#Chapter 132: Infested

Ava I awoke to the sensation of the bright sun filtering in through the window and a distinct ache in my head. For a moment I just laid there, squinting my eyes against the brightness—and then the events of the night before hit me like a freight train. The ball. The bachelorettes. Chris’s proposal. Elise’s threat. Degas’s collapse. The frantic rush to the clinic. Staying by his bedside as the Elder laid there, unconscious and hooked up to a thousand different machines… And then there was the moment with Chris on my path; cupping his cheek in my hand, the soft, regretful look in his green eyes. Telling him about the potential drug deal. And the feeling of being watched, followed by the face in my neighbor’s window. It was all so much. And before I could even begin to parse through it all, a soft knock at the door pulled me out of my deep train of thought. Frowning, I pushed myself upright, clutching the sheets against my chest as I called out, “Come in.”