She avoided the bed and stared out the window, her hands falling to her chest as a wave of hot and cold rolled over her. Snow whipped by the glass and she knew they were in the middle of one hell of a storm. The window panes shuddered and she closed her eyes tightly.
Maybe this was just a dream. Maybe she hadn’t run out on Gerald and left him at the altar. Maybe she’d gone through with it and had just had way too much to drink at the expensive reception. Maybe she’d danced until her feet could take no more, twirling around the Country Club like a princess.
The dog barked once more, interrupting her fantasies.
Yeah, and maybe she’d taken a trip to the moon and back as well.
“Oh, Bobbi,” she whispered, “you’ve really screwed up this time.”
A thought entered her head and she stumbled across the room searching everywhere for her small clutch bag and when she found it, she immediately dug inside, feeling a huge sense of relief when her fingers closed over her cell phone. She whipped it open and froze when she saw Gerald’s name come up. He’d called her several times though the last one had come through just after midnight.
She ignored the text icon—which showed nearly twenty-five messages—and called her sister Billie.
Who picked up on the second ring.
“Holy hell, Bobbi, I’ve been waiting forever for you to call. Are you alright?”
Bobbi swallowed and took more than a few seconds to answer, unsure if she could even do so until she cleared her throat. “I think so.”
Silence followed her words.
“Okay, you don’t sound like you’re about to lose it or anything, which considering you spent the night with Shane, is kind of surprising but…”
“I didn’t spend the night with Shane.”
Once more silence followed her words.
“Okay, but you’re with him right? He told us that he had you and that you were drunk but would be fine.”
Bobbi chose to ignore that comment and instead focused on something else. “So, does everyone hate me?”
A pause.
“Well, not everyone. I still love you.”
Bobbi couldn’t even muster a half smile at that. “I don’t know where to start. What to say. Gerald must be livid, and Dad,” the knot in her throat became too much and she had to work extra hard to clear it. “How is he?”
“He’s fine, Bobbi. Don’t worry about us. Don’t worry about anyone other than yourself right now.”
A pause.
“So, how did you and Shane end up together?” Billie asked quietly.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I don’t know,” she repeated. “After Gramps took me home I had to get away so I hopped into my car and drove.” She sighed and glanced out the window again. “I can’t believe Shane and I both ended up at the Hard Rock over in Chesterfield.”
“That dive? Really? So what happened after you got to Shane’s?”
Bobbi squeezed her eyes shut and blocked out the bed. The big ass bed with the tangled sheets. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think anything happened.”
“You don’t think? You can’t remember?”
She shook her head and whispered, “No.””
“Well, Shane would never take advantage of you. He’s not that guy.”