Infinite [h.s.]

4. a flash of red

I'm woken up by a pillow smacking me across my face.

I force my eyes open, squinting as I see freaking Mitch standing with his arms crossed at the side of my bed. The room is a bit dark, and the sound of the heavy rain outside and the occasional honk of of the cars fill my ears.

I have to still be some type of drunk; there's no way Mitch is here. He should already be landed back in California by now.

"You sleep like the dead when you're hungover," he says, his hair tied up as a look of amusement creeps up onto his face.

I'm dreaming, I must be dreaming.

That, or I'm fucking plastered.

"How are you still here?" I mutter, turning my body so that I'm facing him.

Bad move — the room spins as I adjust my body, and I force my eyes shut again as I inhale slowly through my nose.

"I must be dreaming," I murmur to myself, but a sharp clamp to my shoulder brings me back down to reality.

"Hate to burst your bubble, pal, but I'm still here," Mitch replies, and I slowly peel my eyes open.

"How are you not hungover?" I mutter as I slowly rise from the bed, tousling my curls with my left hand. "And why are you still here?"

God, I need some Gatorade or something to bring life back into me.

"I was going to blame you, but honestly? I overslept and missed my flight," Mitch responds sheepishly, and I shake my head as a light chuckle escapes my lips.

"Of course you did," I reply, slowly walking past him and making my way to the bathroom. I leave the door open as I turn the faucet on, splashing the cold water onto my face to wake myself up.

I need food and Tylenol — there's nothing I hated more than the hangover jitters and the pounding headache that accompanied them.

"Sarah got me a seat on another flight tomorrow morning," Mitch adds, standing in the doorway as I begin to brush my teeth.

Flashes of last night flood my mind — whiskey, Fleetwood Mac, baby blue nail polish, a pretty bartender.

Aurelia — the lively girl with the pretty honey eyes. I spent hours with her last night, and it was the most fun I've had in a while.

Images of her pink lips and rosy cheeks fill my head, and I smile to myself as I glimpse at my reflection in the mirror.

"Did you hear me?" Mitch asks, pulling me from my thoughts. I meet his eyes in the mirror.

"Huh?"

"I asked, what time did you come home anyways?" He repeats patiently, his arms crossed as he leans against the door-frame.

I shrug, leaning over to rinse my mouth. "I dunno...I don't really remember how I got home."

It's true — maybe I was so hopped up on Aurelia's energy at the bar that I didn't remember getting into the Uber and arriving back to my place.

"You spent it with the bartender, didn't you?" Mitch grins cheekily at me through the mirror and I roll my eyes. I open up the medicine cabinet and grab some Tylenol before I make it back into my bedroom with Mitch at my heels.

Like a damn puppy, he is.

I wash the Tylenol down with the glass of water on my bedside table before I respond. "It wasn't like that, man."

That was the furthest thing from my mind; I genuinely enjoyed Aurelia's company last night. I liked listening to her talk, I liked watching her laugh and work the bar. Her energy is so contagious, something that I hadn't ever experienced before.