Page 149 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“After I sent home the random guy you brought back with you and cleaned the puke off my shoes.”
“Oh god.” A piercing pain made my head feel like it was going to split in half. “Cas… I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, you’re gonna be,” he drawled as I heard his footsteps move across the room.
What did that even mean?
“You ignored every single thing I said. You didn't meet me for dinner. You didn't call or text once to let me know you were safe, nor did you answer my calls or texts. You drank without me. I'm not entirely sure you ate a goddamn thing before you got drunk. You tried to bring home a stranger, who, I sincerely hope, was part of a wedding party and not the groom, otherwise you could have potentially ended a marriage last night or prevented one from happening, and quite frankly… you behaved like a spoiled petulant child.”
Each word was a stab to the heart, filling my gut with guilt while I wished for a time machine to go back and clean up the mess I'd made. “I'm so sorry, Cas. And it's probably almost checkout time too. Let me get dressed and we can get on the road. I promise I won't do anything like that again. I don't even know what came over me.”
“It's way past checkout time,” Cas corrected. “Don't worry, I booked us for another night. You're not going anywhere today, not until we get a few things straight.”
There was something in his tone I couldn't place, but I figured he just wanted to yell at me and make me promise it wouldn't happen again. I deserved that, and it wouldn't.
“I'm sorry,” I mumbled again.
Cas didn't say anything, but he disappeared and came back with a bottle of Gatorade and two aspirin that he placed in my hand, and stood over me watching as I took them. He refused to move until I sat up and downed the entire bottle.
I was so thirsty, but also so hungover that my stomach threatened to revolt after every sip. I got it down though and set the empty bottle on the nightstand before slumping down and pulling the covers over my face. I felt like I could sleep forever or at least until my head stopped pounding.
But Cas wasn't having it. He pulled the covers off me and pointed in the direction of the bathroom. “Go shower. You reek like a distillery covered in vomit. When you're dressed, come out to the main room. I'll order up a nice greasy breakfast.”
Holding my stomach, I shook my head, but Cas ignored my quiet protest.
“Trust me kid, it's exactly what you need.”
I did trust him, and I wanted to make up for the way I'd acted, so I stumbled to the bathroom to do as I was told. The shower felt amazing and by the time I emerged, led by the salty scent of bacon, I actually felt halfway human. I took the seat across from Cas at a table set for two and let him pile an ungodly amount of food on my plate.
I took the first few bites cautiously, but it tasted wonderful and felt good to have something other than alcohol in my stomach.
The silence was making me nervous though, so I spoke just to have something to say.
“I'm really sorry, Cas.”
He picked up a piece of bacon and chewed it before answering. Finally, just when I was about to start sweating, he pointed a finger at me, and said, “That cannot happen again.”
“I know, I'm sorry and it won’t, I promise. I've learned my lesson.”
“I don’t think you have.” The tone of his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
“I have. Really,” I protested weakly.
“I thought about this all night,” he continued, “about whether or not I really wanted to go on a two-week road trip with someone who wouldn't listen to me when I gave them simple, non-arbitrary instructions.”
“Oh.” I dropped my fork and stared down at my plate. I hadn't considered that response, but it made sense. “I really won’t do it again. I'll listen to you, I promise.”
“Yeah, I know you think that, but I’d rather make sure of it.”
“H-how?” I hated that my voice cracked.
“Well…” Cas laid his fork across his empty plate and regarded me seriously. “The way I see it, we have two options. One, we pack up and head home tomorrow.”
My heart sank. That was what I was afraid of and what I deserved, but what I really didn't want. “What's the second option?”
Cas looked for a moment, like he wasn't going to give one. “You called me Daddy last night,” he finally said.
I opened my mouth to respond, to stutter out something about him hearing wrong or me being drunk out of my mind, but he held up a hand to stop me and continued.
