After A Drunk Night

I wake up to the sound of a train running along its tracks. It's peaceful, soothing. For a second, I almost forget about my raging hangover. I partied hard last night and truth be told, I don't remember half of it. All I remember is never not having a drink in my hand, constantly taking shots, and... oh no. I wake up with a snap and look at who's sitting next to me. It's Jerry or James or whatever his name is. He's passed out in the seat next to me and is drooling like a dog. I run my hands through my hair and look around our train car. It's completely empty. I try to remember where we are going, but I keep drawing blanks. I look out to the country hillsides of England or what I think is England. Who knows how far we got last night. My head won't stop pounding. I need a Xanax. I try to get up, but my legs don't seem to be working. As soon as I plop back down into my seat, Jerry stirs.

" Hey, party girl. How you doing? " I give him an awkward smile before looking away. He sits up in his seat and smells of cheap booze. I probably shouldn't be complaining considering I drank just as much as him. Maybe even more. I gather all my strength to be able to stand up, but as soon as I do, my hangover wave hits me like a brick wall. I rock for a second before stepping over James or Jerry so I can use the loo. I step inside and as soon as I do, I am on the floor throwing up last night's alcohol. I make a mental note to never drink so heavily again. The only reason I did was because I found out my fiancè had cheated on me. I stormed out before he even had a chance to explain himself. I went to the nearest bar and chugged down every drink that was placed in my hand.

When all the pity is out of my system, I stand up and look myself in the mirror. I look horrible. My hair is unbrushed, my mascara is ruined, and my lipstick is smudged. My mother would be ashamed. I roll my eyes at the thought of her. I hear a knock at the door.

" Hey... um.. you. It's me, James. Just wanted to make sure you were okay." James! That's his name.

I wipe the throw up from my mouth and poke my head out. " Abby. The name is Abby and everything is absolutely fine."

"Okay," he gives me a small smile, " I just heard you puking in there and wanted to make sure you were okay. And by the way, do you have any idea where we are? "

" Not a clue," I say blankly.

" Okay, so it's not just me," he laughs and I can't help but laugh a long with him. I imagine under all that messy hair and strong scent of booze and Gucci cologne that he would look really cute.

" So, I'm going to go sit down and try to figure where the hell we are and get over this awful hangover."

I nod. " Cool. I'll just be in here. You know, collecting myself." He nods and goes off to his seat. I close the door to the bathroom and slink to the floor. I glance at the engagement ring on my left hand and remember the day I found out about my fiancè Adam's betrayal.

" Abby, it's not what you think. Just listen to me," he pleads.

" Really! It's not what I think? 'Cuz it seems like you were just in bed with another girl! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK?!" I shout. I was so angry. I wanted to forget it ever happend, so I left him there without giving him a chance to explain himself. He didn't need to anyway. I saw enough. There's nothing he could have said to make me forgive him. There's never a good excuse for cheating. I loved Adam. With all my heart and he took advantage of that. He may have loved me too, but he had his chance. I think about all of this while I roll the diamond engagement ring back and forth between my fingers.

I finally put it in my pocket before standing up and looking myself in the mirror again. The second look is worse than the first. I decided to take all of it off. All the ugly makeup because it's making me look like a witch.

When I walk out of the bathroom, I feel better than I did before. Thank God I didn't get any puke on my clothes. James looks up at me as I come towards him. My memory is beginning to come back to me and I finally remember where we are going.

" We are on our way to Cambridge."

" Really? I was going for Paris."

" I don't think we that drunk," I joke. He laughs. He has a nice laugh. I smile down at him. He obviously tried to control his hair because it looks a lot better than it did when he first woke up.

" So, what's next on the itenery, Party Girl?"

" First, don't call me Party Girl. Second, we'll have to figure that out when we get there."

" Okay, Abby," he teases. I roll my eyes. " It shall remain a mystery then." He looks out the window as I sit down next to him. I'm getting used to the smell of alcohol. I sit back in my seat and close my eyes. Relief floods over me. Going into the unknown usually scared me. Maybe because I was always so safe and guarded with Adam. Now I realize I was acting like a puppet. I don't like it. I don't want to feel like I need to rely on someone for happiness. Anymore. I drift off to sleep as I think about what lies in Cambridge with this beautiful stranger I just met.