“I’ll come by and get you around 7:30.”
I wouldn’t say my real reason for going back to the naff pub.
To see Morgan again.
That would be too pathetic.
Morgan
“I’ve been waiting for you to show up all morning so I could give you a good talking to!” Hayley exclaimed after I walked in the door.
I sighed, dropping my purse on my desk and sitting down heavily. I felt horrible. Was it possible to still have a hangover three days later?
It didn’t help that I was late because I had spent the last hour going from bank to bank trying to find one that would let me open an account. I had two weeks before I was issued my first paycheck and I needed to have something set up by then. I was currently using my US account and the exchange rates and bank fees were depleting my minimal funds.
Everything in the UK seemed so damn complicated. Last week I was sent a stern letter telling me that if I watched TV, I had to pay for a license. Why do I have to have a license to watch television?
There seemed to be so many added fees and hidden costs in everything. It was hard to keep them all straight. I was constantly worried I’d mess something up and they’d boot me out of the country, though given the way I was currently feeling maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
It didn’t help that I was given a round of parental guilt over the weekend. I loved my mother, but she had a way of making me feel worse when I thought I was feeling bad enough already.
“I have a doctor’s appointment this week and I’m really worried,” she had told me. My head had been splitting and I had been forced to suffer through a cold shower because the hot water heater was on the fritz. I learned this from a too early visit from Thad, the super creep.
“Why are you worried?” I had asked her, feeling my stomach clench. Leaving Mom alone had been the hardest part of moving across the ocean. She had some friends and the pastor at our church, but family was non-existent. Mom and I had each other and that was it. Now she didn’t even have me.
I felt like a horrible daughter.
“I’ve been feeling dizzy, so I went to the doctor and had some blood work drawn—”
“When was this? Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, angry that she had kept something like this from me.
“You were just getting settled and I didn’t want to worry you,” she had placated.
“But I should be worried now?” I asked, feeling too far away.
The need to go home was overwhelming. The urge to flee this new life and return the old and familiar was far too tempting.
“I don’t know, Morgan. They called and scheduled me for an EKG because there were abnormal levels of proteins.”
“An EKG? But that has to do with your heart!” I had exclaimed. “Who’s taking you to the appointment?”
“I’m taking myself,” she had responded indignantly.
“You shouldn’t drive. What about Lisa or Reverend Daniels—?”
“I’m sorry I mentioned anything. I don’t want you to worry when there’s nothing you can do. And I’m fine to drive myself. It’s only a twenty minute drive.”
But of course I’d worry. And I wasn’t there to help her. The guilt had made me feel even worse than the hangover did.
So I wasn’t in the best mood come Monday, particularly after arguing about the ridiculous hoops I had to jump through just to get a damn account at the local bank.
I rubbed my temples, wishing the headache I had been suffering with for the last three days would go away. “You were waiting for me?” I asked in confusion.
Hayley snickered, leaning against my desk. She wagged her finger at me as if I were a child. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us you spent all that time with Lucas Bradley on Friday night!” Hayley scolded.
I frowned. “How did you know about that?” And what exactly did she know? An image flashed in my mind of Lucas. Lucas and me. Lucas with his hands down my—
Hayley outright laughed at my obviously distressed expression.
