Hayley's Party Ch. 06

Okay, I've been asked quite a few times if there'll be more chapters of "Hayley's Party" and the short answer is "Yes." The long answer is, I started Hayley off as just a single short story (based of off "Miaw: Life of the Party" for those that weren't around at the start) and I hadn't envisaged continuing it. In the rewrite, it kind of grew on me and a "sort of" plot evolved in my head but the story as it stands doesn't quite fit how the overarching plot has evolved in my head. So while I'm continuing, there's going to be some discontinuity and anomalies here and there as it moves ahead. I'll do my best to explain these without screwing the story and I'll probably go back and insert a rewritten Prologue at some stage. Keep on thinking of it as "Working First Draft" and we're all good. I want to turn this one into a novel when I get a bit better at this writing thing, but the novel I have in mind is a little bit different from how it's written so far. Anyhow, enough waffling, on with the story...

And if you haven't read the earlier chapters, I'd recommend doing that first...

Hayley's Party Ch. 06 – They Say You Got a Broken Heart

Who needs friends who never show
I'll tell you what you want to know
I could have saved a broken heart
If I'd found out long ago

I'm just thinking about those lonely nights
(I'm just thinking about when I waited)
When I waited for your call
'Til I found out all my friends were right
I didn't know you at all

I heard a rumour, ooh, ooh, I heard a rumour
They say you got a broken heart

It was my phone ringing that woke me up. I felt awful. It was like one of those clichéd scenes in a movie. The morning after. Except that this was real and my head hurt like fuck. My body felt like I'd been in a real fight. I felt worse than I had after that last tournament I'd fought in when that six foot she-bitch from Michigan had hammered me. This was worse than after one of Master Kim's all day training sessions. My mouth was dry; sandpaper, swollen tongue, rats must have peed in my mouth dry. But it was my head that was killing me. Jackhammers going off inside my skull pain! Dammit! I so should NOT have touched that Jack Daniels. A couple of shots were enough to give me a mild headache the next morning. I knew that. And still I'd drunk way more than that. Now I was paying the piper. To say I felt awful was a tepid understatement of how I felt. I felt like shit!

It didn't help at all that I'd forgotten nothing about the previous evening. Thinking about Steve, I felt the tears start to leak from my tightly closed eyes. How could he? How could he have ever thought about me like that? Just thinking about it made my head spin. It was hard to stop thinking about him, but it just upset me so much. I was angry as well! Angry and upset with Steve! Angry that I'd taken it out on those Somali assholes! Jesus, that made me feel even worse! I'd really kicked them hard. I hadn't pulled any of those kicks. I mean, they had it coming, the assholes, but what if the police got involved? They were bound to. I'd felt bones breaking when I kicked them. Shit!

Thinking about Joe and Barry and what the three of us had done made my head spin too. THAT I did not regret even now but Jesus, when I thought about what we'd done, I realized I must have been REALLY drunk. There was no way I'd have done what I had done so willingly with Joe and Barry if I hadn't been drunk. Shit! Shit! Shit! I'd been fucked twice by Joe now, if you counted the party as once although it had been multiple times, and each of those two nights it had been with Joe and another guy. And last night! For god's sake! Last night I'd fucked three guys. I didn't exactly feel ashamed about that but I didn't feel like running around telling everyone either.

I mean, three weeks ago I'd been totally in love with Steve, intending to give myself to him. But that had been a romantic dream. A dream that had been shattered and broken! Steve might have loved me, but he didn't love me the way that I wanted to be loved. What he'd wanted from me was what I'd gone and done with Joe and Barry last night after I'd walked out on Steve. I'd loved Steve but it hurt so much to know what he'd wanted. What he'd done.

Oh fuck fuck fuck my life was so fucked up!

I was as confused and mixed up as I had been last night.

And my head still felt as if I had nails stuck through my eyeballs.

I just wanted to die!

And that damn phone was still buzzing. That buzz echoed around inside my head like a giant wasp in my ear. I wanted to turn it off but there was no way I was moving. If I moved, I was going to throw up. And my head! Oh my poor head!

Willing myself dead didn't work. The pain just went on and on! I knew it was Sunday morning – the sunlight brutally forcing its way through my closed eyelids was a giveaway. I hadn't been so hammered that I didn't know what day it was. Sunday meant ten a.m. Mass and I was scheduled as an Altar Girl this morning. Fuck fuck fuck and fuck again! Sheer will power forced my eyes to open but Jesus Christ that sunlight hurt so much I closed them again!

But only after I risked my carpet and checked the time. Eight oh five. Dear God, I so wanted to just close my eyes and lose consciousness. My head! My fucking head! But at least my phone had stopped ringing.

Someone tapped on my bedroom door. That hurt even worse! I couldn't even whimper! I was so fucked! There was that tap on the door again. God! Go away! Leave me to die! Please!

The door opened slowly. Mom peered in, my step-mom that is, Rachel. She was only fifteen years older than me. I don't know why Dad had married her. I mean, she was gorgeous to look at, but she was nowhere near as smart as my Dad. Or me. And she was a bit of a bitch. But she knew how to party. I called her my Mom because she got upset with me if I didn't. When she was upset, she got bitchy and mean. But inside my head she was always Rachel. Mom was Mom, but she'd died when I was five.

Rachel looked at me and shook her head. She came in. She never did that unless I was sick. She was holding a large glass of water. Very large!

"Here you are Hayley." She gently placed the water and a packet of Extra Strength Tylenols on my bedside stand. "When I saw you come in last night, I thought you might need these in the morning." Her voice was a whisper but Jesus, she sounded like she'd won a bet with herself.

I tried to speak but my mouth was far too dry. My heart sank. What did Rachel know about last night? She actually giggled.

"Hayley, Hayley, Hayley, been there and done that, I'm not asking what you got up to so don't look so worried. Just take it from me, drink lots of water, take a couple of Tylenols and you'll feel a lot better in half an hour, okay?"

I nodded, then winced as the movement sent bolts of pain lancing through my skull. My eyes actually watered. It was that bad! Thanks Rachel. But how had she known? What else did Rachel know? What did Dad know?

Oh shit! It must have shown on my face. Rachel actually laughed. That didn't make me feel any better, believe me!

"Don't look so guilty Hayley! I'm not asking, I don't want to know, I was a teenager once. My parents would have died if they'd known what I got up to. Besides, you're a sensible girl, whatever you got up to I'm sure it wasn't so bad, I mean, I doubt anybody died. And your Dad has no idea so don't worry about him." She sniffed my breath and giggled again. "Jack Daniels was it? Next time, eat something pepperminty or use some mouthwash before you come home, that's what I used to do."

She winked as she turned to leave the room. She was still giggling when my bedroom door closed behind her. I hurt too much to feel guilty or horrified or relieved. Jesus, she knew I'd been drinking! What else did Rachel guess?

Oh god oh god oh god the pain! It hurt even more when I sat up. My head spun dizzily, I wanted to throw up but in the end, slowly and carefully, I made it upright. The water was a relief. I drank most of it without stopping, then managed to swallow two Tylenols but why oh why couldn't they work instantaneously? I hadn't felt this bad since Claire had persuaded me to try vodka back a couple of years ago and I'd drunk a dozen shots. That's a mistake I'd only made once. Until now!

I made it to my bathroom before I threw up.

More water. More Tylenols! A cold shower! I almost screamed as the cold water hit me but god that sobered me up fast and it helped my head. I tilted my head up and drank as the water poured over my face, drank until I couldn't drink anymore. Switching the water to totally ice cold and sitting down on the floor whimpering as I let the spray flood over me didn't really improve my outlook on life. The Tylenols taking effect did, enough that I finished that shower after fifteen minutes and staggered out, only slightly blue. I popped another Tylenol on general principles.

Twenty minutes later, I was downstairs in the foyer, pert, pretty and polished enough for Mass but still feeling like absolute shit. The Tylenols had worked their magic. The pain had mostly gone but I felt decidedly fuzzy around the edges. I was functioning, albeit slowly. Rachel looked at me and grinned.

Enough with the humor Rachel! I was suffering here!

Church didn't take long to get to. I made it just in time to throw on my cassock and do my stuff as an Altar Girl. It helped that I had to get the Communion Wine ready. I did something I'd never done before. After I'd filled the cruets with wine, there was some left in the last bottle. Looking around to make sure no-one could see me, I drank what remained straight from the bottle. God! That helped! I felt better. A lot better. I sighed with heart-felt relief. I could probably survive Mass now.

Behind me, a chuckle made me jump. I whimpered as my head throbbed.

"Hair of the dog, Hayley?" Jesus Christ! It was Father O'Reilly. I was dead! I was so dead!

I turned around, my face scarlet. It was indeed Father O'Reilly. I was indeed officially dead! He saw my look. The chuckle turned into a laugh that reverberated through my head. He reached inside his robes and pulled out a small hip flask.

"I know I shouldn't Hayley, but you know, this is a lot better than Eucharistic Wine for a hangover. And take it from an expert, I can see you're suffering. Try a mouthful." He unscrewed the top and proffered the flask.

Still blushing scarlet, I took it from him and tried a mouthful. It wasn't Jack Daniels but it tasted just as bad. It burned going down, but then the burn turned into a glow and I felt way way better.

"Speaking from personal experience, there's nothing like a good drop after a hard night," Father O'Reilly was smiling as he took the flask from me, drank a shot himself before screwing the top back on and tucking it away. "And I won't ask why you needed it Hayley. I can see. Now, chew on this. Takes the smell away."

He offered me a box of peppermints. I took a couple. They were strong enough to make my eyes water. Father O'Reilly chuckled again as he took one himself, then looked around.

"I believe we're on."

I followed him out.

Mass passed, as all things must pass. An hour later I was back in the Sacristy removing my cassock.

"Uhhh, Hayley." Father O'Reilly was talking to me, drawing me aside as I left the Sacristy after Mass ended. Oh God, he was going to talk to me about the drinking! I'd been worrying about that right through Mass.

"Yes Father?" I wanted nothing more than to sink into the back seat of dad's car and close my eyes.

"Uhh, just a request Hayley, and don't take this the wrong way, but, uhhh, could you possibly remember to dress a little more conservatively when you're on as an Altar Girl?"

He wasn't looking me in the eyes. I looked down. I'd worn a nice conservative white top, short sleeved but there was nothing risqué about it. I wasn't quite sure what he was getting at. Then I blushed. Bright pink. I'd forgotten to wear a bra; I wasn't wearing a camisole or a bra or anything under the top. My nipples were showing very distinctly.

"Sorry Father, I was a bit rushed this morning, I forgot." I was bright red and gabbling.

Father O'Reilly grinned. "Well, I have a good idea why Hayley. But just try to keep in mind that the Lord's servants are not above temptation, take pity on us, okay?"

Thank god for Priests with a sense of humor! And why on earth hadn't Rachel or Dad said something.

I would have giggled but that might hurt. "Okay, I'm really sorry Father, it won't happen again."

"Thank you my child." Father O'Reilly was still smiling.

He still wasn't looking me in the eyes either. I guessed what he'd said about the Lord's servants' not being above temptation was probably true. His eyes followed me as I walked away. I could just about feel them on my butt. Okay, a longer skirt next week too. Or maybe it was just that the last few weeks had made me more aware of these things. Whatever! Right then, I didn't really care.

Mom and Dad dropped me off back home on their way to dim sum. I didn't really feel like eating this morning. What I really wanted was to climb back into bed and just close my eyes. But I had my new laptop to setup and I wanted to get it up and running. My old one just sucked, it was getting on for four years old now and I badly needed the new one. Maybe a couple of Advils first. Half an hour later, my room was a mess. The laptop was out of the box but I couldn't for the life of me follow the instructions. Maybe it was the hangover but I suspected it was just me and computers. I could use them but ask me to do anything like installing something and I was all thumbs. Steve used to do this stuff for me.

Only Steve wouldn't be doing stuff like this for me anymore. I wanted to cry. I missed him, asshole that he was. Then I did have a good cry.

Afterwards, I felt a bit better. Then I remembered Old Joe next door. He was on his computer a lot, I knew. He had quite the home office set up down in his basement. I'd been down there a few times with Dad. Maybe he knew? Leaving the laptop where it was, I headed downstairs, out the front door and down the side of Old Joe's house. He was in the back garden alright, right where he usually was on a Sunday when the sun was out and it was warm. Sitting back on his deck with a beer. He waved as soon as he saw me.

"Hi Hayley, didn't see you running this morning."

"I worked out too hard yesterday and it was a late night last night." Well, I was honest. I had worked out hard and I still ached. Everywhere. Where was Rachel with her Tuina massages and acupuncture when I needed her? Except how would I tell her what to treat me for? Okay, forget that one.

"Get your Mom to give you a massage." Old Joe was right on the ball this morning.

I groaned. "She's out for the afternoon with my Dad."

"Maybe I can help." He grinned.

I couldn't help it, I giggled. He was an honest old lecher. "Well, I came over to ask for some help."

"Yeah?" He perked up.

"I got a new laptop, I need help setting it up. I can't follow the instructions and get it working."

He looked a little disappointed. But only a little. "Oh yeah, I can help with that. You want me to come over or you want to bring it over here?"

Old Joe came over got my laptop setup and attached to everything in no time flat. He might have been old, but he knew far more about computers than I did. He checked out everything for me. The sound system, the mike, even the webcam, got me connected. Then he went on to show me how to use some of the stuff I'd never bothered with. Can you believe I'd never bothered with Skype before? Just like I hadn't bothered learning how to use my webcam.

I hovered over him, watching, knowing he liked me standing close to him. Well, why not? He was doing all the work here and he deserved a bit of a reward. I even went so far as to lean right over him and let my breasts push against his back as I looked over his shoulder. I could tell he liked that and hey, I didn't mind, I figured at his age, he deserved a bit of excitement. But I could also tell he liked being in my bedroom.

Okay, I know this sounds weird but I was getting a bit of a thrill from exciting Old Joe. When he finally sat back with a "That's all setup for you Hayley," I was actually a little disappointed. Like I said, it sounds weird. What eighteen year old girl likes hanging out with an old guy in his seventies? But he was a really nice old guy with a lot of stories, he was in good shape and I liked him. And it wasn't like I had much else to do that particular Sunday afternoon. Heck, he'd just spent three hours helping me out of the kindness of his heart; and a weakness for my tits. I smiled.

"You ever tried a hot tub Joe?" We'd had a sunroom added on to the sunny side of the house over Summer. Dad had had a Jacuzzi installed as part of the whole addition. We hadn't used it much yet.

"No, never, I saw that one your Dad got put in but that was back before the work was finished." I remembered. Dad had asked Old Joe to take a look a few weeks ago when it was all still being worked on.

"Well, come and try it out with me, Dad got it running last weekend, we haven't used it yet. You can tell me what you think."

"Uhh, you sure that's okay Hayley?"

I grinned. "You just go and throw some swimshorts on Joe, see you back here in ten minutes."

He was back in five. I don't think I'd ever seen him move quite so fast. I was already in my bikini. The one I used to wear for Steve when Dad wasn't around. I called it my Dental Floss Bikini. That little bikini didn't conceal much. It wasn't meant to. Old Joe followed me through to the sunroom. I could just about feel his eyes on me so I gave my butt an extra wiggle as I walked, giving him a good look. Hey, the old guy was in his seventies. Who knew how much longer he had.

He deserved a treat.

I got him a cold beer from the fridge as well.

The hot tub was wonderful. I sank into the water, feeling the heat relaxing me, taking away the aches and pains. Or maybe that was the Advils I just taken kicking in over the top of the Tylenols I'd had while Old Joe worked on my Laptop.

"What?" Old Joe was laughing at me.

"You were out drinking last night weren't you Hayley."

I must have looked shocked. He was laughing again. "Hey, you can't fool an old dog Hayley, been there more times than I can remember."

I grinned sheepishly. "Well, yeah, I was and now my head hurts."

"Hah, let me tell you about hangovers..."

And he was off with stories from when he was young and in the Army back in Saigon. An hour later he hadn't stopped except for a couple of times when I went to get him another beer. He certainly enjoyed watching me. I was starting to believe those Saigon stories. The third bottle was starting to empty out when the doorbell rang.

"I better go see who it is," I told him, "You stay here, I'll bring you back another beer."

I stood up and climbed out, conscious yet again of Old Joe's eyes running over me. Well, he had helped me for three hours with that laptop. He deserved a little show. It's not like he was going to get anything else. Dripping wet, in my most minuscule of bikini's, I opened the front door.

It was Steve, standing there looking woebegone.

My heart leapt into my mouth. I felt sick. I felt angry. I felt like crying. I felt like kicking him.

He took a step back. I guess it showed.

"Before you ask, we're through Steve." My voice was as cold as my face. Ice cold.

"Hayley, just give me a chance...I love you, I really love you."

I looked at him. Just hearing his voice, seeing that look on his face tugged at my heartstrings. Two years we'd been together and I thought I'd known Steve. But I hadn't. Had I? My friends had been right, the ones that had told me not to waste my time on him, that I didn't know him, they'd been right all along. I hadn't known Steve at all.