Chapter 4 Lyons | Cloudy Inertia.

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache and my cheek stuck to the pillow where I drooled last night.

Holy fuck.

The sunlight slithering through the window blinds was like a knife to my skull, and my pulse was an unpleasant drumbeat adding to my misery by making my entire head throb.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How many shots did I take last night?

I rolled onto my back and lifted my hands to shield my face from the blinding rays while trying to muster up enough saliva to soothe my aching throat. Leaning back to sit with my back against the headboard, I groaned when I reached out to the water glass beside my bed and discovered it was empty. Reluctant though I was to move, the need for fluid won out over inertia.

Stumbling through the corridor to the living area towards the kitchen, I didn't notice that the sofa was in bed mode until I walked straight into it.

"Shit!"

With the curtains drawn it was mostly dark in here and in my hungover state the events of the night before came rushing back to me in blurry pieces when a body in the bed grunted; Sasha showing up on my doorstep, shivering from the rain and looking a whippet, Sasha crying in my arms, Sasha clinging onto my arm as we drank from a bottle of chardonnay while watching Slow Dancing. Chardonnay. Lots and lots of chardonnay which explained the messy state I was in this morning.

Water. I need water.

I made my way around the sofa bed and pushed open the kitchen door, squinting as daylight assaulted me. Groaning, I made it to the sink, filled a glass with water and gulped it down greedily. Next I sauntered back to the living room and got some pills out of the cabinet and swallowed a couple of those with the dregs of water.

After the need for fluid and painkillers had been met, I started the second requirement of the day, getting out some mugs, coffee beans and the caffetiere. I needed caffeine.

Once I made coffee and some toast, I put the two steaming mugs on a tray, toasts on saucer plates, along with a glass of water and some pills for Sasha. Walking back to the living room, careful not to step on anything this time, I placed the tray down on the coffee table before drawing the blinds apart to let some light in so I could see what I was doing.

Sasha sniffled, tossing a bit then going perfectly still. Apart from the lump of her body beneath the duvet, the only part of her visible was her hair which a ray of sunlight caught, revealing the true colour of her hair; a deeper shade of vivid brown.

"Alive?" I asked.

She grunted. "Barely."

"Sit up then. I brought some water and painkillers. Thought they might help."

At that, Sasha drew the covers down and groaned. Her bed hair was terrible, a bird's nest scattered all over the pillow. She cranked her eyes open, cussing as she drew back on her butt to sit, leaning back against the sofa back that made a sort of headboard. She looked just as rough as I felt. Frowning at me, her eyes swept around the room, landing on her bag in the corner, realization flashed over her features like a dull cloud. "Darn,"

"Yup." Darn pretty much summed everything up.

With her rumpled nightdress and bed hair, she made quite a pretty - hella awful - sight. "Water, please?" She said weakly, making a flailing hand gesture to reach for the glass.

I helped her with it, picking up the water and pills and gave them to her. "How are you feeling this morning?" I asked as she made a face after swallowing the painkillers and drained the glass of water.

"One word: awful." She sighed. "Physically, I feel like shit which will wear off with time. Emotionally? I don't even want to think about that right now. Care to hand me the coffee?"

I passed her a mug and then sat on the sofa bed beside her. She cupped the mug with both hands and took a quiet sip, moaning in satisfaction. "Good coffee. This will help."

I shoved down the need to apologize again. "You're free to stay here as long as you like."

"Thanks, Lyons. But I'll try to sort myself out, soon though, so I can get out of your hair. Ugh, Alex was right. I have nobody to run to - "

"That's nonsense. You've got me." I placed a reassuring hand on her thigh.

"Thanks. You've always been there for me and I can't explain how immensely grateful I am. I still need to get my stuff from his place, find somewhere to store it, find somewhere to live since my former apartment has been rented out. I guess having to focus on the practical things would keep me busy."

"Maybe." I took a sip of coffee. "But honestly, there's no rush. Take your time, I really don't mind having you here." I was glad she was here. Even though we'd managed to keep our friendship going while she was still involved with Alex, it had been tough work sometimes. I'd always resented the fact that she devoted most of her time to Alex, based on his demands. I missed my playmate, my best friend, and I hated how being with Alex made her change. It was like the positive energy had been sucked out of her because she spent so much time obsessing over being perfect and young for Alex, and wanting Alex to take her seriously. It was like she'd aged greatly when they were together. Maybe now I'd get my Sasha back. The one who remembered how to laugh and thought adulting was for geezers who couldn't realize that life included have fun.

"Got any paper and spare pen I can use? I need to make a bucket list of all the shit I need to get done."

"Um...Yeah." I got up and pulled open the desk drawer, a clatter of junk falling forward as I rummaged through them. "Here." I handed her a notepad and pen, then sat back down, picking up my coffee cup to sip as I watched her write. "Clinic, want to get that out of the way soon; start looking for flats or a temporary accommodation somewhere; collect some more stuff from Alex's place...which I might need to hire a removal agency to get them all out."

"That'd be great. But you can leave some of your stuff there until you find a place. I've got an old storeroom out in the back."

"Thanks." She beamed.

"I can drive you over there today to get what you're gonna need for a few weeks while you sort out what you're going to do long term."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I can't spend a minute more in this crappy nightdress, I definitely need more clothes." Sasha scribbled for a few minutes then put the list down and gulped the last of his coffee. She sighed. "I think I might get the pregnancy test at the store. I need to get that out of the way, hopefully it will be one less thing to worry about, and then we can go over to pack up some more of my stuff this afternoon.

"Want me to hold your hand while you take the test?"

"No. Silly." She nudged my side. "I'm a big girl. I can handle it. It's not my first time anyway, I took one three months ago when Alex had banged me nonstop for weeks. That was the last time we had regular sex." Her smile faded. "That was the last time Alex found me desirable."

I knocked my feet gently into her's. "Cheer up and forget all about that fucker. You'll meet someone better, I promise. Someone who knows your worth."

She turned to stare at me. "You think so?"

I took her hands in mine. "Of course I do. You are the most beautiful and amazing person I've ever met. It's quite a pity Alex didn't realize that. Maybe now you're free, you'll quit trying to look perfect. You'll learn how it feels to be just...you."

We stayed like that for a few minutes, just staring into each other's eyes. I wanted that moment to last forever.

"Thanks, Lyons." She reached out to ruffle my hair.

Giggling, I pinched her cheek making her pout and haul a pillow at me. We began pillow fighting like old times, though mindful of the tray to avoid breaking anything. "Okay, once I'm feeling human again, I've got a few errands to get to. I can get the pregnancy test at the supermarket for you. Is there anything else you need?"

"Ugh, don't force me to think. Just get whatever you normally get and I'll pay half okay?"

"You know you don't have to."

"I want to." She got out of bed and stretched, groaning. I couldn't help admiring her curves and the slight conjecture of her hips, recollecting that first night we met which still felt like a missed opportunity. Since then we'd never been single at the same time, and had ended up firmly in each other's friends' zone. When I'd broken up with Sharon, I'd wanted to push for more, but I'd been afraid of sucking up what we had. And then she'd met Alex and our friendship had been on the brink of collapse, I'd regretted holding back.

Sasha pulled on her dried white gown from yesterday while I looked away to give her privacy. Grabbing her phone from the table, she unlocked it and scrolled through, then paused. "Shit, I totally forgot."

"What's up?"

"With all the drama I'd forgotten about...the free vacation I'd won in the lottery. I'd wanted to surprise Alex with it so we could go on holiday together next Saturday and get lost in each other again. The agency has been calling...fucking hell I was really looking forward to it and now I have to turn it down. I bet they won't agree to do a refund in cash and I don't want to go on my own."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa relax," I interrupted her, holding up my hands. "You don't have to go on your own. You've got me."

The corners of her lips pulled up into a smile. "Seriously? You'd go with me?" Her face was hopeful, eyes twinkling with something like excitement rather than the defeat of earlier. I would have agreed to anything to keep her looking like that.

"Of course, though you'd probably need to change the second name in the booking. We also need to change it on the flights."

"Of course," She wiped her eyes. "I can arrange that. Do you have anything important you need to do that week?"

"Nope. All clear." I said without hesitation. I was a freelancer and could adjust my schedule to fit in a little holiday. The bonus was I could take work with me if I had to. "So um, where are we going?"

She smiled, and it was like dawn pushing through darkness. "Hawaii. To a luxurious resort just close to the beach."

"Awesome. Did you get to surprise Alex at last? What did he say?"

"No, I'd saved it up for last night after we could've had sex and just lay tangled up with each other." Her face darkened. "Anyways, fuck him. It's his loss because you'll go with me now. And we're going to have a splendid time. What better way to get over Alex than sun, sex with hot guys and sundae? I'm sure they've got single celebrity models on vacation over there so you can hit it off with one as well."

I immediately shoved down the thought of Sasha rebounding onto some hot Hawaiian guy. She needed a boost to cheer her up, and I was just the right man to help her.

"Well I'm glad you're gonna get over things. You don't need Alex. He's an arsehole who didn't deserve you, and this holiday is exactly what you need to remind yourself that there are other guys out there, hotter, richer and smarter than that fucker. You call the travel agency today and see what we need to do to change it to my name instead of his."

"Great." She grinned. "And oh, it a double room though we need to share a bed."

We'd slept on the same bed after movie nights and or clubbing plenty of times. She always shared a bed with me until I'd purchased a sofa bed a couple of years ago. I missed sleeping next to her than I was comfortable with. The idea of sharing a bed with her during this little holiday made me a bit nervous because now that she was single again it might be hard trying to keep my feelings at bay. But with practice they say, makes perfect. I could handle it.

"No problems." I affirmed. "It'll be like old times."

She smiled. "Thanks. You don't know how much this means to me. I'll start making some calls then we can head out together for the supermarket."