A Man Has Horns // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 24 - And Thought of him I Love

I woke up not remembering how I got to bed. 

I was in my sleepwear and I looked to my left to see Imelda sleeping on her stomach, her hand dangling over the bed. 

I turned over to reach for my pocket watch and as I turned I felt a headache bang inside of my head. I felt as if I was ill and knew it was due to the concoctions I had consumed last night. 

I finally dug for my watch in my yesterday's trouser pockets and looked at the time. It was past 12 pm. 

We had missed lunch. 

I looked over and found Grace and Violet also still sleeping. It might be the case that the whole Slytherin House was absent from breakfast and lunch from yesterday's celebrations. 

I sat up and desperately wanted a shower. I squinting from the headache but gathered my things determined to slowly head to the female washroom. 

The halls were silent as everyone was most likely still asleep. As I entered the washroom, I undressed the white sleep shirt off of me in one movement and went under the shower head. As I turned the tap and the cold water cascaded on me and I remembered Garreth. 

All the scenes started to replay in my head. 

"Don't apologise. If it wasn't for Sallow right?"

Scenes of him kissing me in the abandoned tower played and I momentarily felt the feeling of his hands tracing down my back as he had that day. 

I saw him arguing with the Fat Lady. 

I saw him embarrassed of Leander and Cressida.

The weight of the situation had not yet dawned on me yesterday. 

I rose my face to the water pouring and turned the dial till it hit its limit for being the coldest temperature possible.

I sharply inhaled as my body stiffened from contact. 

My eyes closed and I saw Garreth's face as he had turned to leave. The hurt and disappointment. 

The smell of hair pomade. 

The smell of blood.

I stoped the water and panted from the cold.

It was difficult to accept what had happened and even more so to accept the consequences of my actions. 

I wrapped myself in a towel and held myself. 

What was there to do? I had developed feelings for Garreth in our short time together on top of the confusing developments with Sebastian. Imelda had told me from the very beginning that I had to make a choice and I kept waiting, thinking I had more time for a decision.

As for yesterday, as much as I wanted to blame potions and concoctions, I knew I had kissed Sebastian before even having had taken a sip of anything. 

Yes, the crowd was irking us to do so, but in truth, I relished the excuse.

I felt my chest strangle by the thought of my actions. 

And now what?

I took the towel off my shoulders and I wrapped my body securely into it before heading back to my dormitory. As I was making my way down, some students emerged from their rooms looking rather tired and green. There were wrappers and streamers, cups and bottles strewn around the corridor and it was difficult not to step on or knock anything over.

I opened the door and saw that the girls were up as well now. 

"Merlin, I feel awful," Violet was sitting up in bed, her hair standing completely up on the left side of her head.