Giggle.
This was funny. Marissa laughed, too.
Clap.
Walk.
Clap.
Walk.
Giggle.
I died laughing.
Stopping, I squinted back over to the campfire and yelled, “Can you guyz track me?”
“Got you loud and clear!” Marissa stood and then fell over into Clay’s lap.
Now, that was funny. I need to pee. Focus, Willow. Bathroom. I was almost there. The door was close.
Clap.
Walk.
Clap.
Walk.
Giggle.
“I’m herez! Goingz to pee!”
“Okay, pee!”
The room was darker, and I felt my way to the bathroom. I couldn’t find the light switch at first. After taking care of business, I left the bathroom. Wow, the dark outline of the room swayed. Maybe another beer was a bad idea. Yeah, it was.
I stumbled, and strong arms caught me. “I got you, Willow.”
Happiness filled me. Everyone was my friend. I screeched. “It’s you! Tack! My best friend phonez buddy. I love you! I love everyonez tonight.”
“Shh…” The voice vibrated through me.
Oh la la. I hoped Tack was a hottie. In my dreams, he reached hot factor nine. It was going to be very disappointing if he wasn’t. “You have a sexy whisper.”
“How much have you had to drink?”
I put my fingers in front of my face and lost count a few times. “A bunches.”
“Fuck, Willow. You shouldn’t.”
I held my finger to my lips. “No party poopersshamoopers allowed. Why are you whispering?”
He mumbled something, and I stumbled as I took a step toward the door. “You need to lie down, Willow.”
“No, I wantz to drink anoder beer.” Maybe beer was a good idea.
My feet left the floor, and I nuzzled into his chest. Oh, he was warm. Comfy. Lips touched my forehead.
“Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Stay strong for just a little longer. I nearly have it all figured out. What happened since we texted?”
“I sawz a pictures of hiz son. Alex blamed me for all those deaths.” My head lolled to the side. No more bad thoughts. My vision was fuzzy. “Are you old?”
“Old?”
I snuggled into his chest again. “Yeah, I hope you’re not old. That’d be yuuuck! Ewww to the you.”
“Why?”
“Because I fantasize about you.” I wasn’t even ashamed as I sniffed him, making a big production. “And you smellz good. Fresh.”
He chuckled.
“Are you cute?”
“Let’s hope so.”
A wave of nausea hit. “I need to lie down. I feel sick.”
We moved a little. Or maybe the room was spinning. I wasn’t sure. “There’s a couch here. I’ll stay with you until someone comes.”
“Okay.”
My eyes were already sliding shut. I felt a pressure on my wrist, and then I found the soft couch. Was he taking my pulse? Lips came to my ear. “I won’t leave you.”
“Stay.”
Tack was here, and as my eyes closed, I knew I would be safe.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
“Make it stop. Please.” I was in agony as I pleaded with someone, anyone, to make the pounding cease.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
I groaned. “I’m dying. Stop.”
Squinting my eyes open, I saw Carson asleep on the couch that was pulled up alongside the bed.
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
Another groan emitted.
Carson stirred. “How are you feeling? You had a rough night.”
My eyes closed as I muttered, “I feel terrible. What happened?”
Pound.
Pound.
Pound.
The pounding was inside my head. Shit.
The vibrations from Carson’s voice had me wincing. “I found you on the couch in the pool house when I woke up. You scared me shitless with how out of it you were. Everyone was wasted. No one knew where you had gone.”
A hand touched my shoulder. “Take this aspirin and drink some orange juice. It’ll help.” I shot up and then grabbed my head in pain.
“Fuck!” My outburst caused the ache to worsen.
Orange juice and two white pills were put in front of me. “Here you go. What do you remember?”
I took the aspirin and prayed they helped sooner rather than later. The orange juice burned going down. I closed my eyes as flashes from last night came back. “I found pictures of Alex’s son. After that, I went on a mind-numbing mission. Not my finest moment.” Being upright hurt, so I lay back down. “I haven’t been that drunk since my birthday our sophomore year in college. Never again. I don’t feel good.”
He patted my back. “Get some sleep. I’m going to work for a bit. You’ll feel better after you rest. If Rosie mentions a Francesca, just go with it.”
“I will. Sorry your wingman is out of commission. Is Francesca your made-up girlfriend?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been on a few dates with one.” Later, I’d ask him more about this Francesca chick. The throbbing in my head kept me from diving too deep on any subject. We’d talk later. My eyes closed but opened again when I felt a gentle pat on my back. “I’ll think of some sacrifice you’ll have to make on the trip since you’re slacking on your wingman duties.”
I loudly groaned at the displeasing thought.
I heard him chuckling as the door closed. Bastard.
Hours later, I woke up to a plate of crackers
and more orange juice. I caught a glimpse of a note.
I was glad Carson took time to hang with the guys. It gave me some time to piece myself together after last night.
I headed to the bathroom to I clean up, which helped me feel more human. I was never ever drinking like that again. I hated that I let Alex’s double life bring me down to a place where I turned to alcohol. Normally, I was more in control, but for some reason, seeing the picture of the boy sent me over the edge.
As I was combing out my hair, a knock stopped me. The door opened before I said a word. It was Rosie.
“Hey, Willow. How are you feeling?”
“Better. Almost human.”
“Good. Do you have a second?” I nodded. “How serious are Carson and Francesca?”
No wonder Carson felt safe to leave his hideout. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had time to talk about her much with everything that’s been going on.”
“That makes sense.” My burner phone dinged from within my purse. “I’ll let you get that. I’m going to go lay out by the pool and wait for the boys. Mitchell went with them, too.”
Poor Mitchell. He was in for the Rosie ass-grabbing next. Hopefully he was dating someone. She bounced out of the room without a care in the world. Sometimes I needed a word stronger than odd for her. I was never able to figure it out, but we weren’t close.
Grabbing my purse, I dug out my phone and sat on the couch Carson had moved next to the bed last night. I remembered being sick.
Ugh. Poor Carson.
Tack: How are you feeling?
Me: Better now that I’ve got some food and aspirin in me.
Tack: Do you remember last night?
I remembered he’d been there. Until now, I hadn’t thought about it. Oh my gosh. I nuzzled him. I said I fantasized about him.
Another text came in from Carson.
Carson: How’s it going?
Me: Better. I’m feeling human. Thanks for the crackers. The Francesca thing worked. Rosie has her eyes set on Mitchell now.