Chapter 2

"Hey, Maya!" Priscilla shouts way too enthusiastically for this early in the morning.

I wince and wave my hand in front of her. "Not so loudly, please..." I beg her and rub at my throbbing temples; it's like my brain switched places with my heart and my heart doesn't like my skull, so it's trying to break free to get back to my chest. "I woke up and you weren't there. I thought you left me alone in your house." I grumble as I examine her from head to toe and back; I frown as I take in the white t shirt that's at least three sizes too big for her. "Is that your Dad's shirt?" I ask her, then I glance at the bedroom door that she's grasping the knob on so tightly that her knuckles are white. "Did you just come out of your Dad's room?"

Priscilla takes her lower lip between her teeth and nods. "Yeah. Um...you missed a lot."

I frown as I take in her appearance, again. "You slept with your parents?"

Priscilla blushes, but shakes her head. "Not exactly..." she hedges, then she licks her lips and takes a step toward me; she grips my bicep and starts to lead me toward her bedroom. "You were passed out drunk when I came up to check on you, something that needs to stop, by the way!" she growls with an angry glare at me that makes me look away in shame. "You were sprawled out across my bed and you were dead weight; I couldn't move you and my parents were fighting, then my mom left, and all hell broke loose..." she trails off with a sigh as she leads me back toward her bed; she releases my arm at her bedside, then walks around the bed to sit Indian style on her side and grabs the pillow she hadn't slept on to hug it to her.

"Like you, my Mom got totally shitfaced last night." Priscilla says with an angry glare.

I blush, kick my shoes back off, then sit beside her on the bed; I can't sit Indian style because of my too-tight mini skirt, but I sit sideways on my left hip. "I'm so sorry." I say sheepishly and reach forward to touch her left hand; her Mom is usually a total bitch to her and even I know it only get worse when the woman drinks. I feel awful. "I should have been there for you."

Priscilla sighs. "My mom left in the middle of their fight."

I gasp, my eyes wide. "She didn't drive."

Priscilla nods and finally locks eyes with me. "She almost hit a woman with a baby stroller..." she explains and her eyes fill with tears of misery. "She was so drunk that she didn't notice a stop sign and she swerved to miss the baby, but ended up in oncoming traffic. There was a van with a family, two kids were hurt..." she explains and buries her face in the pillow to cry; she cries quietly, her shoulders shaking the only indication of her emotional state.

"Oh, shit, Pri..." I whisper, my hand moving to her shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"No more drinking, Maya." she snaps, her water eyes locking with mine. "Swear to me."

I flinch as if she slapped me. "I'm not an alcoholic, Priscilla. I don't need to swear-"

"You drink to cope, to feel, to deal. It's the same thing." she cuts me off. "Swear it."

I frown, but nod. "Okay, okay. I swear. Not another drop. Ever."

She nods, then wipes the tears from her face. "Mom's in the hospital..." she says as if our odd exchange hadn't just happened. "I did actually leave you for a while because my Dad and I had to go see her, but she totally flipped. She's facing some real jail time and Daddy can't do a damned thing to help her this time, so she went ballistic on us both..." she trails off and her eyes glaze over as she relives whatever happened in the hospital.

"Pri, don't." I say and touch my hand to hers, again.

Priscilla snaps back to the present. "Sorry." she says smile as she looks back at my face, then she slides from the bed and smiles a real smile. "I'll get dressed, then wake up my Dad to drive you home. Why don't you go and have some orange juice to refresh your mouth?" she teases with a too-knowing smirk and a quirked eyebrow.

I blush and roll my eyes, then slide from the bed and scoop up my shoes. "Whatever."

Priscilla laughs softly.

I head downstairs and toss my shoes by the front door, then slip my feet in to a pair of flip flops that Priscilla always leaves there for me to use. I head into the kitchen and dig in the refrigerator for the carton of orange juice; as I'm pouring myself a glass, I hear doors click back upstairs and give a listen while I sip. I frown when I realize that it's ridiculously quiet compared to the usual activity in the mornings, but I shrug it off as my best friend being mindful of my hangover. After pouring myself a second glass of OJ, I look for the bread to make some toast just in time to hear Priscilla coming down the stairs.

"Bagels are in the freezer now, so they won't go bad as fast." she states as she does up the zipper and button on a pair of jean shorts; she's abnormally flushed for having just come down the stairs. "Daddy is gonna have a quick shower, then he'll be ready to drive you home." she explains with a deep blush before she breaks eye contact and moves to the coffee maker.

I watch her make the coffee and purposefully avoid my eyes. "What's wrong?"

She doesn't look at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're acting weird." I say, then my eyes widen in fear. "Are you mad at me?"

Priscilla finally stares at me, stays silent for a few seconds too long, then sighs and looks away. "A little..." she admits as she continues preparing the coffee maker to start brewing. "I mean, you broke tradition by passing out before my midnight birthday and I had to sleep with my freaking father because you hogged my entire bed with your dead weight..." she complains, then blushes heavily as she clicks the on button to the coffee maker before moving to the cabinet so that her back is to me. She reaches up for a box of her favorite toaster pastries and drops it on to the counter top with a sigh. "You were so drunk that I couldn't even vent to you about the fight my parents had, the fact that my mother drove away drunk, or come with me to the hospital..."

I feel like the stinkiest piece of shit in a cat litter box. "I'm so sorry, Priscilla...really."

Priscilla merely shrugs, then puts the box back on the shelf untouched. "It's fine."

I move to her side, place my hand on her shoulder, and wait for her to look at me. "I'm sorry." I say sincerely, our eyes locked together. "I'm a shitty friend and an even shittier person. I'll do better. How about this..." I offer and smile as I lean a hip against the counter, then look around the messy kitchen and living room. "I'll go home, shower, change, and then come back here to help you clean up. Let your Dad take you out to breakfast or something until I can get back here so that he doesn't make you do it."

Priscilla laughs. "Breakfast?" she asks with a quirked brow. "It's almost 2pm, Maya."

My head jerks around to glance at the microwave's clock. "Well shit...lunch, then."

It works; Priscilla laughs.

I smile at her. "Deal?"

Priscilla looks around the messy house and groans. "Deal."

"What's a deal?"

We both glance up at Mr. Soleil, fresh from a shower.

I stop breathing.

Priscilla blushes, smirks, and looks away. "Maya has graciously agreed to come back and help clean up the aftermath of my party." she explains as she reaches for a travel coffee mug to make for her Father. "She's going to go home to shower and change, first, but then will come back. Maybe we can grab lunch or something after we drop her off?" she asks as she turns off the coffee maker and hands the travel mug to her father. "I'm starved. I feel like I've run a triathlon, I'm so hungry...can't imagine why..." she says with a smirk up at her father.

Mr. Soleil smirks back at his Daughter, but then tries to hide it behind his cup of coffee as his eyes drift to Maya. "Ready?" he asks after taking a long sip of the steaming brew. "It's after two, so I don't think they'll be much traffic and I need to pick up some more garbage backs as well as get this one some lunch before we all meet back here to clean up." he says with a smile at Priscilla as he elbows her playfully before kissing her temple tenderly.

I can't help but smile; I've always loved how close they are. "I'm ready, thanks." I say as I move to collect my glass of OJ; I chug it down, rinse the glass, then put it in the dishwasher before heading to the door to slide the flip flops off. I slide on my heels, then scoop up my purse and follow them to the garage and hop into the backseat with my bestie; I try my best to make her laugh as much as possible because of the night she suffered without me and, all too soon, we're at my house. I climb from the car, thank her Dad, then hurry inside to shower.
"Maya?"

I freeze on the bottom step, the door slamming shut behind me. "Yeah, Dad?"

"Are you just getting home?!"

I roll my eyes even though he can't see me. "No big deal. I stayed at Pri's."

He appears in the entryway to the living room. "You could have called."

"Dad, seriously?" I gasp in exasperation as I step off the stairs to walk toward him. "It was Pri's birthday. I told you that. I always stay over for her birthday. Why are you tripping out about it all of a sudden?" I demand as I lean down to pluck my heels off. "I mean, it's not like..." I begin, then trail off when I see my Father's wide eyes focusing on me way too hard to be normal. I follow his gaze to find my cleavage practically spilling out over the top of my way too tight blouse and I immediately stand to my full height while covering my chest.

I feel myself blush. "Sorry." I whisper and can't even bring myself to look him in the face. "I'm going to grab a shower and change. I promised to help Priscilla and her Dad clean up the warzone that the party left her house..." I ramble on and back away toward the stairs.

"You're going back out?" he grumbles.

I glance back at his face. "Dad, what's your deal today? I'm always with Pri."

"Maybe you might try staying home sometimes, is all..." he counters tiredly.