Perfectly Imperfect(24)
Crap.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to block out the memories of yesterday that have been assaulting my mind. Everything keeps playing over and over in one heck of a humiliating display of my madness.
The clamoring of my phone vibrations on my nightstand pulls me from the mortification replay. Reaching a blind hand out, I keep my belly on the mattress and my head buried in my pillow. Knocking a few things to the ground in my refusal to just roll over and grab my cell phone only adds to my frustrations.
“Hello,” I mumble into the receiver after successfully tagging the annoying device off my nightstand and looking at the screen long enough to see Eddie’s name on the display.
“Well, aren’t you Sally Sunshine this afternoon,” he quips.
“I love you, Eddie, but right now, I’m really not in the mood for your ridiculously happy disposition.”
He huffs out a breath. “Sweetheart, everyone needs a little of Eddie’s happy disposition.”
“Not me,” I declare.
“Pfft.”
He’s silent for a moment. Long enough for me to wonder if he’s been disconnected. Quiet and Eddie just aren’t two things that go together.
“Why didn’t you call me last night, Will?”
Ah. Looks as though Kirby’s been busy today.
“Willow,” he warns.
“Look, it wasn’t a big deal. Kirby brought me home and supervised while I polished off the rest of that bottle of Jack Daniel’s you left here last month. I just needed to forget. I forgot, and now, I’m over it.”
“You aren’t over it, honey,” he softly says.
He’s right. I’m not. I had to call on all my therapeutic tricks not to revert to the old Willow, who would have plopped her butt on the floor of my pantry closet and ate everything within reach. Getting drunk isn’t any healthier in terms of a coping mechanism, but considering my past of binge eating, it was a better choice for me. Another sign that despite the crushing disappointment around me, I’m stronger. It also helped that Kirby stayed by my side until she helped me stumble to bed.
She must have left afterward because she wasn’t here when I woke up at eight this morning puking.
“Willow? You there?”
“I’m here,” I respond quietly. Holding the phone to my ear, I roll over to my back and look up at my ceiling. “I’ll be okay. You can’t lose anyone who you never had, and Eddie, I never had him or her. Before Mom died, Dominic Logan wasn’t the type of ‘father’ who showed me much love. I was okay with that, taking what I could, but I realize now that I’m better off. And even though Ivy is … well, Ivy, I gave up the hopes of having a normal sister relationship with her long before she slept with Brad. I guess in a way they did me a favor. I wouldn’t have left Logan without being pushed out. Being there reminded me of when I would go to work and spend the day under my mom’s desk, my old desk. It was an unhealthy way of keeping her alive.”
Eddie hums in agreement. “You’re loved, Will. Just because that bastard and his evil spawn aren’t capable of being decent humans isn’t a reflection on you. You do know that, right?”
Smiling, I respond. “Yeah, I do. I would be miserable without you and Kirb.”
“Yeah, you would.” He laughs, the somber mood lifting slightly.
“Did Kirby tell you everything about yesterday?” I question, wondering just how much Eddie heard.
“I think she hit all the highlights. I got a playback of what she heard and then an even better playback of your imitation of those little ‘mine’ seagulls from Finding Nemo while you grabbed everything that wasn’t nailed down. I’ve always loved those little seagulls. Let’s see, then we went over your impression of its raining men with your computer against the glass wall.” He pauses and just when I think maybe Kirby left out the fact that Kane Masters had yet again been witness to my misfortune, he continues. “And she ended her play-by-play with Kane sexy-as-hell Masters.”
I sigh. “Yeah … that about sums it up.”
“So, Willow, the good friend in me would wait for Kirby to fill you in on what you’ve missed while you slept off your hangover, but you do know how I love a good juicy story full of dramatic flair.”
Sitting up, I swing my legs out from under the covers and shiver with the chill in my bedroom. “What are you going on about, Eddie? I swear you have the worst ADD.”
“No, no. It’s all related and flows with the topic at hand. And that hand is pointing straight toward Kane Masters.”
“There is no way I’m awake enough to deal with this. Let me shower off this hangover and you can come over and gossip until your head falls off.”
I don’t give him a chance to continue. I quickly pull the phone from my ear and press the red circle to disconnect the call while his deep voice rumbles through the earpiece. I smile, despite the unease settling in my gut, and make my way to shower and wake up. Knowing Eddie, he’ll be walking through my door before I’ve had a chance to rinse out my shampoo.
Shockingly, I was able to rinse my shampoo and conditioner before I heard my bathroom door open and Eddie’s muffled greeting over the shower spray.
“Do you even care that I’m in here naked right now?” I ask, bringing my body wash-lathered loofah up my left arm and around my shoulder. “I mean most friends would give someone the privacy they deserve when they’re bathing.”