Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“Walking back to Sissy’s,” I replied as my head swam. I reached for the streetlamp again to make sure I stayed upright.
“This is how you’re gonna thank Selena for letting you crash at her place? Stumbling home drunk late at night? Are you that fucking selfish?”
What? I blinked, trying to understand what he was saying. Drunk?
I shook my head. “I’m not drunk. Just got off work,” I replied.
He glared at me as his eyes did a quick inventory of my outfit. The world spun a little, and I closed my eyes for a moment. I was going to pass out. Right here on the sidewalk in front of this man.
“Where are you coming from?” he asked. “And you can’t stand up! If you’re not drunk, then what the hell is wrong with you? Did you take drugs?”
I swallowed and shook my head, opening my eyes. “No. I’m coming from work.”
“Did you already lose the job at Abernathy’s? Because that’s miles from here. You didn’t walk from there.”
“The bus stop isn’t,” I said, opening my eyes up.
“The bus stop?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Remember, I use the bus.”
“Why can’t you stand up without help? Don’t fucking lie to me! Selena doesn’t need this bullshit. She’s had a stressful day.”
Selena. Sissy had hated that name as a kid. All anyone called her was Sissy. No one had even known her name was Selena back then.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the blackness overwhelmed everything, and I heard Liam curse before I faded.
Blinking, I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom I was using in Sissy’s house. Confused, I tried to remember how I had gotten here. Slowly, the memory came back to me—fighting to keep from passing out and … Liam. I sat up too quickly, and my stomach rolled. I took a deep breath and stayed very still.
The nausea began to ease off, and I looked down at my clothes. I was still wearing my work outfit and my tennis shoes. It looked like someone had dropped me on the bed sideways with my feet hanging off the side and walked out. It had to have been Liam.
I started to stand up when the door swung open, and Sissy stood there, clearly furious.
“Oh, good. Your drunk ass is awake. Get your things packed up and get out.”
I shook my head. “I’m not drunk. I wasn’t drunk. My blood sugar was low. I didn’t eat enough, and I worked two—”
“Shut up! I should never have agreed to let you stay here. I knew better than to help you. I don’t want to hear your bullshit excuses. Get your things and go.”
Where was I going to go? I looked out the window. It was dark outside. How late was it?
“I don’t have anywhere to go,” I told her.
She shook her head. “I do not care. You can’t stay here. I want nothing to do with this disaster of a life you live. The fact that my boyfriend had to pick up your drunk ass because you’d passed out on the sidewalk and bring you here is humiliating.”
Her boyfriend. She’d not called him that before. When had the title changed from guy she was dating to boyfriend? He wasn’t anything close to a boy. He was a man.
I was still weak and feeling woozy, but asking her for something to eat or to let me get some sleep first was pointless. I went to my suitcase and began to pack it.
“You have twenty minutes to get out of this house,” she snapped, then turned and walked out of the room.
I would have to get an Uber and a motel room. I couldn’t bring a baby home from the hospital to a motel. I needed a new plan. Perhaps I had enough money saved to get a studio apartment in a less desirable part of town. One that wasn’t too dangerous, but not in the best of shape. I could make it look better. Spend some money on sprucing things up.
Trying to think positively, I packed, stopping to steady myself every few minutes. Once I had all my things ready to go, I pulled both suitcases down the hallway. I was going to have to get these down the stairs. Glancing back at Sissy’s closed bedroom door, I sighed as I decided on how I could do this. I didn’t have the strength to pick either of them up.
Finally sitting down on my bottom, I slid down a step and laid a suitcase flat, then eased down one step at a time, taking it with me. With the thudding sounds of my body and suitcase sliding on the stairs, I expected Sissy to come out of her room to shout at me, but I didn’t hear her door open. I eventually made it to the bottom with the first one and stood it up, then headed up to get the second one.