KATE
My head is pounding before I even open my eyes the next morning. Not only that, but my body aches significantly from the position in which I fell asleep. Emily and I stayed up late last night, giving into our drunken confessions. She ended up sleeping stretched out on the couch, and I must have fallen asleep on the floor.
The light does nothing to help my hangover once I open my eyes, but the more I blink, the easier it is to handle. Emily is still sprawled on the couch, deeply asleep. I don’t wake her, there is no need to.
I stumble my way into the kitchen and make myself a cup tea, slumping against the counter and almost falling asleep there while the tea bag soaks. But slowly, as I sip the herbal cure, my body begins to show signs of properly functioning.
I set the cup down and cross over to the window, pulling back the curtains. The white light that hits my eyes is almost blinding; snow coats the entire parking lot and the roads around it. The sky is a bright gray, with small flakes still falling slowly. There is not a single car on the roads, nor is there any sign of movement at all outside. Life is at a standstill.
I sit alone at the kitchen table with my tea for an undetermined period of time. Snow days are like that, time seems to lose all meaning. A short time later, or maybe in no time at all, there is a soft knock from the door. I had known that it would come eventually, that one or both of the boys would come to check on us.
I don’t even look through the peephole before opening the door, knowing that if I do, I might not open it. It’s a good thing, too, because there stands Michael, alone in the hallway in front of me. He looks…different. He is dressed in black sweatpants and a thick gray hoodie, his face hasn’t been shaved in a few days, and his purple hair is down across his forehead. It looks more faded than usual, almost a white blonde at this point.
“Hi,” he says uncertainly, calling my attention back to his face.
“Hi,” I say. I do not intend for my voice to sound as small as it does.
“We—we…I mean, I… we and I.. Luke and I… me… we wanted to check and make sure that you were alright.” He ducks his head and cranes his neck, looking behind me. “Um…both of you.”
“We’re fine,” I say. In spite of the tea, I haven’t spoken yet today and my voice comes out as a croak. Michael just nods his head, watching me closely. “Are, um. Are you okay?” I ask. I can smell faint traces of beer on him, and we’re standing feet apart.
“Yeah,” he says, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, we’re both fine.”
I nod, and we both just stand there awkwardly for a minute. Finally, Michael breaks the tension.
“Kate, I… what happened?”
“What happened with Emily, or what happened between you and me?” I ask with raised brows.
“Um. Both I guess,” he shuffles his feet. “Can I come in?” He asks.
I back myself into the doorway. “No, I don’t think you should.”
“Katherine, please. We need to talk.”
“We can talk here,” I say.
“Answer my question,” he huffs. “Please,” he adds when I throw him a glare.
“What happened with Emily is simple, she came here to talk to me. Since you were so determined to keep us apart I guess she took it into her own hands. And what happened between you and me is an answer that you know better than I do.”
“What did you talk about?” He asks, ignoring the last part of my answer.
“It doesn’t really concern you, does it?”
