Come Alive

Alex had been awake for hours. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if he’d slept at all and the sunlight seeping in through the open window wasn’t making him feel any better. For the sixth time since dawn, Alex listened to his phone vibrate with another text notification. He sighed, there was absolutely no one he wanted to talk to today. Couldn’t he have just a few days of peace and quiet?

Again, the phone vibrated. Seven times within a few hours. Oh, the joys of being popular.

Alex groaned and rolled over in his blankets to find his iPhone. He regretted the movement immediately. Nausea rolled through his body and the pounding in his ears crescendoed to a frightening volume.

Hangovers. Cool.

Alex gave up on trying to locate his phone and went back to lying perfectly still in his sheets. Maybe if he stayed there long enough, people would forget he even existed. Maybe if he stayed there long enough no one would ever analyze his life again. Maybe if he stayed there long enough, enough people wouldn’t care and he could once and for all disappear again. Maybe if h--

His phone vibrated again. This time notifying him of a phone call.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Alex reached blindly beside him while being sure to move no other muscle in his body. His right hand collided with the hard technology and he slide the answer bar open.

“Hello?” His voice sounded worse than he expected it to. Maybe he should watch his alcohol consumption more closely next time.

“Alex? You sound awful. As one would expect after your shenanigans last night.” The voice of Alex’s manager caused the nausea to return worse than before.

“Happy New Year to you too.”

“You need to fix this. You can’t just go around kissing guys in front of cameras, Alex. The public is questioning you.”

Oh. So that had actually happened. That wasn’t just some drunken daydream. The bile in his stomach threatened to come up again as Alex recalled the night before. “Do you know how I can find Jack?”

“That’s what you’re going to say about this? Alex, you’re ruining your image. You’re ruining your career. You’re ruining yourself. And all you’re going to ask me is if I can help you get into contact with the random you’re suddenly shacking up with? No, that is not my job.” Alex had never really liked his manager.

“Find me Jack’s number.” Alex replied and hung his phone up.

Alex did a lot of things. Alex was a fairly terrible person. But one thing was for sure, he never didn’t call someone after buying them dinner and taking them to a party and kissing them on New Years.

He stayed in bed for a few more minutes, trying to get himself together enough to walk to the kitchen and get a glass of water. Ultimately, halfway down the hallway, Alex found himself stumbling to the bathroom in just enough time to throw up 2 inches beside the toilet bowl.
**

It was hours before his phone rang again. He’d been curled up on the cool tile of his bathroom trying to keep his insides from killing themselves and the sudden vibrating in his pocket pulled him back to reality.

The text was simple, saying only /464-487-2723 you’re welcome/

Alex smiled for the first time all day. Miraculously, his headache was gone and the urge to throw up had... no the urge to vomit was still there, but he ignore it and sat up. Not trusting his body enough to get up, Alex leaned against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest before dialing the number.

“Uh, hello?” The voice was familiar and Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

Then suddenly the coldsweat from before was back--only this time it wasn’t the result of a night of alchohol abuse, no, now the very real fear of Jack’s memory failing to recall who Alex was presented itself in Alex’s mind. Alex opened his mouth to talk but immediately shut it, he didn’t want to think that Jack had forgotten him so soon.

“Heeellllooooooo?” How did Jack manage to sing that in such a simple and nonchalant matter when he potentially had forgotten everything that had happened in the past few days.

What if Jack had forgotten what happened last night?

“Jack. Do you know who I am?” Alex cringed at his own words. Of course Jack didn’t know who he was, Jack had barely remember Alex when they’d spent nearly 72 hours together why would his head remember Alex now?

“Alex? Hey! How’d you find my number? I was...Hey! It’s you!"

Alex could cry he’d never been more relieved in his life. “You remember me,” Alex cringed again, why so dramatic.

“No actually I don’t.” The line went quiet for a few heartbeats, “You still there? Wanna come over?”

Alex was nodding before he could even get his mouth to form the word ‘yes.’

As soon as he hung the phone up, Alex jumped up and started the shower, a little bit of nausea wasn’t about to keep him alone and wallowing in self hurt all day that’s for sure.