The Abnormality Of The Normality

'There Is Far Too Much'

The sun poured in through the French doors enveloping around me. The smell of bacon and eggs drifts through the air. I open my eyes for the first time and look around me. Where was I? I didn't recognise any of it. My head felt like it was exploding. What had happened last night? The walls a pale shade of lavender. The room must be at least double the size of my room at home. There's a chestnut wardrobe in the corner of the room with a desk next to it. On top of the desk sits a keyboard. There's a page sat on the desk which appears to have a load of musical notes written down on it. A guitar stands in its stand next to this in its case. There's a large bookshelf with about 500 books carefully alphabetised stretched against the wall on the opposite side of the room. I'm lying in a large 4 post king size bed with a chestnut bedside table. A glass of crystal-clear water sat on top with two aspirin and a folded-up note.

'Hey Alex, I didn't want to disturb you, you were sleeping so peacefully. Your clothes are in my dryer, you threw up on them last night. There are spare clothes in the wardrobe. You can wear anything you like. Meet you downstairs in the kitchen. H x'

As I read the note, I realise I am just in my pants and bra. I can't remember much from last night. I remember talking to the girl, Hayley and I remember heading out the back with her but after that I drew a complete blank. Oh god. I wish I could remember the rest.

I sit up and swallow both aspirin and take a swig of the water. The smell of bacon and eggs is very inviting, so I make my way over to the large chestnut wardrobe to pick an outfit out. I end up going with a pair of black shorts a black and white striped t-shirt and a long denim shirt. I flinch as the cold top goes over the bruises on my back. I must remember it is only temporary. It was just a stupid accident. On the inside door of the wardrobe is a long mirror. I check myself out in it. My make-up is somehow immaculate however my hair is a completely different story. I use the hairband from last night and quickly put my hair up into a messy bun. I allow a few strands of hair to fall either side of my face. I take one last look in the mirror before closing the wardrobe and heading downstairs.

I follow my nose in order to find the kitchen. This house is huge. I walk down a large staircase, art covering the walls. I recognise a lot of the art and stop to look at the picture at the bottom of the stairs. In the picture a mother is holding a baby whilst laying in a hospital bed. Both are staring into each other's eyes and you can clearly see how much love they have for one another. The woman's face looks slightly worn, as if the painting was quite old and the colours aren't that bright anymore. In the background there is a calendar hanging with the date on. It's rather faded but I believe it says Tuesday, June 3, 1997. In the bottom right corner of the painting there's a faded message that reads:

'To my Darling Aitch,

Remember I will always be with you and I love you so much.

Love from mum xx'

It looks as if the writing had been added later on. I really must ask Hayley about the picture. I continue to follow my nose and soon enough, find myself standing in the doorway to the kitchen. In front of me with her back turned to me I can see Hayley cooking some food on the stove. She has music playing and is swaying her hips to the music. I recognise the song playing and lean against the door frame watching her. As I lean I accidentally knock the door against the wall causing Hayley to jump and turn suddenly. She goes a deep shade of red once she realises, I had been there watching her. "G... Good morning Alex, sorry if I woke you. D... Did you sleep okay?" she stammers. It was rather sweet how innocent and vulnerable she looked right now. "Morning, I slept better than I ever have before. Sorry I don't remember much from last night. How did I get here?". Hayley stands fidgeting with her hands as I ask her this. She looks very nervous. "Um, well, you see, umm... I was going to give you a lift home last night. We came out the back of the club and you passed out in my arms. You hadn't told me where you lived so my driver brought us both here. On the journey you kept mumbling about some guy called Jack and you kept apologising to me repeatedly. When we got here you threw up down your top, so I took you up to my room and helped you undress. I slept on the sofa in the room next to yours, well I intended to." She explained. She said the last four words quieter almost as if she was not intending on me hearing it. To be honest I only just about heard her. As soon as she had mentioned Jack's name, I had felt my whole world crashing down around me. He was going to be angrier than ever and I was petrified of going home. I try to keep my composure but can't help the slight shiver enveloping around me. I walk slowly holding the wall towards the table in the corner of the room and sit myself down. "sorry," I apologise as I see the concern on Hayley's face, "I must have really drunk a lot last night haha." I attempt to joke with her, and she allows a small smile to spread across her face, concern still clear in her eyes.

She turns back to the stove and quickly changes the topic. "I hope you're hungry. Don't expect too much but I have cooked us both breakfast. We can eat and then head to yours." She exclaims "Or we can hang out for the day, it's up to you" she adds. Before I can answer she walks over with two full English breakfasts. It looks like a meal fit for a queen. Beans, both fried and scrambled egg, Sausage, Bacon, Hash browns, Mushrooms, Tomato, Black pudding and two slices of toast. "This is far too much," I try to argue but she just hushes me from the other side of the table. "This isn't even half of what you deserve" I hear her mutter under her breath. I'm taken back by this comment and look at her for a few seconds before dismissing it. She's wrong anyway. I deserve a lot less.

We spend the rest of breakfast in a peaceful silence.It wasn't awkward or scary like I was used to with jack. After breakfast we putthe cutlery and plates in the sink to wash up later and go and sit on the sofawatching tv for a while. It has now been over an hour and neither of us hassaid a word. The silence is becoming less and less tolerable. Hayley is thefirst to break the silence. "Hey, umm, Alex?" I look at her slightly confusedby the sudden question. "umm, Yeah?" I reply. "I hope you don't mind me askingbut umm, when I helped you undress last night, I noticed you have a lot ofscars and bruising on your back and arms. I was just wondering how you didthat?" she questions, Concern clear as day on her face. I want to reply withthe truth but come out with "Oh they're nothing, I just fall down a lot and hitmy back on different things. It's nothing to worry about... really." I try tostop her being worried but even I know how unbelievable that sounded. She lookslike she wants to ask more. I can see it as clear as day on her face butthere's no way she would ever accept the truth. Honestly, I hardly noticed thescars or bruising anymore, I'm quite used to it by now. I change the subject insteadof letting her pry too much more. "I should probably get home. Jack will bewondering where I've gotten to." I try to figure out how she was currentlyfeeling. Was that curiosity, anger, fear, sadness maybe? Why was she sodifficult to read at times? All she answers with is "okay, let's go." The shortreply takes me back slightly. "I'm sorry" I apologise yet again. "No, it's noproblem I actually have some umm stuff to do anyways." She tries to give me aconvincing smile, but I have already learned to read through expressions welland I know she is afraid, but why?