad Liz and her friend had a traumatic night?

I returned with a clean set of comforters and saw Liz cuddled up on Zee as Zee stroke her head. I walked over quietly to give Zee the comforters before dismissing myself, but a buzzing phone cut me off. Zee grabbed her phone and gestured to me that she was going to take a call. I nodded and repositioned Liz so she didn't wake up. I noticed Liz had changed into a black silk matching PJ set. I spread the comforter over Liz and tucked Liz into bed. As I tucked her in I noticed her top was loosened revealing her slender collarbones. I stopped in my tracks and marvel at her smooth skin before being interrupted by elephant footsteps. I cleared my throat and finished tucking Liz in before I turned to face Zee. "I have a favor to ask", Zee approached me. "Can you take care of Liz for me? I have to drive back to the city", she said as she aggressively texted a number of people on her phone. "Something wrong?", I asked. "Yeah, there's a family emergency and I've been summoned", she said forwardly. "You can't stay the night and leave in the morning? It's very late already", I asked her. Zee nodded, "unfortunately not. It's already 2am and I need to get back before sunrise". She put her phone down for a moment, "please, I'm asking you. Can you please take care of Liz for me? I'll give you my number in case you need to call me. Tell Liz to call me when she wakes up. I'll explain everything to her", she said as she grabbed a post-it and scribbled her number down for me. After doing so, she rushed to pack her things, kissed Liz on the forehead, and rush downstairs to grab the rest of her belongings. She wasn't giving me much of a choice in looking after Liz with her rushing off without an explanation. I mean we aren't close to begin with so an explanation wasn't necessary but I've never had to care for Liz so closely before. "I'll look after Liz. Drive safely", I managed to say before she opened to door. "Thank you! Also, if you do anything to my sweet Liz I will kick your ass", Zee threatened before closing the door behind her.