Chapter 4

Dalia's POV

   I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and the memories of last night came rushing back. I felt a warm body against mine and covered my face in embarrassment. I did not regret what happened though, it was one of the best nights of my life.

  I carefully pried myself from Alexander who was in a deep slumber. He looked so peaceful sleeping, his dirty blonde hair splayed around him,I wanted to run my hand through it but refrained from doing so.

   I knew it was a one night stand and it would be awkward for both of us if he was awake, so I carefully went about picking my things from the floor of the bedroom where it had been dropped.

  

    I remembered my panties had been ripped and mentally palmed my face. Fuck you Alexander, I thought in my head, now I have to go commando . I picked my boots and tiptoed to the living room where I quietly put on my clothes praying to God that the man in the bedroom will not wake up until I leave successfully.

   

    I picked up my bag after putting on my clothes and boots and checked to see if my phone was broken when I dropped it in the heat of passion the night before. I thanked God when it wasn't broken and checked the time, 4:50 am. I tiptoed towards the elevator door and sighed in relief when I got in and no Greek god was in sight.

    That was definitely the walk of shame, I thought to myself.

   I used the elevator door to fix my hair a bit, took out my stash of mint gum so I  wouldn't have morning breath and applied lip balm. Feeling satisfied with what I saw , I ordered a ride to my apartment as the elevator went down to the ground floor.

  

   I had to wait about ten minutes in the morning cold before my ride arrived. I got in and gave him my address. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the backseat, thinking about my getaway this morning I almost laughed out loud. 

   

    I arrived at the apartment at about 5:30 am, paid for my ride and went up to our apartment. I was about to knock on the door when the door suddenly opened. Chelsea pulled me in with so much energy I almost fell. 

   Damn, this girl has a lot of energy for such an early morning. I thought to myself almost laughing out loud.

   "Now, spill everything. I want every detail, girl", Chelsea was almost yelling in my face and her face shone with the excitement of a kid in a candy store.

   "Well, good morning to you too Chelsea. Glad to see your body parts complete, where's your stranger?", I asked Chelsea playfully.

   "He left,more like I threw him out but he's not here any longer. Now, stop being a spoilsport and spill", Chelsea rushed out while dragging me to the couch almost tripping me.

   I shook her head in amusement at her overly excited state and sat down as  instructed. I told her everything that happened since she left me on the dancefloor and how I ended up in his hotel room.

    Chelsea hugged me in excitement, "finally having fun, are we?. This is the happiest you've been regarding any man, in fact anybody that's not me, since you came here, Lia. Too bad it's a one time thing". Chelsea said and I nodded my head.

    "I know, I know, it is what it is though. I had fun with it and that's the most important thing, right?", Chelsea agreed with me and urged me to go shower saying I smelled like sex.

    I laughed and flipped her off as I made my way over to my room to wash up. I stripped myself and made my way into the bathroom. I saw my reflection in the mirror and Chelsea wasn't lying, I did have a glow to my face. 

    As I washed her body, I remembered all where his mouth and hands had been on my body. I remembered him using a warm towel to clean me up and blushed slightly, he sure is a gentleman.

    I left the bath wrapped in a fluffy towel and decided to call my mom as she oiled my skin. The time was already 6:00 am, I knew mom would be awake already, she's a morning person.

    I dialled mom and she picked on the third ring. "Hi, Mama. Good morning, how are you and Papa?",  I said into the phone as I heard mom's heavy breathing on the other side, she's probably on her morning walk.

  "Hey, pumpkin. It's nice to hear your voice after all these days, I thought you forgot your Mama. Your Papa is still asleep, you know that man loves his beauty sleep. To what do I owe the early morning call?", Mom said from the other side of the phone.

   "I'm sorry Mama, I've just been busy with my part-time jobs and sometimes I work overtime. I called you to tell you I got a job at a corporate firm yesterday, I'd have called you yesterday but we went out to party and you know how Chelsea is, we just got back this morning", I lied partially to mom. Mom loved Chelsea to bits but I'm not sure she'd want to know what we were actually up to.

   "Oh, I'm so happy for you pumpkin. Your Papa will be so happy to hear this news, he's been complaining non-stop about how you've neglected him",  Mom squealed like a teenager on the phone and I laughed at her.

   "Tell him I'll call him soonest and that I miss him too. I have to go now Mama, I need to sleep off the fatigue. We're going shopping for new work clothes for me later today, I'm reporting to work on Monday", I said as I yawned into the phone.

   "Okay, pumpkin. Have a fun day and don't take long to call again. Tell Chels I send my greetings. I love you baby", Mom said before hanging up and I promised to call her soon.

   I picked out a boy short and tank top to sleep in and I fell into a deep slumber immediately my head hit the pillow.

   Chelsea came to wake me up around 12 pm so we could go shopping. I picked out a sweatshirt and skinny jeans paired with a converse and tied my hair in a ponytail. I picked my phone and we went out to the mall.

   We got to the mall and started entering stores. We shopped for more than three hours, before deciding to call it a day. Chelsea is like a chipmunk on caffeine when she's shopping.

   I told her we should go and get something to eat and we went to the food court. We got burgers and fries with drinks and sat down to eat. We were talking about random things and people as we ate when my eyes caught something.

    I thought I saw someone that looked like Jason and the fry I was about to put into my mouth dropped onto the table. My lungs felt like they were going to explode and my vision started getting blurry as my whole body shook. I felt hands around me but I could not react to it.

  No, no, he couldn't have found me. He can't be here,no, he can't be here. These were the thoughts running through my head as I felt like I was drowning, I was finding it so difficult to breathe.

   Oh, God. I was having a panic attack in the middle of the mall. I tried to calm my breathing and focus myself back to the present.

  When I calmed down and was able to breathe again, I looked over to where I saw Jason but couldn't find him again. It must be my imagination playing tricks on me, I thought. I told Chelsea that we should leave.

  I could not believe I broke down in front of Chelsea like that, I had not told her the reason why I came to New York. Even though she did not question me before, I knew this incident would definitely bring up questions.

  It's not like I do not trust Chelsea, I do but I could not bring myself to talk about my situation. I hoped she wouldn't question me when we got to the apartment but that was just wishful thinking.

   "What happened to you at the mall, Dalia?"Chelsea asked me once we reached the apartment.

   "Nothing, Chels. I'm fine really, it was just a panic attack, I have them from time to time", I said hoping she won't say anything further.

   "That wasn't nothing, Dalia. Something triggered you and pardon me for trying to know what happened with my best friend. You've been secretive and have changed a lot since you moved in with me. I was hoping you'd tell me when you're ready but it seems you don't trust me or even regard me as a good friend. I'll be here whenever you're ready to talk", Chelsea said angrily and marched to her room.

   I felt bad. I do not want to keep things from her, I just can't bring myself to tell her yet. I hoped Chelsea was going to forgive me soon.

   Tears slid down my cheeks as I made my way to my room and curled up on my bed, crying for the rest of the day.