Dreams of Tomorrow

Athalya dropped her bag at her feet and rubbed her sore shoulder. She knocked on the door and waited, looking around.

The door opened and a very surprised looking Brian stood in the door way.

“Lya? What are you doing here?” he asked, stepping aside so she could come in.

She chuckled and picked up her bag.
“I came to help you with the decorations and stuff.” She said, hugging him with one arm before entering the Haner house.

“I thought you were in SF...” he said.

“Well, I was in SF, but then I took a flight back to HB. I knew you would need some help. Here, that’s for you. My participation in the decorations.” She said, handing him the plastic bag she was holding while still having her backpack hanging on her shoulder.

Inside the plastic bag was a carved pumpkin.
“It’s not very well carved, since it’s the first one I ever did... But I guess it will be okay... We could put it at the top of the stairs on the porch.” She said, shrugging. “It’s all ready, I mean I put a candle in it and stuff... Just need to light it up.” She added.

“Thanks Lya, that’s great.” Said Brian, still under the shock of seeing her at his doorsteps at 4pm. He almost expected her to be late...

“Mum, guess who’s there?” shouted Brian, heading to the kitchen, Lya following him.

“Oh Lya, nice to see you! How was your trip to the bay?” she asked, engulfing the young woman in a bear hug.

“It was great thanks.”

“Come on Suzy, we need to get going!” said Papa Gates, coming down the stairs, holding bags.

“I’m coming, I’m coming...” she said, before turning back to look at Lya. “We are leaving now. We are to stay at some friends’, I put their phone number on the fridge.” Explained Suzy. Lya nodded.

“Don’t worry Ma’am Haner, everything will be fine. You need to go now. I’ll make sure the house is still there when you come back tomorrow.”

Papa gates chuckled and opened the front door, heading to his car as Suzy was still giving instructions.

“Mum... I’m 17, I’m not a baby, I know how to use the microwave. And it’s not the first time you and Dad left us the house. And don’t worry, Lya will babysit us.” He said, almost pushing Suzy out of the house.

“Bye kids, don’t burn the house down!” shouted Papa Gates, rolling down the window.

Lya smiled and waved at them as they drove off.
As they disappeared down the road, Brian let out a sigh.
“Finally... I thought they would never leave...”

Brian shut the door and stretched.

“Let’s get started.”

And for the next hour and a half, Athalya will be hanging fake spider web everywhere in the house, from the top to the bottom. She had put her carved pumpkin on the porch and had lighted it up. Fake tombs were making the front yard look like a deserted cemetery.

Skeletons stood on either side of the door, guarding the entry.

Brian tossed her a can of Coke, almost hitting her in the head but she caught it in time.

“Did you let your neighbours know about your party?” she asked, sitting down on the cold floor, her back resting against the counter.

“What for?”

“To warn them about the noise and the loud music...”

“Huh... no?”

She smacked her forehead.
“Dumbass, if they aren’t warned, they will probably set the police on your ass because you’ll be disturbing their peace. The least you can do when you throw a party is to let them know.” She explained. “My friends always did that.” She added.

Brian starred at her blankly.
She sighed and got up.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Still holding her can of coke in her hand, she left the house.

She started with the house that was on the right of Brian’s. She took a deep breath and knocked on the wooden door, holding her can of coke behind her back.

The door opened and an old woman stood there, almost glaring at Lya.

“Good afternoon Ma’am. I’m here to let you know that there will be a Halloween party held at the Haner’s house tonight. And in advance I want to apologize for the disturbance that will cause to the neighbourhood.”

The old woman’s face softened as she looked at Athalya. Her French accent was still strong and everyone in the neighbourhood knew about the Relva’s story. Their daughter died and they had to take care of their granddaughter since the father was inexistent. The old woman knew that the young woman standing in front of her was the Relva’s granddaughter.

It was a shame that such a nice young girl was hanging out with the Haner boy and his friends. The old lady didn’t like them since they had the tendency to piss on her flowers when drunk.

“Thank you for warning me young lady.” She said.

“You’re welcome. Have a nice day.” Said Athalya, with a small smile before walking away
She smiled sadly as she watched the young Relva girl walking across the street to warn the rest of the neighbourhood.

**

“I swear, if anyone calls the cops on us, I’m gonna kill someone!” she said, slamming the front door shut. She had been out for a good 45 minutes, warning the neighbours. “They’ve been pretty understanding. So I hope none of you will get us in trouble. That means pissing on the neighbours’ flowers or whatever. The man across the street told me that you and Jimmy used to do that to the old lady next to your house.” She said, shaking her head. “And I almost got shot by a man when he understood I was your friends, his wife had to tell him I wasn’t part of the ‘gang’ as they call you, otherwise I would have a bullet between my eyes...”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that...” mumbled Brian, rubbing his neck.

“Well, that’s my job.” She mumbled, shrugging. “But still, I hope you’ll behave... Because if I need to call 911 because one of you gets hurt, I’ll kill you before they even have the time to arrive, got it?”

“And what will you do with the body?” asked Jimmy, appearing out of nowhere.

“I’ll dump it somewhere...” she mumbled, washing her hands in the sink.

“You wouldn’t be able to kill him.” Said Jimmy, throwing a washcloth at her.

“Don’t bet on it...”

Jimmy and Brian looked at each other’s and started laughing.
Lya dropped the washcloths and turned around slowly. She smirked and jumped on him, making him loose his balance. She tackled him to the floor and straddled him as he landed on the floor. She put on hand on his chest and the other around his throat.

“Gotcha’!” she said, happily.

Brian was starring at her.

“Now, I only have to wait until you suffocate under my weight.” She said, grinning. “Or I could strangle you too...”

Brian looked at Jimmy for help. He had to get her off him, as soon as possible.

Jimmy understood quickly what was going on in Brian’s mind. He slide his arms under Lya’s shoulder and lifted her up.

“Don’t under estimate me!” she said, trying to wiggle free.

Brian got up and left the kitchen and Jimmy dropped her down. She landed on her ass.

“Instead of trying to kill people, why don’t you help me fill the fridge with beers?” suggested Jimmy, handing her some cans. She sighed and opened the fridge, holding it open with her foot as Jimmy was loading it with booze.

**

“Is something wrong with Brian?” she asked, perched up on jimmy’s shoulder as she was hanging more fake webs and plastic spiders. Jimmy was higher than the ladder she had previously used.
Thank God the ceilings were high in the house, otherwise Lya would have smashed her skull against the roof, well her head was almost brushing against it... Lya wasn’t actually small, and on top of Jimmy’s shoulder, it was really high.

“What do you mean?” asked Jimmy, bending down so they could walk through the door.

“I don’t know, he acts funny...” she said, making sure her head wouldn’t hit the doorframe.

“Maybe he’s afraid of you now, since you jumped on him and tried to kill him.”

“Stop!” she said, and Jimmy stopped walking and lifted up the plastic bag to her level. She grabbed some black fake spiders.
“Hey, you were underestimating me. I had to prove my point. Do you think he is mad at me?”

“Nah... I’m sure he’s not mad at you. Don’t worry about Gates, just focus on not hitting your head.” Mumbled Jimmy, one hand on her tight and the other holding the bag.

She scrunched up her nose and took a look around, making sure that the whole house had the ceiling covered. The usually clean and warm home looked cold and haunted. Perfect.

“All right, all done!” she said, clapping her hands. “Can you put me down now?” she asked.

Brian appeared at the top of the stairs and saw Lya perched on Jimmy’s shoulders. Her head was almost brushing against the ceiling.

“Put her down Jim’.” He said, running a hand through his hair and walking down the stairs.
“You guys did a great job with the decoration! Thanks”

“And down you go!” said Jimmy, knelling down. She jumped off him.

“Thanks Jimmy. That was fun. What time is it?”

“Almost 8” replied Brian.

“Do you mind if I use your bedroom? I need to change.” She said, looking down at BJ’s pants and Adie’s shirt. It was a shame she had to change, she liked her clothes. Especially her pants. Rock star pants as BJ called them.

“Go ahead!” he said, his face blank.

She grabbed her backpack in the hall and ran up the stairs.

Brian turned to face Jimmy.
“Aren’t you going to change to? I thought you said you would be going as Dracula...”

“Change of plan... I’ll just find a random white sheet, cut 2 holes in it and that will do.” He said, stretching his arms above his head.

**

Lya was starring at her reflection in the mirror. She made a face. That black wig made her skin look even paler. She applied some black eye shadows and mascara, and black lipstick. Adie had helped her chose her costume. It was a dark red velvet skirt, so long you couldn’t see her feet, matched up with a corset, in the same material. And to complete her outfit, she had a black cloak tied up around her shoulder. She opened her mouth and put in place the set of white plastic teeth. Now she looked like a vampire. That wasn’t very original, but at least she could wear her converses underneath her skirt and no one would see. The skirt was comfortable, she could easily run if it was needed.

She checked if her wig was in place one last time and then left Brian’s room. She ran down the stairs, just to see if she would trip on her skirt. To her horror, people had already started to arrive and the music was blasting.

“Merde...” she whispered, rubbing her neck. She made her way through the group of people in the hall and finally caught sight of something blue. She smiled and hurried in that direction, reaching out and grabbing its arm. That was Johnny dressed up as a smurf. He had blue paint all over his body.

“Johnny, have you seen Brian and Jimmy?” she asked.

“Damn, Lya! You look great.” He said, eyeing her up and down before giving her a quick hug, careful not to put blue paint on her or spill his drink on her back.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. I need to find Brian...” she said taking a step back from the hug, looking around, still holding Johnny’s wrist.

“Over there, with Jimmy. You see the tall guy with a sheet covering him? That’s Jimmy.” Said Johnny, still looking at her, a beer in his hand.

“Cool. Thanks Johnny!” and she was off, trying to find a way into the crowd of people. “Jimmy!” she shouted, jumping up and down, waving her hands in the air. People were dancing around her, shaking their bodies to the beat and groping each other’s. Ugh...! She sighed and turned around, heading back to the kitchen. She elbowed a few people and when she finally reached the kitchen, she sighed. She opened the fridge and grabbed the only bottle of Coke that was without the red wrapper around it. It was her bottle. She took a hold of the bottle and left the kitchen, finding refuge outside, in the backyard.

The party had just started but the house was already too crowded for her liking and she felt like it was going to be one hell of a night. She had two options, either she could stay here and wait and see if anything goes wrong or she could try to find either Brian or Jimmy and stay with them.

Her first attempt at finding them had been hard and in vain. She really wasn’t looking forward to spending the night alone. Sighing, she got up and headed back inside, holding her bottle to her chest. She spot Jimmy in the growing crowd and elbowed everyone on her way, keeping her eyes on him.

“Lya?” she stopped and turned to look at the person who had talked to her.
The person was wearing a hockey mask, with a hatchet in his hand. She blinked and took a step back, just in case.

“Yeah...?”

The person took off the mask, it was a smiling Matt.

“Fuck off Matt, you scared me.” She mumbled, relaxing.

“Ah sorry, I didn’t mean to. You look nice as a vampire.” He commented.

“Thanks... I’m looking for Brian, have you seen him?”

“Yeah, he’s with Jimmy somewhere...” and before Matt could finish what he had to say, Lya was off.

She finally reached them, they were all sitting down. The song changed and people started jumping up and down, pushing her.

“God knows I love it when drunk girls fall on my lap but who are you?” Jimmy asked, holding her by the waist.

She glared at him.

“Lya! I was looking for you.” He said, bringing her to his chest.

“No, I was looking for you, you’re just sitting here, getting drunk.” She mumbled.

She looked around and saw that there were a lot of girls hanging here. Like, a lot and that’s when she realised that Brian, Johnny, Zacky and Justin were here as well, girls chatting them up, clearly offering themselves for a easy fuck. That disgusted her.

“Hey, is that your girlfriend?” a red head girl asked, dressed up like… like… Lya had no way to describe her, except that she was dressed weirdly. All her clothes seemed to be too small for her. Except for the high heels on her feet.

Lya was about to reply but Brian cut her off.
“No, that’s my girlfriend.” He said, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her to his chest.

Her eyes widened,
“What the fuck are you doing?” she whispered, holding her weight by her hands.

“Saving your ass, that girl has had a crush on Jimmy since kinder garden. If you had stayed a little longer on his lap, she’d have slit your throat.” He explained.

“Oh... Well, thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” He said, looking at her up and down, pretty much like Johnny had done earlier. “You look real nice, except for your shoes.” He said, pulling her against his chest even more, Lya struggle to hold herself. Her left arm had a weird angle, all her weight resting on it and her right feet. Brian had caught her off guard when he had pulled her on his lap.

“Yeah, well I love my shoes.” She said, ignoring his compliment and only focalizing on his comment concerning her shoes.

“Hey Lya, what are you drinking?” Justin asked.

“Coke” she replied, looking at her bottle in her right hand. “I need to stay sober.”

“Are you afraid one of us will try to get into your pants?” he asked.

“No such luck. You keep dreaming.” She said, barely looking at him and taking a sip from her bottle.

“You need to get laid Frenchie...” he added.

“Don’t make me kick your ass...” she snarled.

“I’d love to see that...” he said, smirking.

She sighed and dropped her head on Brian’s shoulder.
“Why must he be such a damn jackass? He’s annoying. He knows I could kill him if I wanted to.” She whispered, her breath tickling Brian’s neck.

“Just kick his ass...” mumbled Brian, glaring at Justin.

“And start a fight? No way, not tonight. It’s your party and I won’t trash it because of a scumbag.” She mumbled.

“Lya, come dance with us!” shouted a Marilyn Monroe, appearing out of nowhere.
Valary...

“I don’t dance! Val… I d-” she protested, felling herself slipping off Brian’s lap as Val and Michelle were pulling at her wrists.

“Of course you do. You’re a girl, you dance!” and with that, she was dragged into the dancing crowd. Lya stood still, her arms hanging on her sides, not moving, not even an inch.

“I do not dance.” She muttered, before storming off to the kitchen. Even there, it was crowded, kids were filling their plastic cups with beers or any other alcohol.

She was tempted, for a second, to grab a bottle and just get drunk. So drunk she wouldn’t remember her own name. She had a vague souvenir of what it felt like when she had been drunk for the last time but it was really blurry, as if it had never happened. Maybe if she was drunk she’d be able to put up with the ambiance and with Justin. Because right now, nothing seemed more appealing to her than smashing his skull against the floor.

On the other hand, Billie Joe always seems kinda ‘happy’ when Tré offered her some alcohol and she always declined. Almost proud if she dared saying it.
And also, she couldn’t drink, because Papa Gates and Suzy were relying on her.

She grabbed a bottle of JD and walked back to Brian and Jimmy.

“Here you go” she said, dropping the bottle on Jimmy’s lap. She tried to fit on the small space between Brian and Jimmy and ended up, once again, on Brian’s lap.

She tried to get up again, and realized that no matter where she would sit, she’s probably end up on someone’s lap. Better on Brian, he was comfy.

She looked at her surrounding. It was the first time she had ever come to a party of that importance. Not really important but important by the number of persons.

The kind of party she was used to was a party with only a small amount of people, and it was just a movie night with some beers and popcorns, not the kind with the music blasting and couples making out in every corner of the house. Except for when some of her friends decided to have a bigger party, and they had to warn the neighbourhood about the music and the noise it would make. That’s why she thought it was only fair to warn Brian’s neighbours.

She seemed out of place. Sure, she was wearing a disguise like everyone else but still...
To her it felt like as if it was written ‘I don’t belong here’ in bright neon green letters on her forehead.

The girls around here had no problem sitting on random guys lap, sipping their drink and letting the boys grope them. While Lya was supporting her own weight on her legs and her arm. She was barely sitting on Brian’s lap. It looked like it, but that was it.
She was afraid to crush him under her weight.

“What are you doing?” whispered Brian, noticing the tremble of Lya’s arm.

“Huh?”

“Why are you supporting your weight?” he whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist and trying to pull her closer.

“I don’t wanna crush you...” she whispered, wincing at the pain in her arm. It was becoming numb.

“Stop being an ass. You won’t crush me. Sit down and relax.” He said, once again trying to pull her closer. Slowly but surely he felt her relax and he felt the velvet of her skirt brushing against his pants as she finally sat down on his lap. He tried one last time to pull her close and she let him. He held her close against his chest, wrapping one arm around her waist while still holding his drink in the other hand.

He knew it meant nothing to her, she probably wasn’t feeling anything for him other than friendship, and he was fine with it as long as he was able to hold her. He lean down to set his drink on the table and wrapped his second arm around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.
His heart was beating faster in his chest, he knew it was silly but he couldn’t help it.

What caught him off guard was when she leaned down on him, completely relaxing in his arms and she let her head fall backwards, resting on his shoulder. She closed her eyes.

“Getting comfy here Frenchie?” Justin commented.
She opened one eye and flipped him off, making Matt laugh.

The guys were downing drinks after drinks, laughing, joking.

Lya realized that Brian hadn’t talked much to the people he had invited, he just stayed with his group of friends while they were trashing the house. She felt herself drifting off to sleep, lulled by the background music, the conversations and laughter surrounding her.

The sound of broken glass made Lya jump off his lap, startled. She hurried towards the kitchen.

She was muttering to herself, looking at the broken glass on the floor.

She tried to stay out of everyone’s way as she he quickly cleaned the floor, taking away the pieces of broken glass, careful not to leave any. She disappeared as fast as she had come.

She went back to where Brian was, and realise that only he and Johnny were still sitting there. The others were nowhere in sight…

“They went to dance.” Was Johnny’s reply to her silent question.

She nodded and was about to sit down on Brian’s lap again when shouting stopped her. She turned around and saw two people pushing each other’s harshly. She glanced at the clock, it was getting near 1 am. Sighing she hurried to the fight scene and saw Justin wrestling with an unknown boy.

“Break it off.” She said, stepping between the crowd until the two guys were fighting at her feet. She grabbed Justin by his shoulders and lifted him up.

“STOP!” she yelled. But the man came forward and tried to hit him. She didn’t think and just outstretched her arm, her hand balled into a fist. The fist collided with the unknown guy’s jaw.

“Out.” She said, still holding Justin’s shirt while pointing at the front door with her free hand.

She watched as the guy left and then, she violently pushed Justin. He tripped on his own feet and lost his balance, landing on his ass. She glared at him for a brief second and then left.

During the time it took her to go from the living room to the kitchen and back again, people were dancing again, too drunk to care.

She slammed the bottle of JD on the coffee table, glaring at Justin who had managed to crawl back here and then sat back down on Brian’s lap, making herself comfortable against his chest.

“Lya, I’m sorr-...” started Justin.

“Shut up!” she snapped, taking off her fake teeth.

“I should have left you there, fighting, just so that guy could kick your fucking lame ass you motherfucker. You couldn’t keep your cool and not start a fight, could you? You had to go and show yourself off. You’re fucking pathetic. Now drink that shot and forget I ever saved your ass.” She said, nodding in the direction of the table where several shot glasses were waiting to be downed. “Dumbass.”

She curled up against Brian, feeling the headache coming. She wished the party would be over already.

She wanted to lay down and sleep.
The tiredness of her trip to SF was beginning to arrive and she could fall asleep right there, in a blink of an eye.

And she did.

**

“Lya, come on we’re leaving.” Whispered Brian, lightly shaking her.

“We’re what?” she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

“Leaving. Wake up!” he said. She reluctantly opened her eyes and realized that the music had been turned down.

“Where’s everyone?” she asked, yawning.

“They left. We’re going to the cemetery now.” Said Jimmy, he had gotten ride of his white sheet.

“What?” she asked, blinking and sitting up.

“Yeah, to get a good scare and shit. Let’s go, you’re driving.” Slurred Matt.

“I’m...” she was cut off as Jimmy dragged her to the hall and outside. She starred at the car, her eyes wide.

She was pushed on the driver seat, keys in hand. They were all stuffing themselves in the car.

Blinking, she put the key in the ignition and turned the key. The motor roared and she froze. She had never driven a car in her life, except on videogames. She buckled her seatbelt and adjusted the seat.

They were going to die.

“What now?” she asked, glancing at Jimmy, who was sitting next to her.

“Well, you drive.” He replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I don’t know how to...” she said, panicked.

There was a sigh and then a door opened and close. Someone appeared at her side and she had to unbuckle her seatbelt. Brian sat down on the driver seat.

“But you’re drunk!” protested Lya. He rolled his eyes and patted his lap. She frowned but sat down none the less. He adjusted the seat so her knees wouldn’t brush against the wheel.

“You just focus on keeping the car on the road.” He said and started the engine again. Lya grabbed the wheel and closed her eyes for a brief second, praying to God that they would make it to the cemetery and wouldn’t die in the process.

She should have said no but she was the only sober one and they would have taken the car either way. She had to look after them, at least if they crash the car, she would be capable of going to find some help.

The car moved forward and Lya’s eyes widen. She gripped the wheel with all her strength and focussed on the road.

“Brian, the headlights.” She said, without blinking.

“Ah yeah! I knew I was forgetting something.”

She bit her lip, her heart pounding in her chest. She would have never done something of the kind in France, that idea would have never crossed hers or her friends’ mind.

She glanced at the dashboard. It was 4am.

One of Brian’s arms was wrapped around her waist.
That made her realize that they weren’t wearing the seatbelt.

“Left!” shouted Jimmy. And Lya turned the wheel, the car following the road on the left.

Justin, Zacky, Johnny, Val, Matt and Michelle had managed to fit in the backseat. They were all laughing, finding the trip to be very amusing.

Lya’s heart was about to come out of her chest.

“We’re going to die.” She whispered.

“No we’re not.” Slurred Justin.

“Slow down, we’re here!” shouted Michelle.

And the car slowed down. Brian grabbed the wheel and parked the car next to the sidewalk and they all exited the car. Lya ran out of the car and knelled down on the pavement, almost getting sick.

“Lya, are you all right?” asked Johnny, putting his hand on her shoulder. She pushed it roughly, her whole body shaking.

“Lya, honey, what’s wrong?” asked Val, trying to walk to her, but stumbling on her feet.

“We could have died.” She mumbled, her throat hurting her.

“Huh?” asked Zacky, sitting dumbly next to her.

“WE COULD HAVE DIED!” she screamed, pushing Matt’s hand off her shoulder.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” she said, shoving Justin out of her way as she headed, without thinking, to the cemetery. She managed to climb the fence without tearing her skirt and started walking into the darkness. She sat under the nearest tree. Her heart pounding in her chest, her vision was turning black, she could barely see anything. She was going to be sick... She could feel it.
She bent down and rested her head between her knees, taking deep, slow breaths. In and out. In and out again. Her eyes were clenched shut, fighting away a panic attack.

Those people were just a band of morons, fucking dickheads.

“Putain bordel de merde. Fucking bastards, with a pea instead of a fucking brain. Almost got us killed, I should have stayed in SF with normal people, using their brains to think.” She ranted, pressing her fingers to her temples.

“Fucking shit!” she swore.
And she opened her eyes slowly. The lampposts in the street were enabling her to see those dickheads trying to climb the fence. She saw Jimmy almost hitting his head on a tombstone.

“We hide, you seek.” Shouted Matt, pointing at Johnny and then they all ran off to hide.

They were playing hide and seek in the cemetery. Cemetery. Weren’t we supposed to respect the dead?

She shook her head, feeling bad for Johnny. He had to seek a bunch of drunken idiots in the darkness of a cemetery.

She decided not to look at the game and turned around. She felt a hand on her eyes and opened her mouth to protest but she felt something wet and soft on her lips. She was being kissed.

She kissed back for a brief second and then turned her head. The person disappeared without a sound.

She had no idea who it was. Okay, maybe she had. There weren’t many options, it couldn’t be Matt because of Val nor Johnny because he was by the fence. So that left Zacky, Justin, Jimmy or Brian.

She wiped her lips with her cloak and frowned.

She stood up and walked towards Johnny, wanting to help him when she was tackled to the ground. This time, she fought.

“Fuck off!” she screamed, hitting the person with her knees and elbows.

“Oï! Bitch!”

“Fuck off Justin!” she snapped, pushing him off her. She got back on her feet and marched towards the fence.

“Lya, where are you going?”

She had no idea who had talked and she flipped off whoever it was.

“Fuck off, all of you. I’m leaving.” She said, climbing the fence. She wrapped her cloak tighter and put her hood up. She started marching back to the house.

Her head was about to explode.

**

When she reached Brian’s house, it was getting close to 5am. The first thing she did when she arrived was to change into her PJs, as known as BJ’s old boxers and one of Adie’s old T-shirt, which was previously owned by Billie.

Then she went back downstairs and started gathering all the empty cups, cans and bottles that were laying everywhere. There was enough trash to fill 2 bags.

She was done putting the furniture back in place in the living room when she heard car door slamming.

She rushed to the door and swung it open, running down the porch and to the driveway. She was barefoot, in boxers and T-shirt, on the 1rst of November.

“We’re crashing here...” mumbled Matt, holding a sleeping Val in his arms. He walked passed Lya. He smelled like booze and smoke. She knew they had kept drinking while at the cemetery.

They all walked out of the car and stumbled their way back to the house. Brian was the last one to get out. He had been driving. Lya rushed to his side as he stumbled down on the sidewalk.

“I’m drunk.” He stated as she put his arm around her shoulder, helping him back on his feet.

She closed the car door with her feet and locked it before helping him back in the house.

She had been mad at them but knew that they were only human. She made sure the door was locked and she glanced in the living room, seeing everyone sleeping on the carpet or on the couches and loveseat. She pitied them. She helped Brian up to his room. She sat him down and helped him take off his pants and ripped T-shirt. She still had yet to figure out what was his costume...

“I’m gonna be sick.” He said, rushing to the bathroom. Lya ran after him and held his hair and rubbed his back as he threw up in the toilets.

She gave him the bottle of mouth-wash as he rinsed his mouth and stumbled back into his room. He let himself fall on the mattress and fell unconscious.

Lya sat on the end of the mattress, wondering what pleasure it would give them to be so drunk that they end up sick and hang over the next morning.

Brian had his face pressed up on the mattress, arms and legs wide opened. Shaking her head, she grabbed the sheet of his unmade bed and threw it over him, covering him a little. She looked at him one more time before she closed the door behind her and headed to the kitchen to do some cleaning.