Page 22 of Wilde Hearts
I heard the sound of the hotel door opening, and I yelled out, “Just stay the night, Doug!”
Then I heard…voices. Was that another guy talking? Who was Doug talking to? I tried to lift my head to see, but I was so tired. And when I tried to open my eyes, the room spun. It was easier to keep them shut.
I tried to focus on what was being said, but the voices sounded so distant…
Giving up the battle, I let sleep take over. I’d ask Doug tomorrow who he was talking to. For now, all I wanted to do was drift off into nothing but darkness.
My body had always had an internal clock. It woke up every single morning at six on the dot, no matter what day it was.
Or how hungover I was.
When I opened my eyes, I moaned. The headache was instant. I reached for the side table to find my phone. Turning my head, I looked at the screen.
“Even hungover, you never fail me,” I whispered, as I saw it was exactly six in the morning.
I dropped the phone back to the table, groaned at the noise it made, and rolled over onto my back. My mouth felt like it had cotton stuffed into every inch, and my stomach instantly protested when I slowly sat up.
“Oh, God,” I whispered, placing a hand over my mouth. I was about to be sick.
Jumping up, I ran into the bathroom and made it just in time. I dropped to my knees and threw up. By the time I was done, I was spent. Curling up into a ball, I pressed my cheek against the cold floor. Then I remembered I was at a hotel, and that was totally gross, so I slowly pushed myself up. I’d just have to believe that they had mopped and disinfected the floor right before I came. Yes, that’s what they did, I mentally told myself over and over.
After hauling myself up, I turned on the shower and stripped out of my clothes before stepping in. I let the hot water run over my body until I started to feel a little more alive.
“I’m never drinking again,” I whispered to the water. “Never. Again.”
An hour later, I nearly felt like myself. I stood in front of the mirror and gave myself a pep talk. I was relieved to see that at least I didn’t look like I had a hangover. The hot water had done wonders, as did the black coffee I’d made from the little coffee machine in the room.
“It doesn’t matter if Colt is at the hospital today. You will go and visit Jacob and be there for him and Lynn. You’ll just ignore Colt.” I smiled. “Yes, that’s what you’ll do. You’ll ignore him. That’s something you’re good at.”
Turning away from my image in the mirror, I grabbed my Kindle and laptop and threw them into my purse. One deep breath for good measure before I headed out to the elevator.
Hitting the down button, I whispered, “You’ve got this, Ensley.”
When the door opened, and I saw Colt standing in the elevator, I nearly turned and walked away. Instead, I lifted my chin and stepped in. Turning, I hit the lobby button even though it was already lit, then prayed for the fastest elevator ride of my life.
Instead, a screeching sound filled the elevator—and once again it came to an abrupt halt.
I squeezed my eyes shut and wondered what in the hell I had ever done to deserve this punishment.
When I opened my eyes, I felt it coming on. It started with the heavy weight on my chest, then the struggle to breathe.
“Oh no,” I whispered, as my chest tightened more and more. Then the feeling of air being ripped from my lungs had me gasping.
Colt
The moment the elevator doors opened, and I saw Ensley, my mind went back to last night.
Lifting my hand, I went to knock on Ensley’s door when it suddenly opened. Doug Sanders stood there, a smirk on his face.
“Doug, just stay the night!” Ensley called out from the room.
Before he could say anything, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
He laughed. The fucker actually laughed. “I don’t think it’s any of your business, Colt.”
“Ensley is my business.”
His brows raised as he shut the door to the room. “She may have been at one time, but that’s no longer the case. Remember leaving her without so much as a goodbye? Yeah, that was the moment Ensley was no longer your business.”
