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I sat up and immediately regretted it. My head was heavy and the little I had eaten the day before threatened to make an appearance. I propped myself out on my elbows and waited for the nausea to pass before I could get a good look around the room. Obviously not mine, but not my brother's either. Jayson would not have a quilt on the bed, never mind one with flowers all over it. Nor would he have a dresser with dress shoes and...a tuxedo hanging on the closet? Where was I?
I took a peek at the alarm clock sitting on the dresser next to the heels and it read 11:36. I heard footsteps coming down the hall and slammed myself back down to the bed, scurrying as far underneath the covers as I could. The fall back to the bed rattled my stomach again, and it did nothing for the man jack hammering inside my head.
The door hinges creaked and I heard a man's calling back down the hall. “Yeah, guys, I'll be out in a sec. Just gotta hit the head!” Just after that the door shut loudly and I groaned, clutching at my temples. “Alright, sleeping beauty, time to get your ass out of my bed.” He grabbed at the blankets, grabbing at my ankles and I groaned again. I knew that voice. I had only heard it a handful of times in the last three years but it was one I wasn't going to forget in this lifetime.
“Oh, bug off, Jax, you nutcase.” I kicked at his hand through the blanket.
“No way in hell, Kell.” That made me laugh and I uncovered my head. It took a minute for my vision to clear and when it did I couldn't stop staring. He hadn't changed one bit in the last three years. From his always-bed-head looking brunette locks to his always dirty bare feet.
“What the hell am I doing in your bed, Jaxon Dodd?”
“Getting ready to get out of it, I hope. If Nicole sees you in here she'll kick my ass.”
“Nicole? Nicole Wilder? My old roommate Nicole Wilder?”
“Uh, yeah. She called me after she graduated and wanted to know if we were still a thing, told her no and we hooked up. We weren't together anymore so it wasn't like she was off limits or anything.” I watched Jaxon cross the room and he started pulling the suit, piece by piece, off of the hanger.
“Damn. Well, good for you. She was always a whore anyway.” I spoke under my breath but I still earned a death glare from Jaxon. “What's with the monkey suit?” I watched him wrestle with the shirt, then the tie. He stuck out his tongue when he was trying to concentrate.
“Well, Kelley O'Haran, since Nicole has had a diamond ring on her finger for the last year. Her left ring finger to be exact. We decided, a year ago of course, that we would change her name to Nicole Dodd.” I stared at him, processing the information while he talked. Though the lack of alcohol seemed to have turned my neurotransmitters into molasses.
“Hold up a minute. You're getting married?!”
“Aw, look who gets the picture. Now get out of my bed before the soon-to-be Mrs. Dodd sees you in it and calls the whole thing off.”
“None of that explains what the hell I'm doing in it in the first place! On the day of your wedding! What the hell, Jaxon!?” All of my shouting was doing nothing for my sore throat and pounding head but I had somehow forgotten until I tried to get up. That failed and I ended up back in the bed, like my entire body had forgotten how to function properly.
“You tell me, Kelley! I haven't heard from your ass in three goddamned years. Then out of the blue, in the middle of the fucking night I get a fucking phone call from none other than my ex-fiance, Kelley O'Haran! You're lucky Nikki had a night out with her girlfriends last night because I had nowhere to bring you but here! So get out of my bed, and on your way home because I don't need you to mess up another marriage for me!” All the shouting and recalling my previously failed relationships had me in tears in a matter of seconds. “Oh now, come on Kell, don't do that.” Just like any stereotypical male, Jaxon was helpless when it came to a woman in tears. It had gotten me out of a few fights back in our relationship.
“Don't worry, Jaxon. You'll never hear from me again. Have fun with your new whore of a wife and fuck off.” I stood up and as hard as it was I walked out of the bedroom and out the front door of Jaxon's home. But not before spewing what little I had for dinner in the entry way. Not the most graceful way to make an exit but who cares. It's what he deserves. I was right leaving him three years ago and I was right leaving him now...wasn't I? If I was so right, why did I have an aching feeling in my chest and the ceaseless urge to turn around and run back to him.
I pulled out my cellphone but had no idea who to call. It was late morning on a Tuesday. Any reasonable person I knew would be at work at this hour. Maybe I could catch Jess on lunch...if she were still speaking to me. After the pieces I could actually form in my memory of last night I might want to give her a chance to cool off. Jayson? No, he wouldn't understand the state I was in. Messed hair that probably looked like a family of birds had just left it, last nights evening dress that wasn't even appropriate for the bar, never mind the streets of suburbia. And my face which probably had makeup running all over it and was red from bawling, which my nose still continued to run. I sighed and faced facts, I dialed the one number I hated to call, even if I was dying. Judith. A.K.A Mom.