I woke up to the sound of someone violently knocking on my door. I grabbed my phone to check the time; it is 5:56pm. I can feel something penetrating through my skull. The violent pounding on my door is not helping my headache. I was covered with blankets on my couch, too comfortable to get up. Until I heard my name from the opposite side of the wall, “Lilly, seriously… open the damn door!”.
“Shit!” I whispered to myself as I smelled my alcoholic breath from drinking too much whisky. It’s Megan! What the hell is she doing here? I got up as quickly as if I’m a college student late for class. I brushed my hair with the tips of my fingers trying to fix the tangled mess it had been. I rushed towards my door.
“Just a sec” I hollered; and within seconds I opened the door and glimpsed at Megan’s annoyed yet surprised face.
“Hey! I did not expect anyone to come over. Why didn’t you text me?” I said in sincere confusion.
“Well, by the style of your hair and the smell of your apartment, it is totally obvious that you’re not expecting anyone. And by the way, I called you three times. Check your phone, sweet heart.” Megan said in her usual sarcastic voice as she entered my untidy apartment.
Megan has been one of the best friends since my childhood because of the fact that we lived in the same neighborhood all these years and since both of our mothers are Croatian, we used to always get together. We went to the same elementary and same high school; however, we part our ways in college. I went to the University of Pennsylvania and she went to Pierce College. Although Megan may not be the smartest pencil in the box, she’s definitely charming. As a History major, she landed a stable job right after college in a private high school in the suburbs of Pennsylvania. And here I am, jobless. At age 23, I thought I will have my life ahead of me. I spent four years of sleepless nights and wrote pages after pages of papers to earn a diploma in the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.
“My mom sent you here, didn’t she” I asked with a half-smile on my face.
“Yes. Duhhh. Plus I want to see that sexy face. Get up and take a shower, we’ll go out” she held my face in between her palms. I can smell the strong aroma of her perfume and I stared into her big beautiful eyes. Megan is incredibly gorgeous especially when she puts her hair up in a bun because it highlights her jaw.
“Where?” I asked as I took off her hands from my cheeks.
“Just shower. You smell” she chuckled.
I followed through her orders and went upstairs to the shower. I stared at myself in the mirror and I saw my reflection. I look burned out. The dark marks on the bottom of my eyes, the untidy hair and my un-moisturized skin. I undressed myself from the clothes I’ve been sleeping in for almost three days. I turned on the shower and cold water rushed out and within seconds, it was lukewarm. As the water caressed my skin, I began tracing my curves down to my upper thighs. I remembered Andrew; we used to take a bath together. Sitting on the bathtub talking for hours while our naked skin rubbed against each other. He used to trace my curves while adoring my body and complementing every inch of my being. I can still feel his presence inside this bathroom. I get aroused just by thinking about him and all the memories we had in this bathroom; however, he’s gone. He chose to walk away.
“Amelia, what the hell is taking you so long… Let’s get going” the sound of Megan’s voice startled me; I did not realized how long I stood in the shower. I turned off the water and dry myself with the nearest towel. When I got out of the shower, Megan was searching through my stuff.
“Here, Lilly. Wear this- I just can’t find any shoes to match this, but it’s cute. A little short, but cute.” She handed me a mini dress that has holes on the abdomen area. I put on the dress and did my make up while Megan curls my hair.
“We’re going to G Lounge by the way” she said. “So get your inner slut on because I’ll make it a night to remember for you. We’ll meet someone better than that douchebag.” I watched her chuckle from the mirror while giving her a half-smile.
