"Mmm..so soft... and warm..." Lillian muttered underneath her breathe and snuggled up close to the fuzzy floof she held firm in her grasp. She nuzzled her face in deeper, only to tickle her nose and trigger a sneeze.
A-a-achoo!
The sudden shock wave sent her head back and startled her awake. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling the crusty eye boogers sealing her lids shut break open as her vision focused on the faux fur coat in her arms.
What? Where am I?
She tried to remember how she got to where she was, wiping the crud from her eyes and fully opening them to scan the room.
The familiar pink inspired room greeted her a good morning.
Oh, it's just my bedroom.
Her eyelids heavy, Lillian felt like drifting back to sleep. Curling her knees up to her chest, she pulled the fuzzy coat back in closer to get some more rest before waking up for the day. It was when she felt the faux fur gently prickle against her skin that she realized - she does not own such a coat.
She jolted straight up, surprised by the sudden realization, ready to investigate what was up. But, just as quickly a sharp pain pierced through her skull and she felt her head ache.
"Urgh, how much did I have to drink last night?" Lillian desperately searched her bedside table for a glass of water to soothe her parched throat only to find her cell phone. Happy that at least that was there, she reached out to pick up her phone to check if Jacky had contacted her.
Jacky Text 11:38pm: Where are you?
Jacky Text 12:04am: Are you alright? Please respond as soon as you get this!!
Jacky Missed Call 12:20am
Jacky Received Call 1:09am
Jacky Text 1:51am: Make good choices!!!!! ;) I'll see you at work Monday. You can tell me all the juicy details then ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)
Spooked by the last text, Lillian quickly lifted up the covers to check herself under the bed. To her relief, she was still wearing the same clothes she went out in last night. But it quickly turned to horror as a short memory flashed of her laying and crawling on the dirty pavement of the city streets, making her cringe at the thought of what unknown substances she had traced into her clean sheets.
First things first, I need to shower and get some water.
---
Carefully making her way down the staircase, her headache disappeared for a brief moment when she saw what appeared to be a teenage girl sitting in the kitchen.
"Oh Lillian, you're up!" The girl cheerfully spoke to her in a loud tone, making her headache ring again.
Who is that girl? And why does she keep talking so cheerfully to me. I feel like my head is going to crack open.
Lillian managed to get to the refrigerator and pull out a bottle of water, soothing her dry throat as the liquid coolly made its way down. Feeling a bit better after hydration, she took a seat across from the new face and weakly smiled back.
"Umm. I apologize, I don't quite remember your name. Could you remind me again?"
"It's Anna. Are you feeling alright? If not I can go grab my brother and-"
"Brother?" Lillian looked at the girl quizzically. Finally getting a clearer look of her face, she noticed some of her features felt familiar. Her distinctively sharp nose was the same as... the same as... the same as the CEO!
A flash of the same memory from last night came to her in that instant, she remembered seeing Andrew next to her as she sat on the cold hard ground. The issue, however, was that she could not remember anything from after Jacky's fiance's band took the stage. She recalled that she hadn't drunken alcohol in a while and figured her tolerance must've gotten pretty low, though it was never great to begin with. How much had she had to drink though?
"Ok, I'm gonna go grab him. He must have some medicine somewhere." Anna got up from her chair and started walking around the table.
"Wait!" Lillian abruptly grabbed her hand and looked at her pleadingly in the eyes. Letting go of Anna's hands, she scratched the back of her head and shyly asked, "Um, would you mind filling me in on what happened last night? It seems that I may have blacked out..."
"Ooo," Anna's cheerful smile quickly turned into a mischievous grin. "I think it's my brother you should be asking about that." She then ran up the stairs as she giggled to herself.
Lillian's soul left her body as she panicked about what could've happened last night. Anna's reaction just now and that ominous text she had received from Jacky had her pulling her hair out trying to remember any details that she could. Nothing came to mind.
"Look, Lillian! I brought him!" Anna came running back down the stairs. Andrew followed behind at a normal pace.
"G-good morning," Lillian nervously greeted him as he made his way towards the kitchen table.
"Good morning." Andrew replied in a typical Andrew fashion, flat toned with no chance at knowing what emotion was going on behind his words. He looked calmer than she would have expected, considering that mischievous look Anna had given her earlier.
"Your girlfriend here wants to know what happened last night, she says she has a black out or something."
A dark look fell over Andrew's face, startling Lillian. Anxious to try to appease him, she quickly corrected his sister, "Actually, I'm not his girlfriend. I'm his ro-."
"She's my fiancee." Andrew casually interjected, though the dark expression still remained on his face. He sat down at the table with the cup of coffee in his hand and took a sip, then he sighed, looking at Lillian with sharp yet tired eyes.
After thinking about how much he should say, unsure if he should bring up the molester in the club, he started, "You were quite drunk when I ran into you last night. I took you outside to get some fresh air, but as soon as I did so you tried to sleep on the ground. I managed to get you into the backstage room for you to sleep until my sister's set was over, but you instead decided to drink 2 full bottles of beer then wrap yourself inside her coat, dancing about and rolling across the floor of the room." Andrew took a pause to massage his temples as he continued.
"The car ride back was relatively peaceful as you managed to fall asleep with Anna in the back seat, but when we arrived at the apartment a second wind of energy came over and you dragged me to jump on your bed," his voice became more strained as it seemed like he was trying to hold back his true frustration. "After that you proclaimed that you would be taking a bath and proceeded to begin filling the tub in your room and tried to enter with your clothes on. I managed to turn off the water and block your path from going in, but then... you pushed me." At those last three words he flashed Lillian an icy glare and Lillian lowered her gaze downward in apology.
"You then ran out of the bathroom, leaving me to dry off by myself. When I came out, you were already sound asleep in bed."
"Strangling my coat!" Anna excitedly added. "It was really quite the spectacle! It's not everyday you get to see this proud brother of mine pushed around like that!"