[Guest]:Or I got distracted. My friend is officially dead to the world.
[Representative]:Convenient. I got a clean-up guy for that.
[Representative]:You’re all mine, Sable.
A slow heat curls in my stomach. He knows who he is talking to.
[Guest]:My name is NOT Sable, and you have an interesting way of comforting someone in distress.
I try to throw him off—assuming this is a him. As if that would help, he’s probably got hacking devices that have already run my IP address, and he knows exactly where I live.
[Representative]:Who said I was trying to comfort you? And this is definitely Sable. The typing is significantly better.
I shift, my fingers tightening around the edge of the couch cushion.
[Guest]:Do I get to know your name?
[Representative]:Do you want to know my name?
[Guest]:You think you know mine.
[Representative]:H-
[Guest]:Is that a haha or you go by H?
[Representative]:I’d let you call me anything you want.
I should shut the laptop. Should stop engaging.
Instead, I type:
[Guest]:Cute. So what exactly are your qualifications? For handling problems.
A pause. This is all going to be used as evidence against me in a court of law. I start to shut the screen when I see the words…
[Representative]:Let’s just say I have a very hands-on approach.
And, yeah. I feel that one.
Hammering…
… with a sledgehammer…
… in my fucking head.
Each relentless throb vibrating between my temples makes me want to curl up and die.
And…
God, the taste.
My mouth is a graveyard of bad choices. It’s dry, sour, and coated in something acrid that refuses to let go. Every breath reminds me I did something regrettable. I swallow, trying to ease the burn in my throat, but it doesn’t help.
I groan, slowly pushing myself up from the couch, regretting every inch of movement as the world tilts. Why would I do this to myself? There is no recovering from a hangover at thirty-nine. Only death.
Any attempts to gather my thoughts, the words scatter. It feels like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing half thepieces. All I can focus on is the uncomfortable sensation of my pulse pounding in my head.
What happened last night? And how much water can I consume without drowning?
