Bo
It was just like waking up from the dream. I don't know what happened when Lauren touched me. It was like a jolt that went straight through my body. Not painful, just electric.
I tried to gather myself. It was when I was staring into her eyes, something like deja vu. Well, I guess it could've been that we'd made love in this bed, but something in my gut- my instincts- told me it was something more.
"Bo, what just happened?" Lauren asked, fear showing clearly on her face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
I swallowed, shaking, and looked back at her. "I... I don't know," I clenched my fists and took a few deep breaths. "I don't know what that was."
Lauren studied me closely. I could see the concentration on her face and knew she didn't understand either. "Just calm down," she said softly, reaching out to touch my arm.
I quickly stood up and started pacing, which was a bad idea. The tea had made me dizzy, on top of what just happened. My head spun and I doubled over. Lauren grabbed me and guided me back to the bed. "Sit down," she ordered and then she crawled on the bed behind me and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing firmly. "You're having a panic attack," she explained, her voice low and calm. Soothing. "Just keep breathing, alright?"
I nodded, unable to speak. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours as I tried to regain control.
"You okay, now?" She whispered, her breath soft and warm against my neck.
I closed my eyes and nodded, "Yea, I think so."
She released her hold and I felt the emptiness, just like after awakening from my elusive dream. Without her arms around me, the warmth and safety disappeared once more.
Lauren
I sat staring at a glass of wine, staring at the blood tests I had done on Bo, unsure what to make of what happened earlier. I had taken blood from her after she'd relaxed, then I left.
The only thing I could do was run tests and tomorrow I would bring her to the lab for scans. The blood results were normal, as were her vitals. It must be anxiety and stress, or at least I hoped it was. But Trick's worry was starting to rub off on me. Something wasn't right.
Bo
I waited in Lauren's office while she looked over the multiple scans she'd done on my head a few days before.
"Have you been... feeding... regularly?" She asked from behind her desk, not looking up at me.
"Yes," I told her, "from Dyson."
She nodded slowly, still not looking up. "All these results are normal. Has the tea been working?"
"I haven't had the dream. I've been sleeping fine and the dizziness is gone."
"Okay, so, I'm thinking its just anxiety. Maybe something has stressed you out and your mind is trying to work through it subconsciously." She shuffled around the papers and then stood up. "For now, continue taking the tea before sleeping. If it stops working, let me know."
"But what about what happened the other day?" I asked, wondering why she still hadn't brought it up.
Finally, she raised her eyes to mine, slowly, and I could see the pain in them. "I think that was maybe... well I can't be sure," she looked as though she didn't know how to answer, or maybe didn't want to. "Bo, I... I hurt you," she whispered, eventually, and lowered her eyes.
I swallowed and nodded, looking down at my hands. We hadn't talked about the betrayal face to face yet. Aside from the messages Lauren had left and I'd refused to listen to, the subject hadn't been brought up. As I thought about that night my chest tightened. "Yes, you did, Lauren. You really did," I answered in a low voice.
"I know," she began, "I know you think it was a lie but-"
"What does this have to do with anything," I cut her off sharply, unable to hide the pain in my voice.
Her eyes stayed on mine with a defeated look, "I think it was the instinct of the Fae part of you. It... it's protecting you... from me."