Beneath the Glass

I wake up to a pounding headache and loud voices outside of my door.

“Shut the fuck up!” I yell, covering my ears.

The voices continue and I groan and roll out of bed.

Pulling on a robe, I angrily stomp out of my bedroom.

“I said shut-” I begin, only to find Nicole and William sitting on the couch.

His arm’s draped around her shoulder and they’re watching something on t.v. Hearing my voice Nicole jumps away from William and smiles nervously.

“Hey Angie, I made breakfast for you,” she says, walking into the kitchen.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” I hiss, pointing an accusing finger at William.

“Hey Angie,” William says brightly, turning around to face me.

“Don’t call me that and don't touch my sister.”

Nicole thrusts a plate, piled high with pancakes at me and orders me to eat.

I roll my eyes, “I don’t need food, I need some Advil.”

Nicole sighs, “fine, I’ll go get some. Just don’t kill William.”

Nicole puts her coat on and kisses William on the cheek, before leaving.

“What?” I hiss, when I notice that William’s been staring at me.

“Nice robe,” William smirks.

I blush, looking down at my bright yellow bathrobe(covered in ducks no less) in embarrassment.

“Fuck you,” I mutter, opening the fridge.

I pull out a 2-liter bottle of Sprite and begin drinking straight from the bottle.

“You’re not exactly ladylike are you?” William asks, from behind me.

“Fuck. You,” I hiss not even bothering to turn around.

“I was just getting something to drink,” William says, grabbing the Sprite bottle from my hand.

“There are cups . . .” I trail off as he presses the bottle to his lips.

“You’re disgusting,” I mutter, snatching the bottle out of his hand.

“What?”

“Maybe you don’t mind ‘cause you’re . . .gross, but I don’t want my spit in your mouth,” I say, turning around to face him.

“So I have cooties now?” William laughs.

I try to push past William but he grabs my arm.

“Did Alex have cooties too?”

I instantly remember the name. Alex from last night.

“Who told you about that?!” I shout.

“Nicole did. So I called Alex and he said it was true,” he answers.

I don’t dare prod William or let him know that I’m interested.

I shrug, “whatever, I was drunk.”

“He’s just another overrated loser in some shitty band right?”

I don’t tell William that my interest had been piqued.

“With cooties,” I add, as Nicole pushes the door open.

“Angie,” Nicole begins slowly, handing me the Advil.

“What?” I ask, filling a cup with water.

“Can I ask you a hypothetical question?” I freeze, cup in hand and turn to Nicole.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing just what if Jake was outside of our apartment...”

Jake was my ex-boyfriend. One of the few people who knew how to hurt me.

“ . . .making out with Katy,” Nicole finishes, searching my face for a reaction.

I walk back into my bedroom feigning ignorance and Nicole follows me.

“Angie-”

“I should take a shower,” I mutter, walking into the adjoining bathroom and locking the door.

At least the shower would disguise my tears.