The Love Trials: Ashley

Chapter Three

I woke up with a nasty hangover. You know the kind... A banging headache, the light hurting, a nasty taste in my mouth.

I woke up buried under my duvet. It was hot and sticky under there so I dared to peer over the top of the covers. The curtains had been pulled shut over my window but the daylight still poured into the room and it hurt quite a bit.

My head was aching slightly so I decided that I would have to get up. I sat up slowly but my head still spun around. I put my head in my hands to try and recover. As I did that, I tried to remember the previous night. Nothing came up. I remembered brief flashes of things such as actually arriving to the club and dancing with Bradley on the dance floor. Nothing else though. It was only then that I realised that my shoes had been neatly taken off and put outside my closet door and that my dress was hanging from a coathanger off the door handle. I was dressed in an old shirt and pyjama shorts. This made me blush. Who had seen me naked?

I pulled on my dressing gown as I walked downstairs and into my kitchen. On the kitchen counter was a bottle of paracetmol and a folded piece of paper addressed to me. I filled a glass of water and took the pills then made some toast. As I was waiting for the toaster to pop up my toast, I read the letter.

Ashley,

I had a great night last night; I never knew you would be so much fun when you have a drink! I winced but continued to read. I had so much fun and I hope you did too but I had a feeling you would have a bit of a hangover when you wake up so I left some pain relief. Hope it helps. I hope we can go out again soon.

Goodbye, Bradley.

My heart jumped, missed a beat. The letter was short but sweet and it put a smile on my face. I ate my toast and drank a glass of orange juice before going to my phone and calling my friends over. I hadn't seen them in a while and it was the weekend so we were all on a break from work. They all agreed to come over after lunch so I had a shower to wash away the stink of liquor and cleaned my already clean house. At lunch, I made cheese toasties and after I finished that, I cleaned up my dishes and put the kettle on. As the kettle was boiling, the doorbell went and I answered it to see my friends. They all hugged me and came piling in through the door, making more noise than my poor head could deal with but I didn't mind. I loved these crazy girls.

Amelia was the oldest of us and in a settled relationship with her long term boyfriend, Robert. Her blonde hair was shoulder length, wavy but messy and it entirely suited her tomboyish personality.

Caitlin was the next oldest of us and came as a package deal with her cousin Kieran. Caitlin was brown haired, blue-eyed and usually had her hair up in a ponytail. She was the one who had all the advice and was extremely supportive. Kieran was the same age as her and her cousin. He had black hair and dark eyes. He didn't really date girls though he got looks from them often, he was handsome, a dark and lone stranger which attracted everyone around him. But no, Kieran preferred to be by himself. However he was smart and had good ideas.

Cathy was the youngest of us, younger than me but only by a year. Her black hair was curly to the point that it was not the messy waves that Amelia had but wild tangles and curls. She was gorgeous for sure but was definitely not the type of girl to imagine settling down in a steady relationship. In fact, Cathy had about six guys wishing for her to settle down with them or to sleep with them. She would always find a single night to find another guy to add to her phone directory but would keep the other guys hanging. It was not quite classed as cheating because she refused a relationship with then. However, her actions were beyond us and the rest of us just left her to it. She would be found out eventually. Cathy was also well known for her family life. Amelia kept in touch with her parents but rarely visited them due to being busy with her job. Caitlin visited her family even more often but lived with Kieran to save money. Cathy on the other hand still lived with her father. She was the only one of us to do so as I lived on my own and Amelia lived with Rob. Cathy's father was a police officer, a good one at that. We had all been friends since secondary school so Cathy's father had given us lectures on everything from drugs to safe sex. He did not mind that Cathy's sex life was insane but encouraged her to use condoms and the pill. Cathy's father was like a father to us all because he was so sweet.