Rosaline

XXXII.

I walked into the private gym area, letting out a large yawn.

Jasmine and Maria were already stretching and I joined them, lazily tossing my water bottle on the ground. The girls looked up and gaped at my appearance.

"Rosie, are you okay? You look like shit." Maria voiced her concern.

I couldn't be offended by the remark. I knew I looked like a hot mess.

My hair was tangled and my skin was paler than usual. The dark circles underneath my eyes didn't help either. My clothes were crumpled and one of my shoelaces was untied. I was more thankful that I was able to sneak out before Damon could see me in all my glory.

Hot Mess Central, here I am.

"I didn't sleep well last night." I tried to dismiss their concerns, when I finally tripped on my shoelace, face planting on the ground. Thank goodness it was on the mats. Maria and Jasmine pulled me up.

"I see. Well, how about we clean you up and have a chat?" Jasmine said before the girls ushered me to their bags, pulling out different beauty products.

After Erik found the chip yesterday, we all ran to Xavier's office so he could start examining it. Apparently, there were some safety measures and multiple firewalls, preventing others from accessing whatever was on the chip. Xavier expected it shouldn't take Erik that long to find a way past the encryption.

Damon took us back to his wing since there was nothing we could do but wait. At first, I felt a sense of satisfaction and elation. This all started and finished with me figuring out Angelo's request to get this information to his family.

I thought I would feel at peace, but it never came. Instead, I had nightmares and panic attacks throughout the night. Damon stayed in my room, doing his best to comfort me. I kept both of us awake and barely got any sleep.

"Why did you bring makeup if we're only going to get all sweaty?" I asked and Jasmine laughed.

"It's part of the career. Now hold still."

Maria slowly started brushing my hair and Jasmine started putting some moisturizer on my face. The sensations almost lulled me to sleep, relaxing and enjoying being cared for.

"Holy guacamole, this is nice," I sighed and the girls giggled at the dreamy expression on my face.

"Now, what's going on?" Maria prodded as she started braiding my hair. I closed my eyes as she played with my hair, one of my many weaknesses.

"Just dealing with the mental aftermath of nightmares and anxiety. I'm about 99% sure it's because of Angelo. In hindsight, I wasn't emotionally prepared to go into his room and then to finally find the answer to what has been haunting me for weeks...I don't know. I thought everything would go back to normal for me – that the anxiety and fear would go away. I did feel excited, but it was followed by a sense of dread and loss...am I making any sense?"