What wakes him up is the banshee scream.
In the periphery of his mind, he hears a woman screaming—faintly, as though she's coming from far away. He tries to open his eyes, but fails at the first attempt. His eyelids seem stuck together, like somebody glued them. He musters the will to open them, actually "telling" his eyelids to "let go." And when finally he gets a glimpse of the morning light, the screams hit him like a slap in the face.
"What did you do to me?" Claire is sitting upright on the bed, her arms on her chest, glaring at him. Her hair is disheveled, and she smells like she's been stewing in whisky. "Oh my God, did you take advantage of me?"
Gabriel Tan tries to open his mouth, but pain streaks through his head even before he utters the first word.
"How could you do this to me, Gabriel?" Claire sobs. "You've taken advantage of a helpless girl! I was knocked out! How could you?"
"Aw come on," Gabriel mutters, grimacing in pain. "This is not how it looks like."
