Sound Effects and Overdramatics

I woke up hungover and feeling like a dumbass. My phone was dead, sitting next to an empty bottle of Captain Morgan.

I shuffled out of the room, down the hall, and to the bathroom. I attempted to throw up, to no avail. I stripped down and turned on the shower, barely capable of standing upright.

"Morning sunshine!" Zack hollered over the sound of water hitting tile. I winced.

"Time?" I managed to get out.

"Noonish. Heavy on the ish."

"Did-"

"Beth call? No."

I tilted my face up towards the spray and brushed my fingers through my hair. I felt like shit, which wasn't really new as of lately, but it wasn't just because I was hungover.

I had some explaining and apologizing to do.

I knew Zack hadn't left; he wouldn't have come in at all if he didn't have something to say.

"Wanna talk about it?"

On autopilot, I soaped up a washcloth and ran it over my chest. "Did Michelle leave?"

"Yeah, and she was pretty upset. So was Beth when she stormed out."

The washcloth went up and down both arms. I knew bending over to get at my legs would cause a serious case of vertigo, so I washed my stomach and rinsed, letting the residual soap slide down my legs and get me clean enough.

"I fucked up. Again." I told him. I shut the water off and held my arm out for a towel. He handed me one and I tied it around my waist before pushing the curtain open.

"Yeah, I gathered that. Look, I'm not one to get involved in your shit, but...are you really sure being with Beth is the best thing for you? Ever since you got with her, you've had nothing but problems."

"Can it." I growled. He followed me back to the guest room. He'd been gracious enough to leave me a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. He was shorter and a bit pudgier than me, so the shirt was a bit tight, and the shorts rose above my knees, but they would be fine for the time being.

"I'm just saying. It's not really healthy."

"Zack, butt out, okay?" I snapped. "I'm handling it."

"That's my fucking point, man. You're always handling it, but it's never fucking handled. The shit just never ends with her. When's it gonna be enough?"

I groaned. I didn't want to have this conversation hungover, especially with Zack, who never took sides. He was always fucking Switzerland, refusing to get involved. It's why I wound up here in the first place.

"I don't know man, okay? I just...I gotta talk to her. We gotta actually sit down and talk through some shit. We never just fucking talk. It's always-"

"Just fucking?" He quipped, trying to make a joke. I sighed and nodded, because he was right.

It was the only thing Beth and I were good at.

My head started pounding. I plugged my phone into the charger and we went outside to smoke. Gena brought out coffee and aspirin, her apron speckled with pancake mix.

She was an angel, a patient, gracious being sent from above.

"You can't keep doing this, Bri. You gotta pick one."

"Yeah, but I pick Beth, she still runs off to Kai when she can't handle shit. I pick Michelle and Michelle will never feel like I actually want to be with her. No matter what, someone is getting hurt."

"Isn't that why you keep hooking up with Jason? Because you can't handle shit?"

I stared at him, trying to mask the surprise I felt. I sucked on my cigarette.

"Come on, man. It's not like either of you do a good job of hiding it."

"Johnny figure it out too?"

"He suspects. It's whatever, man. No biggie."

I didn't ask about Matt. I didn't want to find out if they knew the real reason why Matt had been so antagonistic. I wasn't ashamed of what I did, it just wasn't my business to tell.

Once Jason found out that Zack and Johnny knew what we were doing, he wouldn't be happy. Having everyone know he was sleeping around and having them know what we did behind closed doors were different, and the latter was a hell of a lot more private and a bigger deal.

"It's-" The excuse died on my lips. I finished my cigarette and glugged my coffee.

"It's like you said, man. You need to talk. About everything."

Gena came out with two plates and I clammed up. After she set them down in front of us, she sat down in Zack's lap and combed back his hair as she spoke to me.

"Why don't the two of you go out of town for a few days? She looked pretty torn up last night."

I looked at Zack. He shrugged and drank his coffee, his hand at the base of Gena's back to keep her steady.

"It's not a bad idea." I agreed. "Maybe time away is what we need."

"Probably better to go sooner rather than later, but you can't skip out on work." Zack pointed out. I nodded and took a bite of my pancakes.

"We'll leave Friday, then. Be back Sunday night. Should be fine."

"Yeah, but don't you think you have some apologizing to do first?" Gena nudged, taking her own bite.

"I'll call Michelle later."

They exchanged a look and said nothing. I was still too hungover to bother asking what they were thinking. I didn't really have the stomach for the meal that Gena had made, but I needed the starches.

After I finished eating, I helped them clean up and drove home feeling marginally better. When I opened the door and caught a glimpse of Ian straddling Jason before Jason pushed him off, nausea rolled through my stomach again.

"Uh, hi." I mumbled, shutting the door and hiding my fists in the pockets of Zack's shorts.

"Hey, what's up?" Jason asked casually. He didn't bother hiding what was going on below his waist. He was a lot of things, but shy was not one of them.

Ian curled into his side, throwing a protective arm around Jason's shoulder.

I was ready to ask about Beth when she appeared at the top of the stairs and came down halfway to greet me. I left Jason and Ian to it and followed her back up, even though all my instincts were warning me against having her alone in my bedroom.