Rough Night - A Julie Molina / Luke Patterson Story *COMPLETED*

Chapter 3 - The Morning After (Part 1)

Julie woke with a splitting headache and a newfound self-loathing. The space where Luke had been lying next to her last night was reduced to a pile of crumpled sheets. She sighed and sat up, immediately regretting it.

It felt like she had just been stabbed in the temple and she clutched her head, letting out a small whine. Once she was able to keep her eyes open without her head throbbing, she noticed a bottle of aspirin and a water bottle on Luke's nightstand.

He had left a note that was written on a piece of paper torn from his songbook. Luke had the worst handwriting she'd ever seen, but thankfully Julie was well versed with interpreting his chicken scratch.

"Garage." It read, which meant they were practicing back at her house.

Without her.

Julie let out a frustrated sigh as she willed herself to stand up, remembering the promise she had mentally made to the boys before drifting off sleep. She wouldn't let them down tonight.

She took the Aspirin and downed the water before making her way to Luke's bathroom.

She took in her appearance, wishing she had the same bravado as last night. Her makeup was smudged, her eyes tired, and her hair was a complete mess.

Julie splashed some water on her face, hoping to somehow gain back the hours of sleep she had lost to the alcohol.

She took a deep breath, collecting her clothes from last night and her phone. She saw that had missed multiple calls from Nick and Flynn. She opened her messages to see that a video of her fight with Carrie circulating around their school.

Yeah, that definitely wasn't good.

She called Flynn, holding the phone a few inches from her face because she knew what was coming.

"YOU'RE CALLING ME BACK NOW? AFTER AN ENTIRE NIGHT NOT KNOWING IF YOU AND LUKE MADE IT BACK SAFE? AND WHEN THE FUCK DID YOU FIGHT CARRIE AND HOW DARE YOU NOT INCLUDE ME?!" Flynn yelled into the phone instead of answering like a normal person.

"Okay, okay, I'm an idiot. I should have texted you, I'm sorry. The Carrie thing was out of my control, I'm not really sure what got into me." Julie said, attempting to console her fiery friend.

"I know what got into you, it's called vodka!" Flynn joked and Julie snorted, knowing that she was forgiven.

"As your unofficial band manager, I've been working double-time to threaten everyone who has the video of you and Carrie. They know that they will be hit with a nasty lawsuit if they post the video on any social media. I made them delete it while I watched, and yes I drove to their houses. But don't worry, I made sure to save a copy for us to review later. We've got to work on your technique." Flynn assured her and Julie sighed in relief.

At least that was one less thing to worry about.

"Thank you Flynn, I really appreciate it." Julie said sincerely, and then there was a long pause.

"What else?" Flynn inquired, and Julie groaned.

"I really let the guys down last night, and I don't know how to make it up to them... And Luke is mad at me." Julie revealed, unintentionally emphasizing the last part.

"Well then get your ass over there and apologize, and give the performance of your life tonight!" Flynn encouraged her.

Julie took a deep breath, nodding her head in determination even though Flynn couldn't see her.

"But I don't even have-" Julie started as she walked towards the front door when she noticed another note on Luke's kitchen counter.

"Don't crash." It read, and she saw that he had left her his car keys so that she could get back home.