Scream at the drunken moon

Chapter 29

My phone ringing wakes me up. It's a little before 10am. The throbbing in my legs doesn't help. What the hell did I do last night to cause such pain?
"Hello" I mumble into the receiver.
"I hope you're not just waking up. We will be there in half an hour to fix you up" I hear Alysha shouting at me with laughter in her voice. I grimace as my head feels ready to explode. My whole body is aching from head to toe.
"I'm up. Just about to shower" I mumble and she giggles before hanging up. I'm not quite with it though and as I flop back down on the mattress I realise I'm not alone. Mike is fast asleep, in mine and Tony's bed, and looks to be somewhat naked. I frequently sleep naked so I didn't think about my lack of clothes. But why is there a naked Mike in my bed?
I pull the sheets up over my chest and poke Mike's arm. Nothing.
"Mike. Wake up" I whisper. Still nothing. I shake him and he makes a grunting sound.
"Mike, what the hell happened? What did we do?" I screech getting more frantic by the second, knowing his girlfriend, one of my closest friends, is on her way and I'm supposed to be marrying one of his best friends in just a few hours.
He raises his head, sees my distress and realises for himself the predicament we are in.
"Uh oh. We did bad stuff huh?" he manages to mumble.
"It looks like it. Come on, Alysha is on her way with Danielle and Jess to help me get ready to marry Tony. He can't find out about this Mikey. Please don't say anything. I know you love Alysha too so I won't say anything but you can't tell Tony. It wasn't meant to happen."
He sees the tears falling and pulls me to him, his arms wrapping around me as I sob. We stay like that for too long it seems as the doorbell rings. I look at him in panic as he frantically pulls on his clothes.
"I'll tell them I came here last night and you were upset and didn't want to be alone. That you asked me to walk you down the aisle and that I slept in the spare room. They won't question that" he whispers as I hobble into the bathroom.
I feel the tears flowing down my face as I try desperately to stop them, shocked to the core about what we did. I was drunk and so was Mike but that's no excuse at all. I don't want to lose Tony for a drunken mistake. And as much as I love Mike - in a friends only way - it was a mistake.
I rinse my hair as quickly as my stupid body lets me and grabbing a towel off the side, I quickly dry it off and wrap the towel around my aching body. I need my medication desperately. I limp through to my room and see the girls already waiting for me.
"I think I danced too much last night" I say to explain my fatigue. They look sympathetically at me as I grab my pills and a bottle of water off the side and start tipping what I need into my hand. I swallow them down and sigh. I grab a button down blouse and some leggings and quickly dress in the bathroom, ready for my hair and make up to be done. Alysha is already armed with a hairdryer when I return and after she brushes my hair for me, she starts blasting it. Jess is painting my nails a silvery grey to match their dresses and Danielle is setting out the clothes for us. I'm shaking and I can't stop thinking about what went on last night.
"Nervous honey?" asks Alysha and I nod.
"Yeah, a bit. But also excited and happy and sad at the same time."
"Why are you feeling sad?"
"I wish my parents were here. I always dreamed it would be my dad giving me away but that didn't go to plan, so last night I asked Mike if he would do the honours."
"Yeah, he did say before he left. I'm so proud of you though for being so strong" Alysha says as she gently hugs me. I feel so guilty knowing what I did last night but we have vowed no one will find out. Ever.
Once my hair is dry, Alysha starts her magic. She braids it across the front, fastening it with a white flower clip. The rest she pulls back into a side bun with more white flowers on a band around it. She spritzes me with hairspray and after a minor spot of tweaking she lets out a satisfied squeak. I stand up and go to the mirror across the room and my eyes fill with tears. It's perfect. Alysha appears next to me.
"Is it ok?" she asks and I nod.
"It's perfect" I whisper as I hug her.
My make up is tackled next and I glance over at the other girls who've done each other's make up while Alysha did my hair. I have a feeling we are all going to look stunning today. I hear the doorbell ring and I glance at the clock. It's almost midday and I've no idea who that could be. Danielle skips away to answer it and I realise it's almost lunchtime and I haven't eaten yet. I head down to the kitchen and walk straight into Mike.
"Why are you here?" I whisper.
"You asked me to walk you down the aisle, remember."
My head is so not here right now.
"Have you eaten?" I ask as I get food out of the fridge to make sandwiches for the girls. He shakes his head so I make enough for everyone, knowing we will have more food at the reception later on. I pile the food onto plates and glance over at Mike, who's just standing there staring.
"What?" I mutter.
"You look stunning" he whispers so quietly I wonder if I misheard him. I feel my cheeks heat up from blushing, under my make up and quickly turn away.
I load the dishwasher once we've all finished and see it's time for me to get my dress on. The girls follow me upstairs to get their dresses on too and I hear the bell ring again and Becca's voice wafting up the stairs. I peep over the bannister and call that we won't be too much longer. She looks absolutely beautiful, with her dress on and hair and make up done and I'm so glad the girls chose the dresses they did.
I step into my dress and feel the corset at the back being tied by Jess. I haven't looked in the mirror yet but I let out a gasp when I do. I don't think I've ever looked or felt so beautiful.