The Night Watch ✓

6 / see you later

It wasn't until Bree had been awake for almost ten minutes that she remembered last night, the memory crashing into her like a freight train. As she reached behind her to fasten her bra, she froze and held her breath and wondered if Gaia had heard her. Retreating to her own room after standing speechless outside her flatmate's door for a few minutes last night, she had been unable to resist the urge to touch herself. Though she had tried to keep quiet, she always lost an element of control with alcohol in her system, and she couldn't remember anything that had led to three earth-shattering orgasms in a row.

And now, she could hear Gaia in the kitchen. The effects of drinking to tolerate an evening with her mother began to take their toll, that awful dull ache spreading from behind her eyes until her entire brain throbbed. She dropped down onto her bed, the sudden hangover taking her by surprise, and widened her eyes as she massaged her temples. Her bra hung limply from her shoulders, and she winced as she did it up. Four glasses of wine – four large glasses, at that – had been too many, no matter how necessary they had been at the time.

In forty-five minutes, Bree was expected to be in the office, sitting behind her desk as she stared at the computer until her eyes went square. In sixty minutes, she planned to call and explain that she wouldn't be in. After all, the only thing she had planned for today was endless communication, and anything urgent could be done from home. Right now, the last place she wanted to be was the stifling office, surrounded by people who would judge her as soon as they got the slightest idea that she had over-imbibed the night before.

It was a struggle to pull on a pair of fleecy bottoms and a t-shirt, but once she had, she took a deep breath and opened her door, faced with the vision of Gaia hunched over a plate of toast and a mug of tea. The sound of Bree's door alerted her and she looked up on instinct, though her cheeks instantly reddened.

"Morning," she said, her voice almost indetectable, and she hid behind her tea.

"Hey," Bree said, slouching over to the table and flicking the kettle on. Bending down for a mug was effort enough and she had to fill her lungs to distract the sensation of nausea that crept up on her. She steeled herself against the counter and focused on her breathing as she waited for the water to boil.

"Are you alright?" Gaia asked, eyebrows scurrying into a knit of concern, and Bree had to close her eyes as she nodded to avoid the motion sickness. She held up a hand to signify that she would explain, and Gaia waited.

"Hangover," she said at last, and Gaia's pink lips formed a perfect O.

"Did you have a nice time with your mum?" she asked, her voice hesitant, and Bree gave her a sideways glance.

"I think the fact I drank enough to be hungover speaks for itself," she said, and as soon as the kettle boiled she poured herself a coffee and slumped in the seat next to Gaia with her head on her arms. "Fuck."

"I take it you're not going to work today," Gaia said. There was no judgment in her words, just a simple statement of fact: she wasn't averse to the occasional sick day herself, when life got a bit too much and she needed a break.

"Correct."

"If you feel better later, is there any chance you could do a shop"

There was a notepad blu-tacked to the fridge, to which they each added items they needed until one of them eventually went shopping. In the early days of living together, they had reimbursed each other for half of any joint purchase, but they had reached a stage that neither particularly cared, and the burden tended to even out.

"Of course," Bree said. She glanced up at the list, which had reached the end of the page, and she knew there were a few things she needed to add. Gaia gave her a soft smile.