venture • lrh

six

THE UNRELATED RELATIVE

*

Alex's head is pounding, and the light shining through the room is too bright. Once she opens her eyes properly, Michael is lying beside her. His mouth is open, and there's drool in the corners of his mouth. Slowly, she sits up and notices how she's still wearing the dress. An irritated groan leaves her mouth. She doesn't remember shit as to how they got back to Michael's place. 

She opens Michael's closet with a loud squeaking noise, hoping to find some sweats to wear. Yet, there's nothing to be found. She sees the dirty clothes piled up once she looks into the corner of his room. There's no other option than to go to Luke's. Of course, she could wear the clothes she'd worn when they arrived yesterday, but wearing jeans right now isn't her plan. She wants to be comfortable.

"Al?" She turns around to see Michael. "I'm gonna fucking throw up." He groans, his face turns pale, and he throws up before she can react; it's disgusting. 

"Yeah, feeling better?" She asks him with a scrunched face. He gives her a sarcastic smile and stands up to clean the mess he made. She follows him towards the bedroom to wipe away the bits of makeup left on her face. 

She looks like a complete mess. Mascara down on her cheeks, fake lashes poorly hanging on her eyes, eyeshadow smushed, eyeliner wiped out. There are also dark circles under her eyes, and her face isn't very colorful either. She's unsure whether she will throw up, but the feeling is there. 

Michael walks in and out of the bathroom to clean everything, and once he's done, he brushes his teeth. "Remember the proposal?" He asks me. She nods in answer and looks at him through the bathroom mirror. "This is gonna be so much fun." He chuckles. She joins Michael and brushes her teeth as well. 

Softly, she knocks on Luke's door, earning a confused look on Michael's face before it turns into a smirk. From behind the door, there's an annoyed groan. She smiles and walks into the room. The curtains are still closed, and it's dark in the room. 

Luke and Michael both want to live independently, and they have the money for it. The thing is, they haven't found anything just yet. They wouldn't consider living at home weak, but having dates or hookups and having your parents question it can be annoying. Although, they've stopped asking Luke. 

"Can we talk?" She asks him. 

"No," he groans when he recognizes her voice. "Get out." 

"Hemmings, c'mon," she sighs. "Can we just start over?" 

"No, leave," he repeats himself, sighing loudly. Her lip is now tugged between her teeth, hoping she'd gain some confidence. "How hard is it to understand two words, Finley?" 

Coming from him? Very hard. Alexis doesn't speak Hemmings, nor does she want to. 

"Listen," she sighs deeply, ignoring his words. "I don't want to keep acting this childish, and you hurt me last night." She admits. "You probably meant to do that anyways, but I just- Never mind, I'm just gonna grab some clothes and leave." She makes her way toward the closet and tries to look for some clothes. 

"Why mine?" He whines. He's such a whiny bitch when hungover. 

"Michael doesn't know how to wash his clothes; I thought you would know by now." A chuckle leaves his lips. "Where the fuck are your sweats?" He is still lying in bed; hands tugged behind his head as he's lying on his bed. He isn't asking her to leave, so that's a win.