Hold On: Stay With Me

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

A shaft of light peeks out of the corner of the window and falls on my face, waking me up. I close my eyes tightly and bury my face in the pillow to try fall back asleep. 

My head burns, I feel like at any moment it's going to explode. I woke up with the biggest hangover I've ever had. I try to remember something from the previous night but nothing, just hazy memories. All I can remember is meeting Alana's friends and playing a few Beer Pong rounds, from then on there is just a huge void. I hate drinking too much because then everything becomes fuzzy and to have a hangover is the worst thing ever. I don't remember getting that drunk.

Between the headache and how comfortable I'm in bed, I don't want to get up. I move between the sheets and roll over a few times, trying not to fall off the large bed. My whole body is paralyzed, my room doesn't have a double bed, it isn't so comfortable and doesn't smell of expensive man's perfume.  

I open my eyes slowly and gasp. Crap! This isn't my room. What happened last night? A thousand possibilities went through my head without ruling out any. Thinking too much is making my headache worse, I take my hands to my temples and rub them, trying to find a bit of comfort. I get up slowly, resting my elbows on my legs and at that moment I realize something. I'm in underwear, this is getting worse by the minute.

I get out of bed and perceive a severe headache, causing me to totter but luckily I grab onto the edge of the bed. When I notice that the room stops spinning, I notice all the details. I've never been in such a room, apparently it belongs to a boy because of its rock band posters and the pile of clothes on a chair.

I start trudging all around the bedroom, trying to find my dress, without success I sigh. I notice a bitter and disgusting taste in my mouth, it must be from throwing up after consuming too much alcohol... I urgently need a glass of water.

Looking out the window, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that I'm still in the frat house and I'm not on the other side of the island. But where am I? In a guest room? It doesn't seem to be the way things are and there are also personal belongings.

I sit back on the bed because my feet can't bear the weight of my body and I look at the clock on the nightstand. It's nine in the morning, my stomach is growling and it turns stronger and stronger since I haven't eaten anything since the previous night.  

When I'm about to close my eyes to try to remember anything, the door opens gradually and I wince as the hinges creak loudly. My disbelieving eyes meet Ethan's. He leans against the doorframe with his arms crossed as he glances me up and down and I roll my eyes. Then I remember that I'm in my underwear and as fast as I can I grab the sheets and cover myself ashamed.

"You know it's still good manners to knock on doors before entering" I say in an outrageous tone.

"Good morning to you too. Trust me, it's nothing I haven't seen before" He closes the door behind him while pointing at me referring to my clothes.

Still feeling embarrassed, I push the sheets closer to me. Why is Ethan here? A thought goes through my mind, then something clicks in my mind.

"Is ... this your room?"

It can't be true... That means that yesterday we... It seems like he has read my mind and before I can ask him, he answers me with a mocking tone.

"What a mess you made last night, I have to admit it was funny. I brought you here to clear your head a bit, but you fell asleep straight away. Before you ask, I left as soon as you snored. Besides, you're not my type."

I don't know whether to feel offended or relieved that he doesn't consider me attractive, but my self-esteem has been hurted. Even in my worst nightmares, I wouldn't make out with Ethan, he is the typical self-centered boy and I would never sprung on him. 

"How can you be so..." I can't think clearly as my anger is taking over me.

I watch incredulously as he walks to the pile of clothes, grabs a shirt and takes off the shirt he's wearing and change it for the other. I don't even have time to blink because otherwise I wouldn't have seen his toned back.

"Ugh, you should at least be grateful to me. If I hadn't been there, God knows what would have happened" I didn't realize that I was still watching him so I have to blink several times and look away elsewhere.

"I never thought I'd drink so much... I think my head is about to explode at any moment and I don't remember what happened either"

"Summarizing, by the end of the evening you were really loaded. You took off your dress to take a dip in the pool and then you ended up throwing up"

"Oh my god! I can't believe I did all that" I groan loudly and cover my face with my hands in shame. This is going from bad to worse, I don't even want to know the whole truth anymore.

"Luckily before you made a fool of yourself I brought you here. I couldn't let you tarnish the reputation of the fraternity."

I sigh knowing that at least  I only have one ounce of dignity left. "Thank you and I'm sorry, I'm sure I ruined your night since you had to babysit me"

He laughs and shrugs, but doesn't say anything.

Determined, I get out of bed but go back to where I was. My cheeks burn as hell when I imagine he saw me yesterday and I shyly ask him "I lost my dress, I have nothing to wear. Can I borrow some clothes?"

Without saying a word he goes to his closet, looks for something and shows me my maroon dress. He throws it on the bed as a smile forms on his face "Well, I'm going to have breakfast. So you can dress up, but I won't miss anything I haven't seen before either"

How can he be so cocky? It's better not to argue with him as it isn't worth it, it'll only make my headache worse.

Before he closes the door, I throw the pillow at him with the intention of hitting him but in vain. I hear a mockery from him and a "Until next time, Cindy"

I dress quickly and leave the room, not before grabbing my bag. By now I should be having breakfast, getting ready to carry out all my plans that I had planned for the weekend. I guess I'll have to improvise on the fly. The house is still a mess, all full of trash wherever you look.

While I'm trying to remember something that Ethan told me, I'm already at the front door but I hear a voice calling my name.

"Cindy! What's up? I'm making pancakes for breakfast, you should stay and try them. I promise they'll be the best you've ever had" Justin gives me a grin from ear to ear.

"Are you a good cook?"

"Kinda depends on what I'm cooking"

I follow him into the kitchen and he spreads batter into a round. I can feel the cozy atmosphere and my stomach let out a horrific growl as soon as I smell the savory aroma of the pancakes. I'd like to stay, but I don't think it's the best idea since I don't belong to this fraternity and it would be uncomfortable to be with only boys. I give him a smile and apologize that I already have plans.

"Next time I guess. See you around" 

Author's note: Hi there! How y'all doing? I know, it took me some days to update but I finally did it! I hope you like this chapter even if it's shorter than the previous one. So, I'll try to write longer for the next chapter. See you! xx