Losing Oliver

Chapter 5

Picture is Payton! So happy because the girl I chose, Ira Vampira, actually has had blue hair.

Sun streamed in through the blinds, warming my face as I stirred in my bed. My legs stretched across the silky sheets and so did my arms, which were slightly covered in an oversized t-shirt. The smell of sweet cologne wafted from the shirt and comforted my pounding headache.
Slowly, a sleeve slipped down my shoulder when I sat up against the headboard.
"Morning," A voice said from the hall. There stood a shirtless Declan Pierce, bare midriff sculpted as one would imagine.
I grunted in reply. "Why are you at my house, and please, put a shirt on."
"First off, this is Payton's house and you're in her room. Secondly, you're kind of wearing my shirt." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.
I instantly looked down at the shirt and blushed. The Nirvana shirt was a familiar design, but definitely not mine. "Why am I wearing your shirt? Wait, we didn't..."
"No."
I tried not to take offense at his seemingly cold reply, and instead I was overcome with relief. Thank God.
"Your drunk self got up in the middle of the night, stripped, and took my shirt from the ground." He explained with a smirk. "But don't worry, I didn't look. I am a gentleman."
"Frick." My cheeks flushed red, and I got up from the bed, taking my school clothes from yesterday and retreating to the bathroom.
I looked in the mirror, and what I saw was not pretty. My eyeliner was brushed halfway across my face while a slight dribble of dried drool shown at the downturn of my lips. Tear stains still streamed down my face. It was the face of a destroyed girl.
Though I couldn't remember last night, I didn't want Declan to explain it to me. I quickly took off his shirt, but his distinct scent still lingered on me.
Cologne and Mint, at least it may cover the scent of sweat and beer. I shook my head and finished changing, throwing Declan's shirt at him as I walked out of the room.
Down the stairs and around the corner, I went to find Payton. Her blue hair stuck out against the black and white tiling of the kitchen.
"Morning, Lucy!" Payton chirped happily when she heard me enter. Apparently hangovers didn't affect her infectious personality.
"Hey..." I grumbled and walked over to her. My headache didn't enjoy her giddiness this morning.
"The first hangover is a bítch." Wyatt remarked.
"..and all of the ones after it." Zeke whined, sitting at the table with his arms around his head. His ecstatic personality was affected by last night's events. "Too. Much. Beer." He mumbled before running to heave in the bathroom.
It made me even sicker to think about beer.
"So I saw Declan laying in my bed with you last night..." Payton whispered softly to me and wiggled an eyebrow.
Lucas sat at the counter a few feet away, looking even more displeased than I felt.
"No, Payton, we didn't..." I rolled my eyes. "I don't even remember what happened."
Declan, now fully clothed, groaned when he walked in. He instantly walked to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. "That was a hell of a party, Payton."
"They always are," remarked Wyatt.
A hurl of agreement came from Zeke in the bathroom. "Totally!"
"What time is it?" I asked with a yawn.
"10 AM." Payton replied.
"Shît, I have to go. My dad is probably worried sick." I said in a panic. I never went home last night, plus I skipped school. I'm dead.
"I'll give you a ride." Lucas offered and grabbed a pair of keys from the counter.
"Sure, that'd be great." I thanked him and quickly ran for the door.

~

Rain fell in buckets as Lucas sped through the wet roads. He was driving at least 30 mph over the limit. His face was calm but something was in his eyes that I couldn't detect.

I stole a glance at him and pondered for a moment what happened to the poster child who this reckless bad boy replaced? I recall bits and pieces of last night, some of which included him and other girls making out, maybe more, in the guest bedroom. The images of the cigarette between his lips made me wonder. I learned things about him that I never would've guessed yesterday.

As I watched him, he stretched his neck, revealing a black design that swirled from his collarbone to his lower neck. His eyes grew dark bags under them, either from the hangover or grief.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" He rose an eyebrow but focused intently on the road. His foot lightened off the gas to focus on talking to me.

"You use to be... different than you are now.."

"I've always been the same person, and I always will be... but sometimes, grief brings out the worse in people."

And with that, I dropped the subject.
But the one thing I was left wondering was..
How will grief change me?

~

"Where the hell have you been?" A voice ridiculed me when I stepped into my house, but not the voice I was expecting.
"Hannah?" I turned around to far the voice.
As I suspected, my absentee sister stood in front of me, eyes flaring with fury. "Dad has been looking everywhere for you!"
"Hannah!" I smiled even though she was yelling at me and wrapped my arms around her.
Her tense body softened, and she let out a chuckle. "It's nice to see you too, Lou, but for real, never do that again. Skipping school then not showing up until the next morning isn't like you."
"You heard about Oliver, right?" I bit my lip and looked up at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you during the funeral. The agency couldn't let me go until now." She hugged me a bit tighter.
Hannah Grey, my sister, was stunning. Her hair was identical to mine, but we had very different features. She had a sharp nose with almond eyes while I had a button nose and big, wide eyes. Our personalities were different too. She was regal and ladylike while I was free-spirited but shy.
"It's okay," I murmured but clenched onto the fabric of her scarf.
I heard her sniff slightly and she pulled away with her nose scrunched. "You smell like cologne... and beer? Oh my god, Lou, what have you been doing?"
Hannah always gets like this. Here comes the protective sister mode.
"It's nothing! I was just trying to have a little fun!"
"Just a little fun? I get that you're upset, but this is not the way to handle it! Partying won't make your troubles away!"
A door slammed from behind me just as she yelled at me.
"Hannah, Lucy! What's going on?" My dad stepped into the kitchen from outside. He hair was wet from the rain and his boots dirtied with mud.
"Lucy thought it would be a great idea to drink her worries away. Right, Lou?" She shook her head. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"Hannah, that's enough." Dad tried to stop her, but she was frantic.
My family was ballistic. I loved them all, but I was suffocating. The desperation for their approval haunted me everyday. Oliver was the only one who understood. He kept me sane by showing me coping mechanisms like my counting. Whenever fights like this happened, I would run to him.
All I could do was just run, so that's what I did.