Monday is hard. I make mistakes at the diner and get people’s orders wrong. I hate letting people down. But I know in a couple of days I’ll be okay again. I need to hit the wall, and then I’ll be good. That’s what it’s always like.
I get a couple of hours of sleep on Monday night, but I wake up at three in the morning, and I can’t fall back to sleep. I have a long shower and fall asleep on the couch while I’m checking my email. Which means I’m almost late for my shift at Harry’s.
I make it with a few minutes to spare, rushing to the office to punch in. I give Chloe a bright smile. “I didn’t know you were working today.”
She gives me a funny look. “Are you filling in today?”
“Filling in? Maybe. Who’s sick?”
The intercom in the office goes off, paging her to customer service. “Gotta run. See you later.”
I follow her out and head for the cashier stands. I get a couple more questioning looks. Usually I’m on cash four, but Chuck is there today. I stop at the customer service desk, where Noreen is filing returns. I haven’t seen her or Aaron since things blew up on the weekend. I adopt a bright, cheery smile. “Morning! Looks like cash four is taken; where would you like me?”
“Oh, hi, Teagan! I didn’t know you were on the schedule today. Are you filling in for someone?”
“Not that I know of. I always work Wednesdays.”
Her brows pull together and she bites her lip, her gaze dropping from my face to my shirt and up again. “It’s only Tuesday. Are you okay, honey?”
At first I think she’s joking. Until I glance at her computer screen and see the date in the right-hand corner. I slap a hand over my mouth. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I got my days mixed up. I guess that explains why everyone is looking at me funny. Well, I guess I better hightail it out of here!” I check my planner; I have a meeting with a client on the other side of the lake in less than an hour. And now I need to go home and change.
It isn’t until I’m in my loft that I notice my Harry’s Hardware shirt was inside out.
I tell myself that I’m fine, just frazzled and stressed out. A good night’s sleep and I’ll be back on track.
I make myself another coffee and head to the meeting, stopping at the convenience store to grab an energy drink as well. I know I said I was going to quit them, but I’m going on no sleep, and I need to stay alert, at least until this meeting is over. Normally I’d drive in with Dillion, but I don’t want to risk running into Aaron. Not yet. Not until I have things under control again.
I notice a few typos when I’m presenting to the new clients. Usually, I’m so much better at catching those, but I forgot to send it to Dillion to look it over. I wait until we’re out of the house before I say anything.
“I’m so sorry about the typos.”
“It’s okay. I should have asked to see it yesterday, and it slipped my mind. A few typos aren’t going to stop them from hiring us.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Is everything okay? I don’t want to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but Van’s worried about you.”
“Honestly, I’m fine. Everyone is making a bigger deal out of things than they need to.” I hate that everyone is on me now. I feel like I’m being watched. Like I’m a kid who needs babysitting.
“Okay. If you say you’re fine, I’m going to believe you. I told Van I was Switzerland and that I wasn’t taking sides and I wasn’t going to push you for information.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” I honestly do too. Because I have a feeling if Dillion joined the harp-on-Teagan brigade, I’d probably end up losing it, and I don’t want that to happen. She doesn’t deserve that.
I expect that I’ll finally be able to get some sleep tonight, but even after three martinis I’m wide awake.
In the morning I head to Harry’s with a headache, feeling more than a little fuzzy. I haven’t slept for more than a couple of hours since Friday. I know the wall is coming. I can feel it. I wish I’d hit it so I can get some actual rest and press the reset button like I need to.
At lunch I usually sit in the break room with everyone else, but today I desperately need caffeine, so I offer to pick up coffees for everyone and head down the street to Boones. I don’t drive because it’s a crisp day and I could use the fresh air. I order a dozen fritters and coffees, then manage to trip on my way back to Harry’s and lose one coffee. At least it’s just a black one, so I tell everyone that I drank mine while I waited for the fritters. At the end of my shift I’m beyond exhausted. So tired, in fact, that I lean my seat back and take a fifteen-minute power nap before I drive home.
Except I must have passed out for longer than fifteen minutes, because a knock on my window startles me awake. The sun is sinking toward the horizon. It’s Billy.
I quickly swipe the back of my hand across my mouth to make sure I’m not drooling, then try to roll down my window, except the key isn’t in the ignition and the car isn’t on, so nothing happens.
I turn the engine over, nearly pee my pants at the loud music, turn it down, and then roll down the window.
His wide blue eyes dart around the inside of my car before they land on me. “Hey, are you okay, Teagan?”
“Yup! Just fine. I was waiting for a message, and I must have fallen asleep. Guess that’s what I get for bingeing an entire season of Stranger Things last night.” Why am I lying? I can’t seem to help it.
“Do you need me to drive you home? We can pick your car up tomorrow,” he offers.
“No, no. I’m okay.” I wave him off. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t spend the night sleeping in the parking lot.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?” He glances at the passenger seat. The contents of my purse are strewn about, and there are a couple of empty energy drink cans on the floor. Normally my car is clean and doesn’t look like the inside of a garbage can.
“I’m sure. I’m good. Thanks, though.” He steps back, and I put the car in gear and drive home, feeling pretty awful after that nap. I hate napping. It makes me feel out of it for hours afterward, and getting a decent sleep tonight will be virtually impossible.
My day goes from bad to worse when I get home and find Aaron’s truck parked in the driveway.
It annoys me that the first thing I want to do is hug him. I want to curl up beside him and close my eyes and listen to the sound of his heart beating until it lulls me to sleep. But he’s the reason I’m feeling like this in the first place. If he hadn’t pushed me and made everyone worry about me unnecessarily, everything would be fine.
He steps out of his truck as I pull in beside him. He’s parked to the right, which means I can’t get to the door without passing him.
“I can’t deal with this right now.” I hate that I’m snappy and emotional. I try to brush by him, but his legs are way longer than mine, and he steps in front of the stairs leading to the loft.
“How long are you planning to dodge my messages?” His voice is soft.