Saved By Steven (the first story)

7. The morning after

The next morning school was canceled. A blanket of snow had swallowed the roads overnight. By 8 a.m. Mick was already up after getting the call at 6 a.m. The house was still quiet, a sort of calm after the storm. 

He padded down to the kitchen in his loafers and leisure wear, made coffee and started breakfast for his house guests. 

Half an hour later Mick carried in a tray of food and coffee into the living room. He saw Tom and Lauren were still asleep. Lauren apparently moved to the couch with Tom at some point during the night. Mick figured she got cold and crawled under the blanket.

"Good morning." He said softly.
Tom and Lauren both answered in muffled grunts. Neither of them looked as if they wanted to wake up. Tom rolled over and sank deeper in to the couch. Lauren blinked awake, but barely. 

"I have coffee." Mick said.
That did the trick. Lauren groaned as she slowly sat up. "My head's killing me."
Yeah. Also..." Mick gestured vaguely. "You might want to, uh, cover up."

Lauren looked down. Her dress had ridden up, nearly exposing everything.
"O, God" Lauren covered up with a blanket.
"Here." Mick handed her one over his dress shirts and sweatpants he had put out last night.
"Thanks." She mumbled, not looking at him. "This is so embarrassing."
"It's fine. No judgement here."

She gave him a weak smile and curled back under the blanked, pulling the clothes toward her like armor. They sat in silence for a bit. The coffee steamed between them. Eventually, Lauren stood up and shuffled over to her bag. 
"Mind if I smoke?" she asked.
"Sure."
"I'll go outside."
"No, you don't have to. It's too cold outside."
"I should anyway."

She lit a cigarette with trembling fingers, then had to sit down before she could even take a drag. Her whole body was shaking. 
"Lauren? You okay?" Mick asked form his chair.
"Just really tired I guess."
"Alright. Get some more rest. I'll be around."

She didn't argue. Just curled up into the corner of the couch and let the cigarette die in the ashtray. Mick cleared the tray, put the untouched food in the fridge and headed upstairs to shower and get changed. 


By the time he came back down, Tom was awake and staggering toward the bathroom. 
"Whoa, easy." Mick said, catching him just in time. 
"Toilet." Tom rasped, face pale. 
Mick pushed the bathroom door open and Tom barely made it to the bowl in time. He retched violently. Then collapsed against the wall, breathing hard.
"Fuck"
"You can say that."

Tom wiped his mouth on his sleeve and groaned. 
"What even happened last night?"
"You overdid it. Like a lot of us."
"You didn't."
"No."
"I'm a mess."
"You're human."

Mick handed him a glass of was. After Tom finished the glass, Mick helped him up. 
"Listen, I called Lucy this morning. I told her you stayed to help me with party stuff. She's fine with it."
Tom gave him a look full of guilt.
"You didn't have to do that."
"You'd do the same for me." Mick replied.
"I wish I was a better friend."
"You are. Just maybe not on Thursdays."
They shared a tired smile. Mick led Tom back to the couch, where he slumped down and crabbed a coffee. 

Lauren was sitting up again, bundled in Mick's clothes. 
"What the hell happened to you?" She asked, lighting a cigarette.
Tom rolled his eyes. "Let's not do this."
"You feeling better?" Mick asked her.
"Still shaky," she said, pulling her sleeves over her hands. "But not as out of it."
She got up and walked to the door. "I'll smoke outside."


Mick joined her a few minutes later. The cold bit at their faces as they stood on the porch, watching the snow drift lazily in the morning light. 
"Shouldn't you be with Tom?" Lauren asked.
"He's fine. Just hungover and sore from throwing up."
She offered him a Marlboro Light. "Want one?"
"Yeah." He took a cigarette, lit it and handed the lighter back to Lauren. 
They stood quietly for a while, watching the smoke trail into the cold air.
"I'm sorry." Lauren said eventually. "I know i was a mess last night."
"It's okay."
"No, it's not. But thank you for not making me feel worse about it. 
"You've been through a lot lately. You don't have to apologize for needing help."
She looked away, eyes wet but not crying. "I feel like i want to sleep for a week. Or disappear for a while. Or both."
"I get it."
"I just... I want to feel nothing for a little while, you know? That's all the coke was. Numbness. It felt like relief.... until it didn't."
Mick didn't know what to say, so he just nodded. 

A car crunched up the driveway.
"You've got company." Lauren smiled.
"Yeah. The band for the party."
Lauren put out her cigarette and headed back inside. 

"Mick! Great to see you," Steven called out, stepping from the car in a thick wool coat.
"Steven! Glad you made it." They hugged.
"Thanks for having us. The rest is coming later—they got stuck in the snow."
"No problem. Come inside, warm up."
Steven glanced around as they walked in. "By the way—someone's here already?"
"Yeah, two guests. Last-minute thing. Party at the school got out of hand. I couldn't let them go home in the state they were in."
"Say no more. I'm used to surprise house guests."

Inside, Tom was nursing his coffee. Mick poured one for Steven. Just as they sat down, a sound came from behind the couch—a quiet shuffle, like someone trying to disappear into the furniture.
"What is that?" Tom asked, rubbing his temples.
"I'll check," Steven said, getting up.
"Careful," Mick called after him, only half-joking.

Steven followed the sound of soft crying behind the couch. As he stepped around the corner, he spotted her, curled up small, half-hidden in the shadows. She looked like she was trying to disappear into the upholstery. 
He paused. Not wanting to startle her, he crouched slowly.
"Hey," he said gently.
She flinched but didn't look up.

"You alright?"
She hesitated, then gave a small shrug. "Fine."
He didn't move closer "Didn't mean to intrude. I just heard something. 

Lauren finally lifted her head. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, but the way she looked at him, just for a second, was like something clicked, though she didn't seem to know what. 
"What's your name?" Steven asked, still crouching at a respectful distance.
"...Lauren."
"Pretty name." He smiled faintly. 
She gave a half-hearted shrug, hugging her knees tighter. "People always say that."
"Doesn't mean it's not true."
Lauren looked at him then. Really looked. And for a fleeting moment, something flickered in her eyes. Curiosity, recognition, confusion, maybe all three. 
Steven sat down, just near enough to share the quiet.
"I'm Steven. Friend of Mick's. I'm here to help with the party."
Lauren nodded. She didn't speak for a long moment. 
"You don't have to say anything." he added. "Just figured I'd sit here in case you didn't want to be alone. 
"That's the thing." Lauren murmured. "I don't know if I want company or not."
"That's alright too."

They sat in silence. The kind that didn't need to be filled. The kind that made Lauren feel, oddly, like she wasn't being watched or judged, just seen.After a moment, she leaned back against the couch, eyes half-closing.
"You remind me of someone," she whispered.
"Someone good?""I think so. It's hard to tell these days."