GRACE.
My eyes fluttered open but closed again unable to accommodate the blinding morning light streaming into the room from above.
My head pounded in my skull drawing a groan from me. I tried opening my eyes again this time around but not as wide as the first time before realizing my room never had this much sunlight in the morning.
Then the memories of the night before came crashing in on me like confetti. Noooooooooo! I screamed in my head.
Shit. Shit. Please be a dream or nightmare, please, please, I begged the embarrassing images in my head.
It came in puzzles at first, but as I looked around my environment, I realized, the memories weren’t a dream.
They were real, and I was really lying on Connor’s bed, in his room.
But he wasn’t here, and I wonder how long I have been out.
I was going to take just a glass of drink with Director Lance, but the frustration pushed me to take another and that was when things started to get weird. I called Connor without considering the fact that he would actually know I was drunk.
I didn’t know he would really come to the bar. And when he did, I actually thought I was imagining things.
Oh god, I grabbed my hair, wishing I could pull them out of my skull to teach myself a lesson. How can I get drunk that way in front of my Director? I’m so disappointed in you, Grace.
I knew Connor and Director Lance argued before I blacked out but I really can’t remember what exactly they said to each other.
I just hope it wasn’t that bad.
I let my already disheveled hair go, threw the quilt from my body and sat up on the bed. I wasn’t putting on my clothes, and all that’s left on my body were my underwear. The monsters in my head were still raging war.
I wonder where Connor might be. My phone wasn’t on the bed stand table on the both side of the bed. I was too tired and nauseated to get up but I had to. Although it was weekend, I had to know if Laurie was okay.
I wrapped the large and heavy quilt from the bed around my body and walked to the door of the room, but Connor was coming in so we met at the entrance.
“Morning,” he mouthed awkwardly, resting his eyes on my lips, “Here, for the hangover. How are you feeling this morning?” he handed me a tablet that looked like candy more than drugs. “Its sweets” he added when I hesitated.
I took it from him as he strode past me into his room and sat on his bed with a grim expression on his face. He didn’t look like he slept at all. I could see black eye bags below his eyes, and tiredness in the way he walked.
I couldn’t even stay mad at him anymore. I rested my back on the wall staring down at him, waiting for him to speak because he looked like he had too much going on in his head.
“I need you and Laurie to start living here from today,” he said calmly, raising his head to meet my shocked eyes. “I’ll go get Laurie and your things, you don’t have to go out.”
“Wait, what?” I blurted out, flabbergasted, “Out of the blues?”
“Yes.” he got up and walked to where I stood, curling his callous hands around my arm firmly. “And you are not going back to work where that man is anymore.” he said with a note of finality and I couldn’t help but get glare at him.
“What are you saying, Connor?” I was almost yelling, “Sorry, did I miss something here? Aren’t you someone else’s fiancé? So who the hell are you to tell me what to do with my own life?”
“My mother did that,” he uttered heatedly, “I have nothing to do with Angela. We broke up two years ago and I have moved on ever since. My mother wants me to settle down now that was why she went through such length knowing it was going to get to me.”
I ignored him, pushed his hands away and walked back to the bed, shoving all the things on the bed stand angrily, searching for my phone.
“Listen to me Grace,” his tone was gentler from behind, “I couldn’t tell you the last time because I was dreading this sort of reaction from you. But I promise I’m going to take it down, you have to trust me, please.”
His voice was so heavy, it broke my heart. Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned back to stare at him.
“Your mum has chosen for you, who I’m I compared to Angela Zadok anyway?” I lashed out, “I painstakingly stood back on my feet for seven years, and I was fine with my child, living through each day till you came back. I don’t need your money, Connor, I may not have anything, but I’m contended with the way I am.”
“Hey…” he closed the distance between us wrapping me in his arms, “I don’t care what anyone says, you mean the world to me, Grace. You and our child and I’ll never take it for granted.”
I let the tears fall at his reassuring words, snuggling deeper into his embrace. I felt protected and reassured in his arms as he stroke my hair gently, while I listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“I tried explaining when I came to your place last night,” he spoke softly now, “But you refused to open the door or pick my calls. You are one hell of a stubborn woman, Grace Jones, just don’t think I’ll let you out of my side ever again.”
I sobbed harder, wetting his shirt with streams of warm tears, wrapping my arms around his rigid waist.
“Also, when next you want to drink, it always have to be with me, okay?” he sneered, “Don’t ever drink with any other man or he’ll be losing some limbs and it’ll be your fault.”
I nodded, laughing in between sobs as I withdrew from his embrace. I wanted to wipe my eyes but he beat me to it, wiping the tears from my face with deliberate and gentle movements, sending tingles through my nerves.
“I hope Director Lance’s limbs are still in their place though,” I asked after sitting down on the bed beside him.
“I’m sorry I called that way, couldn’t help it.”
“You should be sorry you went to drink with him and not me. Besides, I’m more than grateful you thought about calling me.” he answered with a lighter tone.
“So what happened?”
“A lot,” he muttered, “But first, you have to call NK. I promised her you would call immediately you wake up, I just wanted you to sleep peacefully so I took your phone from the stand.”
“Oh,” I suddenly remembered, “I was looking for the phone when I woke up and she was the first person I wanted to call. Why did you call her last night?” I asked.
“Well, I wanted to know who Laurie was with and I obviously couldn’t ask you,” he said, fishing my phone from his pocket and handing it to me. “She almost chopped off my head through the phone, thinking something happened…”
“It’s okay,” I took the phone and started dialing NK’s number, “She’s concerned, that’s all. I have to go get Laurie now, I promised to take her to the amusement park this weekend. I haven’t spent enough time with her for the past months.” my voice fell, I couldn’t help it.
Responsibilities was taking me away from my child and it was never what I planned for the both of us.
“You can’t go out right now, Grace,” Connor murmured as I placed the phone on my ears,
“Huh?”
“Yeah…” he looked above my shoulders. “I made a little mistake at the bar yesterday and since last night up till this morning, your face is all over the internet.”