Truth Be Told

fourteen

THE HANGOVER THAT FOLLOWS is a massive bitch, but it's nothing compared to the remorse he feels.

Unlike Drew, who does a lot of incredibly stupid shit when he's drunk, only to conveniently forget everything the next morning, Colin remembers.

He remembers everything.

And so, when Perry tells him that Sadie left that morning to go shopping with her friends, Colin finds himself breathing out a sigh of relief.

The apartment feels more spacious without her around, and after last night, he's not quite sure how to act around her.

He'd touched her hair.

Like a fucking idiot, he'd touched her hair.

And then he'd thrown up again. Not on her, thank god. If he had, he'd never be able to live it down. Even so, the memory makes him want to disappear. The earth could swallow him whole and he wouldn't even complain.

Colin hates hangovers with a passion. His head feels like it's splitting in two, his throat is parched, and his unsettled gut is getting back at him for all the alcohol he'd consumed last night.

"I'm never gonna drink again," he says, holding his head in his hands.

"Hard same."

Perry, who's sitting on the other bean bag chair, is not looking any better than he is.

In a surprising turn of events, last night had veered off into a completely different direction. Instead of Colin and Perry taking care of Drew, the exact opposite ended up happening. The memory is a little fuzzier than the rest, but it's there: Drew and Sadie were the ones who had to bring them home. They had no choice but to call an Uber because neither Perry nor Colin could walk without stumbling every five seconds.

Colin may or may not have dozed off on Sadie's shoulder, but that's a memory he refuses to acknowledge.

"I need water again," Perry says, but makes no move to stand up. "My mouth is so dry it doesn't make sense. I'm not a fucking plant. Why do I need so much water?"

Colin could use some water himself, but he doesn't stand either. Instead, he looks down at his phone and sighs.

What a fucking idiot.

He'd texted Cindy five times, every message becoming more unreadable each time. She hadn't replied until this morning, and is now sending a multitude of questions asking about what, exactly, happened last night.

Colin ignores her, then checks the other messages he'd sent. There's one sent to Henry, who hasn't replied yet, and another to Dexter, who's asking for details.

The worst, however, were the ones he'd sent to a previous classmate. They were groupmates for a project so they had to add each other on Facebook.

He'd sent two messages: the first is a blurry photo of himself; the second is him apologizing for the missent text. She sent back three words--"lol all good"--together with a laughing emoji.

"Why did you drink so much anyway?" Perry asks him.

"Don't even ask."

"I mean, it was fun seeing you like that. I feel like you never really loosen up, you know?"

"Why are you still talking?"

"No, but really." Perry shifts to get a better look at him. "Is something up?"

"It's nothing. I just got carried away."

"Is it Sadie?"

Colin's eyes snap to his. "What?"