The Unseen

Raya wakes up in a blur for the 5th time after coming here. She cannot feel or see anything clearly as she drags her droopy eyelids open to the dimly lit room. Her head feels like a 100 tons heavy stone has been sitting on it. She shakily exhales as her throat feels completely dry. She needs water...she needs to drink something.

She tries to get up from the bed but feels too weak to even move an arm.

Frustration and confusion fog her mind as she tries to call out to

someone...anyone to help her out of this incomprehensible misery.

"H-Hello? Help...please!" her voice trails off as expected.

"The princess woke up again! Huh! So, what does she want now?" "Water...please, I need...drink... I..."

"Water? You cannot sell yourself short, you beautiful bimbo! Let's get something that would suit you more than just bland water.

As the neck of a bottle touches her lips, Raya opens her mouth instantly just to wince and groan. The sharp alcoholic taste burns down her dry throat and an evil laughter follows.

Raya chokes on the drink as she tries to swallow it.

"Atta girl! The perfect bourbon for the perfect Raya." A hand grips her hair as her head jerks back sending a surge of stinging pain across her backbone. She gasps as hot tears tickle down her cheeks.

"Tsk tsk! Don't cry, princess. You know I hate to see you cry..." She doesn stop sobbing. Her whole body shivers with pain.

Well, if the princess doesn't wanna end her sobbing circus now. I have only one solution for you...here, back to sleep. Bye, bye princess."

She feels a sharp needle against her arm before dozing off.

Oriana wakes up with a startle and a crazily pounding heart. She's never been able to sleep peacefully since she was 18 but the waking hour panic

attacks have ceased to bother her on a considerable level until today. She

struggles to breathe feverishly looking for her inhaler on the nightstand. Her pounding heart has perfectly synced with the throbbing brain that might just come out of the skull anytime. Tears of frustration and the nagging fear that came alive after yesterday's text start to blur her vision little by little. The room starts to spin like a spinning wheel which seems to decide the next stop in her fate.

A distant noise catches her ears as it keeps echoing...like a beeping of a broken machine but with a different synchronization. She squints her eyes to let her brain think...or function properly to at least make her recognize

the damn sound. beee....p... bee...eepp....beee...eee...ep...

She must be losing her mind, she frustratingly shakes her head. Either that sound needs to stop or she has to go back to sleep which is...well, quite ridiculous given her insanely cluttered mental space.

"Oriana? Oriana?" the beeping slowly morphs into something audible yet distant.

She looks at her door. "Oriana?"

Huh! Somebody is calling her? Is it what seemed like a weird beeping noise?

"Oriana? You there?"

Phew! She can finally recognize Bright's voice. Her roommate, Bright, who hasn't been introduced yet.

"Y-yeah! I'm here." her voice sounds weirdly croaked.

Bright opens her door and peeks inside, "You awake? I've been calling you for a while...thought you weren't in your room."

"O yeah? Haven't heard you...maybe I was deep in sleep or something." "You sure you're okay? You're looking really...like really pale and

clammy." Bright quirks up her brow as she sits on the edge of the bed.

She looks genuinely concerned. Her pale blue eyes are intently looking at Oriana, trying to understand what's happening. She can be out of the

house 5 days of a week but when she cares, she's genuine.

"I don't know. Just feeling a bit out of place and...sick..." she tightly holds on to her inhaler in a shaky hand like it's the elixir of life.

"I think you should call in sick today. I'm gonna stay home and I'm gonna be your guardian for the day...at least." Bright winks.

Oriana laughs in reply, "Sounds just about right."

"Great!" Bright gets up to suddenly turn around, "Dang it! I almost forgot why I came here to begin with. There's this very cute nerdy dude in the living room."

"Wait...in OUR living room? How did he get in?" "I let him in...duh!"

"So you let in a guy and completely forgot about it?" Oriana sniggers. "Yeah! Now the joke is on me, huh!" Bright rolls her eyes. "You

should've seen your face...scared the hell out of me."

Oriana smiles, "Yeah, sure."

"So, he was asking about you and damn! Girl, he seems to be into you...like he really cares about you."

"How did you figure THAT out?"

"It was all over his face. And that nerdy specs shoving thing he does...super cute!"

"Ah Fabian? What's he doing here!"

"Fabian? Yeah, kinda goes with his nerdy look. Who's he anyway?

Never knew the good girl Oriana can have guys hidden in her stash." Bright smirks.

"Come on! He's just a coworker and..."

"No coworker of mine came to this apartment just because..."

"You mean they didn't come in the morning...because it was time for them to leave!" Oriana grins smugly.

"You know what I mean!" Bright laughs with another eye roll. "Now, get up and see what does Mr. Cute cyborg want."

"Wow! Another very creative and context appropriate nickname..." Oriana simpers.

"I'm a genius, I know. So, should I give him coffee or tea or alcohol?

Nuh, it's a bit too early for alcohol..."

"Just give him a glass of juice from the fridge. He doesn't like hot drinks."

"Ouuuuh! Just a coworker! Sure." Bright gives the brightest smile before getting out of the room. Oriana cannot help grinning before wondering, what could bring Fabian to her place in the early morning!

"Hey! Morning!" Oriana walks in the living room and finds Bright having an incredibly engaging conversation with Fabian. Fabian looks more casual than usual. His hair is a bit disheveled than how it looks on the day

to day basis. Oriana's lips quirk up in a smile without her knowing...this guy is adorable!

"Hey, Oriana! You okay? Bright was saying you were calling in sick today! You never called in sick...is everything alright?"

Fabian even sounds different...let's not forget about the elephant in the room...he called her Oriana without stuttering!

Bright gives Oriana a wink with a smirk before pushing to her feet, "I'm gonna give you guys space to talk... I'll be cooking lunch today! You're

welcome to stay, Fabian."

Oriana chimes in quickly, "No, he has exams coming up..."

"Yeah, plus we'll have to be somewhere else now. Maybe next time?" Fabian smiles at Bright. Wow! Oriana didn't know he could smile at all until 6 months into her job and Bright gets to see it on the first day? A

twinge of school-girl jealousy burns under her skin before quickly dissolving. She shakes her head at her childish reaction.

"Wait? We? What do you mean?"

"We need to talk to Axel today. I know where he is gonna be." "Axel? Where?"

"At Alexina's party."

"Wait...wait! Alexina's party? How many parties does she host in a week?" Oriana frowns.

"I don't know...maybe everyday?"

"Who is Alexina?" Bright looks confused.

"Someone you don't know about." Oriana replies quickly before turning to Fabian, "So? We're going to the party?"

"Uh-huh! Seems to look like it." he shrugs.

"In this outfit?" Bright interjects before quickly blurting out, "Sorry, what I meant was you guys would look too casual...don't you think?"

Fabian laughs, "No, I get it... I was gonna let Oriana know about the party before going to get changed but she didn't pick up her phone or reply to my text. So, had to come down here."

"Ow! Sorry, I passed out completely...didn't even hear the phone." Trains of thoughts wander around Oriana's mind.

"It's alright! You in?"

"Yeah, sure. Meet me at the park after half an hour?"

"Sounds good. You didn't answer my question though. You alright?" Fabian narrows his gaze.

"O yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired plus I needed to work on the assignment late into the night. Nothing big."

"Cool! One more thing, you didn't ask me how did I know about Alexina's party?"

"I already know the answer. She invited you...come on! She's got this huge crush on you... It's no news." Oriana smirks.

"No, not really. Alvis called me last night and mentioned the party." "Alvis? How does he know?"

"Apparently, he knows Alexina more than us."

"Does he have a thing for all underage girls?" Oriana sounds disgusted. Fabian sneers in reply, "I'm not so sure."

"Okay, see you after 30?" "Yeah, see you."

Bright's mouth gapes, "What's actually going on here?" "Help me get ready and I'll fill you in."

"Wooah! Get ready as in to impress Mr. Cute cyborg or...?" "Nope! To get words out of a potential murderer."

"Woah! Sure." Bright looks clearly taken aback but follows Oriana to her room anyway. She needs to hear the mysterious tale.