Being shaken awake the next morning didn't help Lorelei's hangover very much. Opening one eye and finding that her vision was blurred and bright lights hated her, she saw Aurora and Alexander. Aurora stood by her bedside, looking smug, while Alexander sat on her legs and bounced.
"Look how bright the sun is!" Aurora said perkily.
Covering her eyes with her arm, she moaned. "Daaaamn…" She was amazed at how heavy her body seemed, despite all the throwing up she'd done throughout the night.
"How was your night?"
"I don't remember."
"I see. That explains your lack of eyebrows."
"WHAT?"
Aurora giggled. "Kidding."
"Thank God." Lorelei groaned. "I could have been impregnated by a hobgoblin for all I know. I'm never drinking again."
"Why is there a Tootsie Roll wrapper stuck to your face?" Alexander asked, peeling it off her forehead and sniffing it.
"Hmm. I don't know."
"Cassie, honey, it's almost two o'clock," Mr. Grey said, coming into his daughter's room and throwing back her curtains.
Cassie squeaked and pulled the covers above her head. "It's burns…"
"Are you not feeling well, sweetheart?"
"Noo."
"Okay, well, I'll leave you alone. I'll bring up some soup later. Do you need anything right now?"
"No thanks, Dad." When he left her with a kind, stupid smile, she realized how much of a dumbass her dad was. She almost wished he'd realized that she was hungover and he'd gotten mad. She wished people knew she was less than perfect.
"Okay, everybody, she's coming!" Reese whispered excitedly to Mrs. Aarons and Gordie as they were sitting at the table and eating soup for lunch. "Start making noise!"
Brooke shot him an icy look as she passed the table and went straight for the medicine cabinet.
"How are you doing?" Gordie asked her. The concern that was missing from his voice was clear in his eyes.
"Erk," she replied. She located the Pepto Bismol and poured it into a glass.
Reese was busy tapping his spoon on the side of his glass repeatedly. It sounded as though he was trying to play Jingle Bells, but the glass just wasn't cooperating.
Gordie seized the spoon out of Reese's hand. "Stop that immediately." He looked at Brooke. "I don't think you should drink a cup of Pepto Bismol. You might suffer some consequences."
"I wasn't gonna drink it all at once," she mumbled. "I thought it would save me a few trips to the kitchen if I just carried it around with me." She came and sat down next to him.
"Brooke," Mrs. Aarons said flatly. "You and I are going to have a talk privately later on."
"Mom, I'm in grade twelve now, I think I'm responsible enough to make my own choices--"
"Brooke," she said in a warning voice.
"It was my fault, Mrs. Aarons," Gordie muttered. "We had a fight."
Brooke glared at him and pushed back away from the table. "I don't want to talk to anybody. Just leave me alone."
"Oh, good Lord, child," Mrs. Aarons sighed, following her daughter to her bedroom.
"Brookie, you forgot your antacid," Reese called helpfully, looking at the glass of Pepto Bismol with sympathy, like it might be lonely.
Gordie stared down at his barely touched tomato soup. "I have to go home."
"Need a change of underwear?" Reese asked. "Just turn it inside out."
"Sick, man. I can't believe Anya stayed with you for four years," Gordie said, laughing uncertainly. "I just think I should leave."
"Why?"
"I'm upsetting Brooke."
"So what? I always upset her. Just yesterday, I pushed her down the stairs with my ass and she hit her head on several of the stairs and cried. I don't care. Neither should you."
"You ass-rammed your sister?" Gordie demanded.
"As a matter of fact, yes…"
"That's horrendous." He shrugged. "I'm hurting her in a different way. I made her cry too last night, but not because I beat her up like you always do. And I can't stand the fact that I did that to her."
Reese smirked. "So you don't like her back, eh?"
"I'm frightened that you've been observing us," Gordie said, giving him a strange look. "But I do like her back. Your sister is an amazing girl, and I've never really felt this strongly about anything. It's just that…I don't know anymore."
"It's about your brother, right?"
"Holy fuck, Reese. Stop being intuitive. It doesn't suit you."
"Yeah, I know, I surprise even the biggest skeptics. But you can't be with her because of Denny. Right?"
"Right."
Reese raised his eyebrows. "Understandable. I remember Denny. He was good to you. But you know what? It's been six years, and it's his fault that you're probably the saddest guy I know because he keeps on breaking your heart and the same with your parents. If you feel so strongly about Brooke, you wouldn't let him do that to her too."
"There's something wrong with you today," Gordie said. "You seem to be out of character."
"Meh," he said indifferently. "I care about her too. And I also like you. I'm mostly just looking out for myself here because I would feel pretty shitty if I had to beat the crap out of my friend for burning my sister."
"Okay, who the fuck are you and what did you do with the asshole formerly known as Reese?"
"He's in the basement, Gordie. Um, yeah. Um, I'm like, a reincarnation or something. I don't know! I'm trying to be fucking nice to you and you get suspicious!"
"That's because you're creepy!"
"Fuck off and go tell Brooke you want her!"
"You!"
The two boys stopped and then said, "Eww!"
Gordie broke into a smile. "Thanks for being weird today, Reese."
"Anytime, Gordie."
It was weird waking up from a dream that wasn't about war or the army or the usual stuff. Teddy rolled over onto his side, rubbing his eyes, and looked at the clock on his bedside table. After squinting, he read that it was almost eleven. He reached out a hand and located his glasses.
Staring up at the ceiling now that he could see clearly, he went over the dream he'd just had. Usually whenever he dreamt about the opposite sex, he would wake up--quite frankly--somewhat hot and bothered. But dreaming about Lorelei left him to wake up slowly, and almost peacefully. She'd been drunk last night when she had kissed him goodnight, but he walked home totally oblivious to everything around him except for the fact that he had a girl like her. And now, waking up after dreaming about her, he felt content and pretty much just glad to be alive. Because Lorelei wasn't just a dream.
Pulling a shirt over his head, he made his way out of his hazardously untidy room and went upstairs to the kitchen. He was hungry. Maybe after he ate some cereal, he would call Lorelei and see if she wanted to go to the diner for lunch with him. Then he saw a man sitting at the table. His back was to him, but Teddy could see the cigarette smoke floating in the air. His mother was standing at the stove in her weathered, moth-eaten housecoat, looking at the man with vulnerability in her eyes.
That's odd
, Teddy thought to himself. Usually Mom's little guests don't stick around for breakfast. Maybe I should put some pants on. He looked down at his boxers. They were clean. He didn't care if his mom's boyfriend saw him in his undergarments; he just wanted to get some cereal and then get out of the house to see his girlfriend."Hey, Ted," the man said in a gruff, familiar voice that instantly made Teddy want to cry. "How about grabbing the syrup for your old man?"
