Cherries and Coffee

Chapter 13

The pounding in my head pulls me out of my already uneasy slumber, making me conscious of the nausea that's filled my stomach. I recognize these purple walls and the large white bed I'm laying in as Jade's, only she isn't in the bed with me.

I slowly sit up, trying not to aggravate my stomach or head any more than they already are, and I see she's not even in the room. The cold floor hits my feet as I gently stand up and make my way to the door. Each step makes my head pound but the fact that there's aspirin in the kitchen acts as some motivation. I step out of the door and make my way towards the kitchen in hopes of seeing Jade, but oddly enough she isn't there either, and I have no idea where she keeps the medicine. Just as I start to think all hope is lost, Mel appears in my field of view.

Thank God, I think to myself.

As I gingerly approach the kitchen, Mel looks up from the sink at me. I see she's cleaning up some of the dishes from last night.

"Oh," She says as she turns the sink off and grabs a towel, "I was wondering when you'd wake up. Jade went out for a run, she should be back soon."

I scratch the back of my neck and dart my eyes around the kitchen. "What time is it?" I ask as I sit down on a wooden chair. "About nine thirty," she shrugs, taking a sip from the mug that was next to the sink. "Coffee?" She offers, "you look like you need it."

I nod and a surge of pain follows. "And some aspirin if you have any," I say, holding my head in my hands.

I hear some feet shuffling and cabinets opening and closing for some time before she appears in front of me. She's holding out a glass of water and two orange pills, which I gladly take. "Thanks," I say after swallowing the medicine.

She nods, "I'll grab your coffee now," she says as she begins to turn away from me.

"Oh no, I can get it," I say as I begin to stand, using the kitchen table to hoist myself up.

"Are you sure? I don't mind getting it," she says. I can tell that she knows I'm extremely hungover but I already feel like I asked her for too much, so I give her a small nod and begin to walk over to the cabinets. Before I make it far, I trip over a loose tile and begin to fall forward before something stops me.

I look down and see that Mel is under me against the counter. She smelt like cherries and coffee and one whiff of her left me intoxicated. The margaritas from last night that lingered in her breath mixed with the coffee from this morning and created this scent that was unlike anything I've ever smelt before, but it was a damn good smell. We lock eyes and just as I feel my cheeks start to heat up, hers turn bright red. Before anyone has the chance to say anything, the door knob jitters and we separate. 

By the time Jade walks in the room, I'm across the kitchen looking for the cabinet with the mugs and Mel sits at the table with her coffee, both of us trying to act natural.

"Oh, you're awake," Jade says with a smile as she puts her phone and water bottle down on the table.

I shoot her a smile as I pour coffee from the pot into the mug.

"He's super hungover," Mel teases, earning a small laugh from Jade.

"Well yeah, I'd imagine after all he drank last night," she says.

Wait, how much did I drink? I only had the one martini.

"After the third cup of punch I knew he was done for," Jade adds on.

My eyes widen and I cough on the coffee I had in my mouth. They both look at me. "Wait, I thought the punch was virgin," I state.

"Why would I make sober punch?" Mel says.

"Maybe for the people who don't wanna drink that much," I reply.

She shrugs. "There were sodas and waters in the cooler underneath the table."

I roll my eyes, "Well, next time put them out because I am never drinking again."

Jade laughs. "Well at least you're awake, Ray's still passed out."

I sigh. Part of me had a feeling he'd gotten wasted last night but I was giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. I take a long sip of the coffee, letting the hot, bitter drink run down my throat.

"I'm just glad he didn't roll around the bed the whole night like he usually does," Mel says before standing up and placing her empty mug in the dishwasher. "Do you want me to wake him so you guys can head out?" She asks me.

I shake my head. "You don't have to, I'll leave him the car and I'll just walk home," I answer.

"Are you sure? I can give you a ride home if you want," She offers, but I decline.

I'd rather walk home. It gives me time to think, and I have a lot of thinking I need to do.

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An hour after I get home, I'm sitting on my bed working on a math project when I hear the door slam shut. I turn my head towards my doorway and I see Ray enter his room and slam the door again, shortly after I hear the familiar sound of him banging on his drums. After a short internal debate with myself about checking on him, I get out of bed and make my way to his door. I knock, knowing pretty damn well he didn't hear me. I keep knocking on the door, progressively getting louder and louder until I hear him stop.

"What," he says after finally opening the door. He uses his bare arm to wipe some sweat off of his forehead.

"You good?" I ask. "You seem-" I pause to think of a better word, "off."

Ray sighs. "I'm fine, I just really need to practice," he says, hinting that he wants me to leave him alone.

"I'll leave you to it then," I say as I begin to turn but then turn back before he can close his door again. "You know if you need to talk about anything I'm here right?"

He nods. "Yeah I know," then the door shuts.

As I make my way back into my room I hear him begin to drum again, verifying the fact that I won't be getting any work done now. I push my work over to the side of my bed before sitting against the headboard and scrolling through my phone. Soon, I'm interrupted by a text message.

Mel(issa):

Hey, do you have a sec? I really need to talk to you.

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Thanks to all who continue to read this story, it really means a lot to me. 

This story will always be continued unless I state otherwise, I've just been a super slow writer recently.

As always, don't forget to comment, share, and vote. It really means a lot to me <3

xx