The Boy Who Fell Off a Lawn Mower | Watty's '18

14. Must. Find. Advil.

Chapter 14

Must. Find. Advil.

Aida awoke, feeling confused and in pain. She pulled a hand to her face and rubbed it, feeling the grungy makeup from last night caked into her pores and spread across her face. She was in only her underwear and a baggy white t-shirt she didn't remember putting on and suddenly realized she was in an unfamiliar bed, also. She sat up quickly, causing a sore "ugh" to come out of her mouth.

Tiffany's room.

This caused an even louder "ugh" to come out of her mouth, as she remembered the hook up that had happened here the night before. Quickly, Aida scrambled away, stuck in the sheets, and managed to fall to the floor, making a dull thud.

Her foot still stuck in the sheet, she mumbled a groggy "eww" as she tried to untangle herself. She was very much feeling the effects of her long night of drinking.

There was not one other person in the room. No Tiffany. No Connor. No Diane. As she sat there on the floor, slowly regaining her whereabouts, she also realized there was no Levi. She arrived at the conclusion that he'd definitely been there when she'd went down, but could not remember where, why, or what was going on at the time. She only remembered that she drowned the devastating news of his hook up in a swirling pile of alcohol. It was the most she'd ever had to drink and was really praying Tiffany had some Advil in her house.

Where was Tiffany? And how did she end up in her bed?

Aida saw a water bottle on the bed stand and reached her hand up from her spot to grab it. She took a long drink from it, letting the lukewarm liquid coat her dry throat, not caring who it belonged to before, and then slowly stood up. As she placed the water back down, she picked up her phone and keys from the bed stand. Her clothes were in a pile on the floor.

It was noon. No messages. Aida slugged herself to the bathroom and tried to make her appearance look more manageable. Realizing her dirty blonde curls looked more like dirty waves, she decided to take a shower. Tiffany wouldn't mind. Aida felt like she practically owed it to her for some reason after hooking up with Levi. She just couldn't shake the images from her mind. And she felt gross after sleeping in the bed it happened in.

She hopped in for five minutes, not dwelling too long because she didn't want to overstep her boundaries too much. She put the mysterious t-shirt back on and her jeans from the night before, then threw her hair into a wet pony tail, the long end dripping onto her back and making the shirt wet. She now felt refreshed, but still slightly hungover. At least her father wouldn't question her appearance on her arrival at home.

Entering the kitchen, Aida was shocked to see everything clean. She knew that Tiffany and Diane were morning people and liked to usher everyone out of the house early that had stayed. They they would clean up everything in case Tiffany's parents returned before they were expected to. Aida noticed a note on the counter.

Aida, we ran out to grab some more trash bags and bleach. Don't even look in the living room... repulsive. Feel free to take some breakfast if you'd like. Be back by 1. -Tiff and Diane

Had Tiffany brought her up to her bed the previous night?

Aida had absolutely no desire to look at whatever mess was in the living room, along with having no desire to face Tiffany and listen to her talk about Levi all morning. She decided to see herself out after grabbing some Advil and a new water bottle. Unfortunately, her car wasn't there as Tiffany had given her a ride the previous day, but she welcomed the walk. The California air was hot, but breezy, and it made her feel better.

Ten minutes into her walk, a dark blue car pulled up in front of her. Aida wasn't good with car brands, so she didn't recognize it, but it looked fancy. She was slightly alarmed for a second, but when the window rolled down and she spotted Connor waving his hand out, she felt relieved.

"Hey stranger, doing a walk of shame, I see? Get in!" Aida shook her head and laughed, but quickly hopped into the passenger seat.

"Hey, Connor," she said with a warm smile. He pulled back onto the little road and continued driving.

"Headed home?" he asked, but paused. "Or would you like to go somewhere else?"

Aida thought for a minute and realized she had no desire to talk to her family at the moment and needed some time to clear her hangover. She also knew Levi might be at her house and couldn't bare the thought of him yet. "Take me anywhere."

"That's the spirit!" He increased his speed and swerved onto the approaching on-ramp.

"How are you so full of energy?" asked Aida happily, pleased to be taken on an adventure. She was concentrating on her breaths, trying not to become nauseous in Connor's fancy vehicle, but also trying to distract herself with the light conversation.

"Well first, I definitely had less to drink than you. Second, I drank way more water. Third, I'm a way bigger dude than you. And fourth... uh well I went to bed pretty early." He nervously fidgeted with the wheel as he drove down the busy highway when he explained the last one.

Aida eyed his last bit suspiciously. "You fell asleep on that couch the second I walked away, didn't you?" She had seen right through him.

He spoke so quickly though the next part that it was practically word vomit. "I know I should have gone after you but I was so tired! I feel bad that you ended up walking home from Tiffany's. My car was there; I was going to offer you a ride home this morning but I couldn't find you! I'm sorry! I totally suck."

So, it wasn't Connor that had put her to bed.

"That's okay!" Aida dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "It's not your responsibility to make sure I get home."

"Well, I just feel like it was since we were together most of the night," he admitted, rosiness tinting his freckled cheeks.

"Don't worry about it. I was in Tiffany's room," she explained. The Advil was starting to kick in and Aida was feeling significantly better. "I hit a pretty low point last night. Thanks for this, though. I don't really feel like going home, now. Where are we off to?"

"Well, I was actually on my way to a haircut, so you're gonna come help me!" Aida laughed at the simplicity of their destination. They arrived within five minutes and Connor was quickly seated at the hair dresser's chair. She was just giving him a touch up. The stylist was young and very pretty, but Connor didn't seem to notice.

"All finished!" shrieked the bubbly stylist. "Now, what does your girlfriend think?!" she asked, spinning the chair around.

Aida's embarrassment shown extensively in her face, but neither seemed to notice. "I think she'll love it!" said Connor, laughing. Aida nodded sheepishly, not bothering to deny the boy, whom she now considered her friend.

As they were walking out of the salon, Aida's phone began ringing violently in the middle of a lame joke Connor was telling.

It was her father. She picked up hastily.

"Hi, Aida." He did not sound happy.

"Would you mind telling me why our lawn mower suddenly quit this morning?"

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A/N: Don't forget to follow me and add The Boy Who Fell Off a Lawn Mower to your library to be notified of updates!! (I'm 2 followers short of 700)

This was a total filler chapter, but hey they have to happen sometimes. I'm a fan of Connor, but also of Levi. Decisions, decisions.

What would you do if you woke up in an empty house the day after a party?

Best, Nickie xx