Just as I was about to fall back into a deep slumber, the banging started up again, this time much louder. Someone was at my door.
With a groan, I sat up and leaned forward. I planted my elbows on my knees and rubbed my swollen eyes with the heel of my palms. Damn, I was exhausted.
"Coming!" I shouted and stood, and walked toward the door. I didn't bother looking through the peep hole, it could only be one of two people who ever stopped by.
Unbolting the lock, I opened the door to Hayden standing there, a concerned look crossed his face.
"Hey," I said softly. My face scrunched up. "What time is it?"
He titled his head to the side. "It's close to nine. Are you okay?"
My brows pinched together. Nine at night? Where had the time gone? I'd slept for roughly five hours but it felt more like a handful of minutes. I waved my friend inside.
"Of course I'm fine. I'm just tired. What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see how you were doing after your first blading session, but I couldn't get ahold of you."
"I broke my phone earlier, but I should have a new one in a day or so."
"Oh." Hayden scratched the back of his head. "I was worried about you. I brought dinner," he said in a hopeful tone and lifted his other hand. I hadn't even noticed the bag in his hand.
A thankful smile formed on my face and I ushered him into the kitchen. "That was sweet of you
, Hayden. What did you bring?"
He lifted the plastic containers from the brown paper bag. "I brought a few different dinners, I wasn't sure what you wanted and figured we could split it all." My stomach growled embarrassingly loud at the scents that wafted into the air. He paused and looked at me. "When was the last time you ate?"
I puckered my lips. "You know…I don't know?" I glanced up at the ceiling trying to remember what I ate today and when I had my last meal. "I think I ate lunch around noon. Then I picked up one of those cold pressed juices from that Hurricane Café before the session with Kova and Ethan, and that was it." I was suddenly ravished with hunger.
"Aid, you need to eat more." He slid a container toward me.
I lifted one shoulder and opened the lid. It wasn't a big deal to me. It wasn't the first meal I had ever skipped and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last.
"I lost track of time."
"But your body is burning way more than what you're taking in. It's probably why you're so tired and why you need those vitamin injections. You need to be fueling your body properly."
"Okay, Dad… Mom… Kova," I said sarcastically.
"I'm serious. Have you done blood work to make sure there's nothing else wrong? Maybe you're anemic."
I ignored him. I did have blood work done, but I was still waiting on the results. There was nothing wrong with me except for my drive to succeed.
Laid out before the two of us was a smorgasbord of food: quinoa, jasmine rice, fish, chicken, green veggies. So many items, enough to feed a family of six…at least.
"Jeez, Hayden. Have enough food here?" He shrugged like he had no other answer.
"So, how’d you break your phone?"
I told him about my conversation with Avery while we spooned food onto our plates. We sat on the barstools and dug in. Hayden, of course, had double the amount than me.
"I mean, I feel like I would've told you, but you did imply that nothing was going on, so I see her point too."
I grimaced. I wanted him to only see my point.
"But don't you feel that’s her duty? That she still should have anyway?"
He looked at me, perplexed. "Her duty? I'm sorry, but I don't understand girl code."