Astraya wakes up to a tap on her face. She fights the heaviness in her body and looks up to find Liam standing over her with his phone extended in front of him. He looks exhausted. She can see the tinge of concern in his eyes as she leans up in his bed.

"Hey, you okay? Your um- your brother called and he wants to talk to you. He came by earlier but you were sleeping."

The events from before begin to flood through her head. She remembers everything from being seated in Uriah's car to being with Harry where she assumes he lives. "No," she surprises herself by saying. Her voice sounds different to her own ears. It's raw and tight and Liam crouches down, tapping one button on his phone before giving her his full attention.

"You're okay," he tells her. "You're done, you're out. Harry'll leave you alone, I promise."

"What happened to your face?" Her head tilts, just now noticing the bruised skin around his right eye. The swell isn't really noticeable but it's there and Astraya's more confused than curious. "Who did that to you?"

He doesn't say anything and she reaches out to touch it.

"It was Harry, wasn't it?" She pulls away and hides her shaking hands between her thighs.

He shakes his head quickly. "No, no it wasn't Harry. It doesn't matter who did it. I'm asking you if you're okay. Do you need your painkillers? Harry brought some over and said you need to-"

Astraya holds out a hand to stop his rambling, blinking at him until he finally meets her gaze. "It was Uriah," she decides quietly, looking for the slightest bit of doubt in his face to let her know she's wrong. It never comes and she closes her eyes, resting her head in one hand, elbow pressing hard into the skin on her thigh. "Why would he do that? Liam, why would he do that to you?"

He takes her hands in his but she's too wrapped up in her thoughts to register that he only does it for comfort. "It's not a big deal."

She pushes him away as softly as she can and then stands up, eyes drawn to the burgundy carpet on the floor. Almost everything in his bedroom is burgundy. It doesn't help that all she keeps thinking about is blood.

Her stomach is twisting and Liam's in front of her just as she wavers on her feet, hands coming up to her shoulders. With a shake of her head, Astraya looks down at his hands and he removes them with soft eyes.

They're bloodshot. His face is so bruised and there are finger marks on the side of his neck where she's sure is where Uriah tried to hold him in place. Her fingers find the marks and the pads of them gently roll over the skin.

"Astraya,"  he whispers, catching her attention.

She tilts her head and licks her dry lips. Doesn't answer him as his gaze keeps hers hostage. It surprises her when he looks away.

"You're okay."

She makes a face, noticing that his eyes have moved to where her lips are. The silence is thick and she's oblivious for a moment, thinking maybe she has something on her lips until she sees him lean in.

Astraya coughs to break the moment. She shakes her head, detracts her hands from him, and leaves the bedroom. His apartment has always felt like a second home to her but now she feels like a mouse in a maze. Trapped, and her head is still heavy from whatever is in her system.

She walks into the bathroom and locks the door behind her, sitting down on the toilet seat and putting her head in her hands. The watch on her wrist lets her know it's five in the morning. If she waits here until seven she can go straight to work as soon as she's out of his apartment.

A knock comes to the door. It's gentle but urgent at the same time. "Astraya let me in."

She turns off the lights.

The knocks don't stop. They're incessant and seem to get louder. She tries not to focus on him but then his voice comes again. "I'm sorry. Listen, I'm-"

She tunes him out the best she can, humming calmly and hoping he doesn't try to pick the lock or break the door down entirely.

Hush-a-bye, baby, in the tree top.

"Open the door." The handle begins to shake.

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

"Astraya?" The door pushes in. The hinges don't break but she still gets further away from it, her back pressing hard against the porcelain bathtub. "Unlock the door."

She reaches inside of the tub to turn on the faucet.

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.

The shadow peeking from under the door lets her know he's still there. Still waiting for her to get out. Her throat is sore. She knows all he wants is a response, some way to let him know she's okay, but he's scaring her too much and she's too weak to defend herself. Her fingers try to disengage the cast from her arm but they just dig into her shoulder instead.

"Please," he's begging now. "Open the door. Please let me in."

She thinks he's done trying to get in himself but then the door shakes again, this time causing one of the hinges to break off. It's not enough for him to get through but it means he's one step closer. There are tears on her face that she needs to wipe away before he sees her.

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

"Astraya-"

"Please." She forces herself to croak out. The door and its handle stop moving. "Leave me alone. Please? I don't know you."

He stays quiet and she bites down on her right hand's index finger's knuckle.

"I don't know you anymore, Liam."

She feels him slide down the barely there door. Holds on to the soft sigh he lets out because it's the closest thing she's going to get to a Liam she won't be seeing anymore. "I'm not trying to scare you, I just want to know you're okay."

The sound of the water from the tub calms her more than his voice does.

"You're just acting this way because of the medication he put you on. Just give it a few hours and-"

"Please," she cuts him off. Her voice is shaking but she hopes he doesn't hear it. "Leave me alone. I want to be alone."

The shadow under the door disappears and she sits on the floor staring at the light creeping its way in. It's curved from the dented wood. She knows he's gone when she hears him talking on the phone in the next room over.

After composing herself, Astraya shuts the tap and rubs at her eyes that are still adjusting to the darkness, wondering for how long she'll have to wait in here until her nerves calm down. She wants to believe him when he said this may all be part of the side effect of whatever she's on, but part of her feels like it's not.

Her shoulders relax against the tub but she never completely settles until her eyelids start to droop.

◦

When she wakes up, she's not on the tiled floor of Liam's bathroom. She's in the passenger seat of a car. Astraya doesn't think a lot about it until she remembers everything that's happened.

She immediately sprints up only for a hand to come and push her back down. The force exerted makes her arm throb under the cast. She turns and sees Liam behind the wheel, arm still splayed against her like a seatbelt would.

"I'm taking you home," is all he says before putting his hands back on the wheel. "You're obviously scared of being around me right now so I'm taking you home."

Her mouth is dry so she nods, shifting her body more toward the door next to her. She presses her forehead against the glass and welcomes how cold it is against her hot skin.

The rest of the ride is quiet. Astraya feels like she should get something out before she leaves him on a bad note but just sitting next to him makes her feel nervous. Still, she lets out an uneasy breath, making him turn to give her a side glance.

"You think I'm paranoid."

"I hope you're paranoid."

She nods and looks out the window to watch the cars around them pass by. The sky is getting brighter, an indication that it's well past seven and she might as well not go in to work today. Work sounds like a minuscule thing right now, sitting in the passenger seat beside someone she's terrified of at the moment. "You kill people."

This catches him off guard. He drives past a red light, now suddenly in a rush. "Maybe you should rest until we get there."

"Where do you hide the bodies?" It's a question she genuinely wants the answer to.

The speed of the car increases. "I'll uh...ask Harry for different medication since this one is...you know..." he trails off, trying to change the subject or deflect everything onto her.

"I got shot by one of the guys you kill people with."

"It's not like that."

The car begins to slow down when he finally reaches her apartment building but Astraya doesn't wait for it to make a complete stop before she's out of the door. "I'm paranoid," she whispers under her breath, turning to Liam while the door is still open. "Fuck you."

The door is slammed closed and normally he'd wait out front until she disappears into the elevator but he takes the first opportunity he gets and speeds off onto the road again. She leans against the wall of the building with tears in her eyes, too exhausted emotionally and physically to want to move just yet.

(A/n: In my defense, it's twelve in the morning and I haven't slept for the past day or two, so please excuse grammatical errors. Have a great day everyone!)