Tipsy

Twenty

⚠️ Brief mention of abuse. Read with caution.

Chapter Twenty

Mikah

It was a shit start to Christmas. The holiday itself wasn't until tomorrow, but I was supposed to have been to Galena hours before. Unlike Ollie—who had left hours before the ice storm earlier in the week—I opted to stay back and manage the restaurant. It was also my plan to finish up any last-minute shopping—which was all of it. None of my gifts were going to be wrapped this year. My saving grace was finding a bunch of gift bags and tissue paper on sale. The presents were now in my trunk, and all that was left to do was pack and hit the ice-covered roads.

I'd been gone from the apartment all day. So I was surprised to find Hallie asleep on the couch, wrapped tightly in a blanket while the weather channel playing in the background. It was rare for her to fall asleep here, and while I wanted to believe she looked peaceful in this spot, she looked anything but. I place the back of my hand on her forehead, feeling the clammy, cold sweat that had her hair wet sticking to her temples. Her cheeks were flushed bright red—the same tint as when she'd get embarrassed. The shivering worried me the most.

I kneeled on the ground beside the sofa, rubbing her back until her blue eyes flickered awake. I may have greeted sleeping beauty with a smile, but it was rejected with a groan and one hell of a cough. She hacked until she could barely breathe, turning her face from red to blue. I regretted waking her, but it didn't last long. Soon she was sleeping again, and I was stuck in a hard spot.

My phone screen was swiped many times, ready to make a call that I knew wouldn't go over well. We had plans for family pictures tonight. My mother's traditions were something she looked forward to every single year. And while usually I loved going home for the holidays and being with my family, this year felt different. Hallie was supposed to be with her family tonight, and me with mine. I'd been dreading time away from her all week. Now, she was here, and this was the only place I wanted to be, making the decision easier than I'd originally thought.

Standing from the couch, I selected my mother's number and left the apartment, careful to close the door softly behind me. I was almost to the restaurant floor when she finally answered. It sounded quite busy in the background of her hello?

"Hey, Mom."

"You're missing the gingerbread house. How much longer is your drive?"

I sighed and clutched my hair with my free hand. "About that..."

"Oh, no." Her disappointment was obvious. "You didn't hit ice, did you? Ollie missed it and had a beautiful drive over."

"I uh, I haven't even left, honestly," I admitted. I swung the door open to the kitchen of the restaurant and began flipping on lights. "I don't think I'm coming this year."

"Mikah," she said, more bummed than I'd envisioned. "It's Christmas..."

My mother loved having everyone home more than anything. No one could blame her for that. She was lonely in that house most days. Part of me wanted to reach out to her sooner... to talk to her about the possibility of Hallie coming home with me for Christmas. I didn't want Hallie anywhere near Rick and Jodi's house—holiday or not. And while I wanted to use that as my excuse to bring her home with me, the real reason was I wanted to spend Christmas with her.

"Hallie has a horrible cold. Possibly the flu. I'd hate to bring that home to everyone."

"Uh huh..." I could hear Mom's smile, and it made me form my own. "Still embarrassed, huh?"