Secondhand Embarrassment

thirty: hangovers and bad decisions

lennon ||  olivia || billy || noah

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the next morning lennon wakes up with only faint memories of the night before, a blurred stop motion film replaying in her head as the hands on the clock rotate. all she can remember are unanswered phone calls and heavy air. regret knocks against her skull like a wrecking ball slamming straight into a dilapidated complex. the sunlight filtering into the room through the mildly translucent curtains demolish her internal organs, forcing her to crawl back underneath her covers.

it's nearly two o'clock in the afternoon when olivia finally turns the doorknob and walks into the room with a couple pills and a large glass of water in hand. she skillfully transfers everything to one side as she pulls back the curtain, revealing the cloudless blue sky and bright sun.

"drink this. you'll feel much better," olivia assures, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "god, lennon. what the hell happened last night?"

the mattress shifts and adjusts to the new weight under lennon's spine. she sits up slowly, stretching out her arms on either the side. the entire day has just slipped out of her hands.

after she finishes the glass of water and takes the medicine, lennon says, "you're never letting me drink again. do you hear me, olivia?"

"i told you what might happen after the second cup," she shakes her head, "you just didn't listen to me."

"did you tell me that i would almost accidentally hook up my tinder match's identical twin brother only to have him walk in on us making out?"

"i thought that was implied. what part of 'you do stupid things when you're shitfaced.' was not clear enough?"

lennon buries her face in the palm of her hands, muffling a melodramatic sigh. she still feels like she can sense the entire earth revolving, the room spinning relative to it. the pills have only amplified her hangover."i'm such an idiot, olivia."

"glad you finally admitted it."

"hey!" lennon kicks olivia's thigh from underneath the covers, almost knocking her off the edge of the bed. "you're supposed to be here to comfort me."

"i am,"  she insists, "but you've got to admit that he's kind of a genius, though. i never would've thought of setting this whole thing up. he got to know you when you thought he was someone else. in a way, that takes all the pressure off."

"if he had told me that his name was noah from the beginning, then-"

"you would've treated him differently, and you wouldn't have been yourself," olivia finishes the sentence for her. "why don't you just try calling him again? maybe he'll pick up now since it's the middle of the day."

pulling her phone off the nightstand next to her bed, lennon dials noah's number again and presses the device to her ear. her heart races in her chest as she listens to the rings slowly decrease, draining into a silence that has haunted her all night. a large part of her heart hopes that he'll answer the call, but she's not surprised when she's sent directly to voicemail.

︎︎⚐ incoming call: lemon carter ⚐

"hey there, you've reached the one and only noah lyons. i'm sorry i wasn't able to answer your call, but if you leave a message, i'll try to get back to you as soon as i can . . ."

there are always two beats lingering here, adding to lennon's anticipation. she fiddles with the bracelets on her wrists as she waits.

"unless i don't like you. beeeeeeeeeep."

"noah, you know you don't manually have to make the beeping noise right?" another male voice says in the background of the voicemail message.

"what really? are you sure, billy?"

"hang up the damn phone."

︎⚑ missed call from lemon carter ⚑

"told you so. i knew he wouldn't answer," lennon admits, unable to shield the disappointment on her face when she drops her phone onto one of the pillows scattered around her. "if he didn't answer last night, what would make him give up his day to talk to me?"

"try using my phone instead then," olivia suggests, tossing her cellphone to lennon from where she's sitting. her optimism shines through in light of the situation. "maybe he'll answer you because it's from a different number."

lennon catches the phone in the palms of her hands."i don't think this is gonna work out well. he probably doesn't even want to speak to me."

"well, you'll never know until you try." while lennon redials noah's number, olivia says, "i can't believe we've kissed the same guy now. if noah hadn't walked in, we would've probably slept with the same guy, too."

"the kiss was an accident," lennon responds defensively.

"so was mine, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen."

⚐ incoming call: unknown number ⚐

lennon glances at olivia skeptically, pursing her lips. she doesn't get to address olivia's obvious lie because the line finally stops ringing. she hears soft chatter before his voice breaks through. it's warm and soft at first, but that's only because he has no idea who's clutching the phone with trembling hands on the other side.

"hello?" noah answers. "who is this speaking?"

"noah, it's me, lennon. i need you to let me explain what happened last-"

the line goes silent before she is able to finish her sentence.

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