All We Are

Crystal Addison stood back and surveyed her latest project. The black bookcase was repainted in different shades of blue and grey, with an intricate silver filigree pattern on the top and sides. She had known straight away, when she'd spotted this piece of furniture at Annabelle's Op shop weeks ago, that she could do something special to it. A good clean, two coats of chalk paint, plus some very careful stenciling, finished off the bookcase nicely. She snapped several pictures with her camera, to post online later in the day.

Two years ago, Crystal would never have dreamt of how her little hobby would gradually turn into a proper business; it was merely a fun thing to do. For a while after leaving school, she found work as a bike courier. But she never wanted to be just stuck in any old job. So, she started to upcycle whatever she could find. At first Crystal was only selling to friends and relatives.

Eventually her unique creations gained her more customers, helped along by a website she called The Magic Eye, which her cousin Chelsea had built for her. She was able to bring in a few like-minded individuals to join her; Joan, Violet and Taylor, her old school friends, immediately put their hands up. Neville and his girlfriend Celeste had responded to an advertisement.

The group worked well together and soon enough their upcycling venture really took off. They had even sent stuff overseas. The orders kept on coming in. There wasn't much room at her own home, so Crystal rented a spot right in the center of the town of Swan Haven, for her work. It was situated above both a photography and art studio, where classes could be held. The landlord was an easy-going guy, as long as you paid on time.

Now, looking at another complete upcycled object, Crystal was proud of the end result. She had a feeling that the bookcase wouldn't be sticking around for too long. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She dug it out to see who wanted her; it was Marina, a girl living on the same floor of their apartment complex, whom she had become friendly with.

"Hey! Are we still going to the KnightFell club tonight?" "Of course." "Cool. I wasn't sure. You complained earlier in the week, of a migraine. I know that they can get really bad." "Nope, it's gone. I feel great." "Awesome. You can wear that new outfit you bought the other day." "I was thinking the exact same thing." "Alrighty then, so I shall see you at eight thirty sharp?" "You got it."

********

The first thing Crystal became aware of when she awoke the next morning, was the sharp pain in her head. Her eyes were aching, and she felt kind of nauseous; surely it wasn't another migraine, at least not this soon. She eased herself into a sitting position and looked down. She was still in the dark denim jeans and red blouse she had chosen to wear the previous night; no wonder she was uncomfortable!

Her boots were placed neatly by the bed. Crystal thought this was rather odd, considering she always put her shoes away in the wardrobe, plus she never forgot to change into her pajamas before going to bed. She tried and failed to recall any details from last evening. This was a genuine concern; she was meant to be the designated driver for her friends. So, there was no way she had intended to get drunk.

In fact, she was sure that her glass had been filled with nothing but Coca Cola. Yet thinking about her current predicament, this was exactly how she felt when occasionally, she did let loose and drink a few too many. Crystal pushed the covers off of her and stood up, only a little bit unsteady. The alarm clock read seven fifteen. She could snuggle back in bed and sleep for a couple more hours. It was the weekend and she had nothing else planned for the day. Perhaps when she woke up again, she'd feel better.

Her stomach began to churn. Fortunately, she managed to make it to the bathroom. She rinsed her mouth with water from the sink and took a short glance in the mirror.

It was not a pretty sight. Her normally tanned skin was very pale, and her grey eyes were bloodshot. She needed a hot beverage and some breakfast. Crystal changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. She ran a brush through her light brown hair to untangle the knots but decided not to tie it up into a ponytail.

The smell of cooking food was wafting through the air and only got stronger as she opened the bedroom door. Crystal paused in mid step, confused and wary. It didn't make any sense; nobody else should be in the apartment. For three years she had been living on her own. However, she may soon have to find other temporary accommodation, since someone had recently bought the complex, with the intention to demolish and rebuild. An official promise was given to the residents; they could move back in once the work was all done. So that wasn't anything she needed to worry about.

In the meantime, who the hell was bustling around in her kitchen?

She tried to be as quiet as possible, hoping to catch the stranger off guard. Crystal came around the corner and the person turned to face her. Clearly, she wasn't as stealthy as she'd hoped. The guy had a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. It looked like he was about to finish off an omelet.

She stared in total silence, at once noticing that he was kind of familiar. "Hey Crystal. Are you okay?" It then came to her, who he was; her friend Marina's older brother who she'd said was staying with her for a while, after a bad breakup with his boyfriend. She vaguely recalled when they were introduced last night, that his name was Drake.

Other memories struggled to surface, but she couldn't quite get hold of them. She attempted a smile. "I'm fine. What are you doing here?" He flipped the omelet without any hassles and placed it back on the stovetop. "You were sort of out of it, I don't really know what from, but leaving you by yourself didn't seem like such a great idea. Don't worry I slept on the couch. Oh, and by the way, your friends also arrived home safely."

She felt herself relax a little, now that she knew she wasn't confronting a total creep. "Is the food for me?" "Yes. Breakfast is ready. I was only hanging around for a bit longer, to be sure you were alright." "I could do with a coffee." "Coming right up! How do you like it?" "Black, one sugar." Drake grinned as he poured the boiling water into two mugs. "A girl after my own heart."

He served up a big slice of toast and half of the omelet, then put the plate in front of her. "I swear I haven't poisoned it." Crystal polished off the food within minutes, not realizing just how hungry she was. She sipped her coffee slowly, feeling ever so slightly more human, with some color back in her face. Then what Drake said about her condition sunk in.

She looked at Marina's brother, and her stomach felt queasy again. She swallowed the bile in her throat. "I was drugged?" His green eyes darkened with anger. She saw he had bruises on his knuckles. In bits and pieces, the previous evening's events started to flash through her mind...

She had been on the dancefloor, surrounded by friends and having fun. A slower song came on and Crystal figured it was time for a break. She ordered a non-alcoholic drink, quite content to be alone for a moment or two. Inevitably, someone had to come up and sit next to her. Sure, he was attractive and charming. However, she wasn't here to look for someone to spend the night with; she had people relying on her tonight.

Crystal forgot his name as soon as he said it, but kept a friendly expression on her face, unwilling to cause offence. What harm could he do? She drained the rest of her glass and asked for another. He was chattering away, but for some reason she was now finding it hard to follow his words. Her vision blurred. She wiped a hand over her eyes, and they cleared a little. The guy didn't appear to realize that anything was amiss.

He did move a bit closer, which should have sent out warning signals. But she couldn't move, it was like she had completely frozen on the spot. She tried to push him away when he leaned down to kiss her, but nothing happened. It felt awful not being able to make her own body cooperate. He pulled her off the stool and started to drag her along like a rag doll.

In seemingly slow-motion Crystal looked around, trying get someone's attention. Surely even a stranger could tell she was headed for trouble. But no-one batted an eyelid. Most likely, they just assumed that she was wasted, and her gentleman friend was only trying to help. In a last-ditch attempt to free herself, she deliberately tripped over her own feet and stumbled right into another guy who spilled his drink.

It was Drake. He cursed. Her captor tightened his grip on her as he and Drake stood practically nose to nose. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but a fight was definitely going to break out. Her eyes lost focus and she slipped into oblivion...

She came back to the present. "That's how you hurt your hand?" Drake downed the last of his coffee. "He didn't have a chance, went down like a slab of concrete. Security was informed and threw him out. Marina picked up your bag and gave me the keys, plus the number of your apartment. " "Thanks for rescuing me." "No problem." A comfortable silence fell between them.

Drake's mobile rang out of the blue, making Crystal jump. He answered it, then passed the phone to her. "It's my sister." She barely got a word in at first, it would take some convincing for Marina to believe that she really was okay. "Honestly I am fine." "So you say. I have a few things to do right now, but I still want to drop by later and check on you myself."

Crystal couldn't help smiling at her friend's concern. "I look forward to it." "Send my brother over to my place and go crawl back into bed." "Will do. Bye!" She pushed the phone across the table. Drake scooped the mobile into his hands before it accidentally hit the floor and stood up. "Guess this is my cue to leave." She nodded, watching as he put on his jacket, then headed towards the front door.

He turned to give her a warm smile. "I'll see you around." "For sure. Thanks again for what you did." "Any time." Crystal washed the few dishes left in the sink, then got comfortable on the couch; this was a good a place as any to take a nap. She switched on the tv and lowered the volume, using it mostly for background noise, rather than channel surf. She lay down and shut her eyes, allowing her whole body to relax. Drake briefly crossed her mind before drifting off into dreamland.

He was someone she wanted to know more about. Neither were each other's type in a romantic sense, which was actually something of a relief; she herself would not be looking in that department any time soon. But the two of them could definitely become good friends. After all, if you can't trust a guy who saved someone they didn't even know, from a potentially dangerous situation, then who can you trust?

THE END