The next few days were a blur; the only things I really recall were laying on the couch with a bottle of liquor nearby to help dull the pain in my body as well as to dull my thoughts. I had the TV on constantly, thinking that some boring program would help get my mind off of things, but even attempting to put semi-coherent thoughts together made my head throb. And besides, I dunno if my mind could get off things if it wasn't on anything to begin with; it felt very off-kilter, off-balance, whatever you wanna call it.

Those first days, I was so out of it that despite the pain in my side, I didn't get around to changing the bandage on that wound until it was soaked through in blood and the blood had dried and was chafing my skin. Only then did I bother to get off my ass to get a fresh gauze pad. Tearing off that old one hurt like a bitch; I tried ripping it off in one fell swoop, but even so it hurt so bad that I drew blood from my lip when I was biting it to keep from screaming. A wonder that that wound never got infected.

Naturally, having not heard from me since the night we went out to Hot Legs, Linna or Nene were bound to get a little worried about me. So when Linna called me up, I wasn't surprised. But was I gonna let her know what had happened to me after she and Nene had left? Hell no. Lucky for me I hadn't invested in a good ol' vidphone yet. She would've freaked out if she saw my face.

"Today we're supposed to be going to Survival Shot, remember?" she reminded me.

Damn, that was today? Lost track o' time... "Now I do," I said flatly. "Tell Sylia and Nene I'm not gonna show up."

"Huh?" She sounded confused. "Why's that? You CAN afford to foot half the bill for dinner if we lose again, so if it's about the money, that's not going to work." She chuckled.

"It's not the damn money." ...Although it did seem like Linna and I lost every time we went up against Sylia and Nene in a round of paintball at Survival Shot... "I just ain't up to it at the moment."

A pause. A shitty excuse, and both of us knew it. "Not up to it? Did something happen? You do sound a little...I don't know...unusual."

"Unusual," I repeated, practically spitting the word. "Right."

"Priss, are you sure everything is ok?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Dandy. PEACHY. Ok?!" I slammed the receiver down, only to jump when my side flared up in pain. I grabbed it and winced in pain, leaning against the kitchen table for support. I took a few deep ragged breaths, feeling beads of sweat form on my forehead.

Yeah, I'm peachy keen, Linna. A stab wound, concussion, broken nose, lotsa bruises all over...sure, nothing Priss can't handle.

I cursed under my breath and shuffled over to the fridge and snatched a fresh bottle of vodka from it. Popping it open, I took a swig from it as I made my way back over to the living room couch. I licked the flavor off my lips, then sat down and took another swig.

Just a beating, I wanted to say. Just got beat up is all. Yeah, I got stabbed, but I'd been stabbed before. I could take care of myself. Let me do my own worrying. Didn't need anybody worrying about me. But I guess the fact I hadn't talked to anyone or left my apartment since the attack several days earlier was gonna eventually tip someone off. My status as a celebrity certainly wasn't going to work in my favor, either. But they didn't need to know anything; not Linna, not Sylia, not Nene, not my band members, not the tabloids, nobody. I could take care of myself just fine, or so I thought.

Hey, bitch. If you can take care o' yourself, then how'd you let THAT happen to ya, huh?!

No...I hadn't LET it happen... If I'd let it, I wouldn't have fought back! And what was 'that,' anyway? Musta been a wild figment of my imagination! That guy wasn't really on top of me, he wasn't really...inside me... No, no, no... Just a beating, that's all it was. Must've been just that!!

It made my head hurt to have these thoughts rampaging through my skull. I grabbed the bottle of vodka and let at it until I was too drunk to even be able to hold it. I flopped down on my stomach on the couch, dropped the bottle to the floor, and passed out.