Page 11 of Homesick

“I’m gonna be sick,” I say before hanging my head out the window. I feel Blake pull my hair back before I puke down the side of his truck.

“Well, I didn’t make it to the bushes tonight.”

CHAPTER 4

A burst of bright light illuminates my room and I let out an irritated groan from under the covers of my childhood bed.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart.”

I peek from under my cave of blankets to find my mom placing a glass of water and an extra-large bottle of pain killers on my nightstand.

“I figured you’ll be needing these,” she says sweetly before taking a seat at the end of my bed.

As soon as I sit up, I wince at the pounding in my head. I down the pain killers with some water and groggily face my mom whose sunshine personality is not helping my hungover state. “Thank you,” I say with a raspy voice.

“So, someone had fun last night. Maybe a little too much fun?”

I try to reply, but my stomach lurches from drinking the water too quickly and I hop from my bed to the small bathroom attached to my room. I’m really regretting not eating anything last night.

After I return from my shameful exit feeling somewhat better, my mom is patiently waiting. I can tell she’s trying to get some juicy details from me, but it’s unclear how much she already knows. News travels fast in Honey Grove and I know exactly what part she’s dying to know more about.

“I guess you heard Blake drove me home last night.”

She pats my bed, ushering me to come sit next to her. I oblige and head over.

“I may have heard something about it at church this morning. If you don’t want to tell me anything, I completely understand. I know things are still weird between the two of you.”

Weird doesn’t even begin to cover it. After I puked down the side of his truck last night, I ran away . . . again. I used to never get embarrassed around Blake, but now that we’re grown up, I want him to see me as a mature woman, not the naïve teen girl who so easily let him break her heart. However, maybe I wasn’t who I so clearly wanted to be seen as.

“Yeah, he gave me a ride home, but only because Chris asked him to. Nothing else happened,” I admit, leaving out the explicit details. “I . . . I don’t know how to act around him. The last two times I’ve seen him, I haven’t been in the best position. I always thought the next time I saw him, he’d see exactly what he gave up all those years ago.”

“I know, hun, but I don’t think Blake would ever judge you. That boy has the biggest heart I know. He knows you’re going through a tough time.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can’t even talk about him without her coming to his defense almost immediately. I just want to scream, I’m your kid, not him.

“I wasn’t aware you were giving him updates about my life,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“He’s not the enemy, Wren. You two were friends before you dated in high school. All I’m saying is maybe it’s time to forgive him and move forward.”

It seems like everyone in this town is Team Blake, except for me and Emma. Hell, I dated the guy for three years and he is no saint. I’ve seen that kid rip through people’s fields and steal road signs like it was his job.

My mom takes my silence as the end of the conversation and gets up to leave. Before she heads out of my room, she turns and says, “oh and you left your debit card at the Rustic Inn last night. You should probably head down there and pick it up. And I’m not saying you have to, but it might be nice to offer to clean off the side of Blake’s truck. Sounds like you left quite a mark last night.”

Great. Just fricking great.

* * *

I pull up to the Rustic Inn in my old car my dad saved from high school. The brakes squeal as I park in the almost empty lot. It’s crazy how different this place is in the daylight. It’s a cute little shack, but the imperfections are almost too clear during the day.

I gag a little once I get a whiff of the inside. After last night’s shenanigans, I won’t be drinking for a while. I still have a lot of groveling to do with Emma after being such an ass last night. I sent her a text this morning to get a feel for the damage I’d done, and I still haven’t received a reply. Emma is my only lifeline in this town, so I need to do some ass kissing immediately.

I walk up to the bar feeling the stickiness of the floor under my boots as I walk. The place is spotless after last night, but some things can never be fully cleaned. I hop up on one of the bar stools and wait for someone to pop out from the back. I cross my fingers and pray it’s not the girl from last night.

I hear footsteps and turn to see who’s coming. I’m almost giddy when I see Sheila coming toward me locked and loaded with a hug.

“You’re working here now? What happened to your job at the hospital?” I ask as soon as she steps back from our embrace.

“I’ve been the manager for around two years. I had to quit my nursing job. It was really starting wear me down.”

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