All I Ever Knew Was Your Name [Nick Robinson]

THIRTY SEVEN

ready to start by arcade fire

The smell of coffee wakes me up in the morning, as well as Penny's singing voice from the kitchen.

My eyes squint as the summer sun peers through the sheer curtains and only amplifies the headache I already have. I look around, remembering coming back to bed sometime earlier this morning after sitting out by the fire with Nick. I remember being drunk, and I thankfully remember going to separate rooms.

"Mary!" I hear Penny sing as she strolls into my room.

I cover my eyes with my hand, and nearly hurl from the movement as she plops down on my mattress.

"Wake up, buttercup!" she smacks my leg a few times.

Groaning, I let my neck fall so I'm facing her. "Aspirin. Now."

"No way, José," she laughs, handing me a cup of coffee. "Hair of the dog."

I groan again. I hate when she says that. It means she's going to get me drunker today than I was yesterday.

"Please, no more rum," I nearly beg as I take the hot mug from her hand. "And please stop with the rhymes."

"No!" she scoffs. "And I'm not an idiot. I started you with some Bailey's."

"Thank you," I hum as I drink a sip of the coffee, which immediately turns my stomach. The taste of alcohol has me ready to gag, but I swallow it down regardless.

Hair of the dog.

"So?" Penny half whispers, inching closer to me. "What happened last night?"

"You mean after I left my room because you and Owen only know how to have sex at maximum volume?" I fire back, taking another sip.

She shrugs. "Don't be mad I'm getting some and you're not."

"Get some a little quieter tonight, maybe," I tease, shaking my head.

She doesn't say anything, and I know it's because she wants me to tell her about last night. There's not much to say, really. I know it's not what she wants to hear.

"We didn't have sex, if that's what you're waiting for me to say," I roll my eyes.

"I already knew that. You'd be much more pleasant if you did."

I tip my head and nod. She has a point, after all.

"We just talked, I guess," I shrug, tracing my finger around the rim of my cup. "I filled him in on everything he missed while he was gone. And that's really it."

My mind tries really hard to remember the end of our night together, but I'm having a hard time. I know I didn't cry. I know I didn't say anything stupid. But I remember hearing him say something to me. I hear it in my head over and over again like a broken record.

"Let's get you to bed, okay?"

I can almost feel him guiding me into the house and into my room. I remember him helping me lay down. I remember him gently pushing my hair from my face once my head hit the pillow. I don't remember much else after that.

Penny twists her glossy lips to the side, then stands up from my bed. "I knew I'd be disappointed. Let's get breakfast."

I nod, then put my messy sleep hair into a ponytail and brush my teeth before following Penny into the kitchen with my coffee.

My feet nearly drag along the floor out of complete exhaustion, but the smell of greasy food keeps me moving in the right direction.

"Hey, she's alive!" Owen cheers from the countertop, moving the spatula around the frying pan.