Killing My Head

[rinkhc]

Title: Killing My Head

Fandom: Original Fiction
Prompt:  “Headache/migraine” 
Medium: Fic
Rating: PG
Word Count: 784

Warnings: No standard warnings apply
Summary: Brenda had too much fun last night


Back in the day, before marriage, mortgage, children and PTAs, Brenda had been quite the wild child, the party girl, the crazy fun friend. She had played every drinking game that came down the pike and had held her liquor like a champ.

And yet, one stupid night out with the girls to celebrate Barbara’s second marriage had downed her. Two bottles of champagne split between friends, and Brenda’s head was pounding like a little tiny symphony was up in there banging out Verdi’s damned Anvil Chorus. What had happened to her legendary stamina? A few glasses of champagne and she was wrecked.

She winced and squeezed her eyes shut. The light was her enemy today. She hissed at it like a vampire, and then winced again because the noise made her head start to throb. She never used to get hangover headaches, why now? She used to be able to party all night, roll out of bed and go to class. Now she thought if she moved from the bed, she was going to throw up, she couldn’t contemplate even sitting up.

Brenda moaned and in tiny increments turned her head on the pillow to check the time. Eight o’clock. Damn it. The kids would be up soon, even though it was Saturday and there was no school. Maybe especially because it was Saturday and there was no school. She rolled onto her side and then over onto her back. Her clothes from the night before were tossed all over the room. Her bra was hanging from the end of the curtain rod and her shirt was over the dresser mirror. One of her shoes was on the nightstand.

Lovely, she’d stripped like a wild woman. Grant was up already, though his side of the bed was still warm to the touch. It had probably been his leaving the bed that had woken her. She didn’t remember coming home. Was he angry? Had she been loud and obnoxious when she’d come in? She remembered laughing a lot with the girls. Oh, wait. Not just champagne. Kristen had brought out tequila. Brenda groaned. It wasn’t the symphony in her head, it was a damned mariachi band.

The bedroom door opened and Catelyn and Zach came in, with Grant carrying a tray behind them. “Good morning Mommy! We made you breakfast! Daddy helped!” Catelyn announced.

Zach bounded across the room and up onto the bed and Brenda felt her stomach lurch as the bed moved under her. “Hi baby,” she managed to get out as he snuggled up against her. Thank God she was wearing a nightie. “What’s the occasion?”

“Daddy said just because!” Zach replied.

“Just because?” Brenda crooked an eyebrow at her grinning husband. Oh, he had THAT look on his face. The one that said he was overly pleased with himself, or sexually satiated, usually both. Her head was throbbing, she looked over the tray that he was waiting to place across her lap as she struggled to sit up. “Aspirin?” she requested with a whimper.

“I’ll get it,” Grant said, putting the tray over her thighs and going into the bathroom.

“I can only have the juice right now, will you guys help Mom out?” she said quietly to the kids.

Zach and Catelyn stole her toast and the strawberries. Grant handed her the aspirin and she blinked up at him gratefully, then swallowed them down and chased them with the orange juice.

The kids quickly grew bored with the novelty of breakfast in bed and abandoned Brenda for their video game console, for which she was eternally grateful. She vowed to buy them a new game, when she got out of the bed. If she got out of the bed. Her head was going to explode and kill her.

Grant was grinning like an idiot as he sat on the bed beside her. He bent over and kissed the top of her head and stroked a hand over her hair. “You were great last night, you should go out with the girls more often.” Never again, Brenda vowed, she was never drinking again.

“What made you change your mind, Bren?” Grant asked.

“About?”

“Another baby. Not that I object, but I thought you didn’t want to.” He was smiling. Of course he was, he wanted another baby. He didn’t have to carry it or stay home with it. He didn’t do diapers and 2am feedings.

Grant hugged her and then started to massage her temples with his fingertips. Snippets of memory from the night before came back and she covered her eyes with her hand. She had a whole new headache to deal with, if her luck ran the way it usually did.


The End