Chapter Three
Harper
Wakinguptotheintensity of all mother fucking hangovers hits me like Harry and Ron trying to run through the portal to Platform 9 3/4 inThe Chamber of Secrets; fast and hard. A long groan escapes me as I stretch and turn over. I’m instantly assaulted by the sun. Fumbling out of bed, I catch myself as I start to lose my balance from the sheets wrapped around my legs. Slamming the black out curtains close, I sigh with relief as the darkness consumes the room again.
Sweet relief. I love those curtains.
I flop back into bed, reaching out and grabbing my phone to check the time. 9 a. M. Today’s going to suck.
“Dont let the mushrooms talk to you like that,” Evie grumbles beside me as she repositions herself, throwing her leg over me. I throw my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggle, Evie has always talked in her sleep. She ranges from having a normal sleep conversation, to absolute nonsense. This morning seems to be the latter.
“You’re majestic.” Evie continues, mumbling into her pillow. I can’t breathe, my body shaking with laughter as I weasel my way out of bed and rush to the bathroom. A snort escapes my lips as the door clicks closed. I quickly go to the washroom and brush my teeth. There is a moment I attempt battling with my jet black hair, trying to untangle the mess that the night has made. I sigh in defeat before putting it up in a messy bun. That’s a future me problem. I don’t have the energy to tackle that disaster right now. First coffee, then grease.
Just as I’m rinsing out my mouth, I notice Evie is walking like a zombie to the other sink. She grabs the toothbrush that is designated for her at my place. Dalton used to get all grumbly about Evie sleeping over, but in the end it was actually him who bought her a toothbrush to leave here. She sleeps over often enough it just made sense to have her own things.
I thought it was a sweet gesture of him showing his support in my need for my best friend sometimes. “Morning,” I grumble to her as I put my toothbrush away. I face her, leaning my hip on the bathroom counter as Evie starts brushing. I get nothing more than a grunt from her in response. She’s the worst morning person ever. I snort and say, “I’m going to get changed then I’ll make us the good stuff.”
I make my way out of the bathroom and toward my walk in closet. Rubbing my eyes with one hand, I swing the other to the light switch to turn it on. After my eyes adjust to the room, I freeze. And just like that, everything from last night comes rushing back to the forefront of my mind.
The heartache comes barreling at full force as I remember him leaving with his bags.
His half of the closet is completely empty. There are a few stray hangers on the ground from him clearly rushing to pack his things while I was in the kitchen. The empty space gives that painful reminder that it’s real. It’s a real fucking punch straight to my gut. A garbled sound escapes from my throat as the tears begin streaming down my face.
He’s gone.
Last night actually happened.
“What the fuck,” I manage to choke out.
“Harps? Are you okay?” I hear Evie shuffling out of the bathroom. Wiping my face quickly, I sniffle as I begin stripping out of my pajamas. I take the moment to do some deep breathing to calm myself.
“Yeah! I’m fine, just caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror,” I laugh loud enough for her to hear. It’s the truth. I did look like death, and if I was more awake when I first looked at myself, it wouldn’t have been an attempt to hide my emotions. I just want to grab my clothes and getdressed, but when I turn, I find Evie staring me down. Her brows furrow with concern, knowing that my comment was a load of crap. My eyes begin to tear up again, one escaping and rolling down my cheek. I shake my head hastily. “Don’t.” I say to her as I point my finger in her direction. “Don’t come in here with that concerned look on your face. Because I can’t do it. I can’t have you come in here with that face, because I know what comes next. You’ll come over here and you will hug me. And if you hug me I will break. The dams will break and I will cry, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop after that.” I beg her, lifting both hands up in a stay back movement. “So just… don’t. Please.”
She looks at me for a moment before she nods. “Okay. I'll go make us some coffee.” She slowly backs up and then heads out of the room toward the kitchen. I quickly swipe away the remnants of tears that were about to fall before taking another deep breath. I exit the closet and make my way to the kitchen. From halfway down the hall, I smell the sweet, sweet aroma of coffee brewing. I am a coffee snob, so I only drink Starbucks. I will spend the extra money for that siren’s call, I don’t even care. It’s the only coffee that has never given me any sort of heartburn. I hum with satisfaction as I make my way over to the coffee pot. Evie has already set aside all the fixings to make my coffee on the counter. The first sip is always the best, except for today. It feels off today. This whole day feels off. I know the reason why I’m just not going to think about that right now. I’ll deal with that when I’m alone. Yeah, bottle it all up Harper. You’re good at keeping things beneath the surface. You know from experience nothing bad happens from doing that. Ha, if that was only the truth…
“Alright, this coffee isn’t doing it. I need sopping greasy goodness from Ruthie’s Diner. You know that place has the best hangover cure meals ever.” Turning my body toward Evie, I raise my eyebrow in question seeing if she has a better option. She is currently sitting there with her palms on her forehead like she's personally studying each tiny detail of my countertop. My best friend is just as hungover as I am.
“Yesplease, I needall the greasy food in my body right now.” Evie’s voice is low and intentional. “With a milkshake… the most chocolatey of all chocolate fudge milkshakes that they have ever made. I swear one sip and it touches your soul.”
I laugh as I go to the front entrance and grab my purse and keys. Looking around, I realize I forgot my phone, but honestly the only person I want to talk to right now is with me. So screw it, it stays here. “Come on cranky! Let's get our grease on!” Evie shuffles behind me as she grabs her things. After locking the house, we head toward Evie’s red SUV and make our way to Ruthie’s. It’s about a ten minute drive from my house, so I tip my head back and rest my eyes, hoping for the drive to be quick.
“So, I was thinking after Ruthie’s we can walk to the boardwalk? It has everything we need to be distracted. Junk food, carnie games… bars.” Evie laughs as I groan at the mention of more alcohol.
“Ugh, no. No more alcohol, I will literally do anything other than get more to drink. Do you think we could go to the apple orchard? I really wanted to go yesterday and get apples for all the fall baking... but you know…” I trail off. Baking is my absolute favorite thing to do. Apple pie, apple crisp, and not to mention, my famous apple coffee cake muffins. It’s my own personal recipe, and I keep it close to my heart. Literally no one knows about the recipe except Evie. I didn’t even tell Dalton. I falter a bit when I think about him and how he loved my fall baking. “Actually…nevermind, I don’t think I really want to bake anymore.”
My best friend’s sympathetic eyes come to rest on me. I turn my body to look out the window and ignore her for the final stretch of the drive.
Sunday mornings are one of the busiest times at Ruthie’s, but I don’t even care at this point. I just need food. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long before a table is ready for us. We already know what we’re ordering. This isn’t our first hangover tour at Ruthie’s. We’ve done this routine since high school.
I always get the cheesy meat lovers omelet, with hash browns, bacon AND sausage, paired with a huge glass of chocolate milk and water. Evietakes greasy hangover food to the next level and gets a double bacon cheeseburger with a large poutine and a large chocolate fudge milkshake. We order as soon as the waitress arrives with a pot of coffee in hand and two mugs. I take a sip of the coffee and grimace.
“Ugh I don’t know why I always order the coffee here. Ruthie’s has a bunch of great things but their coffee is NOT one of them.”
Smacking my lips in distaste, I push it away with a sigh. Dalton was a more relaxed coffee drinker, and he never liked the coffee here either. Just thinking about him brings a pang in my chest. I glance out the window hoping to avoid Evie’s gaze.
"Eight years of building a life with someone," I huff a frustrated sigh, "Eight years, Evie. And just like that." I snap my fingers, "it's over. Now, there's so much to do and I don't even know where to start"
“I know babes… but I’m here. I’ll help you with it all.” I hear her take a sip of the coffee, followed by her disgust. “Ick, yeah… I don’t know why we always start out with the coffee either.” I feel her hand cover mine, pulling my eyes to meet hers. “Is there something you wanted to get over with today? If not, I'll come by after work every day this week and we can do it together.”
