Betty opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. Her head pounded along with the song that was stuck there. She believed it was the worst headache she'd ever had and she struggled to sit up on the unfamiliar bed. She was at Cheryl's house, she remembered. There was a party and-. Sitting up caused her head to throb so sharply she moaned and pressed a hand to her forehead. She tugged the baggy t-shirt she wore over her bare legs and stood up, slowly. Her legs were wobbly but she steadied herself against the door frame.
Betty opened the door to a mostly silent hallway. She could see the early, pre-dawn gray light creeping in the windows behind her, but the hallway still looked dark. She made her way downstairs to the catering kitchen. The Blossoms were so wealthy they had more than one. This one was smaller, but she vaguely remembered that it tended to be stocked well. The small bottles of sparkling mineral water beckoned and she pulled one of, twisting the cap and chugging the contents. She opened a second one and took a third before shutting the door and grabbing a banana from the bowl of fresh fruit on the counter. She fumbled with the peel for several minutes with hands that were heavy and clumsy. She guessed she was still intoxicated and craved the minerals and sugar. She ate the banana slowly, making sure her queasy stomach would tolerate it and sipped the second bottle, deciding the hunt for something for her headache was a priority.
"Aspirin," Betty mumbled out loud. Her memories of the night were hazy, but the pain in her head distracted her from thinking straight. She finished the banana and kept the water bottles with her while she looked for a bathroom. She found one and shut herself inside in the darkness before opening the medicine cabinet, but her slow brain eventually realized she'd have to turn on the light in order to read the pill bottles. She pushed open the curtains instead, letting the softer illumination of the early sunrise guide her. She returned to the open cabinet and eventually found what she was looking for. She shook out two pills and swallowed them with the rest of the water.
Nature called and Betty decided to flip on the light so she wouldn't embarrass herself. She stumbled blindly to the toilet with her hand over her eyes and dropped her panties, seating herself on the icy seat. She felt an unfamiliar soreness when she sat down and her stomach clenched, tightly. Feeling a prickling under her arms and at the back of her neck from a sudden sweat, she took a few deep breaths and looked down at her panties which lay pooled at her ankles. She had to force her brain to count back to her last period, but is had only ended a week before, which didn't explain the faint tinges of reddish brown on her panties and between her thighs.
The pounding between her temples kept Betty from focusing through the fog that blurred her vision. When she finished and gingerly pulled her panties back up, she went to the sink to wash her hands. She smacked her forehead on the open medicine cabinet door. A flash of anger bubbled up and she shut the door with a snap. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and wet a washcloth, slapping it onto her throbbing head and stumbling back to the room she'd left.
Betty heard a muffled voice from the kitchen and she opened the door quickly, jumped through and pulled it closed. She rested her forehead against the door frame, feeling the burst of nervous adrenaline start to clear the cobwebs from her mind. In the dim room, she went to the full-length mirror and began scrubbing at her eyes, feeling the oily residue from last night's makeup as well as the crusted mascara give way to her now reddened face. Behind her, there was a click and a small lamp suddenly illuminated the room. Betty froze like a deer in the headlights. She had retreated t the wrong bedroom, and was about to apologize to the occupant of the bed, except the mirror above the headboard was directly behind her so she was able to properly read the name printed on the back on the t-shirt she wore.
The name meant the shirt belonged to the occupant of the bed, and that Betty had not returned to the incorrect bedroom. MANTLE
"It's not even five," Reggie said, rubbing his face. "Come back to bed and get a few more hours sleep." He turned off the lamp, scratched his chest and yawned. "Is that water for me?" He held out a hand and she automatically handed him the unopened bottle. The throbbing in her head, after the water she'd drunk was starting to ease up, but her thoughts were still jumbled and unfocused. She allowed him to tug her closer and she sat when he pushed back the covers and patted the mattress. He was drinking the water as quickly and greedily as she had.
The sun was rising and gave the light a pinkish tinge. Reggie swung his long legs over and pulled the blackout curtains closed. Grateful for the darkness, Betty closed her eyes, swaying as a wave of fatigue hit her. The aspirin was starting to work, and she wanted to lie back down and sleep. Large hands closed over her shoulders and guided her down to the soft pillows. Her stiff neck relaxed when she finally rested her head. A large arm wrapped around her torso, and warm legs tucked behind hers. She closed her eyes and drifted off again, hearing a deep voice speak behind her.
"You were gone for five minutes, how can your feet be this cold?"