Page 121 of The Guru: Shadow

“Good morning,ma belle.”

She closed her eyes again.

Let me sleep, please.

But he did not.

“Stella made you coffee and waffles.”

Who is Stella?

Where the hell am I?

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” she groaned at him, hiding herself from the world. She was back in reality. Like PacMan, stuck in the loophole of existence.

“You look just as much,” came his chuckle.

“Thanks for the flowers. What’s the time?”

“1:33p.m., Wednesday.”

So, not morning, past noon. But, whatever. 33. Fuck.

Wait a moment.

“Wednesday!” she shrieked and sat up. “Did I sleep for a whole day?”

Immediately, she regretted getting up too fast, as her mind became a bit dizzy. She tried to wrap her head around all that happened. The press. Her Instagram. The hate mail. The filthy sex she had with Deis. And her heart immediately started to pound faster.

“Relax, Em. We took…or are, taking care of everything.”

“But…I–”

“Emma, listen to me. I am taking care of it. It is handled.”

She stared around the room and the bed she lay in. Emerald silk sheets and a magnificent view of Central Park. She was still in her clothes from the day before yesterday, but at least he didn’t undress her while she was passed out. Deis sat on the edge of the huge, king-size bed, a plate in his hand. Seeing the coffee and waffles made her stomach growl.

“Who is Stella?”

“My chef.”

Of course, you have a chef.

“Did I pass out?”

He laughed. “Pretty much, yes.”

“When?”

“After I fucked you in the shower.”

What? No. We went back–

“Just kidding. You passed out in the war room after we talked about that man following you. Blood loss and our activities might have been a bit much, but Doc was here and checked you over, he tended to your wound, you’ll be all right.”

Fuck. Still real. And Deis had a doctor who examined me without questions asked while I was out.