Yesterday

DELILAH

We must have fallen asleep after everything we had done last night, because suddenly I heard Damien’s voice as he shouted,

“Shit!”

I urgently opened my eyes, but the moment I did, my vision wasn’t really clear. Through the blur, I could see Damien sprinting off the bed, running straight toward the bathroom. My heart thudded in confusion.

Then I heard footsteps, fast, sharp, and then Damien appeared. His presence filled the room with tension. His eyes swept over me, not lingering, almost like he wasn’t really looking at me at all. He just scanned me, scanned the space, and then his voice cut through the haze.

“You have got to disappear.”

I blinked, frowning, unsure if he was actually talking to me. “Is… is he talking to me?” I wondered to myself.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” His voice was harsher now, and when his gaze finally settled on me, it still wasn’t me he was seeing. It was that strange, hollow stare, like someone speaking at you but looking right through you.

I was still confused, caught between waking and fear, when he suddenly strode over to the bed. Without hesitation, he yanked the covers off me, his movements quick, urgent, almost frantic. He pulled me upright and gripped my hand tightly, his head snapping from one corner of the room to the next.

It hit me then, he was searching. Searching for someone, for something, as though the very air in the room was dangerous.

And then, the sound came.

A knock on the door.

My eyes darted to it, wide, my pulse hammering. When I turned back towards Damien, he wasn’t the same Damien from last night. His fear had unspooled, real and sharp. He looked unhinged.

He pointed sharply to the floor, toward the shadow below the bed, and with trembling urgency, he poked the covers down and shoved me toward it. I had no choice but to do what he wanted. I slid beneath the bed, heart pounding so loudly I thought the whole world could hear it. Above me, I heard him pacing, shuffling things around, rustling through the room.

I had no idea what he was doing until suddenly my clothes were being thrown towards me, right where I hid. And that's when it finally hit me.

A voice. I heard a voice I knew far too well.

“Damien? Dam, open this door! What’s going on?”

Oh my god. It was Elena.

“I’m coming!” Damien’s voice rang out, much closer than Elena's.

My chest ached, my heartbeat sharp and wild. My heart hurt. Was I imagining this? No, this was happening right now. He was covering up what we had done yesterday, scrambling to erase every trace.

The door creaked open, and Elena’s soft footsteps crossed the threshold.

“Hey, baby,” she said.

I frowned beneath the bed. Hey baby? Didn’t Damien tell me they broke up last night?

Silence. Just a few breaths stretched too long, then her voice again, almost teasing,

“What? Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“I have a headache,” Damien said, his tone low and guarded.

“Alright, I can help you with that.”

The mattress dipped under sudden weight, and my entire body tensed. No. No, I prayed it wasn’t what I thought it was.

“Elena…” Damien’s voice this time held warning. “Seriously, my heart hurts. I drank too much yesterday. I just want some breakfast, some water in me, before we talk about anything.”

A pause. Then Elena sighed. “Alright, fine. But I’ve been calling you. You weren’t picking up. I was worried about you.”

Damien stayed silent.

“Come on, Damien. Please don't be like that...!” Elena’s voice softened, sweet and coaxing.

"Look, Elena, I can't do this right now. Like I told you, I'm not in the right place. Why don't we just meet later?"

"Okay, fine." Elena's voice was slouchy, careless, almost lazy.

"You wanna come to my place, or can I come here? I know you want me," she pressed.

What the hell was he doing up there? I wondered, frozen under the bed.

Damien went quiet.

"Come on," Elena whined, her voice sharp with frustration, like a spoiled child who didn’t get the ice cream she wanted. "It wasn’t going to hurt your little sister. I don’t know why you’re angry about that."

"I don’t wanna talk about this now," Damien said firmly. "Just go, I’ll call you later."

"Alright, fine." Elena sighed, heavy and annoyed.

The bed bounced, the springs squeaking, and I knew she had gotten off the bed. A moment later, the door opened, then shut with a decisive click. Silence filled the room. I was still under the bed, clutching myself, with no idea what to do.

But what had I expected? That Damien would pull me out from hiding, maybe apologize, maybe try to explain? That he would at least acknowledge me?

That’s not what happened.

Instead, he moved on like nothing had shattered. I heard the bathroom door close, the rush of water as the shower came alive. Minutes passed. The water stopped. I heard him moving again.

I lifted the sheet slightly to peek, and my breath caught in my chest. His feet padded softly across the carpet. He came out of the bathroom, went into the closet. The rustle of fabric told me he was dressing, cleaning himself up, ready to leave.

And that’s when I couldn’t hide anymore.

I crawled out from under the bed, still naked, my clothes balled up in my hands. Grabbing a sheet, I wrapped it around me, the cotton barely steadying my trembling body.

"Damien," I said, my voice breaking—unhinged, desperate. "Are you leaving?"

"Oh, you're still here."

He said it as if… as if he had forgotten that I was in the room with him. As if I were an inconvenience. As if I were nothing more than a pesky fly he didn’t want to deal with.

And when he turned to look at me, this wasn’t the man from last night. This wasn’t the man who kissed me, who praised me, who made… made love, is that right?—to me.

This was someone completely different. But I didn’t let that deter me.

"Yes, I’m still here," I said. And then I added softly, almost pleading, "With you."

"Look…. Listen to me. Just so we’re clear," he said, his voice clipped, sharp, almost impatient.

He took a step toward me.

I held the sheet tighter against my chest, because I knew… I knew whatever it was he was about to say next was going to break me.

"Last night was a mistake. Don’t you dare tell anyone, or I swear you’ll regret it. Understand?" he threatened.

That froze me in place. I was surprised....shocked. My hands trembled, holding back the tears I thought were about to fall.

"But.... Yesterday, You...."

"Shut up. I’m not that desperate. Hey, you ugly. Don't even think about spreading rumors that we hooked up, alright? It’s super gross."