Coming Home

A few hours later, Leah and Holly were helping put Robyn into her fiancé’s car.

“Here. The bartender thought this would be a good idea,” Holly said, handing Rich one of the plastic fishbowls the bar used to serve specialty drinks in.

“Gee, thanks,” he said, leaning into the passenger seat and handing Robyn the empty bowl. She gri

“Absolutely, babe,” Rich said as he buckled her seat belt.

“What did she say?” Leah asked.

Rich closed the passenger door and turned toward them. “I have no fucking idea.”

Leah and Holly burst out laughing as Rich pulled up the zipper of his jacket. “How are you girls getting home? Do you need a ride?”

“No, Evan is coming to get us,” Holly said.

“Alright, Happy New Year, ladies,” he said, giving them warning glances before he leaned over and kissed both their cheeks. “Be good.”

Leah and Holly watched them pull away, blowing dramatic kisses until the taillights of Rich’s car were no longer visible.

A few minutes later, Holly’s boyfriend pulled up to the curb, immediately rolling down the window. “Are you guys insane? Where the hell are your jackets?”

The girls leaned into each other and broke into hysterics as if that were the fu

“Fantastic.” Evan sighed, getting out of the car and ushering them toward it. “Alright, let’s go.”

Leah crawled into the back seat, and she and Holly spent the entire ride having disjointed conversations and laughing uncontrollably at anything and everything.

“God, I need to go home,” Leah said when she had caught her breath, dropping her head back onto the seat and covering her face.

“We’re almost there, Lee,” Evan said, glancing in the rearview. “You’re not go

“No, I’m not go

“That’s okay,” Holly said. “Pass out. We’ll carry you.”

Evan snorted. “You’re not carrying anyone. Maybe you should think about passing out for a bit.”

Leah tried to stifle a laugh, and Holly held up both hands, flipping them off before she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her head back against the seat.

By the time they pulled into Leah’s apartment complex, Holly was snoring lightly, her head lolled to the side, resting on her shoulder.

Evan got out and helped Leah to the door, his hand firmly on her elbow as she wobbled on her heels. He watched until she was safely inside before jogging back down the path to his still-ru

Leah held on to the wall for balance, sloppily kicking off her heels and tripping over one as she walked down the hall. She still had enough presence of mind to stop in the kitchen and grab herself a bottle of water before she stumbled back toward her bedroom.

She undid the button of her jeans and pulled them down to her knees before she fell back onto the bed, kicking awkwardly to free herself of them. Her arms flopped out to her sides as her eyes fell closed, and then she groaned, remembering she hadn’t texted her father.

Leah sat up quickly; the room spun with the sudden movement, and she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the edge of the bed until the world righted itself. She leaned down, this time much more slowly, and fished through her purse on the floor until she came up with her phone.

As she flopped back onto the bed, the room began to spin again, and she squinted one eye, sending him a text as quickly as she could. With a relieved huff, she flung the phone somewhere on the other side of the bed and scooted down, draping one leg over the side so she could keep her foot on the floor.

Within seconds she passed out.

Leah felt the horrid pounding in her head before she was even fully awake; it felt like an ice pick being slowly tapped into her brain.

“Owwwwww,” she moaned, pressing her fingertips into her eyes. It was then she realized that the shrill ringing in her ears was not part of her horrific hangover.

Her phone was ringing.

She turned her head slowly and opened one eye. It was a quarter to seven.

Why would someone be calling her so early?

Leah flipped onto her side, grimacing as the pain in her head intensified with the movement, and she closed her eyes, ru

“Make it stop,” she moaned just as her hand closed around it, and she tapped her thumb over the screen before dragging it to her ear.

“Yeah?” she rasped.

“Leah, I’m going to focus more on how happy I am to hear your voice, and not on how upset I am with you right now.”

She brought her weight up to her elbows, sitting up slightly and wincing as a sharp pain pierced her between the eyes. “Daddy?”

“Why didn’t you let me know you got home last night? Of all nights, Leah. New Year’s Eve. And you were at a bachelorette party, no less.”

She sat up slowly, pressing her palm to her forehead. “I did. I texted you.”

“You didn’t. I waited.”

Leah rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes, her mind racing back over the night. Everything was somewhat fuzzy, but she could have sworn she’d texted him.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I really thought I did.” She exhaled heavily. “I…I don’t know what to say. You know I always text you when I get home.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said tiredly. “Alright, go back to sleep. I’m just glad you’re home safe.”

“Okay. I’m really sorry, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Leah ended the call and dropped her phone on the bed, her brow furrowed. After rubbing her hands over her face, she slid from the bed and padded to the bathroom, the pounding in her head keeping time with her feet against the hardwood floor.

After she’d used the bathroom, she opened her medicine chest and dumped three extra-strength aspirin into her palm, popping them into her mouth as she stumbled back out to the bedroom. Leah drank half the bottle of water before she leaned over and yanked the curtains closed.

And then she flopped facedown on her bed, immediately falling back asleep.

When she woke again, it was one thirty in the afternoon. She felt tired and thirsty and in desperate need of a shower, but that was still significantly better than when she woke the first time.

Leah rolled over and stretched with a groan, exhaling heavily as she let her arms fall back to her sides. The phone call with her father crept into her consciousness, and she pulled her brow together as she turned her head to scan the bed for her cell phone.

She sat up slowly when she spotted it, ru

She could have sworn she texted him. She definitely remembered looking for her phone last night for that exact reason. Was it possible she fell asleep before she hit send?

Leah pulled up her sent messages.

And there it was. A text sent at 3:49 a.m. to…

“No,” she breathed, her stomach lurching. “Oh, no, no, no.”

She had definitely sent the text. But it didn’t go to Dad.

It went to Da

“Shit,” she hissed as she opened the text message, having no recollection of what she’d actually sent.

Jus got home happy newyear I love u.

“No!” she wailed, throwing the phone to the other side of the bed as she brought both hands to her face. “Shit, shit, shit!”

Okay, relax, a little voice in her head cajoled. So this guy has made it clear on two occasions now that he’s not interested in you, and you just texted him that you loved him. No big deal.

“Oh my God,” she groaned, grabbing a pillow and pressing it over her face. If she never talked to him again after this, it would be too soon. But her stupid pride wouldn’t allow her to move on and forget this little disaster ever happened. She felt the need to explain herself so he didn’t think she was some pathetic weirdo.