Southern Belles 4 Blissmas by Amanda Heartley Page B

will. Be right back."
    Annie ran up the stairs to check on Marti,
who she found very asleep, or at least passed out. She wasn't
moving and definitely not going anywhere. But Annie could see her
chest rise and fall with her steady breathing, so she covered her
up, said a prayer and went back down stairs.
    "Donovan." Tommy said into his phone, it was
a little early for phone calls and Annie looked at him cocking her
head in a silent 'who is it'.
    "Okay." Pause. "On this side?" Pause. "Grab
Taylor and y'all meet me down there. I'm on my way."
    "What happened? You're leaving?"
    Sliding his boots on, "Yeah, someone spotted
something on the highway up on the pass, couple thousand feet up. I
gotta go." He grabbed his coat, "I'll call ya. Love you." He kissed
her and ran out the door.
    "Uh, okay, be careful, I love you…" her words
trailing off. She turned back to the kitchen and started clearing
the dishes. Humming a Christmas tune, she was grateful that she
only had one Margarita last night. Her friend was paying the price
this morning.
    "Did I hear Tommy leave, or was I
dreaming?"
    Annie jumped as Marti stumbled into the
kitchen. "You just scared the shit outta me! How's' your head? Need
some Tylenol? Water? Whiskey?" she laughed. She wanted to make
Marti pay today. What were friends for?
    Leaning against the door jamb, she started
taking the bobby pins out of her hair, grimacing as the pins pulled
her curls. She was still in her party dress and looked like a hot
mess. "Y'all got any coffee in here? God, my head hurts."
    Annie grabbed a cup and poured the fresh
coffee. "It should after last night. Hope you had fun. You have
traumatized me about having kids for the rest of my life." She
giggled, setting the cup on the table.
    She went over to the table and pulled out a
chair, scraping it across the floor as she sat down and took a sip
of the hot brew. "Thanks." Shaking her head, feeling for more
hairpins. "Shit, when's Christmas? Is it today?"
    "No silly girl, still a couple more days.
Why? Did ya buy me something?" She placed the last dish in the
cupboard and sat down across from Marti.
    "My head is pounding. I must've drunk some
serious alcohol last night. I don't even remember coming home."
    "Yeah you were pretty wasted. Take some
Tylenol; go back to sleep and definitely get outta that dress. You
look like a drugged up drag queen."
    Marti laughed, "Thanks for the honesty,
friend. Glad you don't hold anything back."
    "Friends don't let friends look like
hookers." she laughed. "Tommy is gone for a while, why don't you go
jump in the shower and get comfy. I'll put on another fresh
pot?"
    Marti stood up, "Yeah, that'll probably help
me feel better. Any plans for today?"
    "I was gonna do a bit of last minute
shopping, you wanna come with or are you too hung over?"
    "I'll be alright, lemme go get cleaned up. I
might need some breakfast too." She hinted but Annie wasn't buying
it. "Sure glad you know how to cook."
    "Thanks," as she stumbled up the stairs.
Today was gonna be a great day. No matter where Nick was or who he
was doing.
    She turned on the water, waiting for it to
heat up and slid out of her dress, That's gonna have to go to the
cleaners, she thought.
    As she stepped into the steaming shower, she
thought about Nick and why he hadn't called. Maybe he was just
another asshole she let into her life. Why are the men I choose
to spend time with such assholes? She really didn't want to
answer that. Maybe she was the problem and they weren't? Or that
they were okay and she was just too selfish? Or better yet, they
could just slap her around and treat her like shit like her Daddy
did when he was drunk? She didn’t know, but it was starting to hit
real close to home.
    Stepping out of the shower, she looked at the
person in the mirror. Yep, asshole. Things gotta change real
quick.
    She slid on some jeans and a sweater and
dragged her aching body downstairs and into the kitchen. Annie was
at the table, stirring her coffee, in a daze.