Count Me the Hours

I woke up the next morning with a jolt. I groaned, my head pounding as I rolled over. Blindly, I searched for my phone. I located it and as it turned on, I rubbed my eyes, hoping they weren't too red.

I had several texts including one from Mila.

From: Mila
Hey, don't forget; the engagement party starts at three. BE THERE!

“Fuck,” I said slowly, searching for a clock to look at. It was already two.

I stumbled out of be, tripping repeatedly as the sheets were wrapped around my legs tightly. I entered the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. It swung back open because the sheets had finally dropped there, blocking the door from closing.

Not even caring, I stripped quickly, jumping under the hot spray of the shower. I showered quickly and dried my hair enough to keep it wavy. Smokey eyes were the quickest, using liner and shadow.

I pulled on the first dress I could find in my suitcase and stepped into my heels. I grabbed my keys and my bag and ran down the stairs, praying I wouldn't trip and break my neck. In the car, I programmed the reception hall into the GPS and took off.

I pulled into the parking lot at 3:14 and rushed in, trying not to make too much of a commotion as I pushed open the doors. A few people seemed to notice my entrance. Those who did smiled politely before turning their attention back to my mother who was giving a toast.

“Good God, who gave that woman a microphone?” I asked rhetorically, grabbing a glass of champagne as a waiter walked by.

“And now, let's raise our glasses and toast to Mila and John. May you two be happy together for a very long time,” my mother said, raising her glass as everybody did the same and said, “To Mila and John!” then took a casual sip of champagne. I downed my entire glass in a single gulp.

“Impressive,” someone said, all of a sudden standing beside me.

I glanced over and smiled. “You know how I do, Monaco.”

“How've you been? I haven't seen you in nearly a year!” Jared told me as I grabbed another glass of champagne.

“Well, for one thing, my little sister is marrying the guy I dated for three years. That explains how I've been since I got that call a few nights ago.”

“If it make you feel any better, I almost decked him when he told us they were engaged,” he said with a shrug. He ran a hand through his hair and I smiled at him.

“It would have been better if you actually had.” I sighed heavily, toying with the now frizzy waves of my hair.

“How long have you been in town?”

“I got in yesterday afternoon.”

“Have you talked to John any?”

“He was over last night. We just ended up fighting about it,” I said, downing the rest of my glass. “God, I can't believe I agreed to come here and do this.”

“You've got guts, Lu. That's all I can say.”

I looked over at the ginger beside me and winked. He laughed quietly and ruffled my hair. We stood in silence, staring at the small stage where Mila was thanking everyone for coming.

“This was really short notice, having the wedding and everything in three weeks, but John heads back on tour in four. But enough out of me, it's time to hear from the maid of honor, my lovely older sister, Tallulah,” she was saying into the mic.

“Fuck,” I said quietly.

Jared looked over and laughed. “You've been served, get up there!” he told me, giving me a push.

Begrudgingly, I walked from the back of the room to the stage, downing a third glass and cursing everything that was holy as I went. I stepped onto the stage, feeling the spotlight pour over me.

“Well, what can I say? I'm in town to celebrate my little sister's marriage to a great guy. I'd know he's a great guy because I dated him for three years!” I attempted to joke. The crowd stared blankly, but I found a smiling face in the crowd. “I'll be here for three weeks, don't waste your laughs just yet. Either way, congrats to the future Mr. and Mrs. John O'Callaghan.”

As soon as I was on the stage, I was off again and on my way to the bar. On my way, I was greeted by the smiling face I'd seen in the crowd.

“Garrett!” I yelled happily, throwing my arms around him.

“Hey Tallulah,” he said with a laugh, squeezing me tightly.

Early in high school, Garrett and I had dated for six weeks before we'd realized that it wasn't really working. But, in those six weeks, we'd become best friends. He'd been the first person to call my Lu and once it'd caught on, he'd abandoned calling my by the nickname. It was actually Garrett that have introduced me to John.

Before I could say another word the the boy in front of me, a hand squeezed my ass.

I whipped around and found myself staring at the excited face of my cousin Dree.

“Oh my god!” I yelled excitedly, hugging her as we jumped together.

“Where the hell have you been?! I have gynecologists that call more often than you!” she exclaimed once we'd regained out composure.

“Wait, you have more than one gynecologists?” I asked, laughing.

“Of course. You've got to play them off against each other or they'll start to think you're easy,” Dree explained, completely serious in her response.

“Whoa, Dree, too much information, seriously.” Garrett had his hands over his ears, his nose curled in disgust.

“Don't be hating on the gynecologists, bro,” she said, punching him in the arm.

Dree was two months older than me, two inches taller, and twenty pounds lighter. She was a twig, slender everywhere. Her hair was a mass of dark waves and her skin was perfectly tan.

“What about your gynecologist?” a voice asked as an arm wrapped around Dree's waist. A male appeared behind her, kissing her cheek.

“Lu thought it strange that I have more than one,” she explained to the dark haired, dark skinned guy behind her.

“Why are we still on the topic of gynos?” Garrett demanded, looking to be at his wit's end.

“Just to bother you.” She threw a wink his way as he cringed. I laughed, forgetting how much I'd missed being around the two of them.

“Dree, who is this lovely person standing behind you?” I asked finally.

“Oh, this is Stephen. He's my bitch.”

“By bitch, she means boyfriend. Hi,” he said, raising his hand to wave at me.

I waved back, laughing quietly. Dree had found a male version of herself.

Fifteen minutes later, we had found ourselves a table and we'd been joined by Kennedy and Jared.

As soon as we sat down, Dree had kicked off her heels and propped her feet up in Stephen's lap. He hadn't said a word, only rolled his eyes, dealing with it.

“Where's my Patty Cake?” I asked, taking a bit of cake, realizing he's the only one I'd yet to see.

“He refused to come,” Kennedy informed me.

“Why?” I asked a bit confused.

“He doesn't think it's right that John's marrying Mila, especially after only a few weeks,” Jared explained.

“Really though, none of us are okay with it. I'm just here for the cake,” Kennedy joked.

“Thanks for the support, Kenny. It's good to know you've got my back,” I said facetiously.

“For life, yo,” he responded, his mouth full of cake. As he spoke, the center piece got a cake shower.

“Pat should be here for his,” I said with a sigh.

“Eh, more cake for us,” Kennedy exclaimed happily, swallowing a huge bite.

“Egad, enough with the cake, Brock!” I snapped, throwing my fork at him. He whimpered quietly, rubbing his forehead where it had hit.

Hours past and soon our table was the only one occupied. Dree and Stephen had left, leaving me with Jared, Garrett, and Kennedy.

When the cleaning crew eventually kicked us out, we decided to go to Pat's seeing as how he was the only member of The Maine that I'd yet to be reunited with. When we showed up at his door, he had lunged at me and clung to me for an hour, refusing to let go as he repeatedly told me how much he'd missed me. His mom made her signature oatmeal M&M cookies as we gathered in the basement, relaxing on the same ancient sofas that had been down there when we were in high school.

The boys started an intense game of ping pong while I remained on the sofa, laying down. By now it was 10 o'clock, and though I'd woken up at two, I was exhausted. The simple “click, click, click” of the ping pong ball on the table was a near steady beat sending me into a slumber.

“Tallulah, hey!” Garrett said, his voice pulling me back into the land of the living. His face was close to mine and I was sitting up.

“Hey,” I said, stretching a bit. “What time is it?”

“Almost one. You fell asleep at Pat's but we're at your house now.”

I looked around with a nod, realizing where I was. We were on the curb outside my house, sitting in Garrett's car. No lights were on inside the house.

“You have your keys, right? Your car is still at Pat's. I can pick you up tomorrow to take you to get it. Maybe lunch, too?”

“Uhm, sure,” said, still half asleep as he helped me out of the car. “Wait, I have a dress fitting at 11, so it'll have to be after that.”

“Works for me.” Garrett smiled as we started up the drive way after I tripped on the curb.

I unlocked the garage door and started into the dark space and Garrett started to head back to his car.

“Hey, Gare?” I said, getting his attention.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning around to face me.

“Can you stay for awhile? You don't have to stay over, just until I fall asleep.”

He sighed, looking at the screen of his phone before nodding, hitting the lock button on his car. It beeped as he walked closer to me.

When we reached my room, he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it into the arm chair in the corner of the room.

“This place doesn't change,” he said with a quiet laugh.

“Well, nobody's been up here for a few years, I said, stepping out of my heels.

“I guess you're right,” he said with a bit of an awkward laugh, sitting on the edge of my unmade bed.

I nodded, taking on my ring and bracelets. I grabbed an old shirt and a pair of basketball shorts and headed into the bathroom. I tied my hair up lazily and changed before heading back into the room.

Garrett was putting a disk in the DVD player and looked up when I entered the room. “This was all he could find,” he informed me, holding up the case of The Notebook.

I laughed. “It's all good,” I assured him, tossing my discarded dress towards my suitcase and missed.

I sighed, sliding between the sheets of my bed. Garrett joined me, kicking off his shoes before hand. I hit play as I slid down into the pillows. Garrett put his arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.

“Garrett?” I said, barely holding on to consciousness.

“Yeah?” he asked quietly.

“I miss you,” I told him, letting out a breath.

“I missed you too, Tallulah,” Garrett said. I felt his fingertips brush the hair off my forehead and that was it.