Mess of Fading Lines

"Oh sweet jesus!" I said clutching on to my forehead when my phone alarm started ringing on full volume. I shot up the pain in my head making me want to just go crawl in a hole somewhere dark and quiet. "Phone, phone, phone," I muttered to myself crawling around on my bed wondering how I had gotten here, but that wasn't the most important thing on my list. Right now it was to kill this evil noise that ruined my night of sleep. I usually loved Cage the Elephant, but right now Back Stabbin' Betty was like a jackhammer to my head.

I slid off the bed and felt around the ground and looked under the bed, crawling sleepily on my hands and knees on my hardwood floor. I saw my purse and heard the noise coming from inside of it. "Yes!" I said my eyes intent on purse and I pulled it out and the pressed off. The silence was oddly comforting and I groaned letting myself fall onto the floor, which hurt more than I thought it would and I let out an 'ow' from my diaphragm making it louder than I thought. I just wasn't the best thinker in the mornings.

"Well I guess Holden's up," I heard Lucy chuckle, who was she even talking to? I laid on the floor for a while, my body feeling incredibly heavy and my head sleepy. I tried to go to sleep for a while adjusting my head on an old shirt I had thrown here, before realizing it was the shirt I was wearing last night.

"Fine," I sighed to myself climbing up off the floor with my phone in my hand to plug in and charge. I groaned again squinting my eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the mirror and right into my eyes. I rubbed my head, trying to massage the pain. I walked out into hallway hearing Lucy softly singing to the Beatles playing loudly in the kitchen. I loved how we could blast music in the morning, singing at the top of our lungs to start the day off right, which for me, today, was with a cup of coffee

"Why hello there beautiful," Lucy smirked, I heard the sizzling of bacon and I took a deep breath making me feel better. I trekked past the breakfast nook, sleepily waving and moaning as I made a straight line for the bathroom. I let the hair fall in my face and sighed. After peeing and brushing my teeth, I washed my face and tied my hair up to messy bun and stared at myself in the mirror.

Apart from my massive headaches and my bags under my eyes, I looked presentable. I looked down at my oversized baseball shirt that was my dad's softball shirt from Connecticut, I should call him. You could only see the hem of my blue and green boxers from underneath it. I went to the medicine cabinet and poured three capsules of pain killers out and smirked, grabbing my tiny water cup and taking the pills. I walked back out, now that my eyes were actually opened and saw two back of the heads, and Lucy who noted me.

"Morning," I said slightly more cheerful, it was probably the psychosomatic reaction from the pills. I saw two boys turn around and seeing Garrett and John. What the fuck was John doing here? My smile immediately dropped, upon my blue eyes meeting up with John's hazel.

"Oh you are much lovelier when drunk," John said with a cocky look in his eyes, they slowly dropped to my chest and I crossed my arms over my chest, looking to Lucy who was making me a plate in our yellow painted kitchen with a bouquet of sunflowers in the middle of a white painted wooden table.

"In your dreams O'Callaghan," I sneered about the boob-stare, not the comment, because I'm sure I was much lovelier to him while drunk because unlike my mother I was a very friendly, affectionate drunk and it got me into trouble sometimes. I sat down next to Lucy on the counter next to Lucy and grabbed the plate she gave me with eggs and bacon and pancakes. "Thank you darling," I said cheerfully giving her my sweetest smile.

"Actually, in reality, I definitely saw you last night... naked," John said with a playful smirk still on his lips. My jaw dropped down and I'm pretty sure that Lucy's and Garrett's jaws were doing the same. At first I was totally disgusted then completely confused as to what had happened feeling violated at the absence of memory. John read my face and then shook his head with sympathy, "nothing happened you just took off your clothes in front of me!" John said throwing his arm in the air as if innocent.

"Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what happened," I sighed totally disgusted and just wanting to drop the subject since I had no recollection to challenge it. I returned to my plate of delicious breakfast foods that sort of brought my day back into swing. I sighed resting my head against the white cupboards Lucy and I had decorated with random postcards and cute notes.It was like a giant scrapbook, that had usage. "What time did all of y'all get in?" I asked trying to make small talk to rid the stale silence.

"Well, John slept here and I slept at Garrett's," Lucy admitted quietly, a small blush on her cheeks. I smiled at how innocent Lucy was, the notion of sex was still dirty and private to her, unlike so many girls these days who advertised themselves as sexual objects. I frowned, finally comprehending what she said about John.

"Where did you sleep?" I asked, turning to him with an accusing eye. If he had seen me naked, I wanted to know what else he saw or did or whatever. I wasn't hungry anymore and I gave my left-overs to Garrett, who just like my brothers, gobbled up anything edible in front of them.

"I slept on the couch! Jesus!" John said getting riled up and defensive, raising his arms once again. I couldn't help but laugh at his enlarged green eyes and the slightest flush to his cheeks and I knew something happened that he wasn't telling me.

"What?" I inquired about the particular face he had made, I didn't trust John O'Callaghan, mostly because I discovered he had slept with two of my friends in two separate social circles. I knew he got around and I wasn't into that.

"What?" He asked confused as to what I was talking about. I rolled my eyes and sighed condescendingly even though it probably would've been stranger if he had known.

"What else happened that you aren't telling me?" I asked, bending over to put the plate in the dish washer after rinsing off leftover food down the sink. I felt John's eyes shift to my ass and I internally sighed. Why did I continue to be surprised at his depravity?

"Well, you invited me to sleep with you in your bed," I opened my mouth to speak expecting that he had taken me up on the offer like the nasty little snake he was, but he raised his voice and continued. "BUT! I didn't take you up on that offer because I knew you wouldn't have the same mindset when you woke up the next day. Probably beat the shit out of me," He said muttering the last part. I let out a little laugh honestly surprised that he had done something decent.

"Well, thank you John," I said smiling genuinely for a moment forgetting that Lucy and Garrett were watching us with playful smiles on their lips. I rolled my eyes at the fact that Lucy looked way to pleased with both us getting along and her little set up was starting to be less... hostile.

"You're welcome," John said lowering his eyes almost like a scared freshman going up to a girl in the hallway. Then I had an epiphany, the reason I kept getting shocked by John's nastiness was because he would show me sweet parts of himself that would make you think he's a normal person then, BAM! Some comment about blow jobs or what not. He was one crazy mother fucker. "Nice ass by the way!" John called out after me after I turned the corner and sighed, this was exactly what I was taking about. I shuffled my feet and grabbed clothes before sneaking to the bathroom to take a shower.

"Dude! What the fuck?" Garrett asked after I heard John yelp with pain, now I knew why Lucy was smart enough to keep him around. I turned the silver handles and waited for the water to heat up, taking the opportunity to get naked. I observed every curve in my body, wondering if I should look up exercises to work on my tummy or to make my waist smaller. I grabbed a brush and started to comb out my hair, some tangles viciously set on staying. Finally I jumped in the shower washing the lingering feelings of last night away from my body.

After I was clean and smelled delicious, I pulled my woven brown belt tighter on my waist creating shape in the navy sun dress. I shook my hair seeing it was already forming waves I decided not to do anything with it besides that. I walked up to the table and saw John and Garrett staring at me oddly but no Lucy.

"What's up?" I asked before grabbing a diet coke out of the fridge and sitting down suddenly exhausted again. John and Garrett exchanged looks, confused about who was talking to. I let them sort it out between themselves, simply opening the soda tab and hearing an obnoxious crack.

"We're going shopping for, like, wedding stuff then to the movies," Garrett sighed, taking initiative. I sighed not feeling like moving let alone shopping. Especially with John, when Lucy heard me groan she popped out of nowhere and hit me lightly. I knew it wasn't even worth protesting because if Lucy wanted me to help her with the wedding and it's importance was above my happiness. I looked over at John who seemed pretty please with himself and I sighed agreeing half heartedly. It was going to be a long day.