Chapter 9: Are dreams real?

Nevaeh:

Shooting up from my bed, I glance groggily at my vibrating cell phone and close my eyes in hopes that the pounding in my head will subside. I lick my dry lips and grimace because my mouth tastes like garbage.

After Mikhail left last night, I became a little depressed and cried over a carton of ice cream. Not getting any positive results, I decided to go into my parents' drinking cabinet and drank nearly half a bottle of vodka.

I’m really regretting it now. “Ughhh,” I groan out, trying to get up from the bed as my phone continues to vibrate. Reaching forward, I pick it up from the side table and clumsily place it against my ear. It’s Jez. “Yeah, Jez. What’s up?” I rasp out hoarsely.

“Hey, Nev. Where the hell are you? Did you oversleep again?”

I grunt in reply.

Jez sighs in exasperation before she continues. “Geez, Nev, did you forget about practice? I told the girls you're having car problems. Get your ass over here… Now!” She yells impatiently.

My ears ring at her blistering retort. The girl has lungs. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I rub my head and rush to the bathroom. “Give me fifteen minutes,” I call out before I disconnect.

Crap!” I berate myself as I clumsily take my clothes off and jump into the shower. After ten minutes and a couple painkillers later, I’m ready to go.

Jez and the girls are already practicing the cheers by the time I get there. Leigh smirks as she looks me up and down. I know that I look like crap, but there’s no way that I’m going to let Leigh bring me down. Instead, roll my eyes at her and walk past her without a care. Jez instantly pounces on me, her face set in lines of concern. “Nev! Holy cow, you look like shit.”

I look down at my school sweater, black tights, and UGGs and shrug my shoulders. At least they’re clean. I was in such a rush that I only had time to put my hair up in a ponytail. I didn’t even take time to put on any makeup.

However, I’m sure Jez is referring to my swollen eyes and pale cheeks. “I just had a bad night,” I say as I place my things on the bench. Brow furrowed, Jez puts her hand on my shoulder and gently mutters. “I can see that. What’s up?”

I shrug my shoulders as if it’s no big deal, but the truth is, I’m still feeling humiliated.

On my way here, all I could think about is the kiss. I keep replaying it over and over in my head. I can’t help remembering how good it felt to kiss him. I think if Rowan hadn’t knocked on the door, we would have ended up having sex. That’s how wrapped up in him I was. I cringe when I think about how easy it was for him to get up and walk out of the house without giving me a second thought.

“It’s nothing, Jez. I just didn’t feel well last night.” At first, I think she’s going to push for a real answer, but then she takes a step back and sighs. “Why don’t you take a break and let me lead the practice?”

To be honest, my head is still killing me, and the thought of doing jumps and dancing around makes my stomach turn. There’s no way that I would make it through practice without throwing up the remains of last night’s pizza. “Thanks, Jez; I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Jez hugs me before she prances back to the squad and resumes practice. Grabbing my things, I head to the girl's locker room and stop in front of the mirror. My eyes are still a little bloodshot, and my face is still pale.

Releasing my hair from my ponytail, I arrange it around my head. Thankfully, I have great hair. It lands beautifully around my shoulders like a honey waterfall. Taking out some eye drops, I drop some into my eyes, add a bit of blush to my cheeks, and run a mascara wand across my lashes. Once I’m done, I search until I find my soft lace crop top and slip it on. I can instantly see a huge improvement in my appearance. Oh, the wonders of makeup.

Jez and the girls walk in a couple of minutes later, looking exhausted.

“Hey,” Jez says quietly. “You look way better.”

Twirling my finger around a lock of hair, I give her an exaggerated bow. Unfortunately, I nearly fall over and have to steady myself. I’m definitely not one hundred percent okay yet. At my move, Jez rolls her eyes and walks away, laughing.

While I put my things away, Brit and a few of the other girls wave hello. It isn’t until Leigh stops in front of me that I go on alert. Hand on her hip, Leigh curls her lip and sneers. “Wow, Nev. Are you pregnant or something? I hope you know who the daddy is.”

Leaning my shoulder in a relaxed pose, I wave away her comment. Over the years, I’ve learned that confronting Leigh is not the way to go. Leigh loves confrontations because it gives her a sense of accomplishment or something. The best way to deal with Leigh is to be as passive-aggressive as she is. “Sorry, but unlike you, I’m not screwing random people. Though it really saddens me that you have such firsthand experience with a pregnancy scare. Just remember, if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here.”

Leigh’s face reddens as she sputters in outrage. Giving her a fake sympathetic look, I pat her shoulder and walk away.

At that moment, Jez walks out fully refreshed and gives me a quizzical frown. I shrug my shoulders and wave as I walk out the door. “I have something to do before class. I’ll meet you in the classroom.”

She nods, waving her hand in dismissal. “Later.”

It's only when I leave the locker room that my nerves kick in. Straightening my top, I take a deep, steadying breath. I need to find Mikhail and talk about what happened the night before. This morning, I came to the conclusion that I like Mikhail. I really like him, and I think he might like me too. So, I’m going to tell him. I just hope that I don’t make a complete ass of myself.