Awfully familiar

"Why are you drinking?" Lillian walked in surprised to see that Elia was back but the sight before her had her worried.

"Hoping to get wasted and sleep without having to think," replied Eliana. She looked down at the cans of beer she had consumed and at the bottle of whisky, she was currently drinking, the taste was bad, nothing like what she liked but this was what she wanted now. "Why do I never get drunk?" she questioned out loud.

"You went missing yesterday, I searched for you but could not find you. Call you and messaged you multiple times but you never replied to any of them. And now, you are suddenly back here drinking and hoping to get drunk when you know it would never happen. What happened to you, Elia?" Lilian stares at her perplexed and concerned.

"I am tired and drained, that's what happened," Eliana replied and was about to take another sip of drink but Lilian was quick to take the bottle from her.

"That's enough drinking. As much as I envy the fact that you never get drunk, drinking is still bad. Tell me what happened, I was worried, and seeing you like this gets me even more worried."

"There is nothing wrong, Li, just something that required thinking and I am not ready for that." She looked down at her hands, then at the drinks that had been wasted, she sighed and pushed everything away from her. "Am I abnormal?" She inquired of Lillian. Her eyes pleaded for honesty.

"Who told you that you are abnormal?" Lillian frowned at the thought that someone had hurt her friend's feelings which had forced her to drink when she didn't like drinking despite never getting drunk. Elia remained silent and Lilan sighed inwardly. "You are different, not weird or abnormal. There must be something wrong with whoever said that to you."

"There must be something wrong with the police and myself," Eliana murmured causing a deeper frown to form on the face of Lilian.

"What do you mean? Why would the police think you are abnormal?" Lilian asked. What happened last night that prevented Eliana from returning home? She wondered.

Eliana looked at her friend and decided to tell her what happened to her. She narrated her encounter with the unconscious woman and how she was then suspected by the police who then fed her a pill before taking her to the station, and what the pill did to her after she left the station which she considered herself lucky that she left the police station before the pill's effect took place. She did not know what would have happened had that happened to her while she was being watched like prey by a hawk.

"..."

Lilian opened her mouth to speak but could not find the right words just yet. It was the first time she heard that the police would do something like that to a citizen.

"... I can't believe this," she finally mouthed. It was just unbelievable.

"Neither could I but after what happened to me, I also think I am not normal and someone else confirmed it. He said I am not human so I cannot be a normal human," Eliana thought back to what Mr. Sloan said to her and then scrunched her nose when she remembered his request.

"Who?" Lilian asked. She was curious to know who it could be to know what was happening to her friend. "Is he the hunk you are looking for?" Her eyes sparkled just thinking about it.

"Yes, him," Elian replied. "He found me."

"You are not as enthusiastic as I thought you would be after meeting him, what happened? Did he do something immoral to you?" Lilian was happy to know that she found that man but if he was a jerk and tried something immoral on her friend, then he was nothing but a scum that should be avoided and taught a lesson or two.

"No, he didn't do anything. I don't want to talk or think about him," Eliana said, hoping she could stop talking about him now. She had an event to attend at night and she would be among those performing. That was what she needed to think about now and not an absurd proposal.

"Help me get ready for tonight. You'll be there, right?" Lilian nodded her head but there was still a frown on her face. Eliana didn't mind that as long she had agreed to accompany her. "Thank you."

"Can I at least know his name, I can ask around if he can be trusted. You don't seem comfortable talking about him," Lilian inquired. Doing a little background check on him should prove useful.

"Mr. Sloan. That is all I know about him. He is rich so be careful. I am not uncomfortable thinking about him nor am I uncomfortable around him. Somehow he is awfully familiar," She could admit that much but his request was what had her annoyed. How could he say something like that so casually? Be his woman, just like that? It was not possible. She wanted to know the secrets that lie within her but she was not desperate. Even he looked surprised at his own request after he had said it, she saw how lost and confused he was just for a moment after stating his demand but it was quick to disappear. "I am annoyed because of what he asked of me," she confessed.

"Mr. Sloan?" Was the first thing that Lilian took note of. There were not many Sloans in the city and all of them she knew except one. But the picture drawn by Eliana, that man was not among the list of people whose photos she received as the potential Mr. Helios Sloan. It had to be a coincidence or my sources are wrong. Lilian thought. "What was his demand?" She asked now curious to know what he asked that got her Eliana angry.

"He wants me to be his woman and I must live with him," Eliana had to admit that she was indeed thinking of giving his request a go and she hated that she was considering moving in with a man she knew nothing about. She also began questioning her sanity when she suddenly felt like turning back and going to him right after leaving his home.