Shocked, Teena stood back in silence. Fortunately, DJ couldn’t understand all the words, but he understood enough, and he looked bewildered.
Nicole pressed her lips together. Then spoke softly. “I’m sorry you had to witness that, Teena. I apologize to you and should go and apologize to Davis.” Nicole stood to get up and the room tilted. She was going to vomit. She ran into the bathroom and made it just in time, emptying her stomach of all the liquids she consumed. When there was nothing left to purge, and the dry heaving stopped, Nicole sat on the floor basically hugging the bowl. Her apology to Davis would have to wait.
*****
The rest of the day didn’t get any better. Nicole spent it in bed tossing and turning. The ibuprofen wasn’t helping. She hoped a hot shower might. She was so uncomfortable that the water on her face wasn’t just from the shower but from her own tears as she cried like a baby.
She finished her shower and put on her terrycloth robe. It had helped her feel a little better but not much. As she walked out of her bathroom, Nicole had had enough and couldn’t take it anymore. It was as if she were having an outer body experience as she glanced around her room. Her eyes darted from her bed to her purse that was sitting on the dresser. Sleep this off, Nicole. Like a zombie, she started walking. She ended up standing in front of her dresser, reaching inside her purse for the bottle. I’ll just take one more to get over the hump. This will be the last one. Nicole popped it into her mouth and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hated what she saw. Her thick curls were wet and plastered to her head, but her eyes were those of a stranger. Notwithstanding the dark circles, they looked tired and haunted. Nicole closed them, so she didn’t have to see her reflection, then turned away from the mirror. She walked over to the bed and picked up the water bottle, swallowing the pills. Nicole got in bed and pulled the covers over her head in an attempt to hide from herself and her shame. The day ended just like it started—shitty.
Hours later, she woke when the clock clicked to 1:03 a.m. However, Nicole wasn’t in bed alone—DJ was curled into the crook of her arms, and Rayna occupied the space on the other side of him. They had snuggled as close as they could get. She had no idea how or when they got in bed with her. One person missing was Davis. His side of the bed was cold and empty. Her behavior had driven him not even to want to be in the same room with her. Nicole was turning her biggest fear into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
She finally admitted that she was struggling. Even now, she wanted to take more pills. Somehow, she had to fix her problem without causing too much of a distraction. Davis was already dealing with enough and having a drug addict as a wife splashed across the papers, and social media wasn’t fair to him. What am I going to do? How did I let things get this far? There weren’t any immediate answers to her questions, and she wasn’t going to get them at this hour of the night. So, she did the only thing she could to cleanse her soul, Nicole shut her eyes and cried.
Chapter 15
Davis was in his home office working on his second drink. Too bad he couldn’t get totally and completely trashed. Nicole was upstairs in bed sick for the third day, and one of them needed to be around for their kids. Her words had hurt him deeply. It took everything not to lash out. His own guilt wouldn’t let him. Davis wasn’t sure how much more he could take. If it hadn’t have been for his daughter and the innocence in his son’s eyes, he probably would have packed a bag and left.
His cell phone roused him from his thoughts. Davis started to let it go to voicemail when he realized it was Dana. He answered it. “Hello?”
“Davis?”
“Yeah. It’s me.” Her voice had that sympathetic thing in it. She had heard the news. He hated it. He didn’t want pity, Davis wanted his name cleared.
“Nicole and I were supposed to have dinner tonight, but I’ve been calling her phone, and she’s not answering. I heard the news and figured she probably wouldn’t want to go out. Are you both alright?”
He threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed sarcastically. “Nope. Can’t say we are. Things are pretty messed up right now.”
“It will all work out. I feel it. However, I will say that the press can be some evil bastards. They are hounding me. There is a swarm of them just outside your gates. Think you can let me inside?”
“They’re still out there?”
“Yes.”
“Shit. I’ll need to do something about that before Rayna gets home from school. I’ll buzz you through the gates. Security should let you through, and I’ll meet you at the door.”
It wasn’t long before Dana was walking into the house and giving Davis a big old bear hug. “How are you, my friend?”
“I have seen better days.” Davis hadn’t slept much over the past couple of nights, and it showed on
