Chapter 4 – Jesse
The next morning I woke up with a headache that just wouldn’t quit. I couldn’t even open my eyes because the small amount of light that was filtering in through my eyelids was enough to make me cringe and pull the blankets over my face. Why did I keep on drinking? I should know better by now, but as I tried again to open my eyes, I knew I’d failed miserably. I was obviously an idiot.
Calling out to Melissa, I winced again when I felt like my own voice was going to make my head explode. Where was Melissa? She was supposed to stay over, but I didn’t see her anywhere. After a minute I tried to sit up. I regretted it almost immediately.
I didn’t remember much about the last night. There was a bar and dancing, which I kind of remembered, and then a cab ride home. That meant that my car was still at the bar, but I was thankful that I hadn’t tried to drive. I didn’t remember if I was the only one who’d been three sheets to the wind, but I didn’t think that I was.
“Melissa!”
Again there was no answer, but she slept like a rock. There was a chance that she legitimately hadn’t heard me. So I got up and padded down the hallway to the living room to see if she was there. I was a little relieved to see that Melissa was passed out on the couch. I didn’t like the idea of her being out if she was as drunk as I was the night before. I almost woke her up, but she looked like she needed some sleep. I felt like I needed some sleep as well. There was no need to get out of the bed. The shop was closed, soon for good.
The realization had me going faster back to my own bed. I’d forgotten about the letter I’d received before close of business the day before. I hadn’t known that there were taxes due, and now it didn’t matter. His father had paid them and done something to take over. The letter was to tell me that he was now the owner of the shop and that I had only a short time before I’d have to vacate the premises. I couldn’t even think about it. I lay back down with my head already starting to hurt again. Why did things like this always seem to happen to me?
I was in the middle of wallowing in self-pity when I noticed that my phone was in the bed with me. I didn’t remember using it, and I was about to go back to sleep when a bit of a memory came into my mind. I could remember talking to Scott.
Opening my eyes, I was praying silently that what I thought had happened, hadn’t actually happened. The last thing that I wanted to do was believe that I’d called Scott. I’d been drunk and there was no telling what I’d said to him. I was afraid that I’d called him to tell him how much I loved him.
Sitting up, I ignored the pounding in my head long enough to check my phone. I pushed the send button and was distressed to see that Scott was the last number that I’d called. We’d talked for almost ten minutes. I didn’t know what I’d said to him, but I knew that it couldn’t be good.
Debating what to do, I got it in my head that I was going to call him and tell him that whatever I said, I didn’t mean it. I’d been drunk, so he couldn’t use any of that against me. But I knew I couldn’t. I was just going to have to stew and wonder what had happened, what I’d said.
When I finally got my eyes shut again, my mind was going a mile a minute and there was no way that I could sleep. Hearing Melissa start to stir in the other room, I got up myself and slowly got dressed. I wasn’t feeling as bad as before, but I was still moving slowly as I made my way to the front of the apartment.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Melissa made a grunting sound. I could see that she was about as excited to get up as I was. She was hurting just as bad as I was this morning. I went to the kitchen to start the coffee pot going. It was something that was bound to help, and it looked like both of us needed some help.
“Man, I feel horrible.”
I smiled at her and pushed the cup I’d just poured to her as she sat down at the bar. “I hear you, me too.”
“Well, at least we took a cab. You wanted to drive home, but I just couldn’t let you. I don’t think I’ve seen you drink like that since we were teenagers.”
“It seemed easier when we were younger. I didn’t feel so bad the next day.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I remember you promising me that you were going to make sure I didn’t drunk call what’s his face.”
Her eyes got a little bigger. I could tell that she liked the idea of me calling Scott. She was a hopeless romantic, after all, and I was sure that she wanted us to get back together. “Yes, I called him, and I don’t know what I said, but I was on the phone for almost ten minutes. I don’t even want to think about it, but I can’t help it. Do you think that I should call him?”
“What are you going to call him for?” The hopeful look was back in her eyes, and all I could do was groan out loud. She was insufferable sometimes, and this was one of those times.
“I don’t know. To apologize or something, but that isn’t right, is it? I don’t know, Melissa, I feel like I have to say something. You know how I get when I’m drunk. There is really no telling what I said.”
“What are you so worried about?”
“I’m worried that I confessed my love to him or something.”
She shrugged, and then we both kind of jumped when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but as long as it wasn’t Scott, I figured that I was going to be okay.
“Hello?”
“Hello, this is Wendy with Hartbrook Medical. We have a patient here by the name of Cade Scott. Since he doesn’t have a medical contact on file, I was hoping that his last call would be family or someone that can notify his family.”
“Um, I’m not family. Is he okay?”
“I can’t reveal any more information if you’re not related. Do you know of someone who is that I can contact?”
“Yes, let me find the number for you.”
I looked at Melissa. She was looking back with a question in her eyes. I couldn’t tell her then. My heart was racing too much. All I could think about was Scott. What had happened to Scott?
To be continued in Part 8…