The first thing she sensed was the constant ping in her head. She tried to sit up, but she felt a horrible burn make its way from her stomach to her throat, which gave her just enough time to make it to her private bathroom and throw up in the toilet. She dropped next to it, trying to recover and let her brain process how had she ended up in this situation. The light was so bright and she couldn't practically feel her throat anymore. She was so thirsty that she feared she was dying by dehydration. Just when she was making the pathetic try of getting up and go find water, she heard the bathroom door open up with a thud that made her want to throw her head in the trash.
"Taylor are you serious!?" A strident voice haunted her, her mother was standing a few feet away from her, with her arms crossed above her chest and a mixture of anger and disappointment in her gaze. Her brain tried to come up with a good lie to make this look like a misunderstanding. That's it, I'm sick. Last night I just stayed in my room sick. Just as she was going to say the blatant lie, she realized her sparkly red dress, and came to the conclusion that her makeup was still on, considering how sticky her face felt. Well, guess I'm grounded again, what a surprise. Taylor dropped her head with an internal sigh, not being able to hide the obvious truth.
"It's not what it seems" The girl attempted to say, but her voice sounded incredibly broke, making her cringe. Her head was still throbbing and she was in a desperate need of medicine.
"Then what is this Taylor" Her mother said throwing her hand in her direction, making the point clear "I want you in the kitchen in less than ten minutes, we really need to have a talk" She left the room with a last disapproving glare, closing the door with much more force than the necessary, leading in another obnoxious bang that echoed through her head.
"Okay" She mumbled, finally being able to get up from the floor and going back to her bedroom, where she had a water bottle. She was sure that what she was drinking was the seventh wonder of earth, instead of a two days old warm water. She searched through the items of her bedside table until she finally found an aspirin to swallow with the water left.
She knew her mother had said to meet her in less than ten minutes, but she really, really, really needed to take a shower. She smelled like cigarettes, vodka, sweat, and bad choices. A lot of bad choices.
"Fuck my life" She said to herself, knowing she was going to handle the rage her mother was about to give her better if she was at least clean. She ripped her clothes off, tearing apart the expensive brand new dress she bought just the other day. She checked the damage done with indifference, throwing it away without more thought. The hungover girl got in the shower and started the water, still cold but welcomed, enjoying the bitter of it against her skin. In six minutes, she was out, with a clearer vision of what happened last night. She brushed her teeth and managed to comb the knots in her hair at the same time, cursing under her breath each time the brush caused a painful tug. She looked at the clock in the wall, three minutes. She put clean underwear and an oversized shirt, while she rushed out of her bedroom to the kitchen. Ten minutes. Just in time, at least she can't scold me for this.
"What have I told you about going around barefoot, Taylor" The firm voice of her mother surprised her, realizing that in fact, she was barefoot. Well, fucking great. Her mother hated that. Should I go back to get the shoes or is it too late already? I think it's too late. She kept looking at the floor, finding the wooden floors way more interesting than the frightening look of her disappointed mother. She hated these conversations, they were always the same, she stopped caring about them long time ago, it was just a process she had to pass to be left alone again.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened last night or you're going to make me guess it?" Her mother said in a calmer tone. The girl finally had the courage to look up, finding her mother sitting on a stool and her father silently holding a coffee cup, leaning against the island, gazing her with an amused expression. Knowing him, he was probably holding back a laugh, enjoying the scared expression of his kid. She was surprised to find her parents in the same room, the last time this happened was practically last month. They were always too busy with work and business trips to even coincide in home at the same time, and she practically preferred it this way at this point, it was easier to control one person rather than two.
