Tipsy

Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Hallie

My flu lasted a few days, but it was nothing compared to Mikah's man-flu. For damn near a week straight, we passed the sickness back and forth. Our days were mostly spent sleeping from our own beds, sometimes not actually leaving them until we'd order food from Mulligan's. The apartment was littered with tissues, clothes, blankets, and empty glasses. It was a disaster. And while Mikah's symptoms were worse, his cleared up a few days before mine.

I awoke New Year's Eve to find Mikah had already had left for the bar. He was due for a very busy evening, with it being a holiday where people enjoyed their alcohol. And as much as I wanted to believe that he was busy preparing inventory and for the night, part of me wondered if he had been pulling away from me the last few days on purpose... because of what I had told him about Rick.

I tried not to let the intrusive thoughts of Mikah needing space bother me as Kit and I shopped downtown Chicago for the perfect for the night. But it was hard not to. Christmas Eve now felt like a fever dream. One I wanted to go back to in the worst way.

"What about this one?" Kit held up a black dress and gave the hanger a little shake.

It looked the same as all the other black dresses we'd seen. She'd already picked hers and had it purchased and bagged. I was the problem today. We found nothing that sparked any sort of joy in me. Part of me wanted to avoid the party altogether. Maybe sulking in the apartment all night would be better.

I shrugged at the dress, continuing to slide hangers one by one without actually looking at what was on them.

"You have to pick one eventually, you know?" Kit shook the dress again.

Yeah. I knew.

"Have you talked to your brother lately?" I asked, continuing to another rack.

"Which brother?"

I lifted my attention to Kit, finding her grinning. She knew exactly which brother I was speaking of, and she solidified it with a wink. Why was I even asking? What did I think Mikah was off telling people about me? Part of me maybe wondered if he'd told Kit to take me shopping. While I didn't know the extent of Kit's past, I'd pieced enough together that we had similar yet different experiences with trauma. The word seemed stupid in my mind... trauma. That's not what I had.

"Is there something you believe Mikah has shared about you?" she asked. And before my heart could sink any lower in my stomach, she followed it up with a sentence that allowed me to breathe again. "Hallie, everyone knows you two are sleeping together. He hasn't said a word, but it's become a standing joke over who is going to catch you guys first."

For the first time all day, I could laugh. "Your mom already did."

Kit turned so fast that her long brown hair hit me in the face. "She did not! Oh, how embarrassing!"

"Yes. Incredibly."

Kit's head tilted with her smile. She was waiting for the details. Did I have details? Everyone knew we were fucking. What else was there to say about it? I couldn't explain the relationship we had, because it wasn't actually a relationship. We weren't seeing each other. There was nothing official, but we also weren't having sex with anyone else. He wasn't kissing girls. I wasn't kissing boys. I may have kissed one girl, but that was beside the point; that was for him.

"I think I messed up with him," I admitted. Just saying it out loud made my stomach ache. I was grieving the last few days over a relationship I didn't actually have. And I still didn't know he was avoiding me, but we felt off.