Secrets

Chapter Seventeen

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When you wake up in the black of the night, you are puzzled. It takes you a few seconds to realize that it isn't morning, even if you're staring directly at a clock, you just don't understand that you've woken up too early. Then there's those times when you wake up and everything is a blur. Usually the confusion lasts a short amount of time because your brain starts to function properly.

And then there is the situation I'm in.

I open my eyes, rays of sunshine blinding me. Blinking furiously, I sit straight up, the comforter falling away from my body. Cold air hits my skin, causing me to shiver violently.

I'm in a bed? There's sunshine? It's cold?

The gears in my brain suddenly begin turning, and my eyes widen as quite graphic memories of last night resurface. I quickly cover my naked body with the blanket again, searching frantically for my clothes. I see them scattered throughout the room, my bra even dangling across a computer monitor.

Leaping up from the bed, I race to each piece of clothing and dress myself as quickly as possible. I take note that Zayn, if that really is his name, is no longer present in the room.

Fucking bastard.

After throwing on my dress over my underwear and struggling to reach the zipper in the back, I'm fully clothed again. Looking at my reflection in a nearby mirror hanging on the wall, I realize that my hair looks worse than a bird's nest. I try to tame the tangled waves as best I can, but I still look like a female version of Albert Einstein.

Just as I'm about to turn away from the mirror, I catch the reflection of the bedside clock and groan loudly. It's 8:45 am, meaning I probably won't have time to make it home without making my parents suspicious or being seen by the neighbors.

The black clutch that I brought to the party is by the bed. Walking over to it, I search through the pockets, making sure he didn't steal any of my money. Luckily, it's all still there. If it hadn't been, I would've flipped shit.

My phone lies near the alarm clock, with four unread messages. One is from Sean early last night, asking if I was procrastinating. The second is from Jake, asking where I was around one in the morning. The last two are from the same, unknown number.

Unknown: Hey babe, last night was fun. Just don't tell Jay that.

My eyes nearly fall out of their sockets and onto the floor. The second text from Zayn is a phone number, and based off of the context, it's Jays. Of course the boy I have a one night stand with knows Jay. Why wouldn't he know Jay?

Deciding that Zayn is bad news, I bloke his number, however not before saving Jay's number in my phone. I might not want him in my life, but there might come a time when I need him, and it'll be helpful to have direct contact.

Holding my phone tightly in my hand, I look around. It seems that I'm still in the house from last night. The bedroom's decor matches the living and dining rooms, so I assume it's the same home just a different room. That means I'm still only a few blocks away from my home. I could make it home on time, although I have to try to find Jake, so I probably won't.

I send a text to my mom for when she wakes up soon, saying that I left for my morning jog extremely early. I doubt that she'll believe my lie, but there honestly isn't anything I can do.

Walking over to the door with my purse and phone in hand, I pull it open and step into the hallway. From downstairs, I can hear soft snoring, meaning that there are still others here. Trying to walk as silently as possible, I head towards the stairs and wander towards the living room.

There are multiple college boys asleep on the couches and on the floor. Jake leans over one of the unconscious boys, lightly slapping his face. His slapping gets harder, and yet the boy doesn't wake up. "Is he dead?" I question, not understanding how someone could be that heavy of a sleeper.

Jake's head snaps up. He stands, abandoning the sleeping boy and staring at me as if I'm crazy. "Where the hell have you been?" He whispers angrily.

I shrug, not exactly in the mood to describe my sex life to my brother. "I feel asleep, didn't you as well?"

"Well, yeah, of course I did," he admits, still whispering as he tries not to wake up the other students. "But I looked around for you this morning, and I couldn't find you in the pile of dead bodies."

I almost smile at his attempted humor, but I don't find myself doing so. "It doesn't matter where I was, okay? I'm fine. Now can we leave now, please? I need to get home or mom and dad are going to know that I was at a party."

After Jake writes a note for one of his friends and sticks it to their forehead, we find ourselves outside, getting into Jake's truck. I wonder whether or not he has a hangover, but I don't question it, because I probably wouldn't want him to drive me to the street I live on if I did know the answer.

I wasn't lying when I told Jake that I'm fine. I'm slightly disgusted with myself for falling into bed with a fuckboy, but I can't change my actions, so there's no point in beating myself up over it. I begin to wonder if Zayn had drugged me, because I honestly don't feel hungover at all.

The car stops suddenly, parked on the side of the road, at the entrance to the street I live on. There's still a bit of a walk left, but I'm glad Jake parked in a location that is not visible from my house. I look towards him, smiling the slightest bit. "Thanks for inviting me to the party, bro. And thank you for letting me see you."

He pulls me in for a hug, and we don't let go for a minute or two. After pulling away, I quickly get out of the car, not wanting to start crying. "It was good to see you, little sis," he says as I turn for one last goodbye until the next time. "Keep being you, Tori, and never stop for anyone, ever."

I wave as he drives away from me. The girl in the little black dress, with messy hair and a confusing life, is waving goodbye to her brother for the first time in years.

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QOTC: Do you hate Tori for having a one night stand?