My eyes flutter open and I'm met with sunlight seeping in through the window. The curtains are still wide open from the previous day. I rub my eyes groggily, going to wrap the duvet tighter around myself. There's nothing better than waking up in the morning and going back to sleep seconds later.

Only, when I try to do this, my hands meet nothing. This is when I notice I'm lying on top of the duvet instead of underneath it as I should be and I'm fully clothed. To make matters worse, the trousers I'm wearing have bunched up around my knees in the night.

I groan in protest before sitting up only to crash my eyes shut and cover my face with my hands. My head's pounding. Why is it pounding? Then, I suddenly remember I got drunk yesterday for the first time in my life. Someone, please tell me why I thought that was a good idea.

Dragging my legs behind me, I traipse into the bathroom and proceed to throw my clothes onto the floor. They're probably going to end up soaked if I leave them there, but I have no energy to move them. Is this what it's always like when you drink or am I just a lightweight?

Well, I was right about one thing. I get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body, and step over the unidentifiable wet lump on the tiles. It could be either my trousers or my jumper. Once I'm back under my duvet, as I should have been when I woke up, I feel somewhat better.

It no longer feels like someone's trying to drill their way through my skull. It's more like they're hitting it repeatedly with a hammer now. Any improvement is a good thing though. My head falls onto my pillow as I allow my eyes to slip closed.

I pushed you away because I thought I'd hurt you. These words repeat on a continuous loop in my head. My eyes involuntarily shoot open. I massage my temples, trying to make sense of them. My head's swimming.

The last thing I remember is stumbling home with Penny after she just told me that- holy crap! I completely forgot she admitted that she and Tyler are in a secret relationship. Even now that I've had time to comprehend it all it still blows my mind. Penny and Tyler? I thought they were nothing more than enemies.

What happened after we got back? 'My recklessness cost her life.' I furrow my eyebrows, the memories of last night still foggy. Archer was here with me in my room. He was sitting on my bed- no. He was lying next to me on my bed. Why was he in my bed with me?

I stand up, deciding that it's useless to sit here and wait to remember. Instead, I slip a shirt over my head, grabbing a random pair of pyjama bottoms from my closet. All of this confusion is only making my migraine worse.

I descend the stairs, clutching onto the bannister for dear life. Once I find some aspirin in the cupboard, I almost jump for joy but stop myself. If I can hardly walk down the stairs, I'm not sure jumping up and down is the best idea for me right now.

I fill a glass with water and swallow the aspirin. 'I couldn't lose anyone else I loved knowing I was responsible.' I take a sharp intake of breath, staring up at the ceiling. Did he tell me he loved me last night? No, there's no way. My memory must be foggy.

Drinking has never been something I've found myself wanting to do. I was never attracted to the idea of sleeping through most of the day and partying all night. But, with everything that's happened recently, I wanted to try anything to get my mind off things. Even if it's just for a little while.

It worked at first. Penny and I were laughing our heads off on the swings at the park as we relived memories from our childhoods. It turns out we had pretty similar childhoods despite living thousands of miles away from each other. All the guilt and worries that were plaguing me slipped away temporarily.

They all swarmed back this morning though bringing a migraine along with them. Was it really worth it just to forget about things for a few hours? I grip the counter tightly when another pulse of pain travels through me. I think I'll keep away from the alcohol from now on.

Today, I want nothing more than to stay in my room and watch movies that I've seen hundreds of times already. That always helps me feel better. I get some more water and head out of the kitchen.

Archer passes me on his way out. Our eyes connect briefly. That's all it takes for the events of last night to come flooding back. I can't give you another chance. His eyes were filled with regret and...loss? I'm scared you'll hurt me again.

I involuntarily turn back but he's no longer there. My mouth gapes open, wanting to ask so many questions but not knowing how to word them. God, when will this aspirin kick in? I'm more than positive that this migraine is more due to Archer and his confusing ways than alcohol. I just hope it takes some of the pain away.

Everything feels so surreal right now. The world's spinning around me. I'm barely standing upright. I need some familiarity or I'm sure I'll fall. With this in mind, I pull my phone out of my pocket and type in his number.

"Can I meet you somewhere?"

*

I take a sip of my hot chocolate after explaining everything to him. I and Brody are in a random cafe that I saw one time when I decided to take a different route back from work. The warm lighting makes it feel cosy which is exactly what I need right now. Not to mention, the staff here always have a smile plastered on their faces. It's like this place was made to make people feel at home.

"Can you believe he told me about her?" I moan to him.

This is what I've been spending the last ten minutes doing. I can't tell if Brody was really invested in what I had to say or if he was daydreaming. He had that look on his face that could either mean he had no idea what I was saying, or he was picturing every single detail in his head.

"I can't believe he ever even spoke to you in the first place." He counters causing me to roll my eyes.

My shoulders slump as I wipe the back of my hand against my lips, making sure that I don't have chocolate around my mouth.

"I feel like I can't talk to Penny about this," I admit.

Brody pops a chocolate drop into his mouth. "It seemed like you could last night."

I groan, resting my head on the wooden table. "I'm never drinking again."

"What are you going to do?"

I wrap my hands around my cup and allow the warmth radiating from it to ease the tension in my muscles. "Exactly what I said to him. I can't give him another chance. We don't work together, it's best if we go our separate ways." Why do I sound like I'm trying to convince myself more than him?

"That's probably for the best." He agrees.

No matter how many times I tell myself staying away from him is the right thing to do it still feels wrong. Hearing that Brody supports my decision makes me feel even worse. It's the same problem again. My head's telling me to stay away, and my heart's telling me to give him another chance. I can ignore my heart. It won't be hard to do that, right?

"Anyway," I wave my hand in the air. "I'll stop boring you with my problems now. How's everything going with your dad?"

"Well, he's stuck to his promise so far. He's been trying." His voice doesn't sound so hopeful.

"That's an improvement."

"Yeah," his eyes dart around the room. I sense he doesn't want to talk about his strained relationship with his dad. "The baby's due in a couple of weeks." He states.

"So soon?" I raise my eyebrows. It wasn't that long ago that he found out she was pregnant and now the baby's almost here. He nods. "Are you going to go see them?"

"I'm not sure yet. You know how it went the last time I was there." He reminds me.

I shoot him an understanding smile. It didn't go very well at all. They hid her pregnancy from him and planned to tell him when his little brother was already born. He probably would have reacted worse if they did that. At least they managed to fix things though.

His phone starts ringing, and he checks who it is before showing me the screen. It's his dad. "Go ahead, I'll wait here for you with my hot chocolate." I urge him with a giggle. Crazy timing.

He steps outside, resting against the brick wall, and I turn my attention to the people around me. There are not many people here seen as the place is quite small. There are two people that I'm assuming are a couple seen as I can see them holding hands underneath the table in the left corner and an elderly woman with her dog directly in front of me.

Seeing the couple makes me think of Archer. We never held hands underneath the table or did anything cute like that. I start doubting whether he really liked me or not but brush it off. Some people are more affectionate than others. Anyway, that isn't relevant anymore because we're over.

I drink the rest of my hot chocolate, running my fingers through my ponytail as I wait for Brody to come back inside. It doesn't take long before he's running towards me. One of the women working here narrows his eyes at him. He gives her an apologetic smile.

He places his hand on his chest when he reaches me. "What happened?" I ask.

"She's having the baby." He swallows as much air as he can, and my eyes widen.

"She's what?" My jaw hangs open.

"She's having the baby."

"What, now?"

He nods. I can tell that he's surprised too. "They're on the way to the hospital."

He starts grabbing his things, stuffing his arms into his jacket as quick as he can. He ends up missing the hole a couple of times, but he gets there in the end. I find myself smiling, knowing exactly what he's thinking. He said he wasn't sure about going to see them but from what I'm seeing now he's made up his mind.

"I need to go book a flight." He states.

"Of course," I smile as he starts rushing out of the café. "Make sure you send me a photograph!" He turns around, giving me a thumbs-up before pushing the door open and going out of sight.