Alexandria Anderson
I wince as I slowly sit up on the bed, I could feel my head throbbing in excruciating pain as I did so. I put a pillow on top of my lap and lean back against the headboard, hoping that the pain would go away. Later on, I hear someone comes into the room and closes the door.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” a familiar voice asks.
“I feel terrible.” I reply as I glance at Andy, before putting my head back on my hands.
He chuckles, “I was expecting you’d have a hangover, well I brought you breakfast and painkillers, don’t forget to drink it after you eat your food.”
I huff and look at him with a straight face.
“You know, you talk like my Mom.” I mutter.
“We just care about you, Alexa.” he puts the tray down in front of me.
He readies the food for me, before putting it closer to me so I wouldn’t have to move.
“Thank you.” I say, smiling a little.
“You’re welcome.” he smiles back and sits down on the edge of the bed. “You know what, you were so drunk yesterday.”
“Was I?” I furrow my eyebrows as I look at him.
“Yeah, bet you have no idea how you got home yesterday.” he chuckles.
I let out a laugh, “I honestly don’t, yesterday was an utter blur.”
“Well, you passed out while we were walking you home so Rye had to carry you.” he replies.
“Oh, my God.” I look down in embarrassment.
He laughs, “You’d probably be more embarrassed if you know what you did yesterday.”
“Why, what did I do?” I ask, suddenly feeling anxious.
He pulls his phone out and taps a couple things on his screen, before handing it to me. I play it and it’s a video of me and Rye – I was squeezing his cheeks with one hand whilst we were walking, then I watch myself hiccup and giggle afterwards, then I start to poke Rye’s cheeks whilst saying something. I even saw his arm around my waist; probably because I kept on swaying from side to side as we walk. I squint a little, as I try to figure out what I was saying.
“W–what was I saying?” I stutter out, glancing at Andy.
“You kept on saying how beautiful he is and you were asking him if he is still mad at you.” he says.
Pausing the video, I look at him questioningly and he nods whilst laughing.
“What did Rye say?” I ask.
“Nothing much, he just kept on saying that he isn’t mad at you but being the drunk you are, you still kept on saying that.” he replies.
I sigh and shake my head, though it was a relief that I didn’t say anything more embarrassing than that.
“However,” Andy says, making me nervous. “that wasn’t everything you said.”
“W–what else did I say?” I ask nervously.
A smile tugs at the corners of his lips before answering, “You kept on asking if he still likes you.” when he said that, my cheeks turn into a tinge of light pink in embarrassment.
“You’re joking.” I look at him deadpan.
“Nope, I am serious.” he replies casually, his smile unfaltering.
Before I could say anything, I feel like throwing up so I quickly get up from the bed to run to the bathroom. As soon as I get up from the bed, the pain gets worse than before but I still continue to run towards the bathroom and throw up.
“Wait, I–I’ll just call Mrs. Anderson.” Andy says, panicking.
In just a couple seconds, my Mom comes running into the bathroom; she holds my hair up and gently rubs my back.
“Oh, sweetheart.” she sighs.
Afterwards, I get up from the floor; suddenly feeling dizzy. Mom flushes it for me and helps me walk towards the sink, so I could wash it off before going back to the bedroom.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” she looks at me concern, as she sits on the edge of the bed.
“Just a little dizzy and my head aches.” I reply, my voice suddenly hoarse.
“I’ll just get you some water.” she gets up from the bed and leaves the room.
“Mrs. Anderson said that it isn’t your first time to be drunk, what happened to you?” Andy sits down on the bed where my Mom previously sat and looks at me in concern. “You never had alcohol before, in fact you don’t like the taste of alcohol.”
I breathe out and look down, “I – I couldn’t think of other ways to somehow take the pain away.. even for a while.”
“You do know that alcohol isn’t the answer, right?” he says, but I didn’t say anything. “You should really stop drinking, Alexa.”
I just nod and keep my head down, realizing how wrong my actions were.
“Also, I am sorry if I wasn’t able to help you out back there, you know what happens..”
I look at him and smile a little when I remember one of their videos before, the Eating Pet Food Challenge; he really throws up easily even before.
“Nah, it’s okay, Andy, you don’t have to apologize.” I reply.
After a couple minutes, Mom comes back with a glass of water.
“Sorry, it took me awhile.” she says, handing the glass to me. “I just spoke to an old friend over the phone and we have set a lunch later together with her family.”
“Uh, do I have to come?” I ask.
“If you already feel better by that time.” she replies.
“Okay.” I breathe out and continue eating my food.
“Well, take your medicine after and get some rest.” she smiles at me, as she fixes my hair.
“I will.” I simply reply, returning her smile.
She turns to Andy and smiles before leaving the room, Andy lays down on his back on the bed and just scrolls through his phone whilst I finish my food.
“I better go, so you could take some rest.” Andy says, as he keeps the plates in one place.
“Sorry, Andy.” I give him an apologetic look. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“What are you talking about, you don’t have to.” he chuckles, taking the tray. “Get well, Alexa, see you.”
“Thank you, Andy.” I reply with a smile.
He walks out of the room whilst I quickly take my medicine and lay back down on the bed and go to sleep.
• • •
I stop at the doorway of Mom’s room and see her sitting on the chair in front of the vanity mirror, putting some make up. I bite my lip and knock on the door, catching her attention.
“Alexa, why aren’t you ready yet?” she asks, as she puts her earring.
“I don’t know what to wear.” I sheepishly reply.
She chuckles, “Just wear anything casual, sweetheart.”
“O–okay, thank you.” I turn to walk away when she speaks up again.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
I turn around and she looks at me in concern, “Better.” I simply reply with a smile.
“Well, I am glad to hear that.” she says.
I nod and excuse myself, before going back to my room. I just sit on the edge of the bed for a couple minutes, just thinking about what I should wear. Later on, I pick out a pastel blue off-shoulder top and wear it with a pair of white jeans, before I proceed on putting some light makeup.
“Are you ready to go, sweetheart?” Mom walks into the room, as I am putting the make up back to their places.
“Yeah.” I get up from the chair and take my bag from the bed.
The trip on the way to the restaurant takes about fifteen minutes and when we get there, Mom’s friend and her family aren’t there yet. After waiting for a couple minutes, Mom suddenly stands up from her chair.
“They’re here already.” she lightly taps my shoulder.
I look up and turn to the direction that she is looking at, I immediately stand up when I saw who just came into the restaurant – almost dropping my phone as I did so.