Thirty
I don't remember much of the week following Loki's departure. I remember a lot of drinking. I vaguely remember driving to the liquor store to stock up on more. I woke up freezing. It was mid September, the nights were unseasonable cold. Maybe I forgot to kick the heat on last night. I rubbed my eyes, blinked the blurriness out of my eyes. My face hurt, a lot. It felt like I'd been hit by a bus. I had fallen asleep in one of the poolside chairs. I blinked again.
"Is that my dog up on the roof?" I mumbled to myself, still rubbing one eye. "Wait, I don't have a dog?" I stood up.
"Good god, is that my car out in the pool?" I questioned the open air, and my drowned Audi. All I remembered was a phone call, I said party's on. Then somebody was knocking on my door.
"I don't know what the hell went on around here last night." I stood surveying the damage. I went to the kitchen and retrieved a garbage bag. I started picking up beer cans.
"What a mess." I rubbed the back of my head. "Oh, man. Who's that passed out in the yard?" I kicked him gently, but he didn't stir. I thought I recognized him, but my face hurt too bad to bother.
All that's left of the fire pit is one of my lawn chairs and a piece of siding off my barn. Somebody doing donuts, must have hit the mailbox, cause it's laying out there in the road. I walked through the house. There was a flood in the bathroom, a hog in the kitchen. Where does anyone find a hog in Southern California? There was a dude on my couch with a bloody nose.
I ran my fingers through my hair struggling to remember the night before.
"I don't know what the hell went on around here last night." I repeated. "But it must have been a good time." I shrugged. I passed the bedroom that I had claimed after Loki left.
"Why's my bed not in my room?" I popped my head in the room to really make sure the bed wasn't there. I caught my face in the mirror.
"God, how did my face get black and blue?" I poked the bruises and winced in pain. I stood staring at myself trying to remember. I thought I remembered the words 'bring it on and pour it strong', but they were out of context for me. I did remember all the girls getting down. That I did remember, and I smiled to myself before continuing picking up beer cans.
I kept walking through the house seeing if anything could jog my over intoxicated head. I guess we used the table top for a game of beer pong, the back porch for a dance floor. Somebody took a shower rod and turned it into a strip pole and it looked like a hole punched through my brand new front door. Those doors are three inches of solid steel. That meant either Thor or Bruce were around to tell me what the hell went on around here last night. I pushed through the doors to see Thor sitting on the front step.
"Thor! I am so glad to see you. You want to tell me what the hell went on around here last night?" I sat next to him.
"I was just trying to figure that one out, friend Stark. I could really use a cold one right about now."
"So I'll assume you punched a hole in my door?" I asked.
"It must have been me as I do not observe Banner here."
"Wait, I thought I saw him. Yeah, he has a bloody nose on the couch. I didn't even recognize him. What do you remember?"
"All I remember is a phone call from you to Jane's phone saying the party's on. I thought you meant party as in the Chitauri attack in New York. Not drinking, although it was a good time."
"So, was I plastered when you arrived?"
"If you mean by plastered, drunk. Yes, very much so."
"Ok. Let's go wake up Bruce and see what he remembers. I also need help identifying the person passed out in the yard."
(Author's note: I must also give credit to the band Parmalee for their song 'Musta Had a Good Time'. If you are unfamiliar with the song, please find it on that video app that rhymes with boo boob, and read the chapter again with the music to truely appreciate it. Again, thank you all for reading.)