Behind the Cherry Tree, A Not-So-Short Story

12. The Aftermath

DEDICATED TO: applestar15 and the undying support you give me!! :D

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Slowly, oh so slowly, I grow more aware of myself. I'm lying on a soft matress, there's a damp cloth on my head. The cool pillow presses against my cheek and light glows against my eyelids. I am awake inside my head, stirring inside the structure of my body. I don't feel connected to my body, it's as if the part that is me is much smaller that my body, I'm standing in the cavernous hollow inside my body, as if my body is just skin filled with hot air. And me standing in the middle. It's like I'm far far away.

In the distance, a long way from where I am, from outside my body, I here a buzz-buzz buzzzzz. It's a trigger. Suddenly- Alice in Wonderland style- the 'me' part standing within my body begins to grow. My 'me' gets inflated and elongated. Soon it's claustraphobically big. 'Me' is too big from my body. I wriggle until my 'me' legs are enlarging in the empty cavity where my body's legs are. 'Me' is filling my body, putting back mass into the hollowness. 

The sounds from outside my body grow closer and louder. I can hear movement down the hallway, but more immediately, I can hear the throbbing of blood in my ears. Explosive pain fills my senses. My stomach feels like negative space, the nothing in that space churns and twists, it's more than uncomfortable. A groan escapes my lips. Quick, light steps move to the room.

"Mel?" It's mum, her voice is too close. My head feels cottony and simultaneously spikey. 

A very cold finger touches my cheek.

"Why are you so cold?" My voice comes out weakly. It's a serious effort to talk. God this is a bad hangover.

"Come on sweetie, take the asprin and come down for some lunch." 

I open my eyes a crack. My splitting headache gets impossibly worse, my eyes- I'm sure they are bloodshot- are extremely photosensitive.

"I think I'm going to be sick." I moan.

"There's a bucket here honey, you'll need to sit up though."

I can see the bucket that mum's holding before me, the smell of disinfectant is overwhelming. A ripping pain sears through my body and I retch into the bucket. I don't feel pretty at all. When my body stops shuddering finally, mum helps me to sip some water tentatively and miraculously swallow the asprin. It doesn't come back up. 

It takes forever to get from mum's room to the kitchen. Every step leaves my stomach rolling and my head exploding. I'm never drinking again.

Finally mum allows me to slump down on a kitchen chair and I press my forehead against the cool marble tabletop. I feel so terrible. Words can't even describe it. I smell coffee nearby, the smell seems too rich and consuming, all in all, sickening. I usually like coffee. Mum places a mug by my head. 

"Drink." Is all she says.

I feebly rest the mug against my bottom lip and swallow when the hot coffee fills my mouth. I feel like shit, but the asprin is finally kicking in. I sigh as I put my drink down and wait for the buzz to also kick in.

Mum sits down across from me, her face full of concern. 

"How are you feeling, dear?" She asks.

"Getting better I suppose."

"Good." The nice-guy face drops off. "Because you're grounded."

My heart drops into my stomach. Who am I kidding? Of course there'd be repercussions for last nights antics... Come to think of it... What actually did happen last night? My stomach, heart with it, drop to the centre of the Earth. What happened last night?