Page 44 of Orion Ruined

“No one?” Her voice wobbles, but those big, dark, wet eyes tell me she wants an answer.

My sister won’t say a word–I trust her with my life–but Maisy’s life is in more danger if Lisa knows about her. And she doesn’t need that. She’s had enough grief in her lifetime, and I will not put her through more.

“Go to your room and do not leave, no matter what!” I command.

She starts to sob and runs upstairs to her room.

Why the fuck can’t she understand the danger of people seeing her?

MAISY

Racked with pain, I run to my room. I can’t stop the tears, however hard I try. Maybe it’s the alcohol making me so emotional. I’m ‘no one?’ Of course I am. Stupid girl, who did you think you were to him?

I slam the door shut. A sickening feeling stirs in my gut and makes me want to vomit. I’m nauseous, and I sense the bile rising up in my throat. That’s when I know it’s time to run to the bathroom. I’m just reaching the toilet when I barf everywhere, almost missing the mark.

There wasn’t much food in my belly to start with but it still stinks and I retch again, my gut contracting and forcing everything out.

I’m on my knees hugging the toilet, dizzy. The vomiting stops but I don’t move from where I am. Dropping in and out of consciousness, I lose sense of time.

I’m not sure how long I’m here–I may have dozed off–but suddenly the cool porcelain touches my forehead. My head jerks, and the cold jolts me into alertness.

My stomach has calmed, although the anxiety’s still there. I try to get up; with the alcohol now out of my system I have more strength but my legs are numb, and pins and needles obliterate my body for a few minutes. After massaging my legs for a while, I finally push myself to my feet and step into the shower, fully clothed. I wash the vomit from my hair, my cami top, and my arms, but the pain still lingers. Typical, it’s the one thing that would stay longer. I turn off the shower, take off my clothes, and wrap a towel around my body.

I walk gingerly out of the bathroom. For some reason my brain has detached from my skull and with each step I take, a pounding vibrates inside my head and through my body. All I want is to lie down and nurse this stupid hangover.

I reach the bed and go to lie down when I nearly squash a little girl, who looks no more than five years old. She’s on my bed, propped up on my pillow and staring at me.

“Oh, God! I didn’t see you there... I nearly crushed you!” I force myself to laugh, trying to get a smile out of her, but her face is expressionless. She’s somber, looking at me like death, not a peep of childlikeness in her eyes.

I sit next to her and smile gently. She seems to have no intention of talking to me and with my headache, I’d rather just curl up next to her on the bed.

I give it a try anyway. “I’m Maisy.” I raise my hand and start counting out the number of letters in my name on my fingers. “M – A – I – S – Y. Five letters. How many letters does your name have?”

She looks at her fingers for a second, then raises three.

“Three. Can I try to guess your name?”

She looks away, as though uninterested in any interaction, but I spot the twinkle in her eyes.

So, I persist. I’m not sure where this little girl came from, but she’s the distraction that I need. “Is it… Eva?” No reaction. “Maybe it’s Eve? No. Zoe? Ana? Lia? Kay?” I throw my hands up in the air dramatically. “Okay, I give up.”

There’s an infinitesimal smile on her lips when she glances at me, but she quickly looks away again. She’s amused, at least.

“Okay, I got two more names, and it must be one of those two. It must!” I giggle. “Is it… Ivy? No. Okay. Right. Right. This is it. Are you ready? It’s…” I make a drum roll sound on my thighs which draws her eyes to my hands, then back to my face. “It’s Mya! Ta-daaa!”

She flashes me the biggest grin ever, her eyes shining, and she nods, looking dumbfounded that I guessed her name. Lucky for me, I did.

“Now, you must tell me how old you are. Come on, I guessed your name.”

She lifts her hand and spreads all five fingers in front of my face, still grinning.

“Five?! Oh God, you’re big! And you got a great name. I love it! I’m Maisy, and you’re Mya. M and M.”

Her guard seems to be down now, and she laughs.

“Have you had M&M’s before?”

She nods.

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