Healed

by Rebecca Brooke

  “I’d kick your ass, but I think that would hurt too much. I can tell you that you’re no beauty pageant contestant yourself.”

  Emily slowly crawled back on the bed, probably wanting to stay still so as not to jostle her stomach any further. It was good for me because I wasn’t sure how much movement my body could handle. Purely by the fact that I’d beaten her home, I knew she would be hurting—there was no way she could have stayed out that late and not have a shit-ton to drink herself.

  “What time did you get home?” I whispered, afraid of the sound.

  She groaned. “A little after four. What about you?”

  “About three-thirty. Do you know what time it is?” Without my contacts or glasses there was no way I’d be able to tell the time.

  That was one thing I had remembered when I got home was to take my contact lenses out so they wouldn’t destroy my eyes.

  “I think it’s around seven, or at least that’s what the alarm clock looked like a few minutes ago.”

  “It’s way too early for us to be awake. Let’s go back to sleep and see if we don’t feel like dying when we get up later.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  I closed my eyes and let sleep take me once again.

  When I woke up again a few hours later the pounding in my head was still there, but my stomach didn’t feel like it was going to let loose on me. The soft snores next to me made it very clear that Emily was still sleeping. Getting up slowly so I didn’t disturb her, I grabbed some clean clothes and tiptoed out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I needed Advil, caffeine, and food—in that order.

  The apartment was silent, but I could see Nick’s door open, a line of clothes trailing from his bedroom to the bathroom. Stifling a chuckle, I shook my head and picked up the clothes. My guess was that he was having a pretty rough day at work.

  After a quick shower, a glass of water, and some Advil, things were a bit better. The one thing I knew about Emily and hangovers was that she was going to want something greasy later when she got up. That, and I was starving.

  I didn’t bother with my contacts—my eyes were dry enough as it was—and just put on my glasses. With my phone in hand, I left the apartment in search of burgers. It was a little before noon, so I decided to text Nick and see if he wanted anything while I was out. The reply was instant, he wanted food and coffee.

  First, I stopped by the local coffee shop and grabbed two black coffees for myself and Nick, and a hazelnut latte for Emily. Then I made a quick run to the local burger place and got each of us a burger and fries. Emily would bitch about the calories but we could work it off together later.

  When I pulled up outside the research center where Nick worked as a chemist, I realized that the few extra hours of sleep I’d had had helped to control some of the hangover. As he stood with his back to the wall, his head tipped back, I could see Nick hadn’t been so lucky. He looked like death warmed over, the dark, heavy bags under his eyes the most prominent feature on his face.

  “Hey, man, what are you doing outside? It’s hot as hell.” I walked up and handed him the coffee first. He gripped the cup like it was his lifeline.

  “Smell of the chemicals.”

  “I guess changing majors wasn’t the best ideas on days like today.”

  He shook his head and groaned. “No, I still love what I do. How often do I have days like this anyway?”

  Nick had been in the engineering program with Caleb and I up until the end of sophomore year. After he’d finished the chemistry requirement, he decided that was a better fit for him and switched.

  “Almost never, but I did tell you to take today off.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Did you bring me food?”

  I handed him the bag and watched as he opened and took a nice long inhale. “Oh, the greasiness.”

  I chuckled. “You’re as bad as Em with hangover food.”

  “Yeah. I knew I adored her for a reason,” he said, digging into the bag.

  Looking down at my watch, I saw it was getting late. Emily would be getting up soon. I gave Nick a quick pat on the back. “All right, I’m out of here. I see you when you get home.”

  He swallowed the bite of burger that was in his mouth. “You mean when I drag my ass home and crawl into bed.”

  “That’s exactly what I meant.”

  He held up the burger. “Thanks for the food.”

  “No problem. Have fun at work.”

  When I got back to the apartment, the shower down the hall was running. Instead of going into the bathroom like parts of my body wanted me to, I put all the food onto plates and brought them out into the living room. While my head no longer felt like woodpeckers were trying to drill through my skull, I still didn’t feel all that great. I grabbed the TV remote and flopped back onto the couch.

  A few minutes later the water shut off. Flipping through the channels, I found a movie to watch. Emily walked into the living room. She was still pale, but the green tint to her skin was gone.

  “Thank God. You got coffee.”

  “I got you a burger and fries too. Come sit down and eat.”

  She dropped down on the couch next to me. “Fast food and caffeine. You’re so good to me.”

  “I do my best. Did you guys have fun last night?”

  She took a large swig of her coffee. “Ahh . . . that’s good. The parts I can remember, yes. Caleb’s parent’s sent a limo so none of us had to drive.”

  “They sent one here too. It was pretty awesome.”

  “Yeah, except I ended up drinking way more than I planned because I didn’t have to worry about how I was getting home.”

  “How much did you have to drink?”

  “Enough that a few parts of the night are fuzzy. What about you? Did you guys have a good time?”

  “Shit, I haven’t drunk that much in a while.”

  “I figured. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in glasses during the day.”

  “True. I don’t think my eyes could handle contacts at this point. By the way, Nick was throwing a fit about Morgan going with you guys.”

  “Dumbass,” she mumbled around a mouthful of food.

  “Tried to tell him that.” I picked up my burger and started to eat.

  “Doesn’t he get that he can’t dictate what she does every hour of every day?”

  “Again, tried to tell him that. Then he was whining about no strippers,” I said between bites.

  Her head whipped in my direction, her eyes narrowed. “Tell me you didn’t.”

  “What? No, we told him to get over it. We spent the whole night at the bar. You don’t think I learned my lesson?” I scoffed.

  She patted me on the cheek. “Of course you did. What are we watching?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  She focused on the TV. “Oh, I like this movie. It’ll work.”

  We finished eating and I got up to clear the plates, before settling down with Emily on the couch again. Even though we were fighting hangovers, it was still nice to spend the day curled up together. We watched a few movies, slowly feeling better and better, but I knew it would still take a good night’s sleep to feel one hundred percent. We heard from Caleb and Angie throughout the day—apparently they were in the same shape we were—but they were making sure everyone was ready for the next day.

  Eventually, Nick stumbled in the door from work and we ordered pizza for dinner. He didn’t last long, barely making it through the meal. As soon as we finished, he was off to bed. We stayed up for a few more hours just chilling on the couch. It felt good to be a bum all day. I couldn’t remember the last time we’d done that.

  Emily stood up and stretched, showing off her toned stomach. “I’m going to bed. There’s so much to do tomorrow.”

  “I’m coming with you. I need to sleep off the last of this crap.” Following her down the hall, neither of us wasted much time crawling into bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was sound asle
ep.

  When I woke the next morning Emily was already gone. I knew they had early appointments to get ready for the wedding. That was the best part about being a guy. All I had to do was shower, shave, and get dressed. Nick was already up.

  “You look a thousand times better than yesterday.”

  “Thanks, dickhead. At least I don’t feel like dying anymore. I thought those chemicals were going to kill me yesterday.”

  I walked into the kitchen and took a seat.

  “I made coffee, do you want some?” Nick asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  He handed me a mug and sat down across from me. “What time do you have to be there today?”

  “I have a few hours before I have to leave.”

  “I have to pick Morgan up, since Lauren’s with Angie.”

  “Don’t make it sound like such a chore.” I took a sip of my coffee.

  “It isn’t. I was just saying . . . never mind. Whatever.”

  I laughed. “Now you have your panties all in a twist.”

  “Shut up, asshole.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes before returning to our conversation. It was always the same with us. We’d bust each other’s balls, then go back to whatever we were talking about. It was the best part about having Nick as a best friend. We both had the same sense of humor, and knew each other well enough to know when to not take the other one seriously.

  “I’m glad Morgan’s going as your date. I think you guys will have a good time together, and maybe afterward you could try and talk to her.”

  “That’s the plan.” Nick finished his coffee. “I have a couple of errands to run before the ceremony. I’ll see you at the church.”

  “Sounds good.”

  With some time on my hands I got a few things done for work, then spent the rest of the time playing X-box. After a quick shower and shave, I threw my contacts in, changed into my tux, and left for the church. When I got there, Caleb was pulling up with his brother. I waited for them to get out of the car.

  “I see everyone survived,” I said, reaching out to shake their hands.

  “Barely,” Caleb said with a laugh. “Angie was in worse shape than me.”

  “Same here. Em spent a few hours praying to the porcelain gods.”

  “Girls,” Matt chimed in. “I tried talking to Nicole yesterday but she wasn’t having it. She didn’t leave her room until Mom and Dad forced her to come to dinner last night.”

  Caleb laughed. “Come on, Matt, you know she’s always been a lightweight.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  We walked into the church, where we were shown to a small room near the front to wait until it was time.

  “You ready for this man?” I asked Caleb.

  He nodded. “More than anything else in my life. Why? Are you starting to realize your turn is coming up pretty fast?”

  “I’m trying not to think about it.” Which was the truth. There was still a bunch of stuff to do, and I really didn’t want to think about having to get it all done today. That could be tomorrow’s problem.

  “What is with you guys getting married so young?” Matt asked.

  “You’re only saying that because you keep dumping your girlfriends,” Caleb said.

  “Exactly. The minute they start talking about long-term commitment, I’m out of there.”

  “He sounds like Josh,” I said, taking a seat on one of the couches.

  “True, but look at Josh now.” Caleb turned to Matt. “I guess that just means you haven’t found the right one yet.”

  “Probably not. I’ll let you know when I do,” Matt said, waggling his brows.

  We all burst out laughing, but it didn’t take long for us to get ourselves under control. “Where’s Josh?” I asked.

  And as if he’d heard me, the door opened and Josh walked through.

  “Hey, man,” he said walking up to Caleb.

  “Late again, I see.”

  Josh threw his hands up in surrender. “Hey, don’t blame me. I’ve been ready for half an hour.”

  Caleb chuckled. “I figured as much.”

  Matt came over to sit next to me so we could talk while Josh and Caleb were having another conversation on their own. Not long afterward there was a knock at the door. An older gentleman poked his head around the door to look at Caleb.

  “It’s time,” he said.

  Matt and I stood, making our way out to the front of the church. Caleb and Josh followed us a few minutes later. We stood at the altar, waiting patiently for the girls to make their appearance.

  Emily

  “YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL,” I said, fussing with the train of Angie’s dress.

  Watching my best friend get married was one of those things I was never going to forget. The smile on her face was huge and she was actually bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. After the crappy upbringing Angie had experienced she deserved this day more than anyone. It also made me think about how close my wedding day was. Being tied to Andrew for the rest of my life would be a dream come true, so I could only imagine how Angie felt standing there looking in the mirror.

  “Oh my God, the dress is perfect,” Nicole screeched when she walked into the room.

  Angie giggled. “Thanks, Nicole.”

  It was cute and sweet, and it suited her personality perfectly. There were no nerves, only happiness in her body language. I was straightening her train when the door opened and in stepped Lauren.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Lauren was very rarely on time, then again, neither was Angie. The only reason she was at the church on time now was because I’d kept her with me all day. It was also the main reason I hadn’t gone home earlier to get ready and drive over with Andrew.

  Angie walked over and gripped Lauren’s hands in hers. “No worries. We’re still waiting for everyone to take their seats. You guys look gorgeous in those dresses.”

  The dresses were simple, a pink sundress with a halter-top. “You’re the one with the good taste—you chose them.” I didn’t think the smile on her face could get any brighter, but it did.

  “Thanks.”

  There was a knock on the door and I yelled out for whomever it was to come in. Mr. Jacobs opened the door and stepped in. “Angie, you look beautiful. All of you ladies do.”

  The blush spread quickly up Angie’s cheeks. “Thanks, Eric.”

  “Now what did I tell you? It’s not Eric, it’s Dad.”

  Angie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Dad.”

  Mr. Jacobs smiled and turned to the rest of us. “Are you all ready?”

  We nodded and looked at Angie. “We are.”

  “Well let’s get this show on the road.” He held out his arm for Angie to loop hers through. With Angie’s dad being a total asshole, Caleb’s dad had asked if he could be the one to escort Angie down the aisle. I can only imagine what that conversation was like because she was in tears when she tried to tell me about it. I did know she was astonished that he would want to do that for her, and that she was absolutely delighted. Angie wrapped her free hand around his arm and smiled up at him.

  “My son is one very lucky man.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I think I’m the lucky one.”

  Mr. Jacobs pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. “My wife warned me I’d need this.” He handed it to Angie. “Then let’s say you’re both very lucky to have found one another.”

  The love that he showed Angie made the back of my eyes burn as I tried to hold off the emotion so Angie wouldn’t get any more upset. “Should we line up?” I asked.

  Angie dabbed at her eyes. “Yes. Let’s do this.”

  I took my place in front of Angie and Mr. Jacobs, and just behind Lauren and Nicole, as we moved from the little room to the doors at the back of the church, lining up against the wall while we waited for the music to begin.

  When the first strains of the music filled the air, two of the gentlemen who worked for the church
pulled the doors open, giving us our first glimpse into the room since it had been decorated.

  It was everything I was expecting, knowing Angie. At the end of each pew was a lantern with a while pillar candle, a bouquet of hydrangeas attached above it, giving the walkway the feel of an elegant runway. The whole vision was absolutely breathtaking.

  Lauren started her way up the aisle, Nicole stepping into position behind her. From the crack in the door, I could see Josh watching every move she made as she got closer and closer to the altar. At the halfway point, Nicole took her first steps into the church. And then it was my turn.

  Spinning around, I wrapped Angie in a tight hug.

  “I love you. You’re my best friend and I couldn’t be any happier for you than I am right at this moment,” I whispered in her ear, emotion thickening my voice.

  “I love you too. Thank you for always being there for me and for standing beside me today.”

  Turning, I stepped into position and waited for my time. The first thing I noticed was Andrew standing at the front of the room to the right of Caleb’s brother, Matt. He looked absolutely gorgeous in his tux, his broad shoulders filling out the suit like no other. His eyes connected with mine and he smiled, giving me an appreciative nod because, until that moment, Andrew hadn’t seen the dress on me, only on its hanger in our closet.

  Taking slow, measured steps I made my way up the aisle, his eyes never leaving mine. It was such emotional experience to be supporting our friends as they committed to spend their lives together. Normally, I wasn’t this sappy, but there was something about this wedding that brought it out in me.

  When I reached the front, I took in all of the boys standing at the altar. They all looked way too hot for their own good. Nodding at them, I took my place and turned as the music changed, heralding the entrance of the bride. A hush settled over the room, as everyone stood to watch Angie make her way down the aisle toward Caleb. His eyes opened wide at the sight of her walking toward him, a slow smile dawning on his face. There were whispered gasps among the guest. There was no other way to describe it—Angie looked radiant as she made her way toward her future husband. The moment Angie and Mr. Jacobs reached Caleb, he let out a deep sigh, almost as if he was finally relaxed now that she was by his side.