The words hung in the air after Rouxi turned and walked away.
"I told you so."
The four syllables landed with the weight of absolute certainty, and then she was gone, heading up the stairs without looking back.
Zhou Chenghai sat on the couch with his hand still pressed against his ribs, feeling the sharp ache that came with every breath. The swelling around his left eye had progressed to the point where his vision on that side was starting to narrow as the bruise spreading dark and hot beneath the skin.
His mouth was dry. Painfully dry, and he could taste the copper of his blood from where he had either lost a tooth or had bitten his cheek when he was hit. But the dryness, the blood brought about the kind of thirst that made swallowing difficult and made him acutely aware of how long it had been since he'd had water.
He needed to get to the kitchen for some water.
Simple goal. Simple action. Stand up, walk across the room, get a glass of water.
