Coming Home (9 page)

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 funniest thing they’d ever heard.

“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 gonna puke, are you?”

“No, I’m not gonna puke, but I might pass out,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.

“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-running car and a passed-out Holly.

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, running her hand over the mattress and feeling around blindly for her phone.

“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, running her thumb over the screen.

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 Danny.

“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.

Leah had no idea why she even cared what he thought of her, but she did.

She sat up quickly, tossing the pillow off the side of the bed as she reached for her phone, staring at the screen for a few seconds before she opened a new text message to Danny.

Sorry about that text last night. I meant to send that to someone else.

She hit send and closed her eyes, dropping back onto the bed as she brought her fingertips to her temples, massaging slow circles. A minute later, the soft double beep of her phone caused her eyes to flip open and her stomach to drop.

It was her text message alert
.

Leah held her breath as she opened his reply.

Hold on—you don’t love me? I’m in a jewelry store picking out your ring, so if you don’t love me, tell me now
.

A slow smile spread over her lips. This wasn’t angry, standoffish, daffodil Danny. This was Cheesecake Factory Danny.

She hit reply.

Hmm. Well, before I decide, how big is the ring
?

Leah placed her phone on her stomach before she stretched her arms over her head, biting her lip to fight the goofy smile she felt forming on her face. The sound of her phone ringing startled her, and she slapped her hand down on her stomach, bringing the phone to eye level as her bottom lip slid out from between her teeth.

He was calling.

She took a breath as she hit the button to take the call, hoping it was still Cheesecake Factory Danny.

“Hello?”

His laughter floated through the phone. “So, I guess size matters to you?”

His voice was playfully suggestive, and she felt her cheeks flush with heat as her stomach fluttered. “Happy New Year, by the way,” he said.

“You too.”

“I’d ask if you had fun last night, but your sloppy texting kind of answers that question.”

Leah laughed, combing through her hair with her fingers. “It really wasn’t as sloppy as you’re making it out to be. I was trying to text my father.
Dad
and
Danny
are right next to each other in my contacts, and it was almost four in the morning. Cut me some slack.”

“Ah, so that text was for your father?”

“Mm-hm,” she hummed, wondering if she imagined in the hint of relief in his voice. There was a stretch of silence, and Leah began to chew on her lower lip again.

“So you should probably erase it,” she blurted out suddenly.

“Why?”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t want to, like…get you in trouble or anything.”

“Get me in trouble?” he asked. “How would you get me in trouble?”

“I mean, some random girl, texting you that she loves you…” She trailed off.

“I don’t have a girlfriend, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

She could hear the amusement in his voice, picture the smirk he was probably wearing.

The one that brought out his dimples.

Heat flooded her cheeks again. He was right; that
had
been what she was getting at, and she couldn’t believe she’d gone about it in such a childish way.
Why didn’t you just write him a note?
she thought.
Do you have a girlfriend? Circle yes or no.

Leah heard a muted banging through the phone before Danny called out, “Come in, it’s open!”

“Company?” she asked.

“Just a couple of the guys from the shop. We have money on today’s game, which means we all have to watch it in the same place so we can humiliate and degrade each other over it.”

“Sounds fun,” she said with a laugh, reaching over to grab the water bottle off her nightstand. “Well, I’ll let you go then.”

“Alright. Oh hey, Leah?”

She froze with the bottle at her lips. “Yeah?”

“Maybe you should erase that text from your sent messages. You know. So you don’t get in trouble or anything.”

She lowered the bottle from her lips as a smile curved her mouth. “I don’t have a boyfriend, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

He laughed lightly into the phone. “Talk to you later.”

“Bye,” she said.

She dropped the phone to the bed and brought the bottle back to her mouth, nibbling on the rim.

He said he’d talk to her later.

She pressed her lips together, fighting the squeal she could feel building in the back of her throat.

Oh, Leah,
she thought.
You are so screwed.

“Hey, Gram, can you hand me that flashlight?”

Danny shifted as the ledge of the cabinet dug into his lower back. He was three seconds away from ripping the goddamn sink out of the wall and throwing it across the room.

“Here you go, love,” she said, holding it out for him.

“Thanks,” he said absently, placing the wrench on his chest to free his hand for the light.

“I don’t know why you won’t just let me call a plumber.”

“Gram, you’re bruising my ego,” he said, although he was seriously beginning to wonder the same thing.