Ruby Tuesday

Chapter twenty

A.N. Hey have you guys realised that at this point Brian has round about a year left. It's kind of sad to think about isn't it? Sometimes I cry when I think about Brian so I won't blabber on too much about him.

    Needless to say the next day pretty much passed with us all fast asleep as we dreamt our hangovers away. Of course mine wasn’t anywhere near as bad as Jack’s or Angie’s they seemed to have taken full advantage of the free bar, nearly destroying their organs in the process.

    I ran my fingers listlessly through Jack’s mane as I stood beside him as he hugged the toilet miserably. I tried to offer him comforting words but the truth of the matter was that I was really trying not to gag myself. When he was finished being sick for the time being he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and he glanced up at me with his piercing blue eyes surrounded by dark circles and waxy, clammy skin. He looked awful. All glamour and show apparently puked down into the toilet for there wasn’t a trace of it about him then.

    “It’s alright,” I frowned in concern although my voice was clipped. “Uh, I’ll go get you some water sweetheart, it’ll do you good. Here,” I gestured uselessly to the sink as I took a step back. I didn’t mean to but I must have looked like I couldn’t have gotten out of there any quicker. “Rinse your mouth out.”

    Turning on my heel I sharply hurried down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen. Brian was at the sink and spun, holding out a fresh glass of water with a tiny smirk on his mouth.

    My eyebrows pulled down inquisitively but he spoke before I could ask, “I heard you. Jack seems to always forget the morning after drinking so much. You should see him on tour!” Taking the glass he could tell that I was clearly unimpressed so tried to backtrack as quickly as possible. “Well, you know what I mean. It’s only alcohol it’s not like it’s anything else. Well…It used to be before he met you but he’s all holy and pure when away from home and-”

    “Brian,” I stopped him, “It’s fine.”

    He smiled sheepishly but I walked away rather than engaging in any more peculiar conversations with him. I couldn’t help but be mildly curious that he was up and awake at all and given that he was awake that Angie hadn’t coaxed him into sharing her bed.

    I handed the glass to Jack who looked a wreck slumped against the sink with his hair splattered all over his face, his skin shimmering unpleasantly. “Do you need-”

    “Ha, it’s just a hangover babe,” Jack attempted at laughing before shakily snatching up the water and gulping it down before I could advise him to sip.

    I went and sat on the edge of the bath with my ankles crossed as I stared down at the white and orange stripes lined vertically down my skirt. I’d never really appreciated just how much I loved that skirt before.

    We didn’t leave my mother’s house until late evening the next day when I was sure that Jack would be safe to drive without falling asleep or throwing up. Crystal was staying with the neighbours while mum and Charlie were gallivanting on their honeymoon so we had no further obligations to stay. There wasn’t much room in the back of Jack’s car but Angie squished in beside me in the front passenger seat while Brian sat with his knees practically by his ears in the back.

    I still found it curious as to why the Glimmer Twins hadn’t performed at my mum’s wedding, why it had been Brian but I never thought much to raise the question. It felt ungrateful given that they had done it for free.

    During the journey from Kent to London I fretted silently about Angie and how much longer she would stay real and in front of my eyes before she would fade into mist in my hands and disappear on her magical adventure. As selfish as it was I was terrified of the idea of living without her. I’d relied on her my entire life, it just didn’t feel real for us to be living separately. If she had any kind of similar feelings she never let on as she jabbered ceaselessly the whole way back. For a lot of the time she boasted about her modelling job while other parts she sneered at Derek.