Be Brave With Me

Chapter Six

Too many shots, too much sun.

Squinting against the harsh light, Aura slipped her sunglasses onto her nose as she shuffled her miserable body out onto the deck. The sun stood high, it was almost noon. She had just woken up - and was already regretting it. 

Too many shots, too little sleep.

Jess piked up at the big table where everyone else was enjoying their lunch. "Good morning, superstar! How did you sleep?"

That question deserved no answer.

Aura carefully slipped into her seat at the head of the table and mustered a dim smile for a sympathetic Fipp who leaned over to pour her a big glass of OJ. She knew that she was acting like death herself was nursing a hangover. She didn't care. She looked like it. She felt like it.

She was annoyed by the pain in her temples, the innocent sunshine, the calm waves in the peaceful bay, the light moods of her friends celebrating the start of summer over bruschetta and salads. How was she supposed to feel light after her phone had stayed silent all night?

All right, that wasn't exactly true. Her phone hadn't stopped buzzing with messages and calls from the most random, unimportant, pestering people.

She'd heard nothing from the two people who mattered most, though.

"Everyone is talking about us," Jess announced to the table.

An obvious lie, of course. Not everyone.

Full of glee, Jess gave the table her latest update. "We're at 10,578,546. Half a million above target, guys. In just a few hours. People, US Weekly, ET. They've all picked up the story of our party. They're reporting every last detail, down to the whipped cream painting and Gio's lemon sorbet."

Lucie closed her eyes to relive last night. "Did you try the sorbet, guys? So good!"

Fipp smirked. "I'm sure it didn't taste nearly as good as parts of my painting, though."

Wolf whistles all around.

Aura groaned and clasped her throbbing head between her hands. Slowly, bits and pieces of last night rose out of the murky depths of her brain.

The whipped cream painting. The wet T-shirt contest for which they had used magnum bottles of champagne instead of water to soak everyone through. The round of twister that ended in a make-out session between two hot co-stars of a recent Netflix hit who were both married - to other people. The music that had filled the bay until the early morning hours. The dancing on tables by none other than The Aurelia Carmichael, yours truly.

Jess pushed on. "Buzzfeed has already gone ahead and recapped the entire night in gifs. There's a quiz going around to find out as which celebrity guest you would've attended the party. You are trending on Twitter. Vogue has reached out. They wanna do the 73 questions thing on YouTube with you."

"Oh, I love those!" Katja leaned forward to share her wisdom. "Do you know they're all scripted? I can totally help you to come up with some cool answers, babe. Will they come here? Oh, of course, they will! If they can get a chance to shoot you in swimwear, they'll take it."

Jess talked over Katja's excitement. "True, true. All of this sounds very promising." She paused, for emphasis. "And yet..."

Aura met her best friend's gaze over the table. The first words she uttered this morning came out in the barest of whispers. "You heard anything?"

Jess simply shook her head.

Aura eased her head against the backrest, slid down in the chair and closed her eyes. Her old friend, Bleak, Black Dread, was back. Beckoning her to take a dip, to go for a swim... to drown in it. If she had the energy, she'd schlep herself over to the railing and pitch forward.