Page 29 of Spooked

Alcohol sure did have a lot to answer for.

I stumbled into the ladies’ bathroom and puked into the nearest toilet. Hell, that tasted gross. My throat burned, and some of the vomit got on my hair. With a hideous reflection in the mirror as my witness, I was never drinking again. I tried to wipe the mess away with a paper towel, but I mostly just smeared it around. Dammit. Dammit!

I needed to go home.

Take a shower.

Why did my mouth still taste so bad?

I rummaged in my purse for gum, mints, any kind of food, but something was wrong. What? What was wrong? My phone was there, my wallet, my… Where were my keys? When I shook my bag, there was no comforting jingle.

Couldn’t shower if I couldn’t get inside my apartment.

The keys…

Had I dropped them?

No.

No, they were on my desk.

I’d used them to score open the tape on a package earlier when I couldn’t find the scissors.

Which meant…

Which meant I’d have to go back to the office.

Maybe I could just sleep there tonight? There was a couch. A bathroom. Four kinds of toothpaste I’d bought for Mr. Vale because that tight-lipped jackass found it too difficult to simply tell me which brand he liked to use.

But that would be weird.

No, I couldn’t sleep in the office like a dishevelled Goldilocks, and I wasn’t even fond of porridge.

I’d get my key, and then I’d get an Uber, and then I’d go home.

The bar’s side door was wedged open, probably to let some air in or let smokers out. There was a group of them standing in the alley, puffing away. The doctor in me wanted to give them a lecture on lung cancer, but I had to deal with my own…situation first. Alcohol poisoning…alcohol poisoning… I checked off the symptoms in my head, the ones I was able to remember, anyway. Yup, had most of those.

Boy, did my feet hurt. I kicked off my shoes, and ooh, that was better. The office… The big, fancy building… I had to turn right. No, the other right.

“Hey, do you need a ride?” a guy asked. Was he with Uber?

“Uh, yes, but not yet.”

“My car’s just over there.”

“No, I have to go this way.”

One foot in front of the other. You can do it, Indi.

The man fell into step alongside me. “Are you okay? You look a little unsteady.”

“I’m fine.”

“A pretty lady like you shouldn’t be walking home alone.”

“I’m not… I’m not…”

“That’s right. I’ll keep you company.”

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