Amalia's POV
That night, falling asleep was both easier and more difficult than I expected. The ache from my head had mostly subsided, but that along with how tired I was after everything meant I passed out soon after my head hit the pillow. Not as soon as I'd have liked, though, because I spent some time staring up at the ceiling and mulling things over in my head... mostly about Taemin.
The guy has several best-selling albums, has been on multiple sold-out tours, and is worth god knows how many millions of dollars, and yet I'd driven in his car, met his brother, and had him sleep in our garage overnight. I was prepared to believe I'd dreamt the whole thing because of how crazy it all sounded; how many people had spent half their allowance just to be able to talk to him for five minutes whilst I'd gotten that and more just by pure luck?
It must've been about mid-morning by the time I woke up, blinking several times to clear up my vision before pulling myself out of bed and heading downstairs. Yuna was already sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal and Riley came down not long after me, so I figured they had a rather late night themselves. I poured myself some honey nut cheerios and a glass of apple juice before sitting down to eat, enjoying the peace while it lasted... which wasn't long.
"Where'd you go last night?"
There was a short pause, my brain eventually clicking the question was directed at me. "Huh?" I asked, turning slightly to look at Riley.
"You disappeared." She poured herself some juice and took a sip as she leaned back against the kitchen counter. "We were close to calling the cops when the bartender told us you'd taken a taxi home." I was confused by that statement but then realised Tae had likely gotten his friend Elijah to organise that little excuse.
"Oh... I just didn't feel too great, that's all."
Yuna glanced up and quirked an eyebrow at me. "Too many people?"
Ever so slowly I nodded, knowing I wasn't exactly telling the whole truth but just wanting to get the questioning over with; although I was decent at keeping my cool under pressure, I found lying to my friends and family somewhat difficult. The fact that they knew me so well on top of my conscience making me feel guilty... more often than not, they got the truth.
"Doofus," teased Riley, ruffling my hair as she slid into the chair next to me. "I'm just glad you got home okay. I was worried about you."
"You didn't need to be, I was alright. The driver was... nice."
"Ooh, were they cute?"
I didn't fully process the question at first and began smiling to myself, unsure what was going through my mind. The feeling of both the other's eyes boring into me, though, soon made me uncomfortable so I cleared my throat and shrugged. "They... they were normal."
Riley opened her mouth to speak, most likely to try and find out what I meant, but I cut her off by standing up to place my bowl in the sink then wandering over to the couch to watch some TV. That was enough for her to accept my answer and decide to join me, and moments later, my parents came in from the backyard.
"I'm surprised you girls are still here." We glanced over at my dad, frowning in confusion. "It's a beautiful day, we thought you'd have gone out to the beach or something."
Nobody responded and as I began to flick through the channels, my mom shuffled around the couch to stand by my side. "You're not planning to watch TV all day, are you?"
"No..."
"Lia, it's supposedly one of the most beautiful days of the year and there are so many places to explore," she said, narrowing her eyes before taking a breath and continuing. "Come on. Get up and get ready."
"What?"
"Your father and John are going to be helping Riley's grandparents with some yard work, so we're all going to the beach. That includes you, Yuna." Her attention moved to the kitchen, and she received a thumbs up in response.
"Awesome! Venice Beach... right?" Riley asked my mom, who simply shrugged and nodded. "Alright! Come on, Lia, let's go."
There was barely a second for me to protest before she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, hurriedly dragging me upstairs to get changed and pack a bag. It seemed I didn't have a choice but as much as I'd have liked to be lazy, perhaps spending some time at the beach would be nice. I could bring a good book, some music, and plenty of sunscreen, and start treating this like a vacation again.