When we got to the B&B, the fairy lights showing the way to the front door were a blurry reminder that I still had more alcohol coating my insides than I’d had in a long time. Months. Maybe years.
“You going to be okay getting inside?” Jada asked, her smirk returning.
“I’m drunk, but not that drunk,” I said. It was only partially true.
Her phone vibrated again, and the pale look returned to her face. “Okay. I’m sorry, but I really do have to go.”
I hugged her and stepped out of the car. “I’ll get your clothes back to you soon.”
“Keep them.” She smiled.
“It’ll give me an excuse to see you.”
“You never need an excuse to see me, Baioretto.”
She’d barely pulled the door closed before Kaida was driving off.
I did my best to walk straight as I went up the steps to the door, slid my key in the lock, and entered. There was always a light on in the entryway. A way for guests to see if they came back late. When I peeked into the parlor, Tami was in a wingback with a book on her lap. Her salt-and-pepper hair had fallen over her eyes, but I could see from the way her wrinkled face was soft and relaxed that she’d fallen asleep.
I touched her shoulder gently, not wanting to startle her.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You’re back so early.”
I nodded. It was only ten. Much earlier than I’d planned when I’d called and asked her to watch the B&B for me for a few hours.
Tami stood and grabbed her purse from behind the desk.
“Thank you for coming over,” I said.
“It’s no problem. I told Mandy and Leena we’d help any way we could while they’re gone, and I meant it. Anytime you need a break, you just let me know.”
She gave me a quick hug, her soft body making me think of Leena. I hadn’t realized just how much I’d missed Mandy and Leena until we’d come back. But now that I had, their absence was that much harder.
Tami left, and I locked the door behind her, leaning on the closed door.
My brain was back to whirling. Unfinished formulas. Combinations of diseases that I might have been subjected to from the drunk’s throw-up. I’d never sleep. I’d counted on a good drunk with Jada to help me forget Silas and Dawson, and now I needed it even more. I didn’t want the buzz I was so clearly feeling to leave me until I’d completely passed out.
I wandered into the kitchen. Neither Mandy nor Leena were big drinkers. They had a few bottles of champagne on hand for guests who were celebrating a big occasion, but the thought of the headache I’d have with a champagne hangover was a quick no. I brought a chair over from the table to the stove. I stretched up to reach into the cabinet above the hood and had to unbutton the tight jacket for more leverage. I felt around with my hand, still too short to see what I was looking for. Eventually, my hand landed on it: a secret bottle of brandy that Leena kept for just these sort of occasions. Where life was just too much.
“A-ha!” I cried to myself just as my foot slipped, much as it had on the ladder in the garage the day before. The chair went flying, colliding with the counter and making a harsh, splintering sound while my body flew in the opposite direction. I hit my head on the edge of a cupboard on my way down, but I saved the brandy bottle from breaking. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling while I caught my breath. Pulse racing, room swimming. I moved slowly sideways, trying to grab the chair leg to help me sit up. It slipped from my hand, and crashed a second time against the cabinet, causing me to wince before fanatical laughter erupted from my body.
Dawson
RESCUE ME
“I don't care what you thought before.
I'll be there anytime you call.
Don't you ever call another.”
Performed by OneRepublic
Written by Tedder / Kutzle
The cold water swirled in, and lightning flashed just beyond the broken windshield as I came to. The storm outside the vehicle had finally hit us, turning the mist into a full-on rager. Thunder boomed, and sheets of water fell from the sky, merging with the ocean water that was up to my ankles and growing fast. The airbag had deflated in front of me, the scent