Hailsmith Academy

Chapter 16: Shower and coffee

My chest burned. My head felt like it was about to split open, and waves of nausea had taken over my body.

I had no idea what time it was when I woke up, but I almost instantly doubled over, throwing up into the waste basket by my bed. I groaned, falling back onto the sheets, holding my head in my hands. What the fuck had happened last night?

I forced myself to stand, going to the bathroom to wash up. I winced, my head aching with every step I took. God, I'm never drinking again.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked absolutely awful, with my sweaty, pale skin and dark circles under my eyes. I couldn't even recognise myself.

I splashed water onto my face, but it only provided temporary reprieve. My thoughts were swarming as I tried to remember what had happened last night.

I vaguely remember the Halloween party, talking to Allison, and then... oh my god.

It hit me like a brick.

Everything suddenly came flooding back to me. Jackie in bed with my brother, drinking my entire body weight in whiskey, and- and... trying to kiss Evans in the lacrosse field.

I bent over the toilet and threw up again.

*

"Luke? What the fuck?"

Spencer came running towards me, the second he saw me slumped over on the floor of our room. He'd evidently slept over somewhere else last night, coming back to quite the surprise.

I groaned as he pulled me up, leaning me against the wall so I'd stay up in a sitting position. "What the hell happened?"

I tried to speak, but no words came out. I was too emotionally and physically exhausted. Every part of my body hurt like someone had whacked it with a metal bat.

Spencer's eyes moved towards the opened bottle of Aspirin on his nightstand. "Did you drink?" He asked, in complete shock.

I slowly nodded my head.

"Holy shit. How much?"

I finally managed to choke out a few words. "Too much."

He gently helped me get up, and I walked over to my unmade bed. I sat down, tenderly holding my head. Spencer sat down next to me, his concerned eyes meeting mine. "Why?"

Bracing myself, I told him everything. Actually, I didn't tell him about the Evans part. That was a road I couldn't even begin to go down right now.

He was enraged by the time I finished. "That bitch! I swear to god when I find her- and your brother- I'm going to-"

I cut him off. "Don't. That'll only make it worse."

"Shit, man."

We sat like that for a while, side by side with neither of us speaking. I felt a little better now. The nausea had subsidised to only a dull feeling, and the pounding in my head had lowered.

Spencer sat with me the entire time, not leaving my side even when his phone rang twice. I was eternally grateful to him for that.

"What time is it?" I asked. He looked down at his watch. "It's past noon."

"Really? I've been up for like five hours. Huh."

I was just about to get up to take a shower, when there was a knock on the door. Allison and Christian walked in, both of them with matching worried looks.

"Hey." Allison spoke softly, handing me a cup of coffee she was holding.

"Thank god." I muttered, gratefully accepting the cup from her. I gulped it down, while my friends sat around me. Once I'd finished drinking, Allison decided to say something.