| |
Cole – Present Day
––––––––
THE BRIGHT GLARE OF sunlight pressed against my closed eyelids, demanding they open.
I groaned and flung the back of my hand over my eyes. I wasn’t sure my eyelids would part if I tried—it felt as though they’d been glued together. My mouth was bone-dry, a disgusting taste lining my throat, tongue, and teeth. My dehydration was so intense, I’d been dreaming about downing long glasses of water. My head throbbed, and I worried if I moved it would explode. I also had the horrible feeling something bad went down last night, but right at that moment I couldn’t remember a thing. Was it the fight I’d had with Gabi? She’d told me to stay out of her life, so I’d gone and gotten drunk. That must be what was bothering me, though something else niggled at me.
The sunlight continued to assault me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to remain lying here. I needed water, and my bladder was full to the point of being painful.
I forced my eyes open and cautiously sat up. The room spun and my head pounded, but I didn’t think I was going to throw up. I stood and stumbled over to the bathroom to relieve myself. Next port of call was the kitchen for water, and to find some painkillers.
With both in hand, I dropped myself down at the kitchen table and knocked back the tablets with the rest of the water.
I groaned, folded my arms on the table, and dropped my aching head onto their cushion. I needed to go and see Gabi. As soon as I started to feel better, I would march right over there and tell her she wasn’t going to get rid of me so easily. Maybe she did still hate me for what I did ten years ago, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t get past it. I didn’t think she’d pushed me away because she no longer had feelings for me. No one held onto that kind of anger for so long if they didn’t care about someone. If I wasn’t important to her, she’d have forgotten all about me by now, or at best she’d be apathetic. But no, she was heated, and passionate, and still as beautiful and vibrant as the first day I’d plucked up the courage and spoken to her.
I pulled myself together enough to brew some coffee and fry up some bacon for a sandwich. I needed salt and grease to line my stomach. I ate and then took a shower to rid myself of the alcohol fumes from the night before. A couple of cups of strong coffee helped me feel more human.
An hour later, I stepped out of my house, ready to drive over to Gabi’s and tell her I wasn’t going to give up. With a frown, I paused and looked around. Where the hell was my car?
Damn, I must have left it outside the bar. I figured it was a good thing I’d had the sense to walk considering I couldn’t even remember getting home. It didn’t matter. A walk back to the bar to pick up my car would help to clear my head and figure out exactly what I would say to Gabi.
This time, I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.