{Song in video: Imagine Dragons - Believer}

The next morning I woke up to the doorbell ringing. "Ugh," I groaned, slowly getting up, having one of the worst headaches of my life and having some slight nausea.

As I walked to the living room, I noticed Jeff had answered the door. "Can I help you?" Jeff asked the person at the door.

I couldn't tell who was at the door yet, and I also couldn't really remember too much from last night.

"Is Anastasia home?" A male's voice asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I need to give her a check." Whoever was at the door sounded annoyed.

"Stacey, some guy in a suit wants to give you a check!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Ow," I groaned since Jeff's voice made my headache even worse.

As I came to the door, my eyes widened, and I gasped as I saw Vince standing at my door. I couldn't even form the right words to come out of my mouth. What is he doing here?

"Here's your check," Vince muttered. Then, he glanced at Jeff and I. "Seems like you two had one heck of a night yesterday."

"It's not what it looks like. Chelsea and I went to the club, then we saw Jeff there coincidentally. He's just a longtime friend of ours," I said.

"Sure, he is. A longtime friend who has a little something on his neck, and stayed the night it looks like." He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Jeff.

I looked at Jeff's neck, and sure enough, he had a few hickies. It didn't look too bad, but it was noticeable enough.

I gasped, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. "I'm not sure where that came from, but it wasn't me. I don't remember doing that. Also, he stayed over on the couch because he was too drunk to drive home."

"Just please take your check."

"Okay." I took the check from him. Before I could say anything else, Vince turned around and walked away. "Thanks!" I exclaimed, wincing at myself at this whole situation.

Vince didn't say anything or looked back, he just continued to walk.

I closed the door, still wincing at myself. Why did he have to come today of all days to hand me my check?

"Is that the guy you cheated on?" He asked.

My eyes widened, and I gasped. "I didn't cheat on him!" I exclaimed. "Where did you hear that from?"

"A journal article. It was published this morning."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "Who would publish that? And how would they know?"

"Some company called Local To You." He shrugged. "I'm not sure how they would know though."

Instantly, I felt hurt and angry. "That's where my older sister works."

"Oh..." He looked at the floor awkwardly.

I didn't tell Liz about what happened between Vince and I yet, but I would expect her to not support or write about something like that, especially without checking the facts first.

I quickly went into my room, and got ready. Then, I walked into kitchen to eat an avocado toast.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. You can make yourself at home," I said to Jeff as I walked out of the door.

"Okay, see you later," Jeff said, waving as I was leaving.

I went outside, then texted Liz, asking where she was. When she texted back and said she was at her house, I hailed a taxi to go over there, even though I still had a headache.

As soon as I got out of the taxi, I went over to her front door, and rang the doorbell. When she opened the door, the first thing I said was, "How could you?" My tears welled up in my eyes.

"Stacey, I didn't write the article," Liz said.

"Then who did? It was your company."

"Yes, but I didn't find out until this morning, when they already published it. I quit my job because of it. They knew you were my sister, so they screwed both of us over. I didn't even know you and Vince had broken up. I would never do something like that to you." She gave me a hug.

"Wow...I'm sorry for assuming it was you and that you quit your job." I gave her a hug back.

"It's okay. I was tired of them publishing, or should I say gossiping, about different things that probably weren't even true. I want to be part of a company who writes about something that matters and will help the community."

"I'm sure you'll find a company like that. Who wouldn't want Liz Marks to be part of their team?" I smiled.

She smiled back. "I actually have a job interview later this afternoon. It looks like something I want to work for."

"That's great!" I grinned.

"Yeah." She nodded. "So what exactly happened between you and Vince?"

I sighed, then I explained the whole story to her.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you." She gave me a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, I just hope he'll somehow find out the truth." I shrugged.

"The truth always comes out. It can take days, or even months, but it'll come out eventually." She reassured me.

Before I could say anything else, my phone rang, and I noticed it was my dad trying to call. I sighed, trying to prepare myself as I picked up the phone. "Hello?" I said to my dad on the phone.

"Did you see what was published about you and Vince? What kind of daughter did I raise? I sure didn't raise my daughter to be a cheater." My dad barked at me through the phone, not even bothering to say hi.

"Dad, I didn't cheat on Vince. The article is a lie." I had a firm tone in my voice. "I can tell you what really happened-"

"This tarnishes our family's name. I hope you find some way to fix this."

I sighed, knowing no matter what I said right now wouldn't help the situation whatsoever. "I'll try."

"Good to hear. I'm going to go now." He hung up the phone.

Liz gave me a look. "Was it dad?" She asked.

"Yes," I said in a low tone, nodding my head, trying not to cry again.

"Are you okay?" She gave me a concerned look. "What did he say?"

"I'll be okay." Then, I told her what he said, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I'm going to clear things up," Liz said. "He shouldn't say that stuff to you, especially since it's not true."

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, I waved bye to her so she could prepare for her job interview later today.

I hailed a taxi, and went back to my apartment. To my surprise, Jeff was still there.

He raised his eyebrows as he saw me come in. "I was just about to leave," he said.

"It's okay," I said. "Hey, would you know why Vince came by today to hand me my paycheck?"

"You called him at the club yesterday and asked for your paycheck, remember?"

I blinked, having a straight face. "I do not."

"Check your call logs. It should be there."

Sure enough, when I checked it, it showed that I dialed for Vince last night. I cringed at myself in embarrassment. Why is my life always a mess?

"Uh, so did I give you a hickey?" I winced while asking him.

He chuckled, pushing his hair back. "Yeah..."

"Oh..." I didn't know what else to say because I felt ashamed. Vince was right about the hickey, and maybe my dad is right too, except for the cheating thing. What kind of daughter am I?

We had an awkward silence, until Chelsea walked into the living room. "I have the worst headache ever," she groaned, placing one of her hands on her forehead.

"Here, I have a recipe for you two to cure hangover headaches," Jeff said to us. He wrote it down on a piece of paper.

The paper said: one drop of lemon essential oil, one drop of peppermint essential oil, two drops of ginger essential oil, two tablespoons of raw honey. Combine all of the ingredients in an eight ounce mug of hot water, and stir and sip.

"I wish I could try that, but I don't have any essential oils," I said.

"No problem. I can get some," Jeff said, quickly checking the clock in the kitchen. "I have enough time to before I go to work this evening."

"Okay." I nodded. "I would come with you, but I still have a headache."

"I know." He gave me a smile. "I'm going to need your address so I can come back."

I nodded, then texted him the address.

"Alright, I'll be back." He walked out the door.

As soon as he walked out, I went over to Chelsea. "I have something to tell you," I said, wincing.

"What is it?" Chelsea said, looking confused.

"Apparently Jeff and I made out last night."

"Awesome!" She grinned, wanting to give me a high five.

That's not the type of reaction I was expecting. I gave her a confused look. "Awesome? It's weird! I don't even remember doing it. Even Vince noticed the hickies on Jeff's neck, and knew I did it before I even knew myself." I groaned, feeling embarrassed all over again.

"He pointed it out?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"He was probably jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't make any sense. He broke up with me and thinks I'm a cheater."

She shrugged. "Guys are strange sometimes."

"True." I nodded in agreement.

Chelsea and I watched T.V. until Jeff came back, which was about a half an hour later.

"I got it. Now you all can make it because I have to leave for work in a few hours. I still have to get my car back from the club," Jeff said. "Chelsea, I'll see you later, and Stacey I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you later!" I said to him as he walked out of the door.

Chelsea and I made ourselves the drink that was supposed to cure hangover headaches, and sure enough it did cure it. Chelsea didn't have one as bad as I did, but she felt normal when she was heading out for work.