MIA

The alarm buzzed suddenly, shaking Mia out of her sleep. Throbbing headache consumed her at once. She groaned in frustration, her mouth completely dry. The sound of the alarm pierced through her head and she desperately reached for her phone. She was barely able to type in her password, as her eyesight adapted to the sudden light.

Nineteen missed calls.

Mia sat up right, as the memories of last night flooded through her brain. She opened the notifications, trying her best to ignore the destructive headache. Mia wasn't keen on taking pain killers, but this pain could not go away naturally.

Jeff called her eleven times through the night. His calls stopped around two in the morning, and Lucy's began.

"Shit." Mia mumbled. Remembering she was in her own apartment, she turned and looked at the side. Jeff wasn't in bed. Because it was almost noon.

"Fuck." She cursed. Too embarrassed to leave her bed, she thought about how to explain all of this. She decided to call Lucy.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Lucy answered a millisecond before the phone even managed to ring.

"Good morning to you, too." Mia said to the phone. She had to keep it further from her ear, because it was so, so loud.

"Where were you?! Jeff called you like a hundred times! I called you! He called me!" Lucy screamed and Mia felt that in the greatest depths of her brain.

"Please, don't yell." Mia whispered and then opened her eyes abruptly. "Wait, Jeff called you? What did you tell him?"

"What do you think I told him, you stupid woman? I told him we were out, and that your phone was in my car and the club was too crowded to go back for it. Told him we were having a good time and that I'd drive you home safely!" Lucy lowered her voice, but it sounded all the more aggressive.

"You're a good friend, Luce." Mia smiled at the phone.

"Yeah, and then I started calling you because I had no idea where you were! Neither did your boyfriend! What the fuck, Mia? Where were you?!" Lucy yelled again, sending another shock wave through Mia's nervous system.

"Can we meet up for coffee?" Mia asked. "Please, I need to talk to you, but I really need some water or some poison first."

"Don't you have that dinner to get to?"

"I have time for a coffee."

"Alright, I'll come get you in half an hour."

Mia nodded at the phone, too messed up to pronounce the words. Gathering all of her strength, she got out of bed, stumbling over her blazer and her jeans from last night. She did not remember how she managed to get into her bed.

"Jesus Christ, why do I do this to myself?" She didn't even put on her pyjamas, the scent of alcohol vaporizing through her skin. Jeff must have been thrilled when she showed up like this.

Managing to put on one of Jeff's oversized, black shirts, Mia staggered through the door.

The apartment wasn't that big, so exiting her bedroom Mia immediately found her self in the living room. The big yellow, leather couch felt like someone pointed the sun into her eyes. She squinted and turned her head to the counter, that separated living room from kitchen.

Jeff read a book on the counter, in his white, sleeping shirt and his underwear, while the coffee brewed on the pot. His chestnut hair was in need of a haircut and covered his eyes, that were currently seeing some other world in the book.

Once he heard Mia, he put the book down and smiled at her. She always thought he had a beautiful smile, sincere and warm.

"Good morning, party animal. Did you have a good time?" He smiled at her, a spark of teasing in his deep brown eyes. Mia felt guilt clenching at her heart immediately, even though she didn't technically do anything.

"Yeah, I had a lot to drink." She said for the sake of saying something.

"I'm sorry I called so many times, I got worried when you didn't send a text." Jeff got up and poured them a coffee, his back muscles moving under his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I really should've called." Mia instantly felt the lump in her throat.

"Don't be sorry, I'm glad you had fun." Jeff offered a cup of coffee to Mia and she took a sip, appreciating this warm, liquid happiness.

Smiling at him, Mia covered up the sudden guilt that weaved its web around her heart. She didn't have to do anything, the only thing that mattered was that she wanted to. And not because Jeff was a bad guy, or because they were in a fight. She wanted to.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Jeff said suddenly, catching Mia completely by surprise. Why was he sorry?

"Why?"

"I know we haven't gone down town in a while. Don't think I forgot that you're an outgoing person. I'm so sorry I haven't had the time, but I'll try to be more spontaneous, like I'd been when we first met." His eyes gleamed with regret that truly belonged in Mia's eyes.

That guilt clenched her soul and she suddenly couldn't take it anymore. Jeff was actually a great guy that offered her nothing but happiness. Yet, she spent her entire night fantasizing about a stranger. Maybe this was nothing more than a sudden jump from reality.

"Jeff, I love you. I know you're trying as hard as you can for me, to make me happy. Please, please, don't think I don't appreciate it." Mia said, unable to stop the tears from gathering in her eyes.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He approached.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really hungover, it's making me emotional." Mia smiled through her tears and wiped them off. The need to talk to Lucy suddenly became apparent.

"Do you want some breakfast? I was just about to make eggs." Jeff asked and Mia's stomach instantly turned.

"I don't think I can handle breakfast."

Jeff laughed: "That's okay. Drink some water."

"I'm gonna grab some coffee with Lucy." Mia grabbed a pair of sweatpants thrown over the sofa and her purse.

"Just make sure you eat something, dinner is far away." Jeff said and Mia nodded, regretting that there was no way to cancel that dinner now.

Mia staggered to the bathroom, deciding that the first thing to do is drink a gallon of water. Everything was better after some water, right? While the water ran, Mia looked at her blood-shot eyes in the mirror, her messy hair and the aura of shame splashed all over her face.

After a quick shower, she managed to make herself look a tiny bit more presentable. She was even able to grab a pretzel on her way out.

Lucy was already waiting in the lobby, leaned onto the wall, her red heel tapping the tiles. Her black, elegant overalls emphasized her lean figure and went well with her skin; a couple shades darker than Mia's, due to her Haitian routes. Luce was the epitome of sophistication, unless she was mad; that's when her "inner black woman," as she called it, appeared.

"Did no one inform you that it's Saturday? You didn't need to wear heels." Mia murmured, feeling underdressed in her sweatpants and Jeff's shirt.

"The fact you decide to look like crap is your personal choice." Lucy finished the text message she was writing and put her phone away. Now she had the time to judgingly stare at Mia with her hazel, cat-like eyes. "What did you do?"

"Let's go to Henrietta's." Mia took a bite of her pretzel, remembering she had nothing to eat since lunch yesterday and that she would most likely pass out if she didn't put something in her mouth.

Henrietta's was a cute café, with a small terrace-garden in the back, where one could sit and sip coffee while listening to chirping birds and buzzing bees, fighting over flowers and tree branches. Mia loved the place, she used to study there when she was still in college and even now, she occasionally went there to brainstorm.

They walked through the vintage setting in the café, enjoying the pale pink tapestry and the flowery ornaments, as well as the occasional animal statue, either made of wood or clay, peaking behind the white counter and chairs.

Mia picked the farthest table, right next to hydrangea bush. The flowers were purple and blue, which was Mia's favourite combination of colours. She sat on the white-painted, wooden chair, happy that sun finally came out after all the rain. Now, all the leftover raindrops sparkled, creating a magical scenery. Lucy brought coffee.

"So, what was so urgent that I had to come all the way down here? Not to mention I was calling you all through the night. When you finally picked up and I asked you where you were, you told me you were 'in the rain.'" Lucy frowned; her eyes more piercing than usually.

"That's right! You called me." Mia remembered, and immediately remembered everything that happened. Her stomach twisted at the memory and her heartbeat raced.

"Mia, what happened?" Lucy's voice turned more gentle.

"I almost cheated on Jeff." Mia's voice was barely audible.

"What? With whom? Wait, almost? So you didn't do anything? Who was the guy?" Lucy leaned in, her eyes radiating excitement. Mia should've expected a reaction close to this.

"I don't know, his name is Xander. I met him last night." Mia sighed, playing with the plastic spoon in her coffee.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. We... talked, and danced, and drank a lot of booze. But nothing happened other than that, he has a girlfriend, too." Mia tried to rationalize it all in her head. She thought the guilt might disappear if she repeated that nothing happened enough times.

"So, basically, you did nothing wrong?" Lucy jumped in.

"Of course I did something wrong! I liked him, Luce. I really, really liked him. And it's not the type of 'like' that you should feel for someone other than your boyfriend." Mia groaned, her heart beating even louder.

"Listen, girl. I think you'll be running into people you 'like' all your life. It's not impossible that he might become a good friend." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

"Luce. I wanted to jump his bones there and then." Mia said firmly, her sentence followed by an outburst of Lucy's laughter.

"Alright, perhaps not a good friend. But don't beat yourself up over it, you liked a guy, he was handsome, yet you knew you had a boyfriend whom you love. And nothing happened."

"I don't know. You know I'm a firm believer that people don't cheat unless something's wrong in the relationship. Why would I be the exception?" Mia's mind was a mess, she couldn't focus on anything. "Could this mean that my relationship with Jeff is crumbling?"

"Firstly, there is no way you can think about this while you're this hungover, alright? You gotta get a good night's rest. So, don't think about it today." Postponement was Lucy's favourite defence mechanism.

"Your advice is to ignore it as long as I can, isn't it?" Mia's voice was flat and borderline disappointed.

"Hun, the answer's gonna come knocking at your door in any case. And it's coming in whether you let it or not."

"That's a terrible advice."

"Drink your coffee."