Waking up felt like emerging from a pit, a deep, dark hole where every breath was a struggle, every heartbeat a thunderous echo in my skull. The aftermath of Matt's latest frat party clung to me like a second skin, a reminder of the excesses I'd allowed myself to sink into over the past week. My insides twisted in sharp, wrenching pain, as if my stomach was being carved out with a scalding blade. The agony was so intense, so all-consuming, that for a fleeting moment, I entertained the terrifying thought of poison or an overdose.
The pain writhed within me, a living entity intent on my destruction, until suddenly, it ceased. The abrupt end to the torment was as shocking as its onset, propelling me to the edge of the bed where I succumbed to the urge to vomit, the remnants of last night's i
