Passionate Exchange

Chapter Sixty-Seven

My eyes flutter open and I'm met with sunlight seeping in through the window. The curtains are still wide open from the previous day. I rub my eyes groggily, going to wrap the duvet tighter around myself. There's nothing better than waking up in the morning and going back to sleep seconds later.

Only, when I try to do this, my hands meet nothing. This is when I notice I'm lying on top of the duvet instead of underneath it as I should be and I'm fully clothed. To make matters worse, the trousers I'm wearing have bunched up around my knees in the night.

I groan in protest before sitting up only to crash my eyes shut and cover my face with my hands. My head's pounding. Why is it pounding? Then, I suddenly remember I got drunk yesterday for the first time in my life. Someone, please tell me why I thought that was a good idea.

Dragging my legs behind me, I traipse into the bathroom and proceed to throw my clothes onto the floor. They're probably going to end up soaked if I leave them there, but I have no energy to move them. Is this what it's always like when you drink or am I just a lightweight?

Well, I was right about one thing. I get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body, and step over the unidentifiable wet lump on the tiles. It could be either my trousers or my jumper. Once I'm back under my duvet, as I should have been when I woke up, I feel somewhat better.

It no longer feels like someone's trying to drill their way through my skull. It's more like they're hitting it repeatedly with a hammer now. Any improvement is a good thing though. My head falls onto my pillow as I allow my eyes to slip closed.

I pushed you away because I thought I'd hurt you. These words repeat on a continuous loop in my head. My eyes involuntarily shoot open. I massage my temples, trying to make sense of them. My head's swimming.

The last thing I remember is stumbling home with Penny after she just told me that- holy crap! I completely forgot she admitted that she and Tyler are in a secret relationship. Even now that I've had time to comprehend it all it still blows my mind. Penny and Tyler? I thought they were nothing more than enemies.

What happened after we got back? 'My recklessness cost her life.' I furrow my eyebrows, the memories of last night still foggy. Archer was here with me in my room. He was sitting on my bed- no. He was lying next to me on my bed. Why was he in my bed with me?

I stand up, deciding that it's useless to sit here and wait to remember. Instead, I slip a shirt over my head, grabbing a random pair of pyjama bottoms from my closet. All of this confusion is only making my migraine worse.

I descend the stairs, clutching onto the bannister for dear life. Once I find some aspirin in the cupboard, I almost jump for joy but stop myself. If I can hardly walk down the stairs, I'm not sure jumping up and down is the best idea for me right now.

I fill a glass with water and swallow the aspirin. 'I couldn't lose anyone else I loved knowing I was responsible.' I take a sharp intake of breath, staring up at the ceiling. Did he tell me he loved me last night? No, there's no way. My memory must be foggy.

Drinking has never been something I've found myself wanting to do. I was never attracted to the idea of sleeping through most of the day and partying all night. But, with everything that's happened recently, I wanted to try anything to get my mind off things. Even if it's just for a little while.

It worked at first. Penny and I were laughing our heads off on the swings at the park as we relived memories from our childhoods. It turns out we had pretty similar childhoods despite living thousands of miles away from each other. All the guilt and worries that were plaguing me slipped away temporarily.