Absolutely Unforgivable(54)

“How bad is it?” I asked her, not really wanting to know. I’m sure I look horrible.

“You are only the hottest sick person ever!” Bree mused.

I gave her a what the hell are you talking about kind of look as she continued. “Silly, your body still has the shimmer paint all over it. Even with the bump on your head you are still mind bogglingly beautiful.”

I lifted my arm to take a look. She was right. I did still have the shimmer body paint on. “You guys think you can help me into the bathtub to get it off of me?”

“Yeah totally. But we can’t leave you, Stacy. The only way we could get Billy out of the house to go to his gig tonight was to totally swear we wouldn’t leave your side or take our eyes off of you, even for a second,” Mindy said with a worried look on her face.

“Even if you have to go to the potty,” Bree added while giggling.

I rolled my eyes and caved, letting them help me out of bed and into the bathroom to soak in the bottle of chemicals that helped to remove the shimmering paint from my body.

When we finished the girls helped me put on some clean clothes. I leaned against the counter as Bree helped me put my panties on and I stood there thinking how strange it was having a girl I really only barely knew dress me in such an intimate way. I turned away in embarrassment and noticed that as the water drained out of the bathtub some of the shimmer remained.

“Oh no,” I said as the girls turned to see what I was looking at. “I think I ruined Billy’s bathtub.”

Mindy laughed. “I don’t think he really minds.” Then they helped me back to bed and then sat with me.

“Where is Jeromy?” I asked.

“He’s in the living room watching TV,” Mindy said. That bothered me. Why wasn’t he in here taking care of me? Why are Mindy and Bree tasked with my care when Jeromy is just in the other room?

“When I went to get your clothes from upstairs he was fast asleep on the couch. I know he’s so worried about you too, Stacy,” Bree told me reassuringly.

“Hey I know, let’s go to the kitchen and find something to eat. I think Kita made some chocolate chip cookies,” Mindy said as she jumped up out of the bed to help me stand up. I put my arm around her and leaned in as Bree came around on my other side, letting me put some of my weight on her as they led me out of Billy’s bedroom.

As we turned the corner and made our way through the living room, trying to be quiet as to not wake Jeromy, I noticed he was sitting up watching television. When he heard us he jumped off of the couch. “Stacy!” He rushed to my side and picked me up and then scolded Mindy and Bree for letting me try and walk.

“I’m fine, Jeromy. Really, baby. I promise. We were just going to the kitchen to try and find something to eat.”

Jeromy, not letting me out of his arms, carried me in the kitchen and sat me down at the table. He poured me a glass of milk as the girls grabbed some of Kita’s cookies to munch on. After drinking my milk I started to stand up to make myself a bagel. Jeromy jumped up and sat me back down. “Let me make it for you.”

As Jeromy toasted my bagel, Mindy and Bree made small talk. After eating my delicious bagel, Jeromy insisted I go back to bed and carried me just to make sure I complied with his wishes. He tucked me in and said he was going upstairs to bed himself. It was already late and he had to be up early for work tomorrow. He kissed my forehead and made me promise to stay in bed. I agreed, laid my head back on my super fluffy stack of pillows, and closed my eyes. I wanted him to stay with me. I needed him to stay with me. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask him. I guess I wanted him to want to stay and do it on his own accord without me having to ask him. I shouldn’t have to ask him. He should want to be with me on his own. But he didn’t.

When he walked out of the room I could hear him reading Mindy and Bree the riot act for letting me out of the room and told them not to do it again without him or Billy near. After, the girls jumped in bed with me and cuddled up next to me as I faded off. I was glad to have Bree and Mindy with me but at the same time sad that Jeromy wasn’t.

I woke up again as Billy returned home from Rowdy’s. “Hey,” he said as he looked me over. “I see you’ve been busy while I was away.”

I looked to my side and found Mindy and Bree were already gone. “I didn’t get to say goodbye,” I told him, with a frown on my face.

“That’s okay,” he said as he run his fingers through my hair. “They’ll be back another day. They don’t seem to know how to stay away.”