AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bright blue of her camisole top is way too intense for me, so I close my eyes again.
On my next attempt to look at her, her tall willowy frame expands and shrinks to a blue blob as if I’m looking at her through one of those crazy mirrors at the carnival. It takes a moment before my eyes adjust and she looks like the normal fashionable Dru I know.
And I see that I’m downstairs in my living room.
Atmyhouse.
I’m home, but I have no idea how I got here. The throbbing in my head is screwing with my mind’s attempts to remember.
“Dru,” I mumble, my voice sounding hoarse and thick.
“Gwen.” She dips her dark head as she looks me over, and the blunt edges of her long bob brush over her shoulders. “Are you okay? I was so worried. I’ve been calling you for eons.” Her bright blue eyes bore into me, amplified by the worry she speaks of.
She rests her hands at her sides and straightens.
When I sit up and realize my grandmother’s tartan blanket is draped over my body and I’m naked underneath it, I pull in a sharp gasp.
“What the hell?” I shriek, dragging the blanket closer. “I’m naked.”
“Sweetie, you just noticed that?” Dru winces and folds her arms. “What the hell happened to you? After we spoke, I thought you’d come back here, but you didn’t.”
“I…couldn’t.” I sigh and bring a hand to my head as the catalyst that pushed me into this debacle enters my mind.
The bank.
The loan I hoped to get from them.
The loan I didn’t get from them.
Conrad and his threats.
Jesus.It’s a wonder my head hasn’t imploded.
I vaguely remember heading to Duke’s Bar after I spoke to Dru, but nothing more.
Dru is more than a best friend to me. We grew up together from birth, so she’s family. The same way I couldn’t keep the truth about Gage from her, I had to tell her about the situation with Conrad.
I called her straight after the bank informed me of their decision, but I was crying so much, most of that conversation probably sounded like muffles.
“You look like you went on a college bender.”
“I think it was a lot worse than that.” I’m not sure if it’s sufficient to tell her I got wasted.Wastedis too meagre a word to describe what I did. It was like I was on some self-destruct mission.
“Do you remember what happened?” Dru presses her lips together.
“No. How long have you been here?”
“Five minutes tops. I was trying to wake you.”
“Please tell me my car isn’t parked outside.” I pray to God I didn’t drive home in whatever state I was in. Not only would that have been completely irresponsible, dangerous, and so unlike me, but the last thing I want is trouble with the police or anyone who saw me driving under the influence.
“It’s not parked outside.”
Well, at least that might be good news. It means my car could still be at the restaurant. It’s a few minutes away from Duke’s. At least I had the good sense to walk there after my first two cans of beer.
But if my car is at Duke’s, that still begs the question of how I got home.
“I don’t think you should go to the restaurant today.”
