Chapter 25: Week

I brought the phone to my ear, surprised by how he had called me right as I got home. "Hello?" I said, remembering that I was speaking to the man who had nearly taken me last night. "Hello, Lavender. Have you thought about what we should do on our next date?" For a moment, my mind went blank. I found it impossible how his voice kept on surprising me. "Yes, um, there's this park I haven't been to since I was a kid and I thought we could have a picnic there." He seemed thoroughly confused. "A park? You know I have money, right?" 

I hmphed at his remark. "Hey, you got to take me on a rich guy date, now I get to take you on a poor girl date. It's only fair." He laughed a little. "Okay, I'll play your little game. But I do wish you would tell me why you would refuse another night in luxury." I shrugged even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Well, that stuff doesn't really matter to me. I just want to spend time with you." There was a short pause. "When will you be free to go on this date?" I thought about it for a moment. "I think the next day I have off is in a week. How about then?" 

He scoffed. "A whole fucking week?" I shut my mouth to the sound of him swearing. I had to move my thighs against one another to help calm the lava that erupted from between my legs. All I could think about was what he would sound like, swearing in bed. I quickly shut down the perverted part of my brain so I could hear what he said next. "I don't think I can wait that long." I was flattered by his impatience. "Well, I can see if I can get a day off sooner. We can also chat after I get off every night like we have already been doing."

He laughed again, but this time it was softer. "I told you I was needy. Now all I want to do is come up there." Now that I knew he considered me attractive, I didn't know if that was a good idea anymore. I still smiled brightly. "Feel free." I was so happy that we lived in the same building because after we hung up there were only a couple minutes before a knock came from my door. As soon as I opened it, Levy pulled me in for an otherworldly kiss. My body was so desperate for him that it was embarrassing. Luckily, that was the only heated moment of the evening and for the rest of his visit, we talked as if the sexual tension between us wasn't fogging my broken window.

Unfortunately, the diner was too understaffed to let me take more than one day off a week. Brittany was surprised to hear that I had asked such a thing since I hadn't done it before. She asked me why, but I didn't tell her it was for a date. She would've bombarded me with questions if I had. Levy didn't react much to my telling him that I wouldn't be able to go out with him sooner. I could tell he wasn't happy about it but didn't say anything since he knew I couldn't help it. That's what I assumed.

Every night after my shift, he would come and visit me, which I enjoyed. Sometimes I would wake up to see that he hadn't left after I drifted off. He would be resting in the same place on the floor against the armrest of the couch and I was always shocked to see him there. I wondered how he wasn't unbelievably uncomfortable from sleeping in that position, and why he hadn't just walked down the few flights to his apartment to sleep. I thought that maybe he had just drifted off before he could think to leave. Either that, or he wanted to make sure I was safe. I felt so happy when I was around him that I almost forgot that I lived in a hell hole with a medical condition.

One night after work, one of the dishes Brittany had forced me to eat before I left wasn't sitting right with me. On the walk home, I focused on the pain in my stomach and the nausea I felt, trying to stop the meal from coming back up before I got home. I walked fast, hoping that I would make it in time to eat an orange and settle my stomach before I threw up. My nausea only became worse as I jogged up the flights of stairs. I ended up having to run to my apartment from the feeling of my saliva scalding my mouth with its temperature. 

I barely managed to lock my door and make it to the bathroom before I let everything I ate leave my throat. After I was done, I wiped my mouth and began to feel the emptiness in my body as my eyes watered. Before I could dwell too much on the event, my phone buzzed. I retrieved my phone from my coat pocket to see that Levy was calling me. I tried my best to find my composure and answer the call. "Hey," I said, weakly. He didn't seem to notice the strain in my voice as he answered. "Are you home? I'd like to see you." It was still a mystery to me why he would possibly want such a thing.

I panicked at the thought of him seeing me like this. "Um, actually, I'm not feeling too well tonight. I'm just going to go to bed." He paused longer than he usually did. For a moment, I thought I had offended him, but he spoke before I could apologize. "Have I not been feeding you enough, Lavender?" I froze at how he seemed to know exactly what I was just doing. "No, no, it's fine, really. I just need to rest." He didn't seem to have listened to me when he answered. "I'm coming up there." With a click, the phone call ended and I was left in shock again. I knew now that there was nothing I could do to stop him, and accepted my fate.

A knock came on the door a few minutes later, and I let him in without bothering to change out of my coat and uniform beforehand. I felt tired and sickly, and it was hard to hide from my face when he came into the room. The first thing he did was hand me a glass bottle filled with a brown liquid that kind of looked like alcohol. I was caught off guard by it since the bottle looked like something that would hold a potion and had a pentagram on the front of it. "What's this?" I asked as I began to feel uneasy about something other than the rock in my stomach. His face was still as he closed the door behind him and locked it. "It will bring your appetite back." The lack of information he gave me was unsettling and I gave him a confused look. "So, it's medicine? Why is it in such a strange bottle?"