Chapter 5

Nadia began to feel rather ill. The room had begun to spin. Her stomach was twisting into horrid knots. This happened whenever she was surrounded by people for a prolonged period of time. She was rather surprised she could actually make it through school as often as she did. Perhaps that was one reason her schedules were occupied by rather small classes and only a few of them at that. The psychyatrist she saw, while in New York, said it was some type of psychosis. She couldn't remember what he had called it exactly. From the way he described it, it was her own inner way of battling her fear of people. She was subjecting herself to her own fear, trying to overcome it somehow. It wasn't just a paranoia, it was a fear as he had said to her.

She jumped when a hand clasped her shoulder. Matt's blue eyes were flooded with concern. "Are you ok? You're sweating up a storm." His from was so soft.

Touching her brow, she realized she was almost covered in sweat. "Uh, I don't feel so well. I - I think I need to go home." She stood from her seat on the couch. The floor tilted beneath her feet.

"Here, I'll take you home. I mean, I don't think you should be walking home by yourself." He waved to Bonnie, motioning for her to come over to them. Worry flashed across her features. "Bonnie, she isn't feeling too good. I'm going to take her home, ok? After I drop her off I'll be right back. Don't let Nick eat all the pizza either." He chuckled a bit as he nodded towards Nick.

Bonnie pouted and put a hand on Nadia's shoulder. "I'm sorry you're not feeling good. It doesn't have anything to do with Damon's little fit does it?" Before Nadia could shake her head 'no' Bonnie started talking again, "I hope you feel better. Maybe you can come to my house tomorrow if you feel up to it. I'll call you ok? You don't have class do you?"

"No."

"Good. Now, Matt you take her home then hurry back." Bonnie gave Nadia a quick hug before she and Matt walked for the door.

On their way out several people said good bye or waved. Matt said his goodbyes and held the door for her. He walked silently with her to his truck. As the cool air hit her face she began to feel a bit better. The ground had stopped spinning, but she still felt ill. Giving her more space seemed to help quite a bit. She could breath much easier. The cooled sweat gave her skin a clammy sensation. The skin on her arms prickled with goose bumps.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck, "Here's my truck. She's not much to look at, but she gets me here and there." He held the door for her and waited for her to get settled before shutting the door. He walked around the front of the truck and climbed in himself. "So, we ready to go?" The truck sputtered to life as her turned the key in the ignition. "Just let me know where to turn and what not, alright?" his smile was so bright and sincere.

She nodded, "No problem. I'm sorry for spoiling Bonnie's party." She olded her arms across her stomach as if she were trying to hold it still.

"What?" He glanced at her and shook his head. "You didn't ruin anything." Matt paused a moment, "Now had she not known and prepared for Damon's ways he would have ruined it. That's why there's still people coming to the party; she knew he wouldn't stay long. She was prepared to have fun either way. She sure is determined."

Nadia's eyebrows scrunched together, "Well, if she knew he wouldn't stay then why would she throw the party for him to begin with?" Bonnie was really begining to make her confused.

Matt shrugged with a laugh. "Now that I couldn't tell ya. Your guess is as good as mine on that one."

The headlights played about the road ahead of them. It had gotten dark rather quickly. The road was deserted. There weren't even animals on the side of the road to graze at the grass on the shoulder. The waxing moon watched down from the sky above them. There were no stars in the sky. It was if the enitre universe were hiding behind the blanket of the night sky. Some how the nearly empty skyline looked familiar. The thought spider was back and itching at her thoughts. What was it?

Matt pulled up in her drive a few minutes later. "Well, here we are. Nice house."

Nadia nodded, "Thank you for the lift. Here's a five for the gas." She pulled a five dollar bill out of her pocket and held it out to him.

"Keep it. I offered to give you a ride, it's on me." He pushed the money back ito her hand and smiled.

"Well then, this is where I leave. Thanks again." She climbed out of the truck and shut the door. Shoving the money back into her pocket she started up the walkway. Nadia waved to Matt once on her porch and began to unlock her door. He waited just long enough to make sure she had the door open before he pulled out of her driveway and headed back to the boarding house. She smiled as she shut the door behind herself, he was so nice. 'His girlfriend is a very lucky girl.' After locking the door behind her she dropped her keys on the coffee table and pulled off her boots.

Nadia carried the boots to her room and dropped them in her closet. Her closet was still stcked with boxes. Out of habit she rarely unpacked all the boxes. There were so many things that she had in those boxes that she honestly felt she did not need. She was clueless as to why she continued to bring them all with her. Perhaps it was her way of giving her emotional bagage a physical form. She wasn't sure and doubted that she ever would be to leave any of the boxes behind. She could not even remember what was in some of the boxes, but never the less, they were still all there.

Stressed, she rubbed her forehead and closed the closet door. The headache was returning. It was a persistant throbbing at her temples. She shook her head and wandered to the refrigerator. It wasn't a determined walk; it was more of an aimless stepping. She opened the frige and was greeted by fully stocked shelves. Not hungry, she grabbed a beer and popped the top with the church key magnet on the freezer door. She tipped back the bottle and as she drank the beer thirstily she watched the bubbles travel up the bottle. Once she pulled the bottle down she licked her lips, the strawberry beer was sweet. It actually tasted more like strawberry soda than a beer. She had first tried it at a bar and decided she liked it. Nadia wasn't a heavy drinker. She liked to have a beer every now and then. It was something to wind down with. Her favorite wind down tactic was to read a book with a beer. It was so soothing to her nerves.

Once finished with the beer, she tossed the bottle in the garbage can and went back to her room. She slipped out of her clothes and put her bracelet on the dresser. After slipping into an oversized t-shirt she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. She squeezed a bit of foaming facial cleanser into her hand and began to wash away the makeup. She splashed the warm water in her face several times. Once the makeup and suds were washed away she turned off the faucet.

As an after thought she decided to get in the shower. She stripped down again, folded her panties and night shirt and set them on the counter next to the sink. Nadia stepped into the shower and turned the hot water on. The water washed over her in comforting hot sheets. As soon as the water started getting too hot she turned on a bit of the cold water. A sigh of comfort escaped her lips. She closed her eyes and let the the water rush in her face. She poured some shampoo in her hair and began to scrub her scalp. A giggle rose in her throat as the floral scent reminded her of the herbal essence comercials. The suds bubbled down the back of her neck. Rinsing the shampoo out a few suds even trailed down her flat trim tummy. She squeezed the creamy conditioner in her hair and massaged it through her hair. After she rinsed her hair one last time and scrubbed down she turned off the water. Her hand wandered to the towel rack , 'Damn no towel!'

Gingerly, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed her night shirt on her way to the towel closet. Toweling off she patted her face dry. She dropped the towel into the hamper at the back of the closet. Nadia pulled on her panties and night shirt. She closed the closet door and set off down the hall back to her room. She chuckled as her feet squeaked on the hardwood flooring.

Halfway down the hall her feet slipped out from underneath her. Her attempt to catch herself was futile, her hand slipped right off the wall. Her heart stopped when her feet flew in front of her. Everything seemed to go in freeze frames. Her emerald eyes buldged in shock and fear of the pain she was anticipating. At first her elbow hit the floor, hard. For a split second she heard her shoulder pop from the force of the blow. Her head smacked the floor like a ten pound bowling ball. The thwack resonated within her head. Bright starbursts danced all over her line of vision. Just as the pain began to spread through her head and shoulder everything began to fade to black. Just black...