All the Sad Little Things

Chapter 12: Down the Drain

Present

Kelly and I had stayed up all night watching over Lilly. We had quietly talked the entire time to ensure we didn’t fall asleep. A couple times Lilly had stirred from her drunken sleep to vomit. I would grab the garbage pale while Kelly held Lilly’s hair back. Needless to say, by the time morning rolled around, we were exhausted. I had decided to call in sick to work, knowing very well I wouldn’t be able to function on zero hours of sleep. I hated that I lied about being sick but I was pretty sure the old man wouldn’t condone calling off work because of sleep deprivation. To my surprise he wasn’t that upset and even told me to make sure I drank lots of fluids. That only made me feel more guilty for my dishonesty. When Kelly and I were sure Lilly was well enough to function on her own we very carefully snuck out of her room and made our way to the living room where we both collapsed on the couch. After several minutes of quiet and just trying to catch our breath, Kelly said,

“I stink! I need a shower.” We both chuckled.

“Same!” I replied as I gave my clothing a sniff. I was repulsed by the smell coming from my shirt sleeve and gagged. “I think Lilly threw up on me.”

“Gross!” Kelly cringed and backed away. “What are we going to do with her Emma?” We looked at each other sadly and sat there in silence for another few minutes while we thought.

“What if we called Dylan?” Kelly gave me a look of uncertainty.

“Do you think that’s a good idea considering what happened at the bar the other night? Imagine how angry he will be if we tell him what happened last night.” In truth, I had thought about that but I was sure Lilly was acting out like this solely to get Dylan’s attention.

“We don’t need to tell him anything about what happened last night.” I said matter of factly. “All he needs to know is Lilly is hurting and she really wants to talk to him.” Kelly shook her head in agreement. “We can stay close to ensure things don’t get out of hand. If we feel things are going south, we can jump in and put a stop to it. We just need to make sure Lilly is alright and is ok with this. I don’t want her to feel ganged up on.”

“So, when Lilly wakes up, do you want to try and talk to her?” Kelly sounded a little apprehensive. Lilly could be an absolute bear when she was hungover.

“I think we should try. How about you go and grab a shower and get cleaned up. I’ll jump in when you’re all done.”

“Thank you.” Kelly said relieved. She got up from the couch and made her way down the hall to the bathroom. I took the opportunity to sneak back to my room to lay down for a bit before Kelly got out of the shower. I was so tired that I dozed off almost instantly. In that short time while Kelly showered, I dreamed. I dreamed of the previous night and of Mike. Instead of saying goodnight, Mike leaned and kissed me passionately, holding me tight against his body. I could feel his excitement and arousal as we made our way through the apartment back to my bedroom. I could see his and my clothes on the floor and I could hear his heavy panting in my ear as he lowered me onto my bed. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him into me. I went to let out a moan of pleasure when I was suddenly startled awake by Kelly gently shaking me. “God! I’m so sorry! I should have let you sleep.” Kelly looked like she felt bad for waking me.

“It’s alright. I need to get a shower anyways. I feel disgusting.” I got up from my bed and grabbed my robe from the back of my door. “Feel better?” I asked Kelly.

“Much better but very sleepy. I’m gonna try and take a nap too before Lilly gets up.” Kelly stepped out into the hall and turned to look back at me. “I have a feeling today is going to be a long day.”

“I think you’re right.” We both knew getting Dylan and Lilly to talk to one another wasn’t going to be easy. I was sure Lilly would fight us at first but in the long run all she wanted was to try and fix things with Dylan.

“Sorry for interrupting your dream.” Kelly said before heading into her room. “Sounded like a good one.” She gave me a mischievous smile, raising her eyebrows. Feeling extremely embarrassed, I rushed to the bathroom and shut the door. Had I been moaning in my sleep? I cringed at the thought and quickly undressed and hopped in the shower. Not only did I need to wash away the stink of Lilly’s vomit, now I needed to cleanse my body of the shame and embarrassment I felt. It was as though my dirty little dream about Mike had left a visible stain all over me that everyone could see. I remembered the morning after I first met Mike a couple days ago. I had touched myself in this very shower thinking of him. I suddenly felt even more filthy and I desperately began washing my body. Why did he make me feel this way? It was maddening. I finished my shower and made my way back to my room only stopping briefly to look in on Lilly. She was dead to the world and snoring loud enough to shake the apartment. Back in my room I changed into some comfy clothes and crawled back into bed. I figured I might as well try and sleep too since the girls were resting. And if by chance I met Mike in my dreams again well, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

I woke to the sound of my bedroom door creaking open. As I sat up I glanced out the window and took notice to the way the sun sat in the sky. It was well after midday and I had slept for several hours. No restlessness and no nightmares. Just sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened for me. I looked over at my bedroom door and noticed a very solemn looking Lilly peaking through the doorway.

“I’m sorry.” she said, her voice barely audible and hoarse most likely from the vomiting. I gave her a little smile and motioned her to come in. Lilly came and sat down beside me on the bed and pulled my covers up around her body, making a sort of cocoon for herself. Lilly wanted to know everything that had happened last night not remembering much of anything. She could recall bits and pieces of the previous night like going to the bar with Zander and yelling at me but after that her memory was pretty fuzzy. Kelly must have heard us talking and made her way to my room as well. We all sat and talked for a couple hours and told Lilly everything she wanted to know. As she sat there and absorbed all the details of the previous night, Lilly looked more disgusted and appalled by what had taken place. When we finished, I could see Lilly had started to cry. “I wish Dylan was here.” she mumbled through her tears.

“Well, we kind of wanted to talk to you about that too.” Kelly said to Lilly softly. Kelly explained the idea she and I had about trying to have Dylan come over and just talk to Lilly, giving them both a safe space to air out their feelings and frustrations.

“We would give you two some space but if it’s ok with you, we would like to be close by if things get heated.” I added. “Just in case.” I could tell Lilly didn’t particularly care for that idea but after a little more convincing, she agreed. Her desire to see Dylan outweighed her need for control. Lilly had a bad habit of trying to solve all her past relationship’s problems with s*x. She was beautiful and sexy and she knew how to work that to her advantage. Sadly, in this particular situation, I think she knew her s*x appeal wouldn’t work this time. To fix things with Dylan, Lilly was going to have to become vulnerable, something she absolutely hated.

“Would you like us to try and reach out to Dylan for you and see if he would agree to talk with you this evening?” Kelly asked Lilly. Lilly shook her head ‘yes’. “Okay then.” Kelly got up from the bed and pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’ll go and try calling him now.” After Kelly stepped out into the hall to call Dylan, Lilly got up and began nervously pacing.

“Do you think he’ll come?” Lilly asked me.

“I think he will.” I gave her a reassuring smile. A couple minutes later, Kelly came back into my room.

“What did he say? Is he going to come over?” Lilly asked Kelly anxiously.

“He’ll be here around seven o’clock.” For a moment Lilly seemed hopeful and was glad Dylan had agreed to talk. Doubt soon took over though and Lilly went back to being nervous. I could see she was beginning to question this whole plan.

“We have time.” I said, getting up from the bed to join the girls over by my bedroom door. “How about we get you a bath ready and you can try to relax and clear your head before tonight?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Lilly nodded. “That sounds good.”