The Whispers of The Sprite (The Whispers series #1) (7 page)

‘Let me think about it. For now, let’s enjoy this party,’ I say, almost whispering, and push him to the middle of the floor where everyone is dancing. He doesn't have a chance to say anything else, but his expression clearly shows that he didn't expect the answer I gave him. I drink the large glass of rosé, forgetting about all the tensions from last week. I want to get drunk tonight. The music is fast and I am feeling amazingly relaxed. George vanishes to get more drinks and I search for Amy, but in the room full of people it is difficult to spot anyone.
 

6

Around midnight, I have drunk almost a whole bottle of wine and have a few sour apple shots. A thick cloud of smoke fills the room but I am in a great mood. George disappears again, but I don't care, as I had few Americans students with me topping up my drink now and again. I am feeling dizzy and unstable, but I am having an amazing time, despite losing my informal boyfriend. I am not sure how long I have been dancing, but George seems to have forgotten about his romantic statement because he is still nowhere to be seen. I sit down on the sofa, trying to sustain my good mood. I sway as sickness hits me. The excitement dies down and I need to find the bathroom. The music is buzzing in my ears, but most people are lying on the floor looking worn out, drunk. I close my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts, when suddenly I hear a scream.

A young black girl walks into the room, shouting, ‘Someone’s knocked out!’

A lot of people get up and storm towards the kitchen. I follow the crowd, pushing through the people gathering around the kitchen. It’s a small kitchen and now there are around twenty people all squished together.

‘On the patio – she is lying there,’ someone is saying.

‘Is she dead?’

‘What happened?’ I ask as I push past through everyone in the kitchen and walk into the small garden.

My mind goes blank when I notice Amy, who is lying on the ground. She is unconscious. It looks like she hurt her head because there is a large bruise on her forehead and she is bleeding. Next to her, there is a pale student, who looks terrified, glancing at crowd.
 

‘What happened?’ I shout, touching Amy. She has a pulse. ‘What the hell happened?’
 

The student looks at me with fear in his eyes and makes an awful sound, which I don't understand.

‘Can someone call an ambulance?!’ I shout. Someone walks off to find the phone. Everyone else is staring at me in silence, whispering something to one another.

‘Someone was in the garden, he pushed me and then …’ the guy begins with a shaky voice. Tears are running down his cheeks and I am praying to God for Amy to be okay. Next to the pale student, I notice Gabriel, who is staring at me expressionless. There are a few more fairies standing a bit further away, looking concerned. I want to shout at them to do something, but I can't move.
 

‘Who was in the garden?’ I ask and push the pale bloke away. He is shaking with fear.
 

‘A man. I couldn’t see his face. He’s done something to her,’ he continues, not looking at me. I try to convince him to tell me more, but after a while he continues repeating the same thing over and over again. The ambulance arrives twenty minutes later along with the police. I am not allowed to go with Amy; neither is the French student. A few other people are taken to the station. I take a taxi home, completely forgetting about George. I am not prepared to talk to the police tonight and I am lucky to get away so quickly. I am shattered.

When I get home I wake Carl and Michael up and tell them what has happened. They decide that we need to get to the hospital. The time passes so quickly. When I look at my phone it's 2 o'clock in the morning. We take a taxi to the university hospital, but when we arrive, the doctor can't tell us anything because we are not related. I am worried about her, but I am not sure what we are supposed to do.

‘What exactly happened in that party?’ Michael asks. He stares at me, looking uneasy. I am not sure how to answer his question; I can't even look at him.

‘I don’t know exactly, I wasn’t there. The guy that Amy was with says that someone came to the garden when they were there.’

‘Someone else?’ asks Carl, confused.

‘Well I don’t know, that’s what he said, but he was in shock, so I couldn’t make out what he was saying exactly. Maybe he did something to her so that she is unconscious. It looked like she hurt her head pretty bad.’ I am so exhausted that I can barely stand, but I have to stay to find out if Amy is all right.

I sit down and fall asleep in a chair. Later I am awakened by Carl. I am still in my party clothes and my head is hurting. Carl announces that Amy’s parents are here; I look at my watch and realise it is close to four in the morning. I am feeling guilty and I can't look at Amy’s parents. Her mother is crying and her father looks tired. They speak to the doctors for a while.
 

‘I am glad you stayed,’ says Amy's mother. She has long dark hair and she looks exhausted. She is much shorter than me, with narrow blue eyes.

‘I am sorry; I should have told her to stay in last night,’ I begin, feeling guilty. I was supposed to check on Amy, but instead I was enjoying myself getting drunk.
 

‘It’s not your fault, darling. Amy was always very social.’
 

‘Is she conscious? Did she say what happened?’ I ask.

Amy’s mum breathes and touches me lightly on the shoulder.

‘She is conscious now. She drank too much; she passed out and hurt her head.’

‘But someone pushed her or attacked her, as far as I know,’ I say, confused. I know she drank too much, but I don't think that's the reason that she is in the hospital.

‘I don’t think so. She overdid it with alcohol and fell over. They’re keeping her in because they wanted to monitor her to make sure everything is all right,’ says Amy's mum. ‘You need to go home and get some sleep.’

I nod with agreement and leave the corridor, wondering why Amy hasn't told anyone the truth. The police would want to interview her. I leave the hospital with Carl and Michael. I don’t understand what happened exactly and I won't know until I speak to Amy. The guy from the party was certain that Amy was attacked. When I get home, I go straight to bed, feeling exhausted and sick. I am hoping to relax in my bed and catch up with my sleep, but surprisingly George is already in my bed.

‘Where the hell have you been?’ he asks, standing up, but he is still drunk and unable to keep his balance.

‘In the hospital. My housemate was attacked few hours ago, but of course, you don’t know anything about that, because as always you were not there,’ I say angrily, folding my arms together. ‘So now I am asking you where the hell have
you
been?’

He doesn't respond straight away, staring at me and calculating his response.
 

‘I went with this American student to get some blow. I’m sorry, I should have stayed with you,’ he says, giving me an apologetic look, but I start laughing, feeling betrayed.

For a minute, I’d believed that he changed, but it's obvious that he didn't and then I remembered all of his previous promises that he was never able to fulfill either. He is staring for a long while and doesn't say anything until he leans closer and kisses me. It takes me few seconds to realise what he is trying to do. I push him away, slapping his soft cheek with my palm.
 

‘What the hell, George? You think you can show up here at any time as if nothing ever happened and just walk into my bedroom?’

I am fuming while my heartbeat quickens. I had lost control within a few seconds. My palm is aching and George looks disappointed.

‘Ania, I’m sorry,’ he whispers.

‘Just leave me alone. I can’t deal with this right now,’ I say, showing him the door.

‘I’ll sleep downstairs,’ he says. He leaves, shutting the door behind him.

I hold my head in my hands, trying to gather my thoughts, wondering why I just slapped a man that I thought I loved. My hands are still shaking. I think about Amy, the Sprites and George. Everything is falling apart around me. I replay the moment where George asked me to be his girlfriend. When my breathing slows down I lift my head, feeling that I need to sleep, but I freeze, catching sight of Gabriel, who is standing in front of me. I feel that he already knows why I am not happy. He is the last person that I really want to see right now, but somehow I feel as if I need him to be with me. The darkness is covering our bodies and a silence is between us.

We are staring at each other, forgetting about the harsh reality and I can feel my heart reacting. He touches my cheek and the familiar electric current runs through me. His hands are warm, caressing my pale skin. His deep blue eyes are filled with serenity and passion. I keep telling myself to breathe, but I am unable to exhale the air from my lungs. Then he leans forward and his lips touch mine, increasing the temperature in my body. He kisses me gently, trying to break his way through, testing to see if I will let him in. His lips are sweet and warm. A few seconds later it is all over and he disappears once again, leaving me uncontrollably awake and trying to gather my wild thoughts.

The birds outside are not going to let me sleep and when I open my eyes my head feels heavier than usual. The bitter taste in my mouth alerts me that I drank way more than I should have. I touch my forehead, hoping that the throbbing pain in my head will stop, but when I move the pain increases. I need to get a drink but the bathroom is a priority. My hands are shaking. I put my dressing gown on and walk downstairs to get a drink, hoping to find some painkillers, but instead I stop in the corridor to look at George, who is sleeping on the sofa. The events from last night are coming back to me suddenly: the unfortunate party and Gabriel. I lift my hand and caress my lips, remembering his kiss. It was nothing like anything that I have ever experienced before.

I gasp the air feeling sorry for myself. I can't dissolve the new, exciting emotions that ran through my body when his breath met mine. I am not sure why I let him touch me. I was drunk and as far as I remember I had just kicked George out of my room, slapping him hard. Then Gabriel appeared from nowhere and without any hesitation he kissed me in a way no one ever had.

After the use of the downstairs toilet I shake my head, staring at George, who is snoring loudly. He is still wearing all his clothes from last night. I look at the kitchen clock; it's quarter to 9 and no one else is up yet. I drink two glasses of orange juice and think about poor Amy who is still in the hospital. It is too early to call Amy’s parents to find out if I can see her. I instantly feel sick and the pumping pain in my head increases.

I take the juice upstairs. I decide to go back to bed and will deal with George later. I need a few more hours in bed. My room is in total chaos. Half of my wardrobe is lying on the floor and my table is dirty, with makeup and paperwork lying everywhere. I fall asleep once again, hoping that by the time I wake up Amy will be fine and George will have vanished from my living room.

A refreshing shower brings a positive start to the day. I ignore the dark circles under my eyes and put on fresh clothes, wondering if George will be still downstairs. When I pass the sofa George isn't there, so I start preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

‘
Morning darling,’ he says, walking into the kitchen scratching his head.

‘
Morning,’ I answer. George hasn’t magically disappeared as I was hoping this morning. After switching on the kettle, I turn to look at him. His blond hair is tangled and he looks as though he had way too much to drink last night. I am also convinced that he doesn’t remember anything that happened. I press my lips together, contemplating how to get rid of him.
 

‘
Amy is in the hospital. I am going to see her now, so I need you to go so I can get ready,’ I say, trying to focus on my breakfast. The toast is taking longer than usual and he is still standing in the same spot.