Chapter Twelve: The Next Day

I peeled my eyes open and immediately regretted it. My head was pounding. The light was hurting my eyes. I felt like crap. If this is what happens every time you drink, I was done drinking. I shut my eyes and groaned. I knew if I moved my head would kill me. Instead, I just stayed still.

I heard someone moving around in the room. If we were being robbed, I was no match for the robbers. They were going to take everything and I'd just sit here and let it happen. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with that. All I could focus on was my head and how badly it hurt. It was so bad, I was starting to get nauseous. I just wanted it to end.

"Get up. You need to take some medicine and get in the shower," It was Indie. She tossed some clothes on me. "I took the liberty of putting your medicine on the nightstand next to you and giving you some orange juice."

I stuck my hand out and felt the small bottle. I knew exactly what it was. I opened my eyes and took the medicine. I also realized I was at Indie's house. After a few more minutes of just lying in bed, I got up and took a long shower. My piercing migraine was now just a small headache. I pulled my hair into a loose bun and pulled on the clothes Indie gave me. I left some of my clothes at her house, so I was all set. I was wearing an oversized sweatshirt and jeans. Kira and Indie were sitting in the dining room eating and talking.

I took a seat next to them, helping myself to the plate of breakfast food in the middle of the table. It was after twelve so Indie's parents were out. It was just us in the house. She didn't have a large house. Just a small family home with a guest room. The guest room was for her grandparents when they visited since Kira and I tended to stay in her room.

"Last night sucked!" Kira groaned, sipping on her drink.

"I'm the one who had to watch you!" Indie scoffed.

I took a bite of a piece of bacon, "I can't remember a thing."

They both gaped at me. Indie was the first to speak, "You were that out of it?!"

I shrugged, "So long as I didn't do anything embarrassing, I don't care."

"Define embarrassing," Indie bit her lip.

I dropped my bacon, "What did I do?"

"The minute we left, you got drunk. Griffin said you were all over some guy and he had to drag you away. Then you took a nap in the grass, so he had to carry you to the car," I could tell she was stifling a laugh. "Then you started cuddling up to him in your sleep."

I dropped my head on the table, "Please tell me that's the end."

"Almost. To top it all off, you pulled him into bed with you and he had to pry you off of him," She broke out into laughter.

I felt like dying. What was wrong with me? Besides the alcohol. I was all over him. He must've been so uncomfortable and I had no boundaries. To make matters worse, he was alone with me for a while. There's no telling what I did. Hopefully, it wasn't more embarrassing than it already is.

I sighed and let them get their giggles out. I was a mess when I was drunk. Though the hangover was probably the worst thing I've ever witnessed, I wouldn't mind doing it again. Except I wouldn't drink as much. I would like to remember my night. Especially since apparently, I did a lot last night.

Once they sobered up, Indie turned to me seriously, "Griffin's good for you. He's a good person."

I gave her a puzzled look, "What are you talking about? I already told you, Griffin and I aren't dating-"

"I know that. He's still good for you. He's respectful and I just get a good vibe from him. Keep him around, okay?" She stared at me with such intensity.

I nodded, "I, uh, will."

Kira crossed her arms, "This is so unfair! Everyone has someone but me! And I like everyone!"

"Actually, I'm still single," I pointed out. "Griffin's still just my friend."

"Yeah, for now," She muttered.

-*-

I got home around four. I knew my parents were going to have questions and I'd have to answers all of those questions. Indie told me the story she made up so I wouldn't struggle to keep the lie together. Lying to my parents isn't something I usually do, but I had to today. I went to a party after telling them I was having nightmares again. There was no way I wouldn't get grounded.

I made it to my room before being bombarded with questions. Dad tried knocking, but mom just walked in. She stood there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Dad just took a seat at my desk and started messing around with the papers and things he saw. I knew he wasn't going to be mad at me. Mom, on the other hand, was fuming.

"Who said you could go over Indie's house?" She asked, but I knew it was rhetorical. "I didn't give you permission. I don't like your attitude lately. You've been acting so secretive and it's becoming a problem. I get you want your freedom, but you're taking it for granted. When I was your age-"

I usually don't interrupt her while she's lecturing me, but I really didn't feel like hearing one of her "when I was your age" rants, "Sorry to interrupt, but could Griffin come over? You know, to help me with homework?"

"Now you want to have a boy over?! Unbelievable! If I acted like this at your age, my mom would've torn me a new-"

"Maya, enough is enough. You've been mad at her since Wednesday. And for what? She can't help the nightmares. Keeping her in this house and yelling at her surely isn't going to help," He seemed genuinely fed up. "You both need to apologize and move on."

I nodded, preferring this over having my mom yelling at me, "Mom, I'm sorry for not telling you about the nightmares. I just thought they'd go away and wouldn't become a big issue. I'm also sorry for the way you found out. And I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Her anger was quickly replaced with sympathy, "Disappointed? Mackenzie, I'm not disappointed, I was just upset. I felt like you didn't want to tell me because you thought I wasn't worth it. I'm so sorry."

She came over and gave me a hug. I threw my arms around her and held her close. I felt my worries melt away. We pulled away and she and dad left my room. I sighed happily. This weekend was off to an epic start and I still had one more day left. I decided I wanted to take a nap. I stretched out on my bed and curled up in a ball like a cat.

Before I was able to drift off, I heard a knock at my door. I sat up with a frown. Tanner stood there awkwardly. I raised an eyebrow at him, still refusing to speak a word to him. He understood this because he seemed desperate to talk to me. Tanner's never desperate to talk unless it's restricted.

"Are you still mad at me?" He asked. When I didn't respond, he got his answer. "I'm sorry about Wednesday. I crossed the line and there's no excuse for it. You wouldn't do something like that to me and I know you wouldn't. And I've probably lost your trust by doing that and that freaking sucks. I also want to thank you for jumping in when you did. If my coach found out I was fighting, I would be benched. So, um, thanks."

I still didn't say a word. He sighed and walked away defeated. I wasn't about to budge just because he apologized. It was a sweet gesture, but it didn't change anything. He wasn't going to get away with that. He's the reason I almost cried at the dinner table. On the bright side, I got to say bye to Lindsay. At least he didn't ruin that.

Something about what he said bothered me. He thought I wasn't going to trust him anymore. I didn't even stop to think about that. Tanner and I connect on a personal level. We both end up in the same spot on the couch at two in the morning. Our problems with sleeping, or lack thereof, brought us together. Before my nightmares and his insomnia, we weren't really close. He was just my brother and I was just his sister. Now he's one of my closest friends.

Trust wasn't something I've ever had to question with Tanner. Now that I had to question, it wasn't easy to judge. I knew I could trust him, but I knew that before and look at where I am now. I decided I would add that to the list of things to deal with later. That list was pretty long now. Longer than I could handle. I had a little less than a year now.

I heard another knock on my door. Griffin stood there, waiting to be welcomed into the room. I felt my throat go dry and my face warm up. I forgot I had to face him. After what happened last night, I didn't know if I could. Yet here I am.

"Uh, hi," I greeted awkwardly. "Come in."

He took a seat at my desk, sitting up straight as always. He was back to wearing his dark colors. He had on a gray crew neck with black pants and boots. His watch was on his wrist as always. In a way, the dark colors were endearing. He definitely seemed more comfortable with them than the brighter colors of the color spectrum.

"So how bad was the hangover?" He immediately asked.

"It was horrible! Why didn't anyone warn me?!" I shouted.

"There was no stopping you either way," He shrugged.

I paused for a second, "Yeah, that's true."

After a while, I finally got the courage to ask about last night. I wanted to know just how out of it I was. My first time drinking and I got blackout drunk. Just my luck. Good thing I was around my friends, otherwise I'd probably wake up next to a stranger.

"Griffin, what exactly happened last night?" I asked.

"You mean to tell me you don't remember a thing?" For the second time today, I was met with a gaping face. I shook my head. "You kept talking about having so much fun. Then you started messing up my hair and saying it was soft. And you decided you wanted to take a nap on their lawn."

I shook my head, "This is so embarrassing."

"It was pretty entertaining. Besides the part when you decided you wanted to flirt with some stranger," I could hear the irritation in his voice.

"Indie told me a few things and I'm sorry for clinging onto you like a monkey," I chuckled awkwardly.

"It was terrifying actually. It's like you get some sort of super strength when you're drunk," He shuddered.

This time, I actually laughed. I also noticed how speaking like a normal teen. It was heart-warming to know he actually listened to me. After two years, it was a nice change. I only started zoning out of conversations so I didn't have to listen to Micah talk for hours. He almost never listened to me either. It's like my words went in one ear and out the other.

Griffin actually listened, even if he didn't want to. He comes from a completely different world than me and he was trying to adapt to mine because I asked him to. I liked the feeling it gave me. It made me feel like I could actually have a say in what happens around me. Like I actually have a voice again.

"Is that it?"

He nodded, "More or less. Just a few small details missing here and there."

I let out a sigh of relief, "I was expecting much worse."

He shook his head and the room fell silent. It wasn't awkward, thankfully. I was tired of awkwardness. After a while, a question popped into my head.

"Hey, Griffin? How do you know when to show up?" I was curious. It seemed like every time I needed him, he was there.

"It's a Reaper thing. It's like a sixth sense," He explained vaguely.

"So, you kinda have Spidey senses?" I grinned.

"What?"

"Spidey senses," I raised an eyebrow. "You know who Spiderman is, right?"

He shook his head, "Sounds creepy."

I gasped, placing a hand over my heart, "Do you know any superheroes?!"

He shook his head again, "Sorry, but no."

"That's it! We're having a movie marathon one of these days! You need to at least know Batman!"

"Spiderman? Batman? Why are these heroes named after animals? What's next? A hero of ants?"

"You have so much to learn," I laughed.

//

Not dunno how I feel about this chapter. Definitely not my best work. Then again, this is only a filler chapter so... Anywho, thanks for reading!

Tatty Bye! <3