Page 107 of Skeletons in the Closet

My grip weakened on the bottle, my fingers losing dexterity, and it fell from my hand. I tried to pick it up but fumbled it twice, and it rolled under the chair. When I ducked to see where it had gone, the sting of a headache announced itself at the base of my skull, stabbing and spearing my brain, and I ended up sprawled on the floor, clutching my head.

“The fuck?”

Something was wrong.

Why was everything spinning?

Why was I so groggy and uncoordinated?

Where was my phone?

It took effort to align my thoughts. The desk. I’d left my phone on the desk. Moving cautiously, I got to my hands and knees, my limbs heavy and shaky. The migraine I’d fought so hard to get rid of was returning with a vengeance. How unfair. I had nurtured it. It had gone away.

I glanced from Natalia to where the pill bottle had landed and rolled under the chair out of sight as I tried to put the pieces together. I didn’t know why I was kneeling on the floor.

Something’s wrong.

Something’s wrong.

The words reoccurred like a bad omen, and I knew I needed to do something, but I was too tired to figure out what. I only wanted to lie down and close my eyes until the headache passed.

No.

My phone.

Call Diem.

I crawled to the desk, my limbs soupy and unforgiving.

When I got to my feet, the world shifted on its axis.

The vertigo was too much, and I lurched forward to catch the edge of the desk before I fell. My strength was gone, and my arms buckled. My knees joined them. I went down, smashing my forehead along the desk’s unforgiving edge. I jolted at the flash of pain, momentarily regaining control, but I lost it again in an instant, tumbling forward. The second time I connected with the desk, my face took the impact.

I hit the ground and curled into a ball of agony.

I groaned, threw my glasses off, and rocked back and forth in a fetal position, cradling my injured face. I must have broken my nose. It hurt like a bitch. Something wet and sticky coated my fingers.

I rolled to my back, and when I removed my hands, they were crimson. For a few minutes, I blinked at the mess, uncomprehending. Confused.

What happened to me?

I fell. I remember falling.

I glanced around the room, but the world was blurry and indistinct. Where was I?

Something’s wrong.

My head hurts. My migraine is coming back.

I need pills.

Pills. Something about pills. They rolled away.

Where am I?

Something’s wrong.

Shaky and losing coordination by the second, I rolled to my hands and knees. A river of blood trickled down my face. Pain. Throbbing pain. I was injured but couldn’t remember what had happened.

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