Girls Return [Girls Talk #2] [LGBTQ+] ✓

Chapter Fourteen- Aftermath

One thing became remarkably crystal clear the next morning after my party: I really shouldn't be allowed to drink too much alcohol. Oh well, you're only eighteen once, right? Although the tequila shots may not have been the greatest distraction from the horrific sight I had witnessed of Lake kissing Gina of all people (what had they been thinking?), it offered some comfort in a stressful time. 

I was also thankful for Jay and Imogen being there, of course. It truly did mean a lot to me. They also helped me clean up, partially. I didn't want to leave it all for my mothers to do. That would not have been the kindest of responsibilities to leave them with, especially considering they had been the ones to organise my party in the first place. 

I rolled out of bed and opened my curtains to observe that the weather was rather fitting. That is to say, it aligned with my mood rather well. The sky was filled with silver clouds, and it was cold and rainy, too. 

Not only was the weather disappointing, but the pounding sensation in my head was enough to assure me that most of the day would have to be written off. I don't think I had ever felt this bad post-alcohol in my life. But hey, I was certain that my mothers would make this out to be a thrilling life learning experience. I would have to agree to disagree on this occasion. 

I returned to  my bed and face-planted my pillow. Was it possible to defer my life for the next six months? I could hibernate like a squirrel or something. 

Jay soon joined me in my room, but I really did not want to be dragged out of bed, especially not today of all days. 

"Oh no, honey. You're not staying in bed all day," Jay said. 

I didn't understand why. Staying in bed  all day sounded like a fabulous idea. I groaned as Jay threw the curtains open. The audacity. 

I sat up in my bed and fixed him with a glare. 

He looked a little taken aback when he caught sight of me in the light, which obviously did wonders for my self-esteem, as you can probably imagine. 

"Annie, are you okay?" Jay asked. 

I felt tempted to groan in response again, but I avoided it. 

"Define okay," I replied. 

"You look like a ghost," he said. 

I just looked in my mirror to observe that my hair was a mess, and I had this wild raccoon look going for me, with smudged mascara under my eyes. Excellent, really. It didn't exactly help that Jay looked perfectly perfect. Not fair. 

I quickly rushed over to my mirror and wiped off the remainders of my makeup, and then tied my hair into a messy bun. Literally. A mess. I needed a haircut, but that would have to happen at a later date. 

"We could just go for a walk," Jay offered me. 

"Alright," I reluctantly agreed, "I'm just going to go and get ready," I informed him, and quickly paced away to my ensuite to brush my teeth and splash some cold water on my face. It helped a little, but my head was still pounding, of course. I soon headed back into my bedroom. 

Jay gave me a sympathetic smile. 

I appreciated the fact that he had come over. I probably woud have honestly spent most of the time crying over Disney animations if he hadn't. It was good to see him, anyway. 

"Ready?" he asked. 

"As I'll ever be," I replied pretty honestly, and the two of us then soon headed back downstairs and into the kitchen where Victoria and Kate were eating blueberry pancakes. They offered me one but I didn't feel hungry. It wasn't going to stop Jay from having one though, obviously. 

"Annie," Victoria said, causing me to turn my attention to her to observe her flip another pancake. 

"Yes?" I asked. 

"What exactly happened last night?" 

I didn't feel  like talking about it. Jay ended up speaking for me. 

"Annie saw Gina kiss Lake," he stated. 

Victoria's eyes widened then, and Kate looked utterly surprised, too. 

"Annie, you're going to be okay. You and Gina have been friends for a long old time. I promise you that you will be able to figure all of this out," she said. I was glad that I had my mom to be so supportive of me, but there was a slight concern in my chest that maybe things wouldn't so easily go back to normal between Gina and I. She may have been drunk, but truthfully it did hurt me to see her kiss Lake, my ex of all people. 

"You may be hurting right now, honey, but this heartbreak won't last forever. You're going to be okay," Kate reassured me. 

"Thank you, both of you," I said, "How's the pancakes?" I asked Jay, because I didn't really want to dwell on the whole Lake-Gina subject. No thank you. 

"They're good! Really good!" he said. 

No sooner than I could say anything else, there was a knock upon the front door, and I went to answer it to see Swan stood before me. 

"Uh, hey Swan," I said with a gentle smile, the only one I could really manage. 

"Annie, Lake told me what happened. I just want you to know that Lake really didn't mean any harm by it," she said. 

Then why wasn't he here apologising? I wondered. Oh yeah, it was probably because if he did I would deck him with a chair. Besides, I found her words incredibly difficult to believe. I nodded all the same, though. 

"Anyway, that was all, really. I better head back," Swan told me. 

"Right," I said, "See you later, Swan," I told her.

She gave a nod as she headed back to her car. 

I went back into the kitchen to find Jay. 

"Hey, want to spend the day together now?" I asked him. I felt unable to hang out with Gina any time soon, so this was presently my number one option. 

He gave a nod, thanked my moms for the breakfast, and then followed me out down the hall. 

We stepped outside with our coats on, as the rain was coming down slightly heavier than it had been this morning. It was weird, though, the sun was peering through the clouds every so often. 

"Annie, I just want to let you know that I'll always be here for you," he stated. 

I gave him a kind smile at his words. 

"I know you will," I returned. 

"So, what's the plan now?" he asked me. 

"Honestly, I don't know. I suppose I just feel a little lost. I've always been with Gina, and now we're not even talking," I replied. I had tried to send her a few texts. It hadn't exactly worked out very well. By this I mean that she hadn't replied, of course. 

We walked quietly for a moment, and I just thought over things in my head. 

Apart from Jay and Imogen, I knew that I was going to have to move on through this independently, even if it was incredibly hard to do so. I couldn't let my spirit die down. I would be okay, eventually. 

Despite all that happened, I couldn't break. 

"I'm sad," I admitted. 

Jay exhaled, and then closed the distance between us on the sidewalk so that he could wrap his arms around me. 

"Hey, kid, I love you," he said. 

"I love you too," I replied, although it came out muffled as I was speaking into his chest. 

"Now, let's go get some junk food and just complain about people. Sound good?" he offered. 

"Sounds excellent. Thank you, Jay," I told him, and he gave me a kind wink as the two of us continued onwards.