Mission B.R.E.A.K.U.P.

Chapter 11

~Chapter 11~

Groaning at the massive headache she had, Emma shifted uncomfortably in bed. She’d only ever suffered from a hangover twice before- her 18th birthday and Julie’s brother’s wedding. She sat up in bed as she felt slightly nauseous. The nausea however was suppressed by the sudden horror she felt when a hand was flung off of her waist in her hurry to sit up. With horror, her eyes followed the arm to see the body it was attached to. Gasping she looked down at her own bare body and pulled the duvet cover up to cover as much as she could. For lying next to her, was a softly snoring Jake Walters.

“No no no.” she muttered like a mantra as she held her head in her hands and rocked back and forth. How had this happened? Sure, Jake was attractive and he had a way with words and he made her laugh and… but that was besides the point! Jake Walters was not what she had come here for. It was Christopher she was in love with! Yes, Christopher!

She tried to remember the previous night’s occurrences but all she could recall was trying to get Christopher and Cheryl drunk. After that, the night was simply sudden flashes of bits and pieces of memories which made her blush profusely when they came to mind. As she quietly turned to get out of bed and retrieve her clothes, she heard a low groan beside her. Panicking, she pulled the duvet covers over herself and pretended to be asleep. She heard another soft groan and then shuffling until she could feel him sit up on the bed with some difficulty.

She kept her eyes closed as she continued to hear soft grunts and groans. His hangover was about as bad as hers from what she could hear.

This was getting ridiculous. He would see her eventually anyway. So pretending to shift in her sleep, she felt him freeze beside her. Then slowly she rubbed her eyes as she sat up, careful the duvet covers didn’t reveal any more than her face. She glanced at him and immediately regretted it. He actually had a weak smile on his face. He remembered! She felt enraged but her thoughts were becoming too much for her hangover.

“My head.” She moaned. “I think I might have an aspirin.” He said reaching for the drawer next to his bed. He pulled out two tablets and handed them to her. Grabbing a bottle of water lying on the floor he sheepishly handed it to her. “It was on the bedside last night.” He muttered. She felt herself blush. They seemed to have caused quite some damage to his room. She gulped down the tablets uncertainly. He himself gulped down two tablets and she handed him the bottle.

“Emma,” he began but couldn’t seem to find the words to complete his sentence. “Jake let’s pretend this didn’t happen.” She said with finality in her tone. He looked up, surprised. “Emma I don’t do one night stands.” He said firmly, “What happened last night happened because-” “Forget it Jake! It was a mistake! We were drunk!” she said angrily turning away. With that she pushed off the covers and quickly pulled on her dress that had been lying on the floor.

Jake felt his breath catch in his throat. He only had a faint memory of last night but to have her standing in front of him like he remembered her, it was almost enough to make him lose control once more. He wasn’t sure how any woman could look that beautiful when suffering from a hangover. He only looked up again when he heard the door slam and saw her gone.

Emma snuck into her room, closed the door behind her and slid to the floor in a metaphorical puddle. She was so confused. What had Jake meant to say? Could he mean that he… no it simply wasn’t possible. He didn’t like her. They could hardly have a five minute conversation without getting into a fight. And what about her? What did she feel? Of course she didn’t like him. She was in love with Christopher, remember? Christopher Cosgrove and she made the perfect couple. They would have a fairytale wedding and live happily ever after. There was no fairytale with a man she couldn’t get along with for a minute. Oh, damn him and those dark eyes of his! She could swear they possessed some sort of magnetic power.

She was brought out of her reverie with a sharp rap on her door. Getting up and composing herself as best she could, she opened the door expecting to hear an apology from Jake. What greeted her made her gasp.

Her mother stood before her, her face twisted into that look of disapproval she had grown so accustomed to. She was an elegant woman. The epitome of sophistication. And she expected Emma to be the same ever since she was a little girl.

“Did you sleep in that dress?” were the first words out of her mother’s mouth as she looked her up and down. Emma could only look to the ground and say nothing. “Or were you with that doctor. What’s his name? John?” Emma’s head shot up as she stared at her mother incredulously. “Now, now, you think I wouldn’t know something like that?” her mother shook her head almost pityingly. “Mrs. Cosgrove told me everything.” She shrugged. Despite them being friends, Emma’s mother refused to call Mrs. Cosgrove or anyone for that matter, by their first names. Except of course people she didn’t think very highly of, Emma for example.

“I saw him yesterday. Not a bad looking fellow but let’s face it, he’s no Christopher Cosgrove.” She said. For some reason, Emma felt a strong urge to say something in his defence but chose to stay silent. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to the wedding? I thought you were off with your friends.” She was straight up mocking her now but Emma still remained silent. The cocktail of emotions she felt at the moment seemed to have her tongue on lock.

“Well don’t just stand there. Say something.”

“Nice to see you too mother.”