Leah sits up on the couch Robert had set her down to rest on the night before. She massages her temples slowly, begging for the massive headache to go away with every circular motion made. She regrets drinking all that alcohol. She wishes her common sense had kicked in soon enough for her to give back the bottle and stay as sober as possible.
"Hey, Cry Baby," Chris says, sitting down next to her.
She glances at him. "Screw you." She rubs the sleep out of her eyes.
He holds his hands up in defense. "Whoa. Someone's in a bad mood today."
She groans. The smallest of noises are making her ehad pound. "Can you just shut up for a little while? Please? Only for a little while."
"Aw, does someone have a bit of a hangover this morning? That must suck."
"You're such a prick. You know that?" She stands up and heads for the bathroom.
Chris follows after her, determined to have fun with this. This is the most fun he's had with Leah.
Leah enters the bathroom, scratching the back of her head. She flicks on the light and opens the medicine cabinet. She grabs the Tylenol (her father keeps them all over the house) and pops one in her mouth. She leans down over the sink and turns on the faucet. She drinks up some water to wash down the dry feeling that the pill never went down. She rinses her face while she's at it.
She shuts off the water and straightens up. She closes the door of the medicine cabinet, then screams when she sees the image of Chris with a vicious face and a pocket knife open, raised, and aimed at her. Her heart jumps up her throat and back down.
Chris starts laughing hysterically, closing his knife and returning it to his pocket. He leans back against the wall, clutching his gut and laughing himself to death. The sound echoes through the huge bathroom.
Leah moves forward and pounds on Chris' arms with her fists. "You're such a prick!" she says through gritted teeth. "Fuck you, asshole!"
Robert appears in the doorway in beige shorts and a black V-neck. "Leah, are you alright? What happened?"
She hits him one more time. "Nothing. Just get him the hell out. I'm in no mood for his shit."
"Alright, I'm leaving. Sorry to bother you." He wipes the few tears from his eyes and heads for the exit. He moves past Robert and stops halfway out the doorway. He looks back at her. "You should get drunk more often. You're a fun bitch when you're hung over."
Leah picks up the bar of soap on the side of the sink and launches is at his head.
He ducks and disappears from the doorway, his quiet chuckling the last thing heard from him.
Leah licks her lips and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath and turns back to the mirror. I never should've drank that stuff, she thinks. I'm making a complete fool of myself. "I shouldn't have woken up. I'm going back to sleep. Excuse me." She heads for the doorway and tries to make it past Robert, but he won't let her through. "Babe, please. Leave me be, just for now."
"Leah, no. Come on. Brush your teeth. Sam won't open presents until you're upstairs." He places his hands on her arms and tries to easily turn her around.
"Who are you? My father? I want to sleep. I'll head up later." She resists him, standing her ground in hope that he'll leave her alone.
He looks at her. He's upset and curious about Leah. "What's gotten into you? Two days ago, you were happy, cheerful, full of life. Yesterday you zoned out a lot, walked away with a wine bottle, and cried yourself to sleep. Now you're acting like you want to kill everyone in this household." He pushes her hair out of her face, lightly dragging his thumb across her cheekbone. "Did something happen yesterday? Was it it James? Your father? Riley?...Me?"
