Iris

TW- Attempted SA

The rich aroma of coffee pulled me out of my restless sleep, and I sat up with a groan. Eyes remaining closed, I held out my hands and sighed when the warm weight of a mug settled on my palms. Only after I took the first sip did I peel open my eyelids, and as expected, Minh sat on the edge of the ottoman, watching me with wry amusement.

"Thank you for this."

My friend folded her arms over her chest. "For which part? Carrying your drunken carcass up the stairs? Holding your hair while you puked? Lying to your sister when she stopped by? Or for the coffee?"

"All the above?" I replied meekly.

A muscle in my cheek twitched in the opposite rhythm of the pounding in my skull. This was precisely why I never drank more than a glass or two of anything alcoholic. Recovery had always been difficult, even in my twenties. After thirty, being hungover had to be next to dying. Not even the flu made my head hurt like this.

Minh rolled her eyes and held out her hand. "You can add these to that list."

"You're a goddess," I exclaimed, swallowing the four ibuprofen and chasing them with caffeine. With any luck, I might feel like half a human by dinner.

"So..." Minh crossed her legs, propped her elbow on her knee, and tucked a strand of sleek black hair behind her ear. "You going to tell me what happened?"

"I didn't tell you last night?"

"Not really. In between vomiting, you just kept saying you were a terrible person. You might have also said man-eating whore, but I assumed you were talking about Ivy."

Sinking into the couch cushions, I chewed on my bottom lip as I shook my head. "No. I was talking about me. Garrett called me that—"

"I'm going to rip off his dick," Minh hissed.

"No, no. He didn't actually say it. He started to, but then I cut him off. I told him not to say something he would regret. To be fair, he had every right to be angry."

Minh's cheeks flushed, and her eyes glittered with menace. "That doesn't excuse anything. You're not a whore."

"I know I'm not, but I'm still a terrible person."

"Why?" She nearly fell off the ottoman as she gasped. "Did he find out that you're not Ivy?"

"No. Worse. He found my manuscript."

Her lips formed a perfect circle. "Oh...shit."

"Yeah. Exactly. He thinks Ivy fed me the details of their time together, and now I'm sure he thinks this was all some game. That she slept with him just to gossip, which definitely tracks with what he knew of her before."

"Iris...I know you don't want to hear it, but it's time to come clean."

Tears welled up in my eyes. "But he's going to hate me."

Minh's expression was one of pity as she moved to sit beside me. Putting her arm around my waist, she settled her head on my shoulder and said, "If he really loves you like he said he does, then he won't hate you. He's gonna be mad. Really mad. But then again, he already is, so what do you have to lose?"

A sob bubbled up out of my chest, followed by a strangled laugh. Minh turned her head to look up at me. The small crease between her eyes deepened as I continued to laugh and cry until snot bubbles formed in my nose. Only after I stopped did she get up and bring me a tissue.

"Better?"

"No. I really, really love him." I blew into the tissue.

"I know you do."

"And I really, really like sex. Like a lot."

Now it was her turn to laugh. She held her stomach and bent over. "Look at you! All these years of abstinence, and now you're addicted to the D like the rest of us."

"I think it's just his."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. If he won't forgive you, I promise we can find you an equally satisfying dick. Now, go get in the shower because you stink. Then go find him. Get it over with."

An hour later, I left Minh's apartment feeling a little less like death but just as sad and nervous as I'd been the night before when I ordered the third shot of tequila.

At least I felt like myself. Like Iris. And it wasn't just the clothes...though, I did love the comfort of being back in my oversized sweaters and leggings. Trying to curl up in a chair to write while wearing a pencil skirt was impossible. Maybe it was the fact that I was coming clean to Garrett, or maybe I had exorcised my sister with tequila. Either way, I finally felt right.

Someone curled their fingers around my wrist and yanked me into an alleyway. I tried to pull away, but my assailant only held on tighter, sending jolts of pain down my arm. There would definitely be bruises.

"You stupid bitch."

"Paul?" I stuttered, recoiling from his alcohol soaked breath as he leered at me.

"Cut the innocent act, Ivy. We both know it's bullshit."

"B-but I'm not Iv—"

"You cost me everything," he said with a slur, pushing me into a brick wall so hard I saw stars. Those stars multiplied when the back of his hand landed across my cheek.

Cradling my face, I dropped to my knees. Blood filled my mouth from where I bit my cheek, and I spit it onto the concrete to try to get rid of the bitter taste. Gravel crunched under his shoes as he squatted in front of me and grabbed my chin.

"You've got two choices. Put that pretty mouth to use doing the only thing you're good at or lose all your teeth."

"Paul," I pleaded, twisting in his clutches. Darkness crept into the edge of my vision. "I'm not Ivy. I'm Iris. Her sister."

Panic flared in his expression, but it disappeared almost at once. Sliding behind a cruel grin. "That's even better. She can see what I did to you and know I'm coming for her next."

Holding onto me with one hand, he moved his other hand to the button of his jeans. "Let's see how you compare to your sister, shall we?"

"Get your fucking hands off her."

"Garrett!"

My heart swelled with hope as I took in the sight of him. His broad form blocked the exit, leaving Paul with no choice but to face him. The asshole should be terrified because I'd never seen a man as furious as Garrett was right now. It was almost as if he vibrated.

"Well, well, well," Paul said, not looking nearly as worried as he should. "It's a real party now."

"I said take your hands off her," Garrett repeated.

"Gladly."

Paul released my chin. I rubbed the tender skin as I backed away and never saw his fist coming. Bone crunched against bone. Pain ripped through me like lightning, and then everything went black.