Chapter 9 Nine

• Ethan:
• I woke up with a pounding headache, my eyes stinging from the light that streamed through the cracks in the curtains. My brain felt like it was swimming in a thick fog, and my limbs were heavy, as though I’d just run a marathon and then passed out from exhaustion. I blinked a few times, trying to get my bearings, but nothing seemed familiar. I sat up slowly, wincing at the movement, and scanned the room around me.
• This wasn’t my place. The decor was entirely different from what I was used to—dark, rustic furniture with vintage lamps and a faint scent of lavender in the air. The sheets were softer than what I’d had on my bed at home, and there was an unfamiliar pillow beside me. I rubbed my temples, trying to remember how I ended up here. What had happened last night?