Chapter 2
Light, ohhhh my Goddddddddd. Why is the light so freakin bright?
"Hello Beautiful." Was screamed in my ear.
"Oh God please please don't yell! Shhhhhhhhh, just be silent." I mumbled as I pushed the face that was dangerously close to mine away.
"Owww, shit Stephanie you poked my eye out!" Lester cried out.
I slammed my hands over my ears there by uncovering my eyes. And I screamed as the light once again pierced my past my eye straight into my brain. "Turn off the lights!"
"White girl, there are no lights, that's the sun. We fell asleep in the car last night, and you had your head covered by a blanket. The man in black pulled it off." I heard a mumbled voice behind me.
I saw flashes of the night before, laughing on the 2-hour car ride to Point Pleasant, the endless margarita bowls we consumed. I vaguely remember attempting to visualizing something, then getting really depressed so we walked to the car to go home. Only when we got to the car we both figured out that we couldn't drive so we decide to go to sleep for an hour or two so we could sober up and drive home. Only we went to sleep and I guess we slept until what felt like noon the next day.
"What time is it." I whispered with my pain filled voice. "quietly, shhhhhhhhh talk quietly."
"Bomber its about 10am" I heard Tank say.
I could hear the smile in his voice although I am pretty sure that his face was completely blank.
"I am 98% sure we are in Point Pleasant, why are you here?" I asked as I rolled over so I could hide my eyes while still covering my ears.
"Well evidently you called Ranger last night about 2 am and when he didn't answer you called the control room. When you called you said something about Bulgari, life not being fair and that you were never drinking another margarita ever again." He crouched down as he spoke, "When we asked you were you were, you said in the 6th dimension of hell then hung up."
"Yea beautiful, Ranger was PISSED because he knew you were drunk and he didn't know where you were. He called you back like a million times but you didn't answer. He had us looking at every bar in a 40 min radius. Finally, he ran into your grandma at the gas station this morning…. did you know she said she was a smoker now, something about a hunk at the senior center who liked smokers. Anyway she told him you came to Point Pleasant to celebrate." Lester said, "He had us all down here within 90 minutes looking, we got lucky and found you sleeping here. Ranger is on the way here now, and man do you look like shit."
I heard a loud slap and then Lester swearing up a storm. I am assuming Tank slapped Lester upside the head for talking too much. The Men in Black didn't talk much, all of their conversations started and stopped with head nods. Honestly I am surprised Tank said as much as he did, I really must look bad if they are answering my questions with full sentences.
The calm morning…. afternoon…morning, what time was it again anyway? Was interrupted by a loud screeching and a loud slamming. Why is everyone so loud?
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, stop being so freaking loud!" I yelled
"Stephanie."
Shit shit shit, I know that voice, I don't even need to open my eyes. My Spidey senses were on the fritz because I didn't even feel him walking up. He was pissed, I could hear it in his voice and the use of my full name. No babe, no hangover cure, just a full name with a massive amount of anger in his voice.
This was not good.
Maybe if I refused to open my eyes he would go away…
…..nope, still there. I could feel it….
…waiting….
…..Yep nope I could feel him staring, waiting for me to break down and look.
"Stephanie." Ohh man his patience must be slipping if he said my name again. So I open one eye into a small slit to see the blurry image of Ranges beautiful face. Oh man, he looks pissed too. This is not going to go well. I see him stand and turn to Tank.
"Drive Lula back in her car, I am offline until tomorrow." He turned back to me, "Get up and go to my car Stephanie."
I could hear his teeth clench and grind and when I didn't move fast enough he swung the car door open wider and said "now" in a tone so low I had to strain to hear. Loud I can handle, heck loud is what I do, but his super low tone scared the crap out of me.
SO I slowly climbed out leaning on the car for the support, yep most defiantly still a little drunk and standing up made it even worse. I watched as Ranger walked away and got in the Cayenne not waiting for me. This was soooo not good, Laster reached out and gave me an elbow to lean on to get over to the car. Sliding into the passenger side I could see Ranger looking straight ahead out of the window. I told Lester bye and buckled myself in as he closed the door.
It was complete silence as we drove, he would not even turn to look at me and I could see his hands clenching on the steering wheel. "Ranger" I whispered. Nothing, not even a glance my way. So I cleared my throat and tried again. "Ranger"
"Not now", he said.
"But I don't understand why you are sooo mad, I mean I know that you are a little mad but why are you super mad?" I whispered
I could see him glancing at me with his eye narrowed, "Why am I so mad? Is that a joke? You called completely drunk and slurring your words, leave a message on my phone saying you can never see me again because of condoms. Then you don't answer when I call you back 5 minutes later."
"Well why didn't you answer when I called then," I said in a defiant voice.
His eyes narrowed to the point I dint think that he could even see, "Because I was checking Hal into the hospital."
"oh shit is he ok," I cried out
"He is going to be fine a bullet went through and through on his leg. The point is Stephanie, you were drunk, 2 hours from home, no one knew where you were, I know you took all your trackers off on purpose. You had no plan to get home and slept in Lula's car by the beach overnight." He was yelling by the time he got to the end. "You could have been hurt or kidnaped or killed and no one would know. You've done a lot of irresponsible things Stephanie Plum but that by far was the dumbest." He growled
I was in tears by the time he ended. "I am sorry; I didn't think"
"That's right Stephanie you didn't think; you never think sometimes. Do you know how selfish and hurtful that is?"
I sat in the car the rest of the way home, silently crying as I looked out the window. At some point I must have fallen asleep because the next time I woke up I was being carried into my bedroom. "I am sorry, please don't hate me", I said as I hugged him closer.
"Babe, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. You just scared me." He said into my hair.
"Batman is never scared," I whispered
"I am not a super hero Babe and the thought of anything happening to you." He trailed off as his arms tightened around me.
"I am sorry; I won't do it again I promise." I said into his chest. "Will you lay with me?"
I watched him strip down weapons going on the night stand, clothes onto the floor. He climbed in and I set my head on his chest.
"Sorry," I whispered.
"I can't let anything happen to you, not ever." He said into my hair and he stroked my back, "I can't lose you."