I'm the Alpha's Crush

Chapter 22

I woke to the sensations of a throbbing skull and a rolling stomach and found, to my half-conscious dismay, that burying my head under the pillow did nothing to help either.

Great. Just fantastic.

With a groan, I sat up, yawning and stretching in the early morning light.

Surveying the room through foggy eyes, I glanced over the generic furniture, sighing at the haphazard spray of discarded clothes from the night before.

A moment's stillness revealed two things:

One, my hangover wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Two, I desperately needed to pee.

Giving in to biology, I stood and staggered to the bathroom, alleviating one issue before downing a couple Tylenol to deal with the other.

As I swallowed, I looked up, surveying the disheveled mess in the mirror.

And, letting my thoughts trail back to last night, I felt my cheeks burn at the memory.

Oh, god - did I really...

My eyes widened with dawning horror.

Oh, god, I did.

All of my drunken antics came flooding back in vivid, agonizing detail; the intrusive questions, the almost kiss, the confession...

Numbly, I watched as my hands trembled against the counter.

At least I didn't tell him everything.

Pushing away, I crossed the room, stripping as I went. When I reached the shower, I twisted the knob to the hottest setting and stepped in, hissing as the scalding water hit my skin.

Too late...

My eyes closed, and I could hear them like it was yesterday.

The jeering taunts.

The vicious barbs.

The absolute cruelty that haunted my memories.

Grabbing the travel-sized container of soap, I lathered my bath pouf and scrubbed like I could wash those years away.

You're halfway across the country. You left that girl far behind.

But, as I felt the suds rinse down my body, I wondered-

-was it far enough?

I was finishing with my packing when my phone buzzed. Walking over to the desk, I picked it up to find a new message from Malcolm:

"Want to grab breakfast?"

Seconds later, another message appeared:

"I could also bring you something if you're not feeling up to it?"

A ghost of a smile formed on my lips, and I replied, "I'll be down in a minute."

Slipping on my shoes, I went to take my room key out of my purse when a knock rang at the door.

Curious, I crossed over and looked through the peephole.

Malcolm stood on the other side.

Eyeing him suspiciously, I asked, "I thought we were going to meet downstairs?"

I saw him smirk as he looked up, "We're on the same floor. I figured it'd be wasteful to make the elevator take two trips."

Incredulous, I replied, "Uh-huh. 'Wasteful'."