Tal'rith

Chapter Two

Hammers.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Hammers pounded against the inside of Rylie's skull. As if the Hammer Bros themselves were in between the folds of their brain, slamming away at the pitons holding their cracked memories together.

Rylie parted their lips and immediately gagged on their own morning breath. Their tongue curled up, drier than a cabernet. Each sandpaper textured tastebud rubbed against one another. The back of Rylie's throat burned.

Rolling to the edge of their bed, Rylie quickly grabbed the emptied trash can that was left for them. They held their head over it.

Although their stomach churned and bile splashed back into their esophagus, nothing thankfully came up.

A small sigh bled from Rylie's lips and they rolled over into the middle of the bed, right onto their back. They screwed their eyes shut tight as clouds rolled over the sun outside, allowing yellow light to spill through the slits of their blinds. They hissed at the assault.

The light did not worsen their headache, luckily.

Rylie didn't know how long it took to force themself to crawl out of their nest of blankets. They sat on the edge of their bed, focusing on breathing through their nose at an even pace.

What the hell happened? They and Jessica had gone to Wild Delirium. They had met up with Damien. The both of them sat at the bar....

Another groan peeled Rylie's lips back. They held their head in their hands, twining their fingers through their dyed hair.

Great. The alcohol left their memories filled with bullet holes, tearing apart rhyme, reason, and their GI tract. Rylie spat a mouthful of bile into the trash can.

Yesterday would be the last time they got that drunk ever again. And this time, they really meant it.

Forcing themself to their feet, it took a couple of seconds for Rylie to process the fact that they were no longer in the small black number from last night. Their boy shorts with the word whatever printed on the butt hugged their hips and an oversized and faded black tee-shirt cut down past the said underwear. Rylie tugged at the hem.

They don't recall changing.

The water glass left on their end table held nothing inside. Grabbing the cup, Rylie padded out of their room and into the living room of their apartment.

Shade filled their apartment. The blinds were closed tightly against all windows. And the black curtains, patterned with white dragonflies, draped across the glass sliding door which led out to the balcony.

Small strips of yellow still snuck in past the defenses in place, casting dusty light across the white walls and beige carpeting.

Rylie did not recall shutting the blinds or loosening the curtains last night either. Shaking their head, they continued into the kitchen to refill their water glass.

As soon as the refrigerator spilled water into their cup, a familiar voice from behind Rylie rung out, shattering the silence.

"You're finally up!"

Jessica put her phone down on the coffee table and hopped up. A set of Rylie's pajama bottoms hung low on her hips, a bit too big, while the tee-shirt she borrowed stretched a little too tight across her chest and shoulders.

"Jess? What are you doing here?"

Jessica stood at the entrance of the kitchen. Unfortunately, although the apartment was roomy enough for two people, that did not include the small nook that formed the kitchen. It was an odd shape, almost like an upside down L. Standing in one special spot within gave Rylie the ability to both prep, cook, and clean at the same time without moving.